DBC

We are selling our Holden Commodore - we're based in Mentone, Victoria and are open to offers around the $14,000 mark. Please see below for specific details. If you are interested please PM me. 2008, VE OMEGA MY09, RWD, WHITE, 4D SPORTWAGON, 3565cc,6cyl, 180kW, UNLEADED PETROL, 4 SP AUTOMATIC, 175000km, Anti-lock Braking, AirConditioning, Alarm System/Remote Anti Theft, 16 Inch Alloy Wheels, BrakeAssist, Cruise Control, Central Locking Remote Control, Cloth Trim, ElectronicBrake Force Distribution, Electronic Stability Program, Head Airbags, EngineImmobiliser, Multi Function Steering Wheel, Parking Distance Control, PowerMirrors, Power Steering, Power Windows, Radio CD with 6 Speakers, Seat beltPre-tensioner, Side Front Air Bags, Trip Computer. A Certificate ofRoadworthiness will be provided. In good condition generally with some minor scratches. September 2014 registration.

Could anyone please give me an idea as to how much we would roughly be looking at to send our 2 labs back to the UK? As I understand it they don't need to go into quarantine at the other end? It would be from Melbourne to London. We will be flying to Manchester - can we get the dogs sent there or do we need to collect them from Heathrow? Obviously we will look into getting proper quotes but the decision to go back is very last minute and quick so I have a million things to look into and if I was to have a rough estimate of cost in mind I can allocate finanaces accordingly. Thanks for your help.

Brighton beach is lovely has has brightly painted beach huts which would be nice for the kids to look at. Dendy Park in Brighton is also nice - it has a shaded playground which is ideal for very small kids as none of the equipment is too high. I use www.playgroundfinder.com to find new parks - there's bound to be at least one good one near to your rental.

I'd agree about the car seats - they can be expensive (and rubbish!) to hire. How long will you be hiring them for? Do you have your own coming over with your stuff? If you could get a room at a hotel until your holiday rental is ready then you could send hubby out to get a couple. If you look online before you go and pick the one you want it'll be easier than wandering around, sleep deprived, trying to decide! Target, Big W and Kmart all do car seats. You can get to Brighton via public transport (therefore avoiding having to hire/buy car seats immediately) but whether you're prepared to do that after a long flight is a different matter entirely. One of the annoying things about Melbourne airport is that there isn't a train line to it. You'd have to jump on the skybus to Southern Cross station and then onto the Sandringham line to get to Brighton. Not much fun with 2 small children and luggage!

I quite often order stuff from Tesco for my kids - as has been mentioned it's free delivery for orders over £50. I stock up when they have their sales (which makes the stuff even cheaper than it already is!) which is great as my little ones are getting into their summer gear as they are trying to sell it all off. I usually stock up on things like swimming costumes (I get them for about £3 each) and t-shirts, dresses etc. Anything with a name on such as Disney/Peppa Pig can't be shipped over and I can only assume that it has something to do with brands and rights. I got some maternity stuff sent over from Next but from the UK site - my mum ordered it and I paid the postage over here. If you have someone willing to do that and you can get some bits in the sale you won't have to spend a fortune. I got a couple of bits from Ripe over here but they are soooo expensive! I ended up buying things from Big W and K Mart - my favourite maternity tops ended up being less than $10 each from Kmart! Target has some nice bits too, but wait for when they have their specials on - they often do 30-40% off certain products, including maternity wear. I got a pair of jeans that I wore non-stop for $15. I hated spending money on maternity clothes that you wear for such a short time and can't stand the sight of once the baby arrives!

The local experience thing depends on your job - engineering is very hard to get work in if you don't have local experience, for example. My husband took a step down to come over here as the Australian codes are slightly different to British ones. If you look at job ads on Seek they will very often specify that they want Australian experience, with many asking for 5+ years Australian experience, with at least 3 in a certain state/city. The economy is not what is was a couple of years ago and so companies don't want to spend time training people up, they want someone that can come striaght in and do the job.

It's nice to here such positive stories - thanks!

We arrived in Melbourne almost 2 years ago and had 2 weeks accomodation. We had a 6 month old baby and 2 labradors so wondered if we would have enough time. Luckily we found a place in Mentone within the fortnight so it can be done! Looking at your list, if budget allows I would be looking at Mentone or Cheltenham but not Seaford - not my cup of tea at all. I'm sure someone will have a go for me saying that but I think it's much rougher down there and I wouldn't be prepared to live there with my kids.

Thanks for that - great advice. Hubby and I went camping years ago before kids but that was in the UK so expect it to be different here. I hope I can contain my camping equipment envy when we get to the sites! My mum is over in Oz in a few weeks and we're off camping for 2 nights in the high country on our own (horseriding) so we'll treat that as a bit of a practice run for the real thing.

Thanks for all the replies! I've seen a great tent by Coleman that is one that goes up nice and quickly and sleeps 8 so we should have plenty of room. We are very lucky with our little ones in that they travel well so despite the warnings we'll be going ahead with the camping! We live close to the beach and they are never happier than when they are covered in sand, filthy dirty and outside! Our little girl is toilet trained so only one lot of nappies to deal with and we'll be at sites with facilities for the first couple of years. Last question - does anyone have any experience of those self-inflating mattresses? I like the look of them but am wondering how good they really are. I figure the less we have to do the better!

So, I've decided that with summer coming I want to explore more of Victoria by camping. I need lots of advice....! Hubby and I are camping novices and we have a 2 year old and an 8 month old. We have no camping equipment at all so need a tent, sleeping bags etc. I've spent a couple of hours on the internet today trying to work out the best type of tent to get, which sleeping bags to go for but there is soooo much out there I have simply come away with a headache! I would appreciate any input from people that are seasoned campers regarding the size of tent we should be going for (we may also take our 2 labs with us once we've had a couple of practice runs) and where to go to get the best deals. The reason we are looking into camping (apart from loving being outside) is that it gives us an inexpensive way to see the various places we want to. We will probably camp for no longer than 4 nights at a time at sites with good facilities for kids. We're lucky in that the kids are great travellers and we keep finding our 2 year old sleeping on the floor at the moment! If anyone with kids out there does this on a regular basis then please let me know what bits and bobs are essentials and which things are a bit gimicky and a waste of money.

I vaguely remember having to ask for a very detailed transcript of the course. I also had to provide the same for my actual degree - I did my degree at Manchester and my PGCE at Manchester Met - one charged for this and one didn't but I can't remember which! I was told that it is something that they get a fair few requests for so they had no problem doing it - not sure why your uni is being difficult. I would keep calling and if you do end up having to write the letter for them then just follow the criteria set out - mine had the schools that I trained in, length of time there, subjects and ages taught etc.

My husband is a structural engineer and we came out to Melbourne 2 years ago on a 457 as he was interviewed by his company via skype and then offered a position. We now have PR and he has almost 2 years experience - however, it seems that Australian engineering firms very much like people to have local experience. If you look on Seek many ads require at least 3 years and some even specify 3 years 'Melbourne' experience! It's a case of getting as many firms to look at your CV as possible and hoping for the best. We have also noticed a decline in the amount of positions advertised over the last 12 months so the economy does seem to have slowed down somewhat. My husband was a senior engineer in the UK, managed projects etc and has 10 years experience but many, many places still insist on this magical 3 years Australian experience. We just have to be patient, which is frustrating as he was never out of work in the UK and had his pick of jobs. It's worth noting that he got his current role by sending his CV to the company rather than applying for a specific role that was advertised. It might be worth compiling a list of companies in your area and sending your CV to all of them, you never know when the right person will take a look and get in touch. Best of luck - hope this wasn't too negative a response!

It's the same in secondary schools in the UK too - budgets are tight and so classes get bigger to avoid having to recruit more teachers. I don't agree that the quality of teaching is the issue, not the class size - I taught History at GCSE and A Level and the classes got bigger and bigger as the years went on. The year that I left I had 22 students in an A Level group which was far too many. At that level the kids need to engage in debates and arguments and need lots of one on one attention - impossible with that number. In addition, they wrote an essay a week which I then took home and marked. I would easily spend 25-30 minutes reading and commenting on each one, perhaps over the top to some, but the results that these kids came out with made it worth it. However, my A level group was just one class that I taught and teachers only have so many hours in the day. I gave up my job when I had my ittle girl because I couldn't see how I could do a good enough job when my main concern was my daughter. I loved my job, I had a great relationship with the kids and still keep in contact with many of them. It makes me so sad to see many great teachers leaving the profession because of the demands made of them, low wages and inability to juggle family life with the role.

It's hard to know where would be the best place to live - we visited Brisbane a couple of years ago and fell in love with it, but actually living somewhere is completely different. We have about 3 years before our kids start school so as long as we're settled by then I'd give anywhere a go!