frogian

I wasn't cabin crew but I had travelled frequently throughout Europe with my job. I just put in everything as per the stamps that I did have in my passports and also included a note along the lines of "and various other countries, dates unknown, as no entry / exit stamp required". Never had any questions asked. Maybe your OH can do the same but add "as was cabin crew, so I never officially entered the country"?

On bogs not having a sink: when I was a kid (80's) the houses I lived in 'up north' in the UK had a bathroom (bath and sink) plus a separate bog. I remember my dad knocked the bathroom and the bog room into one in the late 80's in the house we were in at the time. After that, all the houses I have lived in in the UK (and most that I have visited) had a bathroom complete with bath, sink and bog all in one room. Maybe changing trends; money saving on the build cost (one less door and wall to put in); or a bit of both? Anyone know? All in one or separate doesn't bother me, but there is an advantage to separate - if you have guests over and your partner is having a bath, your guests can still go for a number 1 or 2 without disturbing the OH or entering your bedroom to access your en-suite. There is a downside as well. Your guests can't wash their hands without disturbing your OH or entering your bedroom to access the en-suite...... O

OH hassled me going on 2 years for a Thermomix. My arguments against getting one were always 1) the cost of the thing 2) I figured it'd go the way of the other gadgets she'd bought in the past - used the days it's purchased, maybe on the odd occasion here and there during the next couple of weeks, then stashed in the cupboard for months on end until it was given to a mate (who probably though they REALLY needed one, just like my OH had at the time she bought it). I gave in a couple of months back and she finally got her Thermo...... Since then pretty much everything we've eaten has come out of the thing, quickly, and tasting good! The only time the oven gets used these days is to crisp up the roast and cook the Yorkshire puds and roast spuds (shame it can't do those things). Oh, one of my OH's selling points for us getting one was that it washes itself up. And it pretty much does! Yeah, they are expensive and going back 2 months my mindset was that it would be a waste of cash. So far, it seems that it wasn't. Will let you know if that changes!!

Someone who can adapt to change, likes to take a risk and, at the end of the day if things don't work out, sees the move as a learning experience and leaves the place without regret or animosity.

Think you'll need to get relevant Aus certs mate. Have a look at this site: http://www.skillingsolutions.qld.gov.au/ It’s a free Government training and career info service. They will look at your existing UK quals, on the job learnt skills etc to see if it's possible to convert them to recognized Oz qualifications or, if a straight swap isn't a goer they'll help you work out which Aus courses (or parts of courses) you'll need to take to be able to obtain the relevant Oz qualification. Unfortunately you can't access these services from overseas as you have to be resident in Queensland for them to help you out, so you'll have to wait until you get here and set up a meeting with them. Best of luck with the move!

When I left the UK in 2007 it was costing me X pounds per week to live my life. In 2014 in Aus it's costing me what I used to spend in the UK (X), plus a further 20%. I still have the same lifestlye etc, so nothing has changed (other than the weather is better!). I have no idea what things cost these days in the UK, but I figure that with inflation some things will have gone up, so at a guess would think that the cost of living here is Aus is maybe not quite so bad as 20% more than in the UK, dependant on location.... If you are moving from UK big city A to Aus big city B, probably not too big a shock, but if you are moving from UK town X to Aus big city B, there's going to be a big difference in the cost of living, just like if you moved, for example, from Barnsley to London (I'm a Yorkshire lad, so have nowt bad say 'bout Barnsley, just using it as't example) I moved from UK town X to Cairns, which is classed as a city, but its not a city like Sydney, it's more the size of my town in the UK, hence probably not too much different for living costs here. Had I moved to Sydney, I know it'd be costing me a LOT more to live each week. With regards to shipping items, if stuff is in decent nick, weigh up what it will cost to replace it all when you get here versus what it would cost to ship it over. All the best!

We are in Cairns and I wrote the following in another thread nearly 2 years back. Since writing it we've added a baby to the family but, to be honest, the figures still hold today(we've cut down a little on entertaining / lifestyle spend though!). State: QLD Location: Cairns Property type: 3 bed house Household: 2 Adults (and dog who thinks it’s human) Mortgage: $20,700 per year / $1725 per month Annual Rates: $3000 per year / $250 per month Electricity: $1300 per year / $108 ish per month Pool: N Air Con: Y Gas: N/A Water: Annual Charge – Not sure if this applies here (I can’t see it mentioned on the two bills I have just found) Usage: $120 per year / $10 per month (no joke – last quarter the bill was $19.19, one before that was $31) Monthly Shopping/Food: $7800 per year (around $650 per month, sometimes a bit more, sometimes a bit less) Car Rego: $1460 per year (two cars – SUV & a 4x4) (note: this has to be paid upfront for either 6 or 12 months, but equates to $122 ish per month) Car insurance: $900 per year / $75 per month (two cars, fully comp) Fuel - Can’t split between work and social I’m afraid as never broke it down. For info: SUV does around 400km on $85ish (2.4L petrol), 4x4 (3L Diesel) does around 600km on $110ish (both mixed driving). Home Phone: N/A Mobile Phone: $1320 per year / $110 per month Total Mobiles in Household: 2 Internet: $480 per year / $40 per month (we don’t have a fixed internet connection, just a dongle type thing from telstra (pay as you go) but to be honest , other than browsing, e-mailing, the odd skype chat and music download, we don’t hammer the net that much each month) Schooling Costs: N/A Child Care Costs: N/A Entertaining/Lifestyle: $10400 per year / $200 per week (, sometimes more, but most weeks less) Additional: $1440 per year / $120 per month private health insurance (good cover - wife only), $500 per year / $42ish per month pet insurance Profession: N/A That totals around $49380 per year / $4115 per month / $950ish per week (excluding fuel for cars, buying clothes, buying stuff for house etc and any loans that may need to be repaid) As someone said in another post, if you rent, you wont pay rates. If you have any further questions drop me a line and if I can help out, I will. Best of luck with the move!

Am happy to have a beer or two mate if you ever head up this way but would prefer to play a game of pool and chat generally rather than focus on economics ;-)

On the first part of your statement: 1) Don't know about the credit reporting system here but when we bought our house a few years back everything was going great. Then the s#it hit the fan with the downturn and 7 days before settlement the bank turned round and told us they wanted twice the deposit originally agreed on or else it was game over. 2) I arrange finance (business and personal) for the gear I sell. From what I see, lending isn't being done "willy nilly". If it was I'd be laughing. On the second part of your statement I reckon: heat factor = zero %. Sleep factor = 99.99% (couldn't put 100% for that 'cos I've replied , so you obviously haven't sent me to sleep....yet).

Yeah, every Wednesday. Hope you are enjoying yourselves here! Are you sticking around in Cairns for good?

If your OH is up for a few games of pool, some beers and a chat on Wednesday night drop me a PM and we can arrange (mixed group of English, Welsh, Kiwi and Aussie blokes).

I've been out of the UK since mid '07 and still have a Halifax current account and credit card and have had no issues with them at all. I haven't used the credit card since 2008 and they were going to cancel it last month (which is understandable). They sent me a letter to let me know they were going to cancel it so I gave them a call and all is well - just received my new one. All is good with Halifax from my POV!

Buying a second hand car and then selling it at the end of your stay would be the most cost effective option IF the car you buy doesn't give you any trouble, as you should be able to get back pretty close to what you paid for it (less insurance & rego costs). You just need to make sure you can shift it on before you leave, unless you have someone here who can sell it on your behalf in the event it hasn't sold before you leave. If you get some quotes for leasing you'll be able to determine if this 'dead money' is affordable for your particular circumstances or whether you'd be better off taking a risk, buying a car and then selling it before you leave (much less risk if you can pick up a second hand car that has manufacturers warranty left on it). Best of luck with the move!

Danes Dyke looks the go: http://www.yorkshire.com/what-to-do/outdoors/naturallyyorkshire/yorkshire-nature-triangle/east-riding-of-yorkshire

Danes Dyke aint too far away from Scarborough. It's a LONG time since I was last up that way though but the picture you have flashed a memory!

I reckon Flamborough (with your painting done further left of the "monkey face", which is better pronounced in your painting than in this pic. Plus they added the lighthouse).

Sent you a PM mate

In my job I accrue sick leak which rolls over continually. To try to ensure people don't abuse it (too much), they require a doctors note if you are off ill for more than one day. People do see sick leave as a type of holiday accruement though and will pull a sicky here and there to make sure that they "get what they are entitled to".

Would the independent testing / inspection field be something that may interest you? If so have a look at companies such as www.exova.com and ww.sgs.com Best of luck with the job hunt!

Had a 16 year career in the building products testing, certification, inspection and consultancy industry (passive fire safety) and now work in a shop selling quad bikes, mowers and chainsaws. Why? I moved to my OHs hometown of Cairns and there are no jobs available in my line of work. We did look at living in other places in Oz where I'd have had the opportunity to work in that industry (the big cities), but none of those places 'did it' for me, which my OH was more than happy with! I'll admit I miss my old career now and again, but the job I am doing now is great fun, I work far less hours than I used to and I don't have anywhere near the amount of hassle at work as my levels of responsibility and culpability are pretty much zero. All is good...for now!

When your husband has permanent residency (as immi stands now) you'll then be able to apply for the 309/100 visa. At the time of applying for the 309/100 you'll have to provide evidence that you are in a genuine and ongoing relationship (and, from memory, have been for at least 12 months. Plus what Snifter has said. Hope that helps!

Up here in FNQ it's going on (for dog fighting). A mate of mine had his dog taken last week. Me and the neighbors all have dogs and we've decided that from now on, if we hear one of them going off, rather than ignore it (which we generally do to be honest, or at best we may shout out for it to be quiet) we'll go have a look to see if anything's going on. If anyone tries to take my baby the last thing they'll see before the inside of a cell is the fat end of a baseball bat.

As we all know its expensive here in QLD for home & content insurance and as our current policy is up in a few days time I figured I'd best see if we couldn't save a few quid, so I jumped on the net a couple of hours ago and set about getting quotes. Figured I was on when I got a quote that saved us $300 as most quotes were coming back in the region of our renewal figure, but some were up to $800 more for the year, for the same cover! Being honest, who we've just insured with (youi) were last on my list to try due to them having quoted me $2,200 for car insurance a couple of years back. They said it was due to the fact that I had no experience driving in Oz........Hmmmm, I'd been driving for around 18 years, most of that in the UK (accident free, on my part, I may add), before I moved here.......Anyway, that's a different story.... They came through tonight though and have just saved us $1,100! (almost identical cover. The excesses are $100 more each on building and content). Happy days! If you are in the market for B&C insurance, give them a go!

Not sure where you are moving to and I think it varies from state to state, but for info here in QLD this year my Lux cost $680, trailer $170 and boat $180 (ish). No probs with (QLD) licensing based on a UK one.