Sapphire

Front loaders are silly money here, really expensive, so I would bring it, just change the plug,when you get here We were told fridges/TVs and washing machines would not work, by our removal company, so left them all behind Wish we had brought them now, as they would of been just fine

Getting a job does seem to be a problem, for many Not as easy as some make out Feel so sorry for those that seem to be learning the hard way Doesant seem to matter what state you are in, its pretty awful for a lot of people now,Aussies included

Completely understand what you are saying, but its a huge risk to come all this way, and not be able to get work, and then have to turn around and head back to the UK, especially when you have paid for shipping/flights/pets ,and air fares to get here, then you have to pay for it all back to the UK again.I think the visa fees for anyone in this situation, are the very least of their worries Accomodation can be booked from the UK, most people go into short term rented apartments/holiday lets when they get here anyway, and this can be booked from the UK easily.Thats usually as simple as booking a holiday Most people find it takes a while to get secure long term rental accomodation,once they arrive, so I doubt many would be trying to book that before they arrive Alot of employers will offer Skype and telephone interviews now. If you are in a sought after occupation, employers will go out of their way,especially if they have a shortage of your particular skill here. But for many ,,,,skills that were once in demand , are no longer ,due to the amount of Aussies that are unemployed ,especially in construction I would rather be in the UK applying for jobs here, than having had all the costs involved to get here, and then taking the risk that I wont get employment Its a huge gamble

Its not just the Gold Coast,,,everywhere is pretty tough I wouldent risk coming to Aus without a job, or accomodation now Plenty who do and it works for them, but plenty who end up in a mess as well

Seems to be Australia wide now, so many unemployed Aussies,Building Industry at its worst for years,prices rocketing,Retail struggling I wouldent take the risk now,of coming without securing employment and somewhere to live We have seen massive changes in 5 years,it was tough to get work when we came, but I would not risk everything now,especially with a family in tow, and not a lot of money , behind me, just in case When I look back at our arrival, I cringe, and thank our lucky stars,that we did manage to get ourselves sorted,it was more luck than judgement We had no-where to stay, and knew no-one How lucky were we,??? that we managed to get sorted out But it was unpleasant, highly stressful and it cost a heck of a lot of money,just to survive,far more than we had ever anticipated If I had to do it again, I would make sure everything was in place for my arrival, accomodation,work etc I hope everyone comes here and finds well paid work, and homes and it all falls into place, but the reality is a lot do not,and everyone needs to be realistic, and be prepared for that .Its not negative, its commonsense. We were lulled into a false sense of security,we dismissed the negative stuff we read and heard, and I know when you are emigrating,its very easy to do that.You want your new life to be everything you imagined and more,but you have to have a plan B,just in case Times are tough out here now, and I think everyone has to be very realistic,that theres a high chance it might not be "all-that", and the jobs may not be there We thought, if we couldent get work, we would just go to another state,,,,,,,,,,until we looked at the cost of doing that,,OMG Everywhere is so far apart, it costs a whole load of money,far more than you think, and if you are running out of money, or havent got a lot to start with, its not an option for many

maybe read the other post on news chat and dilemmas weve nearly run out of money (nearly),,,Eeeekkk I would be securing jobs before risking being in the situation, those poor people are in

Really feel for you guys, but I feel sure you will be fine, once you get home, and everything will fall into place xxx

You must of seen some massive shanges over the years Zee We have seen alot of changes in the last 5 years,and even now when I look back, to when we arrived, I thank my lucky stars that we managed to buy a house, and sort out some work.Its far more difficult to secure work now, and the money you bring vanishes very fast, and thats only on essentials and day to day surviving.Its very tough Would I move to another area, in the UK, that I dont know, and give up my home, my job, my family support network, and not know if I was ever going to get a job in the area, or if I would be unable to find any accommodation???? No I would not, but I like many others took that risk, but came all the way to the other side of the world ?????? Would I ever risk it again? Absolutely no

Oh dont get me wrong Zee, we dident expect to come here and get everything given to us, but the point I am trying to make, is about how tough it can be, and say, "you dont get any help", even if you think there may be some sort of support network when you emigrate Once you are here, you are on your own, and it can be exceedindly tough I dont think many,realise how many obstacles and hurdles there are ,to get accomodation and jobs etc No matter how determined you may be,to make it work , sometimes it just doesant happen that way, and it turns into a complete disaster

Build costs are phenominal now.The problem, we have down here, for a lot of people, is the build costs are exceeding the value of the finished property We have several people around, where we are, who have built a basic 24sq home,which has cost them about $12000/$14000 per square minumum, the land has cost them $100,000, and the other costs are then to be added Lots of the Builders here now,dont include plans/council/building permits/carpets, and the allowances for kitchens,Tiles etc, are extremely low, so you guarantee you "blow out "on those There are soil tests to pay for, plus, all of the fencing and landscaping.Driveway and paths Telstra/Aurora/Watermeter costs None of this is included Guarantee that you will get a nice final bill for extras,that you hadnet budgeted for The only way you can save is to be "owner/Builder", which is a very simple process,and I would personally advise anyone to go that way, if they are planning to build Its mind blowing getting lots of quotes and organising your tradies, but there are massive savings to be made, and I just love being in charge of Aussie Tradies on site....lol

Totaly agree VeryStormy,with your post We were in contact with the Government dept here, by email , they sent us newspapers, and litreture telling us, how wonderful everything was, and they encouraged us, to come here They would help us find accomodation on arrival, help us hire a car, take us around and show us where everything was,,,so many promises Fantastic we thought We phoned them from Melbourne airport as arranged, and had been told if we let them know our flight times, there would be a 'Meet and Greet" at the airport... Only to be told, the girl we had been dealing with had gone on leave, and wouldent be back for 2 years,,,,yes 2 years And the woman we spoke said'Dont know what you are talking about, we cant help you, with any of that!!! OMG So we boarded the plane, got here, and managed to find our way to a grotty motel,,,,,,my dog would of complained Thankfully we made our way, and the rest is history, but my point is,,,,theres no help whatsoever,we could be sleeping on park benches for all anyone cared The funniest thing was though, I made a stinking complaint to the boss of the department, and he gave me "lip-service" and apolgised for the inconvienience, as they do He then phoned me several months later to say they were looking for migrants to do an interview for Australia And New Zealand magazine, and would we be interested ,in telling them what a wonderful experince we had , and about the help we had received????? haha Needless to say,,I never heard from them...lol

We pay through the nose for Healthcare here as well,nothing FREE that I have found My Doctor charges $67 a visit and if you are in there for more than 10minutes, its a double appointment, so thats $$124, and you only get $30something back off medicare still My Dentist charged $450, for a filling,,,,wont be going back there again To get a repeat perscription from the Drs is $10, then you have to pay at the chemist for the drugs Blood test cost me $180, and every visit to the Drs, even for something minor, will of course mean he wants to refer you to one of his "golfing buddies" for specialist treatment I envy the people on here, who have a bulk bill Dr,,,wish I did...lol When I remember what the NHS gave us back home,,,,,,I wont be moaning about it again I know its pretty grim in parts of the UK, but I was always extremely happy with the service, my family receives

You dont realise what you have, till its not there anymore Im the same,,,keep your sunshine,I miss my life, and my home comforts, more than I ever imagined Feel so, for the newbies arriving, crap exchange rate, unable to get jobs,money running out fast.I know there are those its all great for,,,but I think theres plenty its pretty awful for .You dont think it will ever happen to you, what a shock when it does Where do you draw the line, and say enough is enough?

As Brits we dont get any help or support on arrival, or whilst we are in OZ, other than through great sites like PIO I notice here, and Im sure its the same in most of OZ, that the migrants from third world countries get given everything on arrival There are numerous charities,churches, and resourse centres, where they receive accomodation, food, and yes lots of cash (I worked for one of the large banks here, and witnessed the VERY large amounts of money that they paid in from various charities) Same as the UK, I hear lots of you say,,,,,,,,,,,,,,but my point is, its a far easier transition for them We are 'on our own;, and its 'make or break', theres no inbetween If you havent got the finances, you cant survive on fresh air I would rather be in the UK, anyday, than homeless,hungry and jobless in a foreign country So often people say about moving states, but whilst in essence thats a great idea, a move interstate is VERY expensive, and its a huge gamble.You may just be going from the frying pan , into the fire Where do you draw the line?? and say ok, enough is enough Personally had our savings got much lower than they did, we would of had no choice, but to head home straight away.We would of had no choice, no-one is going to feed and house us Its very easy to go home with nothing. Whether you love Aus or not, you can not survive on fresh air

Theres another post, just popped up in 'news,chats and dillemmas" help we've nearly run out of money!!! Personally I would rather be in the UK, where I know I can get help,stay with friends,if I run out of money, hence why I think so many have no choice but to head home Sometimes you just cant fight it any longer If you have run out of money here, you are not going to get any help whatsoever, you are on your own, unless you are lucky enough to have relatives or friends to stay with here For us, it was never an option, we knew no-one At some points we thought we would be sleeping on a bench in city park We were at breaking point,but managed to find a house, just in the nick of time 5 years ago, when we came, jobs were easier to secure in construction, albeit, we would of cleaned toilets, if we had to I can so easily see how people go home, with nothing, when you make a big desicion to emigrate,whether it be to OZ or anywhere Would I do it again, and risk everything I have,everything I have worked for in the UK, would I leave all my security and support network behind? Not for anything,,,,,certainly knowing what I do now, and seeing it go so wrong for so many Thats my personal feelings, obviously there are many it has worked out for, but I could never do it again

I really feel for you, and hope you get sorted soon Its scary how quick those $s vanish,and when there is no end in sight,its an awful situation We were astounded at how much we spent in the first few weeks,just trying to survive We dident have jobs, and watched our savings get eaten very fast,that was just on accomodation and food, and essentials.We were so shocked, The jobs here are a lot harder to get now, as there are so many Aussie people unemployed,especially in construction We have managed to be ok, financially, but it has been through sheer luck,but we are still heading home We have found the whole experience of coming to Aus, a very expensive one, and looking back, it makes me break into a cold sweat,when I think of how close we were to loosing everything I do wish you well,its a horrid time for you PM me if you ever want to chat x

Ive a funny feeling I know the company, as we had exactly the same problems Total disgrace,with packing, so much stuff broken or damaged Also our receipt and documents were all sent to the address they had moved us from in the UK !!!!!!!!!!!, , to an empty house If its who I think it is, they dont want to know, and you will have a fight on your hands we got 40pounds per item from them,,,,,dident even begin to pay for my leather sofa, they packed a rotary washing line on top of that, and then wrapped the sofa in brown paper and stood it up on its side They were exceedindly rude, from the moment they knew they had the job, and we had paid them our money The woman in their office was a complete and utter nasty peice They advertsie in magazines and we met them at a London Expo,,,,,,,,,,,,sort of thought cos they were at a Aussie Expo, they would be good,,,, Hope you get sorted

I wish we had kept our house and not given up all our ties in the UK, and rented here.But I never expected to be going back to the UK I wish we had kept our bank accounts, as they are a real pain to set up,when you have been away for a few years Aus is an adventure,but migration, shipping etc,etc, is a very expensive business, and the budget once you arrive can blow out, very fast Quite scary how much we spent,just surviving,for the first 4 weeks until we could get a house. Those $s, went very quickly,so I can easily see how people get in trouble, especially if they can not secure work

Great to hear that Connie Not long for us now,,,,,,yipeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee

Thay are supposed to give you 24 hours notice, down here in Tas,,,,but having said that the landlords can be a "rule to themselves", and to be honest you havent got many options for complaint if they dont A word of warning , dont think for 1 minute that you will be able to "sneak" your dog in ,because this is a very small place, everyone knows everyone, or they are related in some way, and most people will know who the landlord is, and will be on the phone to him, within minutes,to let them know you have a dog. There are some landlords who will accept pets, but they are very few and far between Some of the "grottier" properties may let you keep a dog outside Just as an example, when we first arrived, we were staying in a cheap motel, until we could get somewhere to live.Our cats were in quarantine in melbourne, and we went and got them a new litter tray, for when we picked them up, and brought them home Anyway, we left the new litter tray in the room, with all of our stuff we were stopped from entering the motel, on our return, as the cleaner had told the motel owner we had cats in the room!!!! which of course we dident, and she could see that it was new tray, ,all wrapped in plastic,but evenso,,,they wanted to chuck us out!!!

I think you are correct in what you say Sunshine111, I wouldent risk it now, with the exchange rate,with a family to think of And Yes I think there are many more Its a dreadful situation for some

If the money runs out,then that is a huge issue If you cant find a job, get somewhere to live, and have to watch all you have worked for dwindle to nothing,then I think its a whole different ball game Its not just about how much you come here with,,,its whether things work out for you or not How do you cope with going back to the UK, with nothing My friends gave up lovely houses, good jobs,and they were convinced they would have even better lives here. But it just dident go that way, and you cant live on fresh air, if things dont work out I agree money is not the be all and end all,,,,,,,,,but once the money runs out, you dont have too many choices

Its a very difficult scenario Both lots of people I knew were here for over 5 years, one was in Adelaide and the other on the Gold Coast If it could of gone wrong for them,,,it did They tried so hard to make it work, but when you have such bad luck, it is just so hard, and when the money runs out,,,,what the heck do you do??? we are all in different situations,and none of us know whats going to happen We are going home with a bit more than we came with, but its been "more luck than judgement" we could of so easily been a "disaster" story. I thank my lucky stars that we can go back,and have a deposit to buy another home Its always too easy to say "we will be fine, it wont happen to us" The whole process of coming to Oz, visas,travel, shipping and ressettlement costs are huge, and then you have to live once you get here So many people have nothing to fall back on, if they cant get a job,or the job they have come for, is not quite what they were told it was going to be So many scenarios, but I dident ever think of that when we were emigrating We could not of afforded to get home otherwise, and I dread to think how we may of ended up You are so right Zee, the "new life" scenario can over ride everything

Something I have never seen asked on PIO The reason I ask is a couple of people i know, came out to OZ,with money from the sale of their UK homes and savings Things dident work out, one way or another, loosing jobs, not being able to find work,high cost of living, and their savings went very quickly They have both returned to the UK, with their families, in a dire financial state, one now rents a caravan in Southend, and she will never own her own home again,due to her age etc One family couldent even afford to ship back thier little dog, he had to be rehomed, and she had to sell of her furniture,as she could not afford shipping costs We all think we will be ok, and when we plan this journey of a lifetime, I think most of us convince ourselves that we are making a one way trip I never expected to be returning to the UK,when I left,so if someone had asked me what I would do, if I lost everything here, I think I would of just thought"oh everything will work out for us, we will get jobs, and be fine, we wont come back, we will be ok" But what happens if it all goes wrong To go back with nothing, or far less than what you came with That is something most of us never think will happen to us I wonder if its far more common than we know? How do people cope,with loosing everything they have worked for,when it all goes wrong in Oz, and they have to head back to the UK