Davo1

Thanks The Pom Queen

ADMIN please delete if not allowed (not sure of the rules!). Selling the following household items – all needs to go in 1 week! All items from a smoke free and pet free home. Only selling due to house move (which has happened very last minute). For full details on each item and photos please message me on here, facebook me etc! Cheers! I am based in Mernda - buyer to collect (On other BSS sites too) LG Blu Ray DVD player - less than 12 months old - NEVER been used - still in the box (I have receipt for proof of purchase) - $60 (bought for $99) Dark brown corner fabric couch $250 less than 12 months old - excellent condition Double Bed (Mattress & Frame) $200 less than 12 months old - only been slept in for 3 weeks as it was a spare bed - excellent condition 4 burner BBQ with gas cylinder $180 less than 12 months old - comes with protective cover also - excellent condition Outside black glass dining table, with 6 chairs, black/gray Parasol and base $200 less than 12 months old - very good condition Inside Glass Dining Table with 6 chairs $200 - less than 12 months old - hardly used - small mark on one of the chairs - very good condition Wooden Desk $15 - only 6 months old and never been used - excellent condition - less then 4 months old TV stand $10 - one of the casters is dodgy but they can all be removed - good condition - less than 12 months old Small dark brown wooden table $10 - excellent condition - less than 7 months old Small dark brown wooden table $10 - very good condition - less than 12 months old GHD straighteners $30 - from the UK, one of the plates are abit loose hence the price - good condition Philips Ambilight TV 32” $80 from the UK - comes with remote but needs Scart cable - small crack in frame - barely visible - very good condition Fans x 2 $5 each - less than 12 months old - hardly used - excellent condition Chrome storage units x 2 $10 each - less than 5 months old - excellent condition

Thanks all for the positive comments! Our show was on TV in Jan 2013 - my husband was in the police and as the show put it 'he was torn between his wife and daughter whether to make the move' lol! We were in Caloundra and had a great time. Lara is really lovely - small but nice country feel to it but close to Geelong and city for major services etc. we are currently in Mernda but when our daughter finishes school I reckon we will do actual city living for 1 year before we settle properly. Loving it here. So much to do and the sun is shining today so that's even better!

Not been on here since we moved to Australia (8 months ago now!) but thought I would give everyone an update on our adventure to get here and on arrival in the hope it may help some people out - as whilst still in the UK - I found these posts very useful! Where to begin...! Background on us is: I really wanted to move to Australia and after discussing this with my husband, he was also keen to give it a try and eventually my step daughter got on board also. I researched this for some time and then was fortunate enough to be selected for the TV show Wanted Down Under. There are mixed views on the programme on this forum - however for me personally - aside from it being embarrassing - it was a fantastic and worthwhile experience and allowed us to make the move at least 12 months before we would have been able to. We went to Brisbane and the Sunshine Coast for the show and loved it there. Great weather, people were friendly and there seemed to be job opportunities. We decided at that point we wanted to go to Queensland. As soon as we returned to Scotland (April 2012), we started getting the documents for our visa application together. My advice is to take your time to ensure you have not missed anything and it is relatively straight forward to do yourself and therefore save a ton of money not using an agent! We went for our medical examination, I sat the IELTS (after studying of course!) and we applied for our visa (independent migrant visa subclass 175 the new 189). This was June 2012 and we did this just before the visa changes with the EOI etc. We expected to wait approximately 12-18 months to get our visa and instead it was granted 12 weeks later!! We could not believe how quickly we got this and were both delighted and scared! Thankfully we had put our house on the market after submitting our visa application and this sold in September, with us moving out in the November 2012 to go and live with our respective families until we made the move to Oz. We thought long and hard about whether to keep the house or sell it and decided that it would be too easy to return home if we knew our house etc was still there and therefore went with the all or nothing attitude! We sold most of our belongings and kept only the items that meant the most to us - which was very therapeutic! Living with family for 10 months was both difficult after living in our own home for so long and also a fantastic experience. It allowed us to spend so much time with them all before we left and allowed us the invaluable opportunity to save money for the impending move! Granted it probably made leaving them harder but that’s life! We had 1 year to activate our visa and decided that when we flew to Australia to activate it, this would be when we actually made the move also, in order to keep costs down and emotional stress! This was definitely the right decision for us. The remaining 10 months in Scotland truly flew by. We had a lot of 'lasts' during this time and never had any doubts about leaving but did feel guilt about our families and the impact on them. We had leaving meals/coffees/BBQ with our families and friends and a leaving drinks night out for everyone we know - all of which was great and we have fantastic pictures and memories but by the end the 3 of us were fairly drained emotionally as saying goodbye more than once is hard work. It was also very busy getting everything organised for the move - shipping the little belongings we had, looking for jobs, flights etc... We decided that for security we would apply for jobs throughout Australia (as the job market for me in Qld was poor) and go wherever we got work and the first 2 years in Australia we would spend travelling to all the states/territories and then decide whether to move, stay where we were or go home. Job searching was hard work and literally we spent night after night trawling the internet for jobs, then researching the areas they were in, registering for email alerts from the state governments and territories, signing up with agencies etc etc. It was getting closer to September when we needed to leave but I was determined not to book flights and make a major decision until one of us had a job. My husband secured a job in Darwin, and I got an interview that looked promising - however our daughter really did not want to go to Darwin and therefore 2 days later when I secured a job in Melbourne - we decided to go there (July 2013). Phone interviews were weird - not getting to see people's faces was strange but I was lucky and got the job. This decided where we were now going and although our daughter was upset it was not Qld she accepted the reasons why. Next job was to look for flights - again much time was spent looking online, calling travel agents etc. However on PIO I saw a post recommending to book through IOM - as you get good deals travelling one way for migrants activating visas. I am so glad I saw this, as this saved us loads and we got a decent deal with the flights and luggage - although I needed to pay a further 65 pounds for one more bag that I needed - no major deal though. They were very good – fast and efficient and I would highly recommend them – their prices were much better than anyone else. Next up was researching suburbs in Melbourne to stay in that was safe (as it possibly could be), with good transport links and facilities, good school etc and within 1 hour of my place of work and close to the city. Eventually we found a few areas we liked and shortlisted them to visit them on our arrival. My advice would be to use the internet as much as possible and PIO etc - in order to get a balanced view point and ideas. We also looked at properties to rent and prepared a rental file for our arrival (cope of visa, reference, mortgage letter etc etc) and this was invaluable and saved a lot of time. We stopped work 3 weeks before flying out and used this time to do last minute things, spent time with family, get our belongings shipped and go on a family holiday. If people can do this I would seriously recommend it - it was great to have some down time before heading off. Very quickly it was the night before we were due to fly, which we used to pack our bags and divide our time between our families and see some of them for the last time for awhile. On the morning of the day we left (02/09/13), we ate some of the local food, visited my Grandma, walked the dog and relaxed with family. Very quickly it was time to go to the airport and we said our goodbyes to my husband's parents at their home. A lot of tears were shed at this stage!! My Mum, brother and nephew drove us to the airport, along with 4 big cases and stayed with us for 1 drink before heading off. It was difficult saying goodbye and again there were a lot of tears and it was difficult. BUT I have to be honest and say I thought it would have been much worse and truly think our families kept it together and were great which really helped us. Our flight to London was delayed so we chilled at the airport and discussed what we were feeling and it really helped. Once we boarded the flight we were all calm and ready to begin the adventure!! Our second flight to Singapore was on time and very comfortable, as was the last leg of the journey to Melbourne. I personally have no problem with flying nor the length of the flight but did look forward to landing and seeing Melbourne - as I had never been before - which at that time felt a bit of a gamble! When arriving we discovered our 4 bags were still in London which was the only real hiccup we had so we cannot complain. The airline provided us with a 'overnight pack' with essential items and we bought a few bits and pieces to last us the 3/4 days before we got our cases back. We were very lucky and lived with friends in Lara for 3 weeks, allowing us time to get our rental, buy a car, get registered for medicare, apply for our TFN etc etc - once all of these boring but essential jobs were completed. We had 3 weeks to explore the city and buy furniture for our new house before I started work. We got our daughter settled into School and after 2 weeks my husband was very bored (he was supposed to take a few months off then look for work) so applied for a job and got it - so we were delighted! Our first Christmas was easier than we thought and we keep in weekly contact with our families via face time and I have daily text/email contact with my Mum and Mother in Law which I think helps them. My job was ok but quickly became like home - working long long hours and not being able to make plans for during the week. So I managed to get a new job and am much happier with the work/life balance - one of the main reasons for coming here. My husband is in the same job but has decided to retrain so is looking at courses now. Our daughter has settled into School and as she was doing so well, was skipped a year. We have made a few friends who we meet regularly and moved to a new house after our previous landlord decided to sell. Fast forward 8 months and we have done so much already - which is what we came here to do. We have done the Great Ocean Road, Eureka Skydeck, explored a lot of the city, attended the Australian Open, been to a few concerts, and a few other sporting events too. We have travelled to a lot of the little cities/towns around Victoria and seen some really beautiful sights! We have done the 3 Zoo's and ate in loads of nice places. We went to Sydney for New Year and just came back from our first proper holiday to the Whitsunday Islands. Had an amazing time!! It was truly paradise. Went to the Great Barrier Reef. It was breathtaking! Went snorkelling, kayaking, jet skiing and had a truly amazing time. We are now planning our next weekend away to Canberra soon and another trip to Sydney when all our family come to visit us later in the year. Not for one second do we regret our move and I would advise anyone considering doing it to go for it – as we have loved it so far and cannot wait to see what the future holds for us! Life is too short to have regrets and regardless of what happens in the future, what I have experienced in these past 8 months has been worth the hard work and has exceeded my expectations! Best bits about Australia – the weather, people are friendly, so much to do, better quality of living, better wages Worst bits about Australia – drivers (they are awful here!), cost of some items and distance from family. Sorry for the long post!! I could go on and on but will stop now! For anyone wanting information/advice I would be more than happy to help!

Sounds fantastic. I am really happy it is working out for you! Nice to hear a positive story!

Approx 5 weeks to go for us!! Crazy. Really scary thing... Still do not know where! Waiting for job confirmation this week - so its either Melbourne or Brisbane! All very scary but very very exciting!! Good luck to all!

That's crazy prices! I better get saving before I set off

Jumping on your post apologies! My daughter will be in the same position soon, so I will be very interested in responses also!

Enjoy!

Good Luck!!

going to contact them soon to book my flights too! eek!

Really useful info folks!

I will likely be in the same boat soon - so thanks for the info folks!

Really useful info folks!

Really useful - thanks! Away to book our one in the next few weeks so its great to see how much you can fit. I was abit worried about 'extra charges' in Oz though, so thanks for telling us the total price