Davo1

I am looking to use a move cube too, so if you have any recommendations can you please pm me? Good luck with your packing. We are hardly taking anything do think we will get away with a medium.

You have nothing to apologise for! I truly hope you get better soon. Please take care and concentrate on yourself. Sending love and hugs x

Thank you both very much!

I really do not like having to take out credit but I also do not want to use a significant portion of my savings to buy a car when I first arrive in Australia - which I will definitely need due to my job. So quick question, are there options to take a car out on finance on similar terms that we have in the UK, eg pay a small deposit, then monthly amount for the car and at the end of the agreed term either pay a 'balloon payment', hand the car back and walk away or trade the car in and take out another agreement? Seems a silly question so apologies - cannot seem to find a straight answer to this despite trawling the internet! Any help would be much appreciated! Thanks in advance!

Sorry to hear your bad news Best wishes for the future and I really hope it all works out for you.

That's very nice of you. we are hopefully moving to Brisbane in August and have a 16 year old, who occasionally uses this site! I will tell her to give you a shout as she will have loads of questions! Thanks in advance!

good luck with your move. my friend lives in geelong (she says it takes approximately 40mins via train to get to the cbd) and she loves it.

fantastic post, thanks for sharing! i am glad to hear it is working out for you

Hi Jen, I am a Social Worker in child protection and have a 175 visa heading over to Australia at the end of August/beginning of September. I went to Brisbane last year and loved it and did not find it as expensive as some say (but each to their own!). i have friends in Perth who love it but say it is very expensive. Regarding jobs, been doing loads of research and also have friends in SW in Perth, Adelaide, Darwin, Brisbane and Melbourne. Adelaide are currently going through a restructuring and jobs have been frozen but should pick up again by July I am told. Brisbane job wise has been slow but there are SW jobs to be found. Darwin, my friends love it but acknowledge the major challenges that are faced up in the NT. loads of jobs currently in Perth and Melbourne, especially the latter, to the extent I am now seriously considering moving there. there are lots of agencies online but beware of the ones looking to put you miles from anywhere! something i would consider if it was just me and my oh but not with a 16 year old. all of my friends in the different areas have completely different pay scales so well worth negotiating that. they are really enjoy it, most of the same challenges exist but they have all said SW in Oz is approximately 10 years behind the UK - although that's just their opinion. i am the same as you - i am up for the challenge! I personally fancy the east coast but i am applying for jobs in all the above areas and just going wherever i get one. plan is to use the first 2 years exploring and then hopefully settle in the area we like the best! good luck with your plans/research and feel free to pm me if i can help!

Thinking of using a move cube, so really useful information!

glad to hear its going well, fab update!

our family are taking us in 2 cars (probably 3!) to help us and to say their goodbyes. good luck with your travels!

thanks for the info patw - we are moving in sept and are seriously considering north lakes, so its nice to hear you guys meet up. the lloyds - hope you are getting on well! life in queensland is a fantastic resource.

practicenurse - the series we were in was on TV in january and as far as i know the next series will not be aired until next january as the families that are on that are currently being filmed in Oz. good luck fitnesstasha - i hope it all works out for you. i cannot wait to go. wendee -most people i know seem to want to move to WA but not sure why. no offence to WA but i much prefer the east coast. moving 2 melbourne -if you do not mind me asking, what prompted you to move from Melbourne to cairns?

glad to hear this - addicted to my kindle now!

Hey! Me and my family were on this years WDU and would love to keep in touch. Our current plans are to head to Oz early September to validate our PR and start our new adventure. Hopefully I will secure a job in June/July to finally decide where we are going! We would really like to go to Qld or SA, but may have to be NT or WA - as I really do not want to go over without a job. Whats your plans?

On your grant letter, it explains what form you need to complete to inform DIAC of your change of passport details - so that they can link your visa electronically to your new passport. As far as I know you need to send them a scanned picture of your new passport too.

Not there myself yet, just wanted to wish you luck with your move!

Sorry cannot help as not there yet, just wanted to say good luck with the move!

I was told that Alan Sugar put something about that on Twitter yesterday. Some digital box that you can buy and that allows you to watch all British TV abroad. Granted his second home is USA I think but maybe worth looking at.

Not at that stage myself yet sorry - hopefully someone else will be able to help. What I would suggest is contacting major medical insurers in Oz and start getting quotes - they should be able to explain the process, costs etc to you. Good Luck!

Welcome to PIO. The visa application is very stressful so good luck. Just double check everything you do and you'll be fine. Your partner could gain an independent visa (189) for Oz via her nursing but there is no stipulation that she actually needs to do that once there. Worth considering, as many folk who could go for PR in the UK and don't often regret it (experiences of some friends). Best Wishes!

Really useful information - thanks all. Good luck with your decision vixxy666!

Sorry to hear things have been a struggle. I am afraid I have never been to Perth so cannot compare the too. However, been to Brisbane and loved it. People were very friendly and when I was speaking with friends who are in Perth, they certainly seemed to pay more for groceries, eating out etc in Perth than I did in Brisbane (albeit I had a brief visit). They also seemed to have more money to travel to nearby areas and activities. I suppose it is all relative depending on your job, what you earn and what your outgoings are. Hopefully someone will come along shortly and provide you a clearer insight. Good luck with your decision! PS Maybe worth checking out Life in Queensland for more information on Brisbane.

Useful thread folks - great information!