Beddy

We visited the Sunshine Coast prior to our visa grant and although a beautiful place it couldn't offer us the job prospects for our skills .Brisbane was the place that offered the most job prospects for my husband whom was the visa pr applicant . We were going to head to Brisbane but on grant of our visa we decided to come to the Gold Coast on a temporary visit( personal circumstances) . We've been here nearly three years now .. My hubby commutes daily to Brisbane from the north end of the Gold Coast and life is sweet . Personally I think visiting an area will give you a heads up but won't give you a realistic view of living and working there . I think your husbands worries coupled with your balance of positivity and research will stand you both good to just come out here and make a go of it . You could always look at is as a long stay reccie

I personally would research the areas in Queensland that provide you with the best job opportunities for your skills and then narrow it down from there . Children will generally settle well if their parents are settled, the opportunities for children are plentiful , but job prospects for their parents are dependendant on choosing an area wisely . good luck on your journey

If your bringing your beds then stock up on bed linen , sizes are slightly different here ., we wished we had brought more with us and also more towels . We gave loads of both away and had to replace them which was a cost we could have saved . clothes and footwear was another item we spared on .. If you can squeeze them in your container then get them in . The less you have to spend on replacing any items during your settling in period the better

Number 1 took the first offer on on house which was the highest and gone into rental number 2 saved more money during the planning stage number 3 squeezed more into our container number 4 sold items we weren't bringing instead of giving them away number 5 left more money in our UK bank account

Medicare has been a godsend for me lately .. I've had a few separate health issues where I 've seen my Gp ( bulk billing) at no costs and had various diagnostics tests some by the GP and some referrals which were all free , there was one test I had to have done which wasn't bulk billed but I could claim a percentage back . All tests were done within a few weeks of first Gp visit and results were back within days of tests . I can't fault the care I have received . Medicare has also covered the full cost of a few a& e visits for my OH and one of my children , my child had to go see a specialist which wasn't bulk billing and we had to pay in full and claim a percentage of the cost back . The children also get free doctors appointments at a non bulk billing surgery and an allowance for dental visits but it doesn't cover cosmetic dentistry such as braces .

For is it was never a beach obsession and we find it pretty hard to get our kids to go down the beach and they are only 10 and 12 years old .the beach to us is a day out just as it was in Uk all be it alot closer

They may have taken it as a verbal agreement that you want to end your contract and advertised your rental home as available ..I would like to think it would be impossible for them to take on a new tenant before your lease is up and youve signed an end of lease agreement .with our tennancy we get a renewal for agreement to continue 3 months prior to our end of lease ..if we said we did not wish to continue the tenancy at that point they would advertise availability , however I'm sure couldnot place a new tennant in until our lease expired

The pupil welfare officer is only acting on information towards attendance provided from your childs school .The fact that you have not informed the school of your plans to emigrate and your childrens absence from school ( I am only presuming ) will ring alarm bells , thats probably why they are asking for a forward adress .Personally I would send an e mail to the school .a voice message; and drop a written letter in the post box informing them of your emigration plans .

It is confusing because when we uploaded our medicals on request it said 'processing' ...then a few days after 'finalised' .I would speak to your agent and get them to find out what is going on

I guess youve done all you can now but wait unfortunately ...good news on your wifes medical though ..no referral so thats good news ...each case is different and I guess each each case officer too ...I would imagine it wont be too long before you hear now ..good luck and as they say 'good things come to those that wait '

personally I would say settling as a family is more important from the onset no matter when your visa or circumstances determines .Once you are settled in a job , suburb etc then I would consider schooling , daycare etc .

Were you requested by your CO for your medicals or did you Upload them before requested ? When we were requested our medicals by our case officer it was our final hurdle and has soon as they were finalised so was our visa .

after reading lots of previous experiences on here I would go with Go Matilda ..

The hague convention will prevent you from removing your child from Australia without the other parents permission just as it would from removing them from the Uk to Australia .It is possible if you can come to some agreement for access with the childrens father in the form of a stat dec ... failing that there is the option of applying for a court order to remove them from jurisdiction

My advice is to validate your visa within the time given and look at this as your only option . I would not be looking at the possibilities of letting your visa run out and putting a case forward .You need to validate your visa in order to continue with the emigration process ..only you can decide is this is worth it and want you really want

Leaving your native country and living permanently in a new country

We sold our house In the uk 3 years ago well under the asking price as we needed the equity for relocation to Australia.We knew if we had come out here to activate our pr visa and returned we could have sat it out and probably got more .we have no regrets of selling our Uk home as the value of our time spent here far outweighs time sitting waiting for a better price .

my advice is to go with a reputable migrant agent rather than going it alone .the financial outlay provides you with ongoing support and advice throughout a difficult procedure which in our experience kept on changing .it ensures you have everything in order for your application and provides you with the best possible outcome for your visa application ..for us it was money well spent and although it came out of the funds we originally set aside to settle us in Australia it meant we got our skills select visa and are now enjoying our 3rd year out in Oz

If you are on face book try looking up 'Brits on the Gold Coast ' or 'expats on the gold coast'' they are closed groups but you can easily request to join .,, a lot on here are members on there and have various meet ups

as much grace as you need ..set your own time scale accordingly ... It will all depend on your own individual circumstance and work base . Most schools are catchment area so consider this when you are looking for rental or temporary address . Kids get around 6-7 weeks for main holidays before the start of a new school new therefore professional teachers see this time scale as no detriment to the kids learning . My advice is don't Rush it .. Settling in the right place is the most important thing

My advice is to go ahead and do it ..ive two daughters travelling at the moment one(Age 24) with her boyfriend)and the other(20) with her best friend .they have both met lots of people travelling alone in hostels whom have come part of their travelling family( their words not mine ) ..I also know a lad who was extremely shy who came to Oz travelling on his own and he loved it and built up a network of travelling buddies ..I think its best to come out with as much money as you can save which will be different for everyone but my daughter is paying between 30 - 35 dollars a night in hostel at surfers paradise queensland but she has got a job that pays$ 25 an hour so no longer dipping into her travel fund ..she did have a job that only paid $ 12 per but only did it for a week till she found the better one lol .I know of at least another 6 people from my home town in West yorkshire that are travelling Oz at the moment and their experiences are extremely positive

$25.00 for a private domestic cleaner is around the going rate ..you will pay more through an agency probably around $ 28 per hour .mbut they will be police checked and insured ..agencies take around 15% of their cleaners wage .monthly cleans are around $30-35 and one of cleans $45 per hour ..bond cleaners charge alot more per hour but they are classed as professional cleaners and guarentee their work

I read it also that they were a Family returning to the Uk after living in Oz to tell everyone that they were making the move to Oz permanently .It was the statememt made by the poster that they had a massive falling out and he went back to Oz leaving herself and their child behind . Its hard to get a clear judgement from a post and on reading know their visa is coming to an end but in my oppinion he would of been far better staying and supporting his wife and child whilst she found the courage to tell her parents .

you say you have to choose between OH and parents plus option of being a single parent . You were a family unit when you returned back to the Uk from Oz to tell everyone you were moving to Oz permanently . You should still be a family unit supporting each other and reassuring your parents that moving to Oz is what you both want and planning together how you can make the move and still keep in touch and visit them . .Understandably your OH is worried of the timescale of your visa and his dreams slipping away but a tactic to go back to Oz putting pressure on you to make a decision is in my opinion not a supportive one but quite a bullying tactic . maybe your parents are dead set against towards your move for other reasons as well as separation .

We are in Queensland Gold Coast and the above is correct for our state . my eldet son whom went 12 in December 2014 will be starting year 7 in the high school . It's the first year that they will be moving both year 7's up to high school along with the year 8's