kevsan

WFH / Hybrid is still a thing and certainly more companies are open to it. There are some sections of the economy more flexible than others - i think that public sector are keen to get people in more and more.

I work for a large corporate IT company in Melbourne that has offices all over the world and works with a customers across all sectors. All are still accepting WFH / Hybrid is the current normal... I've worked for the last 6 months with a bank and it was all remote except for a 2 day workshop in Sydney that was face to face. Just about to start with a superannuation company and they are talking about up to 2 days in the office - but this is a project specific thing to get people working together and start things off rather than a mandated everyone at their desks kind of thing.

If you can, i would certainly get a WFH/hybrid clause written into any contract going forward so if things change significantly there are some protections - whether that's feasible is on a case by case basis during the negotiation stage, but its definitely a thing.

As above our company is very much work where makes sense for you... hopefully that lasts - only time will tell.

11 hours ago, mt9754 said:

Ah I saw that, and a lot of options (E10?!)

E10 is 10% ethanol - some car engines can use it. My holden can - it would say on the inside of the filler cap usually. If it doesnt say, probably wise not to use it

there is an old blog post here:

https://platinumfreight.com.au/blog/importing-caravans-australia-uk/

but the guys still operate - so you could give them a call.

I think the conversion costs can stack up too - but you still might come out ahead

Just seen on my timeline that 5 years ago today, i packed our movecube and waved it off. Lots of drama and angst and stress since then, but not a single regret in coming here.

Good luck @Lavers Lifes an adventure. embrace it.

16 hours ago, Lavers said:

Actually scrap Warrnambool for Portland, just an hour closer to the border then its non-stop from there.

What's Portland like?

It's nice. We are there right now on holiday. Going back to lockdown on Saturday. Portland is OK, a couple of supermarket's and shops plus a few places to go and see. Fishing charters are still going, so live is carrying on. Port Fairy is really nice, but there is nothing there to keep you going for a few days. Of the two, we would go with Portland. Plenty of touristy stuff around and at cape bridgewater etc. 

I liked the sense of space - particularly if you could get the economy seats upstairs on the Singapore airlines ones. We always found there was always 5 or 6 planes all landing within minutes of each other so queues were just part of it all

just did a check on flight radar (you can filter on aircraft type. it looks like there are only 2 a380s in the sky as at 09:41 AEST. which is really sad. As Eera states both china southern, 1 heading to amsterdam, 1 leaving vancover

Great to hear that things are going as smoothly as they can. Hopefully you have plenty to keep you occupied.. you've probably got this covered but there may be of some use if you really get bored. - some of them we have used at home with the kids as its school holidays again!

Melbourne Symphony Orchestra

MSO is livestreaming some their performances on YouTube. Head to their YouTube channel to enjoy the music.

National Gallery of Victoria

The NGV has a number of virtual tours available online so that you can view the artworks they currently have on display. Check it out on the NGV website.

Zoos Victoria

Zoos Victoria have set up a few live stream cameras from Melbourne Zoo and Werribee Open Range Zoo, so that you can enjoy the zoo from anywhere. View the Animal House stream's on the Zoos Victoria website.

Museum at Home

Take a virtual tour of Melbourne Museum, become a little scientist from the comfort of your own home, or delve deeper into Victoria's immigration history with Museum Victoria's Museum at Home.

Melbourne Recital Centre

Melbourne Recital Centre are taking a range of live musical performances online for you to enjoy in your own home. Tune into Live from Melbourne Recital Centre.

ACMI

Join ACMI every Wednesday for a weekly movie night with their virtual Cinematheque. You can enjoy a selection of classic and contemporary films selected by ACMI's Film Department and the Melbourne Cinematheque Committee.

SEA LIFE Melbourne

Learn all about marine life and some of the beautiful underwater creatures at SEA LIFE Melbourne with their live streams.

2020 Sydney Biennale

Experience the 2020 Sydney Biennale online! You can enjoy online activations and experiences that draw on the seven themes that inspire the exhibition.

Sydney Opera House

Enjoy the Sydney Opera House from home with weekly live recordings, never-before-seen footage, podcasts, articles, videos and more on their new digital program.

There are a number of museums and art galleries across the globe that are providing online and virtual experiences. This comprehensive list has plenty of options to keep you busy - some of the highlights include:

The Smithsonian

Take a self-guided tour of the National Museum of Natural History with their guided tours.

The Louvre

With a range of online tours, you can visit the museum's exhibition rooms and galleries without leaving the comfort of your own couch.

Yosemite National Park

Go on a virtual tour of California's Yosemite National Park, one of America's most popular natural environments.

The Guggenheim

Search through an online database of selected artworks from the Guggenheim's permanent collection.

The Tate

Each of the Tate's four galleries (the Britain and Modern in London, Tate Liverpool and Tate St Ives) have a series of kids resources, videos, podcasts and online classes available.

The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA)

You can enjoy exhibition tours and learn about artworks via videos, Q&A's with curators, playlist and articles in MoMA's Virtual Views series.

On 19/06/2020 at 13:50, Cubiscus said:

All done for us too.  Email received on Monday asking if we were interested in a virtual ceremony, booked in for Thursday (Brisbane City Council) and over and done with in 5 minutes.

Now just need to wait for the certificate.

Our certificates arrived this morning, so pretty quick from last thursdays ceremony.

and we are done.

Had our online ceremony this morning with our Federal MP which was nice. Still very surreal but glad that its the final step complete.

i put in 3 of varying sizes.. all good. 

Drowned them in Jeyes fluid though

15 hours ago, jess6 said:

I think that we have to admit that considering the circumstances, it is actually a pretty good effort from the department. They could have very well put us on ice.  

Absolutely. i got approved before Christmas as well. I'm encouraged that they are looking at chipping away at the list rather than going on hold, but i don't imagine it will happen soon.

i hope to be proven wrong...

It would be nice to know where on the list we are, but i don't imagine that will happen

6 minutes ago, Rvee said:

‘When fully implemented, it is expected this new capability will see up to 750 people per day having their citizenship conferred.

There are currently 85,000 people awaiting a ceremony.

People who were scheduled to attend a Citizenship appointment or ceremony over the coming months will be contacted to make alternative arrangements.

It says  85000 awaiting a ceremony

85000/750 = 113 (business days) which equals 150 calendar days !!

It means it takes around 5 months for guys who get their approval today to attend the online ceremony!

my migraine medication costs me $12 per repeat and they last about 60 days

 A lot of speculation at the moment at work around the wisdom of sitting in a plane for XX hours and hanging around crowds in an airport as we travel alot, but thats been actively discouraged at the moment.

Some details covered in the ABC Coronacast podcast yesterday.
https://www.abc.net.au/radio/programs/coronacast/gyms-are-sweaty-are-they-risky/12044196

The virus doesn't travel through the air, only by actual droplets being transferred (from a cough or sneeze) to your skin and then into your nose/mouth by you touching your face. Unless you are near an infected person at the time they cough or sneeze you are not at risk.

Right now there are not very many infected people so the risk is quite low, who knows by easter / july / christmas etc etc etc

27 minutes ago, EJMac said:

From research it is about an hour to Flinders from Frankston on the train which seems ok..

Its technically feasible, but not ideal

Its a good 25 minute drive to frankston from Mt Matha and then unless you are ridiculously early you wont get a park at Frankston station. Express trains are about 50-55mins into Flinders street

You could drive to baxter or somerville, but have to take the stony point line to frankston. From baxter, a train goes just after 6 and then at about 6:45. the next one doesnt run until 8:20am, so it becomes an even longer commute.

I drive from Langwarrin to Seaford as you have a better chance of a park, but that is still not brilliant.

On 01/02/2020 at 15:57, ali said:

As a family, I'd like to think that had we stayed in the UK we'd have maintained the ok life we had there -  We lived in a nice area in the north west (don't buy into the 'if you live up north living in Aus is a step up just because where you're living must be a dump) - for us the move was a comparable one although our house/block is slightly bigger.  We've still managed to travel as a family and as a couple, we've saved money (some things are cheaper and some more expensive), we cut our cloth accordingly and have a good life.  Our children have thrived (as we hoped they would have done in the UK), the (public) education system hasn't let them down and perhaps aided my daughter more as her HS here had an academic extension programme which she got into which met her academic needs and by 23 she had her masters (and a hefty student loan - just like the UK).  Our son had the opportunity to do sailing and also obtained his skippers ticket (to drive a boat)  as part of the school curriculum (opportunities he wouldn't have had).

Is our life better here?  it's certainly different and we feel more content.  We have accessed a lot of different sporting activities and concerts than we did when we lived in the UK as the stadium/venues in the city are less than 30 mins away for us.  We do spend more time outside , even relaxing at home we eat outside often and spend time in the garden.  Last weekend, we had a impromptu picnic with friends by the river, there was a large group of teens having a get together without anyone wondering what they were up to or if there would be anti-social behaviour lol.  For me, these have been the little things that have been very different that what we did in the UK and lifestyle changes don't have to be major ones.

My advice for the OP - it's a long time to live with regrets - you won't know if it's for you unless you try.  As a family, you and your partner need to both be invested in it 100% - years on the forum have shown that if you're both not up for it, the stress of it all can put cracks into the best of relationships.  If you find it's not for you - you haven't 'failed' in the slightest, it's been an opportunity that you've taken and on to the next adventure.  Come with the knowledge that Australia is a totally different country (not England with sunshine), there will be things that are familiar and lots that isn't, don't expect things to click right away (it can take time) and forming friendships won't be instantaneous - just like the UK, they'll develop over time.  Australia isn't Utopia by any means, but it can offer you the lifestyle you're looking for.  We've been here 13 years now and haven't once regrated our move - it's been hard work at times re-establishing ourselves in a new country/making friends etc. .. but for us, it's been absolutely worth it.  

100% this.

I wouldn't have been as articulate, but this is the same for us, other than the specific details. We had the very same conversation last night on the deck with the in laws, who are on their way back to the UK after spending 4 months with us. We had an ok life in the UK, but had a scratch to itch and we and the kids appear to be thriving, and accessing more activities and more experiences than we would have had in the UK, so no regrets whatsoever. Is our life better? No idea what that means or how you could really measure it, but we are happy where we are now and feel at home. So we are glad we tried.

On 01/02/2020 at 01:07, The Pom Queen said:

@kevsan you have visited a lot of my favourite places, Eden is beautiful then Port Douglas, Kuranda etc.

On 01/02/2020 at 01:22, The Pom Queen said:

Noosa area

Yep - and funnily enough we are going to Noosa this year!

Palm Cove, Port Douglas & Kuranda

Venus Bay, VIC

Diamond Bay, Mornington Peninsula

Eden

Inverloch, VIC

Mogo, NSW

i really liked Launceston when i was there last year.

Airservices main sites are at Melbourne and Brisbane airports - we work with them in the NonStop space.

You would need to contact the HR dept directly.

9 hours ago, starlight7 said:

We're off to Lakes Entrance at the start of Feb- nice to see it is looking good. No probs getting through the roads then?

Depends where you want to go. Princes Highway is still closed (or was) from Orbost to the border, but thats due to needing to cut down trees/clearances etc rather than a fire danger.

The big problem was that google maps wasnt updated to show roads open so it was a bit of guess work/cross checking to the vicroads app. - EG the great Alpine road was actually open so we could get to Bruthen etc but google insisted it was closed, but generally pretty easy - and traffic was light, which was great, and depressing at the same time.

we just got back from 10 days in Lakes Entrance. Stayed just outside Bairnsdale, so on the edge of the danger zone. Some days were horrible and we had to cut back on some things that we had planned to do and the smoke was really bad on a couple of days. But the locals were so grateful that we were there spending money. It was so quiet though, even on days were the skies were blue. had a few beers in some of the pubs and most locals are pissed off that more isnt being done by the politicians, but couldn't really articulate what they wanted fixed. 1st photo was on 5th Jan in Eagle Point, the following 2 in Lakes Entrance the following sunday after they opened the road again.

On 16/12/2019 at 13:38, KazBaker said:

Hi, just wondering do under 16 years child need to attend at the appointment test? i got 5 years old child but not sure he has to be there with parents as he also included in one parent. anyone had the experience please reply.

Thanks

No -  it says in the appointment details that they do not need to attend, BUT you will need to take all their paperwork - birth certificate etc.