jac2011

As a mum to three children I would suggest saving as much money as possible to make the move over and also to complete adequate research (mara agent) to ensure you can get a visa before you consider a holiday. If money is no object then have a holiday but otherwise part of the adventure is being somewhere new. You don't say if you are a single mother or not but consider areas with a good support network. Sydney is very expensive and is supposedly a very different lifestyle for families than it is for single individuals. Have you sought permission from the father of your son as this can also have a huge significance into whether you can legally make the move. If you are prepared to hold back the move and just want a holiday first, then by all means go over but go over with a clear mind knowing whether it is a realistic option or not. The worst thing for prospective migrants is to get their hopes up and find they cannot go.

Congratulations Geosurfer, glad to see the phonecalls are still generating grants! I handed my notice in yesterday too, great feeling hey!

Good luck to all you guys still waiting for your visa! :-)

Loulou you dont have to supply this. You just need to provide evidence of your name (passport and any name changes). I asked the same question hehe

I am a nurse and I will be the only working until next year when hubby starts work hopefully in line with the academic year. My son is 5 in December and starts school Jan 16. No point putting him in childcare till then!

adele, I certainly will. Like Pom Queen the scenary of Cairns and the style of the houses with the large green mountainous back drops were what attracted us. We want to live in a tropical, fresh, clean environment and for us we felt this was offered in northern QLD. I love cities dont get me wrong, but with three children even with a city on my doorstep we only nip in every few months. For us Townsville has an ever expanding airport and relatively cheap flights to most the major cities on the east coast, so we take advantage of Brisbane, Sydney, Melbourne in the future for mini weekends away. Cairns is a 4 hour drive North and Airlie Beach and the Whitsunday Islands 2 hours south. This offers us the opportunity to have day trips or overnight visits or even a week away with the children with only a small outlay in petrol. Even Port Douglas is a short drive away in reality. So for us, when we looked at the positives and negatives we were certain the positives outweighed the negatives. My favourite part seems to be Magnetic Island just a 20 minute ferry ride away! I am hoping at some point in the future we can purchase a holiday let there. We would love to have a bolt hole for weekends and to ensure we can kayak, scuba dive, cycle at the drop of a hat. Due to the lower house prices we will have a lower mortgage, less outgoings and more money to enjoy the life we are going for.

Cairns does appeal and does look amazing, property prices are low and the house style's are beautiful. However, if your into electronics, then the hospitals, cinema's, university etc in Townsville would surely offer more opportunities.

Iv never heard this at all from anyone living in Townsville and a check of the local paper every few days shows me that the city is doing well and expanding therefore creating more jobs. It is the largest city outside of Brisbane and has a large university, a large hospital, a few private hospitals, lots of shopping centres, 3 cinema's and some restaurants that foodies class as some of the best in Australia. There will always be the odd person who dislikes an area.

@adele I have been advised to avoid Rasmussen, Condon and Kelso but again that is only from speaking to a few people. Everyone has their own views. Bushland Beach looks amazing but apparently travel into the city from northern locations can be tricky in high rainfall and if there are traffic issues. I am looking at Idalia, Douglas and Annandale. Possibly Mount Louisa. I wont know till I get there though but I want to head as south as possible for the hospital.

Thankyou :-)

Part of my agreement with the ex for him allowing us to leave with the children was to let the children keep his name and for him to retain custody. This assured him we were not implying we wanted him to be removed permanently from their lives.

I hope your move goes well! I am sure time will fly and the anxiety is natural. As for men... I do think they are a dying breed! My husbands idea of helping out is to get his teeth done at the dentist!

I never did get an email reply from my CO, if you have queries your best calling them.

So happy it's climbed to high!

John that is a lovely offer. We are so worried about settling in or being isolated. Is there a better way to get in touch? We arrive around the 22nd of September and have a few weeks accommodation sorted so far... Thankyou

I think it's just me and you @The Pom Queen I have spent a few months trying to track down a social group, much like the perth poms, brisbane poms and adelaide poms all seem to have but I am having no luck. Seems like there was a mass exodus to Townsville a few years ago but nothing much since??? Sounds hard to believe seen as the city is expanding rapidly.

Im trying to get hold of anyone in Townsville looking to meet up once we arrive in September, is anyone still using this forum? If there are any fellow Brits wanting to meet and greet we are 2 adults (early 30s) with 3 children DD 11 DS 9 and DS 4. Be nice to have a social circle on arrival.

Redlynch appealed to us in our research as the public school I believe is really good!

No tips, we are moving to Townsville (4 hours drive south) as it offered more work opportunities but our hearts are in Cairns and maybe one day we will move up there or have a holiday home there. I have read there aren't too many jobs outside of hospitality but if you have work lined up then that is good. There are always going to be positives and negatives to every place in Australia but if you want something bad enough then you will be fine. We move in 9 weeks and 4 days.

My friend is out on a WHV at the moment and she too had to rush home last year when her brother had a serious tumor on his brain. She returned to Oz with the plan to continue working but then with little notice when she thought he was recovering he was diagnosed with terminal cancer. So yes, I also agree, we don't know people's reasons. My friend stayed at home to support her mum through the funeral and slightly afterwards as all her family lived abroad. I am sure she would have loved to have used every day of that visa but some things are unpredictable and do take up a large proportion of the time given expectantly. I think it's fair to say dont judge unless you know someone.

Good luck guys, I am sure you wont have the wait us April bunch had! I bet they will roll in fast now!

Happy birthday, what a great day for a visa grant! now I presume you wont be asking for any other presents haha

Mine was 5 years from date of grant not 5 years from date of PCC.

Congratulations everyone, lots of grants firing through now! How exciting... It is our turn finally!

I cant ever remember anyone providing an adelaide number. I think that this is the main contact point. CONGRATULATIONS to those that called and got a grant! Seems like the sure fire way to get your visa at the moment! Worth staying up for wasn't it ;-)