frogian

Northener - born in West Yorks (but lived in Cheshire most of my life)

Completely agree with what the two Paul's have said. Moving 20 miles down the road away from familiarity can be a masssive move for some people (never mind moving to the other side of the world!). I reckon it depends on the person in question though. When my wife joined me elsewehere in the world (not in Oz or the UK) initially she loved it as it was all a new experience. When she got into the routine / realised that she actually lived and worked there and it wasn't a holiday she was on, it went downhill for a bit (she missed friends and family etc big time). Luckily that only lasted a few months. The stuff my OH worries about doesn't get to me and from reading what you wrote I glean some similarities. IMO at the end of the day if you don't give it a go you'll never know if it was the right or wrong decision for you both. If it turns out to be the right move, all will be great. If it doesn't, at least you gave it a go and you'll never have "I wonder what if...." at the back of either your minds.

Re: spraying chemicals from planes, a few years back where I was the government seeded clouds to make it rain. It worked. One minute it was pretty much clear sky and sun (as was generally the norm), the next, howling winds, torrential rain and thunder and lightning (lasted about 20 min). Personally don't think we should be messing with this sort of stuff. Butterfly effect springs to mind..........

Interesting stuff! Glad that we're in the 4868 area (bordering 4869) and that we're 30m + above sea level. If a big one does hit down the line, hopefully we will fare OK!

I've found that you can get good quality stuff at a great price at Harvey Norman WHEN THEY HAVE A SALE. Went all over the place when we were setting up to get the best deal. At the time HN had a sale on. We ended up getting all our white goods there (and TV's, suround sound etc) as like for like goods were considerably cheaper there than at any of the competition (in some cases by $300) or else for the same cash we could spend with a competitor we could upgrade the item to a better spec if we bough from HN.

Shouldn't be an issue - lots of MTX bikes here (not road legal or registered). Just contact a shipping company and get them to send it over. Just make sure it's shiny and clean when you send it!

Sweet ride! Struts are looking a bit on the thin side though so good you made it back to terra firma OK.

Great pics mate! What wings did you take up?

Anyone up this way in FNQ (Cairns) who has the necessary skills and are interested in this position? http://jobview.careerone.com.au/getjob.aspx?jobid=116075421&WT.mc_n=AFC_Indeed

Yep, we'll be up earl(ier) than normal in the morn. Been a bit rainy and cloudy in Cairns today so hope it clears up or I else we may not be seeing much.....!

I haven't earned in the UK since '07. Back then I was middle management in a scientific field, was paid overtime if I went in on a weekend (went in for overtime, on average, at least 4hrs a week), caught up here and there by working from home on an evening (generally unpaid - must have been stupid when I was younger!). In Oz I'm currently working as a "sales executive" (curve ball in my career!). Sounds snazzy ?! Reality is I'm a sales person in a shop that sells stuff similar to some of the things you'd find in the equipment / tool section of B&Q (I DON'T work for Bunnings or Masters - I work for a specialist dealer of power equipment. It's an independent retailer with 1 shop, not a chain). I work 8 hours a day Monday to Friday and 4 hours every other Saturday (averages out at around 42 hours a week). Far less than I used to work when I was in the UK (not even taking overtime into account) with the added bonus of the fact that when I walk out the door I can't take work home with me! I'm not comfortable with giving figures for earnings, but what I will say is that, at the current exchange rate, I earn 15% more each year in Oz than I did in the UK in 2007 and I work less hours, have less hassle and less stress (and I did take overtime into account when working that %age out! Plus I'm salaried - I do not earn any commission from the sales I make). Would like to add that I reckon I've been VERY lucky landing the job / salary I have though, 'cos when I look what else is about that I could do (even in similar roles - unfortunately no call for my particular skills in Cairns at this time), generally I'd be earning what I was in the UK in '07 (using current exchange rates) - on the plus side though, earning my UK '07 salary here would be a lot less time consuming and a lot less stressful!

Proximity to the sea, rivers, rainforests, outback, the wildlife, stuff to do etc. It may be the OH’s hometown, but this definitely wasn’t the deciding factor in why we relocated here – we visited various places on the East Coast over the 5 years before we made the move to see what was best for us both and I honestly didn’t come across anywhere that was more ‘me’ than where I am now. No surprise that the OH was VERY happy with this decision and I figure that, deep down somewhere, maybe I have some Ozzie bogun in me :err:

You will need to enter Oz within 12 months of the date of the earliest check (police or medical), both of which are valid for 12 months. I'd personally have a think about front loading the app with these docs (but it will depend on your circumstances) - it may take 8 months + for the visa to be granted. Is 4 months (or less) enough time for you pack up and get over to Oz? For info I didn't front load and, from request for police and medical checks to visa grant it took approx. 2 months (this allowed, if needed, up to 10 months to sort things out before I had to set foot in Oz). Medical wise, have a look at this link: http://www.immi.gov.au/contacts/overseas/u/united-kingdom/panel-doctors.htm Best of luck with it all!

Oh yah, Ma’am, what a disgusting and strange sense of humor these people from the north must have?! Would you believe it, the original author even took part in the side railing of his own thread! Maybe they did so “for a laugh”, which I am led to believe is the Northern way of saying “for a giggle” or “for a chuckle”, but then again maybe the Northerners are just lacking something between the ears? Thank goodness that the thread is now back on track though! I would be very interested to discuss in further detail the statement: “Those dirty northerners” To ensure that this thread is not side railed any further than it already has been, if we are to discuss this statement in more depth I’d appreciate it if you could start a new thread titled “Those dirty Northerners” in the CTF forum and I (and others, I’m sure) will be along shortly. PS - Love the tag line PPS - am fully aware that I'm side railing this thread now (for which I apologize to Paul1977 and others that are reading), so please, no one comment on this thread regarding this fact

Had done the diggin before I saw your response, but there's a bit more to it than that now mate "To obtain a recreational marine driver licence in Queensland, people with a recognised overseas licence or qualification must contact an approved BoatSafe training provider for consideration and assessment under the recognition of prior learning process." http://www.msq.qld.gov.au/Licensing/Recreational/Overseas-licences.aspx RYA NPCL2 is a recognised overseas licence, so could theoretically be converted to an RMDL, however, I guess you'll have to pay for someone to "consider if it is acceptable" under the 'prior learning process' - I have no idea of how much though.

You will need to get a recreational marine driver licence (it is added to your car driving lience). It's a one day course and costs around $100-$150. They didn't previously recognise overseas quals to get the RMDL (you still had to do the one day course), however, I have a feeling that this may have changed earlier in the year. Will have a dig around later on today to find out for sure what the new requirements are.

Good point, but for the sake of the theoretical question asked, let's just assume that everything stays as is, other than the weather.

I'd never thought about that before now either, but answer honestly with 'yes' - I do the same stuff here (other than on a work level) as I did in the UK (all outdoors stuff, or else eating and drinking with mates somewhere). If the weather in Oz were to change to that of the UK it wouldn't make much difference to me at all - I'd just wear a jumper more often and a drysuit rather than a wetsuit.

We didn’t have anything substantial when we applied – no wills, no joint bank accounts, rental agreements etc (and different surnames, even though we were married). We sent them things such as bank statements showing transfers from my account to hers / hers to mine. Photos of us on hols together in various places. Xmas / valentines cards from each other. Flight itineraries, hotel bookings etc that had both our names on (print outs from e-mail confirmations of bookings etc). A few ticket stubs from flights showing we’d been on the same plane and were sat together (we’d purposefully kept a few for when we applied for my visa). A couple of wedding invites addressed to us both from my friends in the UK and hers in Oz. To be honest we sent just about anything we could that had both our names on it to show we were together (as we had nothing at all jointly) and that we had been together for X years (including a stack of old mobile phone bills with numbers highlighted from when she was in Oz and I was overseas). If you would like some pointers on what to include in your stat decs, drop me your e-mail address by PM and I'll send you a word doc over that contains an overview of what we included in ours. Best of luck with everything!

Apologies in advance, but what I’m about to write is gonna be a bit of a lengthy read, so I hope it is of use……….if you manage to make it through to the end! Housing: Oz: 3 bed detached house, 482m2 plot in a nice area of Cairns (no pool) = $1650 per month ($3.43 per m2) over 25 years (current costs). Total it will cost us to pay it off over the 25 years (if interest charges stay the same) = $495,000 ($1027 per m2) UK: 3 bed mid town house (if you want the posh version) / terrace (reality), 256m2 plot in an OK area in the NW of the UK = GBP 620 per month (GBP 2.42 per m2) over 30 years (costs from 2007). Total it would have cost us to pay it off over the 30 years (if interest charges stayed the same as they were in 2007) = GBP 223,200 (GBP 872 per m2) Workings Using the 2.2 conversion rate, if interest rates were to stay as they are, we’d be paying GBP 225,000 to buy our house in Oz / GBP 466 per m2 (not far off half the price per m2 than the house we had in the UK) Using the 2.6 conversion rate, if interest rates were to stay as they are, we’d be paying GBP 190,385 to buy our house in Oz / GBP 395 per m2 (just over half the price per m2 than the house we had in the UK) My opinion on this aspect In Oz for housing = better off I see comments that it seems expensive here to rent / buy. It is at first sight ‘cos it generally costs more (location dependent of course – cities cost LOTS more than regional towns), but have you considered what you actually get for the cash you pay each week / month? Our $1650 per month gets us a great house with space in (and around) it, plus we’re just a 10 min drive from work, the sea, rivers, mountains, slip ways and the town centre; 30 min from nice beaches (there are closer ones, but not ones that you’d want to sunbathe at) etc etc. Cars: Oz: Good, clean, mid spec RAV4 (no leather or sunroof), 3 year old auto (4x4), FSH from Toyota dealer, 2.4 VVTI, 72,000km (around 45,000 miles) $22,000 from a trader I’ll admit it took us 2 months to find this car, but, if you look hard enough for what you want, you’ll find it, at the right price….eventually (it took us 8 months to find the ‘right’ Hilux……) UK: Closest spec RAV to what we have in Oz = (from what I can gather from the net) around about GBP 11,500 (plus or minus a bit). *** Disclaimer, before someone has a shot ref: specifications *** From what I see on the net at this time (I haven’t lived in the UK since 2007) the UK doesn’t seem to have the same spec RAVs as the ones we have here in Oz. UK RAVs of ‘similar spec’ to ours have side steps, electric seat adjustment, 6 stack CD players and a 2.0 VVTI engine. Our RAV doesn’t have side steps (could fit some, but, as it’s an SUV, it is easy to get in and out of as it is, so would fitting side steps actually be of use or would they just be there to make the car look ‘pretty’?); it has seats that you have to position manually (such a chore) and it only has a single CD loader (does anyone use CD’s these days?). What our Oz RAV lacks in electric gizmos and prettiness against the UK RAV, it makes up for with the engine – a 2.4 VVTI. Workings based on the above Having paid $22,000 for the RAV we have here: Using the 2.2 conversion rate (if I look hard) I could theoretically buy my missus’s ‘equivalent’ car from a trader in the UK for GBP 10,000 (I find this realistic, if I haggle really, really well and they are needing to sell something) Using the 2.6 conversion rate (if I look hard) I could theoretically buy my missus’s ‘equivalent’ car from a trader in the UK for less than GBP 8,500 (I find this extremely unlikely) As an offside, using a 2.0 conversion rate (if I look hard) I could theoretically buy my missus’s ‘equivalent’ car from a trader in the UK for GBP 11,000 (not far off what they are asking in the UK) My opinion on this aspect If you look hard for what you want car wise here in Oz = better off Beers: Oz: 30 x 375ml cans of normal strength beer = $40 / $3.55 ish per litre UK: 24 x 500ml cans of normal strength beer = GBP 10 / GBP 0.84 ish per litre (that was in 2007 – has it gone up? If it has, the following will be wrong!). Workings based on the above Using the 2.2 conversion rate (per litre), in the UK I’d theoretically be paying GBP 1.61 ish per litre for my beer (close to double what it actually does cost!) Using the 2.6 conversion rate (per litre), in the UK I’d theoretically be paying GBP 1.37 ish per litre for my beer (more than 60% above what it actually costs!) My opinion on this aspect In Oz for beer = worse off IMO: At the end of the day it’s swings and roundabouts – the value of some things are higher in Oz than the UK and others less (particularly when you do the ‘exchange’ sums). Overall I reckon it all works out about the same though and, if you are earning $, you are spending $. It doesn’t matter what the exchange rate is, it costs in $ what it costs. The only times to be thinking ‘exchange rate’ (or theoretical exchange rate) is when looking at moving items or cash into or out of Oz. If someone were looking to make the move to Oz, to get a realistic view of how much is needed, the best thing would be to jump on the net and do some pretend shopping. Then knock a bit off (I'd go for 10%) 'cos you can always find stuff cheaper.

Happy to help! Am looking for something new myself at the mo ‘cos, although I enjoy what I’m doing currently, at the end of the day in my eyes it’s just a 'job' to earn some cash, not a career / what I am used to - what I do now is WAY out of my usual field of expertise ……but that's just a function of where I choose to live. I’m the complete opposite to your hubby..........I’m into fire engineering :wink:

Hoping one of these companies may be of interest / help to you: http://www.dawsonseng.com.au/ (QLD based company) http://www.konnecting.com/ http://www.isa.com.au/ Fingers crossed for you and best of luck with the move! :animal-frog:ian

Hi Manf! Have a look at this thread as it contains some info ref schools here in Cairns (sorry but cant personally help wih regards to this - give me another 4 or so years and I'll be able to though ;-) ) http://www.pomsinoz.com/forum/queensland/142540-cairns-schools-housing.html If you have queries regarding anything else in Cairns, shout up and if I can offer any help / assistance, I will mate. :animal-frog:ian

Leave it be if you spot it from a distance. If you don’t spot it until you're on it, particularly if it's backed up n ready to go (irrespective of whether it may be venomous or not), take a stride or two away, but not too quick if you can help it....and (not trying to worry you here) hope it's not an aggressive species. Have had 'pet' snake for a number of years and have come across snakes in the wild. Never been bitten by a wild snake, but have been by ‘pet’ snakes (not mine – handled from day 1 so used to people). A bit off topic (sorry mate), but for those reading who may be thinking of getting a snake as a ‘pet’, if it's ‘cheap’ and the owner won’t get it out of the vivarium and handle it, or says they wont get it out ‘cos it bites at the mo and just needs a bit of handling to get it used to people, please don’t buy it. You wont ever be able to handle it. How do you know if a snake you come across in the wild is venomous or not? That’s a VERY hard call that must be left to an expert (which I am definitely not) – there are snakes that look very similar and also mimic others out there. E.g. my milk snake (harmless) mimicked a coral snake (venomous), only difference being the order of colour banding. I have a couple of (non-scientific) theories to decide in my mind if a snake is likely to be venomous or not………wont share them on here though in case they are proved wrong down the line and someone gets hurt!

Sorry but can't comment on that particular accommodation (nor can the wife, who’s from round here) as we generally stay closer to town, but if it's 4.5 stars, I'm sure it'll be great! (all the places we've stayed in PD - hotels, holiday rental apartments / houses - have all been great (many that were rated less than 4.5 star!). Crispins Av is just off the main street that goes into PD from the highway (around 3-4km from where it all goes on, dependent on which end of it you are at), so it'll be around a 30-40 min walk (with stuff here and there on the way), however, the sun bus runs frequently (and from memory doesn't cost a lot - only used it a couple of times about 4 years back), plus, some of the accommodation run courteousy buses into town. Jan weather can be a bit hit and miss up here so one minute it can be beautiful sunshine and the next it will hammer it down for a bit and then clear up (you may get a run of days of sun....or a run of days of rain - plus it is pretty humid in Jan), however, the rain here doesn't stop things going on and at least it's always warm - just stick your shorts, T-shirt and flip-fops on and, if you do happen to get wet, you'll soon dry out! On a slight downside, Jan is in the cyclone season, although I'm led to believe that Feb / March generally have the highest rate (but then again there may not be one at all - didn't see one last year, but it did get pretty windy at times). Again, I'd go for it if I were in your shoes (have taken worse odds on hols in terms of weather (and social/political climate) in the past and all turned out really good!), but, if you aren't sure if it's for you, jump on the net and check out the general weather and temperature at that time of year, cyclone frequency etc and see if it's for you and yours. Have fun whatever you decide and where you go for your hols!