jac2011

Thanks everyone! Nice to know some of you realise that where there is a will there is a way! Many of us have been there and many of us have learnt from it.

I am no longer in a position where I have to spend so little on food, I do because I know I can and I know my children eat healthier than a lot of people I know. My slow cooker will cook a healthy meal 5 days a week, full of beans, lentils, lean meat, veggies (no salt or preservatives) and I also add things such as nuts and chia seeds to improve the nutritional value. We regularly have home made smoothies, where the only sweeteners my children will add are natural sources such as honey. My children again will add things such as walnuts and chia seeds without question. we buy carrier bags full of strawberries and raspberries at the moment on a Saturday afternoon for £5 per bag which we portion up and freeze for our smoothies. For breakfast they have shreddies, weetabix, porridge or fruit and fibre. We make our own flapjacks, again with nuts, seeds and honey. We bake our own breads. So yes for the budget I have in the UK we live pretty healthy. My children haven't an ounce of fat on them between them. They are also bounding full of energy. It may take a few weeks to work out which ingredients are in season, and where to source certain foods in Australia however, we certainly wont be living on supermarket bought breads or on beans on toast each day.

I don't quite understand the need for people to be so aggressive in their "advice" on this forum. Jac has quite clearly done extensive research and consulted the numerous professionals on this site and elsewhere.

Constructive advice is fine but yet again, it seems that people feel the need to spout their opinion without knowing all the details.

I can quite see how Jac will manage. Yes, costs are expensive, but there are ways to live cheaply. As a student, my husband and I lived on £14 a week for food (I am sure that people will now say that this was in the UK so impossible to do in Australia!!). You make do.

Frankly if it is all a disaster then so be it, but it seems to me that Jac has things very well planned out.

I think this is one of the reasons people frequent the forum less and less... I never said, that you can live an extravagant lifestyle but with one income earner and a reasonable salary anything is achievable. How do all the people on here who have commented expect the australian born folk who live in Australia earning less than the average wage to survive?

Also, if you leave the country before October you will have been out of the country for over six months of the UK tax year and will therefore be able to reclaim any tax paid you have paid up until then. Extra dosh!!

Thankyou, I am a bit of a geek so had already calculated this for both me and hubby. That will be going towards the 'extra' fund that we are hoping will go towards our deposit! I can also reclaim student loan payments back for 14/15 which are over £600 due to only working for 6 months. Every little helps!

Thanks Gbye grey sky's.

We are not expecting to live and be 'rich' off one salary but we know we could survive. From what I have read on this forum almost all families migrate with only one income earner initially and there are a hell of a lot of nurses doing this and to more expensive places. I think, anything is possible if you want to make things work enough, we are realistic, we don't want materialistic things until we are in a position to afford them and as long as we keep our feet on the ground and take things one step at a time I think families can survive off one income. Yes, this will scare those with a higher cash flow but this thread will also scare others who were tempted to come but will now believe that a nurses salary is not enough to live off.

I will be back in a years time to tell my story, and I will feedback on the negativity of so many posters on this forum. Initially when I first joined (different user name which I forgot) I worked in finance and I did query whether I should migrate. I was basically told as i had children with an ex-partner 'NO' I could not. A few years later I came back querying my options as I was considering retraining as a nurse... I was told this was a ridiculous idea and that by the time I had retrained I would probably be not entitled to a visa. I was told I wouldn't find a permanent job offer before arrival. I did.

In my home life, I was told being 9 months pregnant during an interview at uni, I would never get offered a place on a nursing degree due to all the competition for places... I did, despite no healthcare experience. I was told a mum to three children (one young baby) could not complete a degree... I did, with my husband working 140 miles away and not living with me for 6 months. We were told we were ridiculous in renting a lovely 4 bed detached house with gorgeous country gardens on a student bursary was unrealistic. Not only did we rent that house, we paid off all our debts and saved up money for the visa process. I was told I would not get a UK nursing job until near the end of my degree. I did, 10 months before I qualified and I got one of the highest salaries of my entire cohort.

So, forgive me when I continue to fight my cause when people tell me it is not achievable because I know what I am capable of, I have done hours of research each week since 2008 and I have helped so many people also pursue this pathway due to the knowledge I have gained. I believe life is about your outlook. Life in Australia is not about a large house, fancy furniture or meals out. It is about being financially comfortable in the long run, having space for my children to run around and a place we can call home.

It sounds like that you are well organised and used to budgeting, as many people on here are.

 

I do not think anybody is meaning to insult you dampen your spirits in any way. However, I do believe that you are being somewhat unrealistic too, Australia is very expensive and you are not budgeting for unforeseen circumstances, such as a job taking months to come to fruition.

 

You will be on a modest salary (for a family of five) to begin with, so it is important to be aware. Good luck with your move and plans.

I have a job offer, a contract and a start date???? I have 3 months worth of living expenses and I have around $5-$10k extra as emergency funds, which hopefully we wont need and can go towards a deposit. How on earth is that unrealistic?

jac, Is your $5 to $10K in equity all the money you will be bringing over ?

It really does not sound like much. It is slightly concerning to me if you have no real financial backing and just relying on grants etc.

 

I hope you are right about finding jobs easily for your husband but a buffer of savings would be best in case things don't go as easily as you are expecting.

We have a months free accommodation as part of my job offer. We have 3 months worth of rent payments, food $200pw, spends $200pw, utilities $500pm and our rental deposit saved up in a seperate fund. The extra on top of this is what we are hoping will go towards the deposit. This should be around a 5% deposit figure but as you point out we may need that to help with furniture or other costs. We had 3 months worth of living costs saved up in case I didn't secure a job, but I secured a job 6 months before leaving the UK despite being told that was impossible with QLD health. Not only did I secure a job, they offered me accommodation, taxi's and a food package. So technically we have 4 months of living costs before I have to eat into the salary I am being paid.

In all honesty, I have to agree with the other posts on here that you're being unrealistic.

 

As a new migrant, it's a huge leap of faith to assume you'll get a 95% LTV mortgage. If you are being offered this, what interest rates are you being quoted? Normally, anything under a 20% deposit needs an additional guarantee payment on top of your deposit and you'll pay much higher interest to offset the risk the bank is taking on you.

 

Unfortunately, $65K is a pretty modest salary here. The average wage may be quoted as something like $50K, but that also includes lots of people who live at home, flat share or have a spouse earning more. You'll be left with under $4K a month after tax and you'll need to stump up at least $1K a month on normal living expenses, $500 on bills, $500 to keep a car on the road, $200 on medical insurance (or pay the same in the Medicare Levy Supplement), so take out your mortgage payment and you're likely already in the red before you've even begun to do anything outside the basics.

 

It's a bloody expensive place.

 

Sorry if this is harsh, but better to hear the truth now than six months in to a mortgage you can't afford.

Again, I never stated we would get a mortgage based on one salary. I stated on arrival we could survive on once income until my husband finds work.

In response to initial living costs, we have a month's worth of free accommodation included in my job offer. Then I will have 3 months worth of living costs in my savings account before the 5% figure I quoted. So we will have plenty to survive on initially.

I don't drive so will be living within cycling distance of the hospital. So I will not need $500pm for a car. Add to this $600pf from family tax/rent assistance etc and I do think it is achievable. Of course, this is only for 4 months, but if it is longer we can cut our cloth as necessary. On a previous thread no one believed I could feed a family of 5 on £70 a week on healthy meals and packed lunches, but I do and often have money to spare. We will be arriving with a suitcase each of new clothing and shoes.

I listen to all you are saying, but this is all truly a worst case scenario and we wouldn't buy a house till we were comfortable doing so. Based on my husbands salary we have been advised we could get a mortgage for over double the house price we are looking for... Does that mean we will? No... We have other plans and once my husband is in employment we will still live as thriftily in order to afford other things in life we want to achieve.

In Townsville we can easily rent a property for $1600, we believe that we can buy food for $800pm (which is almost 3x our uk spend). We will have no travel costs, no school costs (our children are not starting till jan 16), and we will have pre-payment sim's (currently £12pm each in the UK). We currently have no TV services (bar netflix) in the UK so don't pay out for that and will happily go without in Australia. We don't eat out, with 3 children it's more enjoyable at home and due to being a good cook we prefer home cooked meals. With an income of around $5200pm on arrival I think it is achievable. We wont be having private medical cover until my husband is in employment however, if anyone is ill and needs to pay for healthcare, we will have the money in savings. I have heard it a million times before in the UK, people telling me we couldn't afford our lovely large country home in an affluent area in the UK based on my income, we did and we had money to spare. I am surprisingly good with managing my finances and I know this can work. If we have months where we cant save, or my husband doesn't get a job come Jan 16 then so be it, we don't mind renting for a little while longer. We don't live beyond our means and we go without luxuries.

I didn't mean to insult you.

 

According to this website, the average Qld full time salary for 4th quarter 2014 was $75,759. Your projected salary is $64,500 + 15% allowances = $74,175. I know this sounds like a king's ransom whe you are looking at UK salaries and doing the conversion (I remember thinking the same) but onjce you live in Australia, you tend to see a different perspective. That is, the average full time salary is not great and most people tend to think in terms of household incomes (as you will once your partner is earning too).

 

The housing market is precarious right now. People are expecting a drop in prices. This means the appetite to offer high percentage loans (loan to value ratio - LVR) is evaporating. These days, for a 5% deposit, a lender would want to see at least a year of stable employment; bonuses may not be taken into account; there would be an unwillingness to lend more than 3 times salary, and recent migrants would be seen as especially high risk. There is also a good chance that the lender would get sticky about what constituted "genuine savings" for the purposes of the deposit. I am guessing that in a year's time, the appetite for 95% loans would be even lower if they are available at all.

 

You should also be aware that the first year of living in Australia will be especially expensive as you will be starting up from scratch. Money seems to leak everywhere, however hard you try to stop it. It won't be a time for saving.

 

As I say, I am not trying to insult you. I hope eerything works out. But from what you posted, your expectations did not look realistic.

Well obviously I should be taking your advice rather than a well sourced mortgage advisor who is well known to this forum... Obviously his advice was all wrong according to your facts!!!

I have continually relocated on several occasions and I am well aware of start up costs and how to survive during this period. I am well aware of how to survive whilst living on next to no money as I was a student for 3 years.

And house prices dropping is all relative, at the end of the day the loan to value is only important if you want to sell. I am buying to live for the long term.

I am pretty certain that by the time we will move over we will have around 5% of the deposit saved anyway but in the interim until my husband is in employment our primary aim is to save for the house deposit. So we will more than likely have a lot more. People stated in the UK it would be impossible to have our current joint income and save the amount we needed to migrate... We have not only done what we said we would do, but we have had a holiday in between and saved over and above what we planned without having to borrow a penny.

Is that definitely the case with the deposit? It must be different in Queensland then because we weren't able to use our grant, in our case $7000 towards the deposit.

From the Bank of Queensland website:

[h=4]Your deposit[/h]You will need to have savings of at least 5% of your first home loan amount and the more you save, of course the better position you’ll be in. If you have less than 20% deposit, you most likely will need to take Lenders Mortgage Insurance. As a first home buyer, you may be eligible for the First Home Owner Grant (FHOG) which can contribute towards your deposit. This is a government scheme that assists first homeowners like you purchase or build your first home.

If you’re just starting to get that deposit together, we can help you reach your deposit goal faster with one of our great interest savings accounts.

Is that definitely the case with the deposit? It must be different in Queensland then because we weren't able to use our grant, in our case $7000 towards the deposit.

This is what I have seen during my research:

Can the First Home Owners Grant be my deposit?

Yes you can use the FHOG as your deposit. However it isn’t normally enough on its own.

• You can use our FHOG calculator to see which grants you are eligible for.

• If you are building a home then your grant is not available until construction commences.

• In total you will typically need 5% to 10% of the purchase price, including the FHOG.

• If you have a guarantor then you do not need any savings whatsoever.

I am not saying it is an ideal situation and I don't presume it will be but once my husbdand and I are both in work we will easily be able to find above and beyong the 5%. However, initially when we arrive we are hoping to be able to live off one salary and family tax benefits until my husband can start work and I believe we can save too. Baring in mind, we have no debts and will not be borrowing once we arrive.

As a new migrant, I think you would really struggle to get a 95% loan, especially on a property priced at $400,000 on a modest salary. I had difficulty getting a mortgage even on a 20% deposit with a higher salary at a time of housing price boom. Would it be possible to talk to a mortgage broker to get a realistic idea of what you should be aiming for?

I have already discussed this with Andrew from Vista and I will take his advice. My salary with shift allowances will be above the QLD 2014 average salary so I think calling it modest is a little bit of an insult to the many nurses earning similar on this forum. And seen as if you had read my post when we went for a mortgage it would also be based on my husbands salary. My original post was not stating any of the facts that you have jumped to the conclusion of. Mearly stating that initially we can and will survive on one salary and I have spoken to many nurses who have done similar.

I never said a 20% deposit???? I will be putting down a 5% deposit and will be entitled to $15,000 through the new build grant in QLD (which can go towards the deposit too), so a home for $400k for example soon becomes easily achievable within a year, and yes my husband will be earning a similar salary once he starts work at the end of January and with his current experience and contacts he has made he is certain he will pick up a job when the time comes.

The deposit potential also includes around $5,000-$10,000 we are hoping to have in equity when we move over seen as I will be starting work straight away and not needing the buffer we had initially in case I couldn't find work.

RNB. We will be arriving on one income for at least 4 months. My basic is only $64900 and the rest will be any allowances I earn for shift allowances, perhaps 15% extra. I still believe without spending like fools that we will easily achieve this. We are not expecting to arrive and buy brand new cars or get loans etc. We still believe from all our resources that we will be fine and able to save for a deposit for our house, although this will be easier when hubby starts work (start of the academic year).

I still love this thread and always love when it appears in my feed! Keep these stories appearing please...

AHPRA cost me just under £300 in total but it was just before the new criminal checks.

Total cost for one person will probably equate to around £4000 just for the visa, ahpra, anmac, ielts, paperwork etc (maybe a little over estimated but perhaps safest way). However, also be warned you will need flight money, accomodation money on arrival as you may not start work for a few months, spending money, initial deposit for a rental property, deposits for utilities perhaps etc. All in total we are estimating a minimum spend of £16k for 2 adults and 3 children and perhaps £20k hopefully saved by the time we fly so we have a little extra in the bank. Our visa however is £4200 and flights have cost £2100 one way for 5 of us. So those costs add up.

As a single person you could couch surf for a while if you feel up to it.

I chose the Adelaide office as I heard they were quick (took 8 days after receipt of all docs) however, due to family (in-laws) being there you wont see me anywhere near Adelaide haha. I did notice I posted my docs to Adelaide but some were scanned on in Sydney, I don't know if that's just the way it's scanned on the system. Adelaide are currently closed I believe for a refurb, not sure if it will effect time scales.

You only need to send a copy of your passport at this time, the rest you present when you are in australia.

Gayle I am 32 and have 3 months work experience as a degree registered MH nurse. If you can get your visa application in before you turn 33 I think you will have the same 65 points I will have.

I have sent AHPRA and ANMAC applications at the same time. Though I would focus on ANMAC first and then a few days later do the AHPRA application. Get everything certified at the same time as if you go to your local magistrates court it's usually a one off fee for everything. Then if I forgot anything I go to my local solicitors who charge £5 per document.

Also what slowed me down was NMC, so email their verifications team today asking for a verification form to be sent to you. This info is on the NMC website. They are so slow at sending this and then processing it when they receive it. They messed me about and I have spent 3 months with them wasting my time. When you get the form make sure you state you want the verification form sending to ANMAC and AHPRA. I only put AHPRA initially and when I called (same day as posting) to see if they could add ANMAC they refused and said it would cost me an additional £34.

Good Luck!

Thanks. I do 39.5 hour shifts and have done plenty of overtime but it didnt state this on my letter.

Gayle, where do you have that information from?

How lovely for you but what a shame for your daughter having to live with that guilt. I hope when she returns her mum realises what she has done and really makes an effort to be part of their lives.

Carrie if you want me to send you a copy of the ANMAC checklist then send me a message on FB. You get an email with this when you pay the fee. I wish it was more readily available before the process as I would have held off getting my documents certified.

I am a little confused as I forwarded my in October but NMC have only just forwarded my verification certificate so I have now idea when to expend news...