North to South

Hi, I've been to Adelaide a couple of times and we're looking at the Eastern Suburbs (Around Burnside) or into the Hills (Stirling/Aldgate). We've picked the East as there are some good schools for our daughter which has been the main driving force on the areas to live. We stayed recently in Henley Beach and that was lovely, also previously I've stayed in Sheidow Park near Hallet Cove, but even though Hallett Cove is nice, it did seem a trek into Adelaide CBD. Other areas that I like are Belair as it's very scenic and has a few shops, Blackwood is also good as there's a nice selection of houses with good shops and also a train link into Adelaide. Craigburn Farm is a new development with lovely houses and an open feel to it with nice parks for children. Whilst it's further out it has a lovely feel to it. We've put schools as our main priority and then looked for areas around those. I wasn't too fussed about not being by the beach as most of the time you can drive to them in 20/25 mins if you want to go and being nearer the hills and open space had slightly more appeal. I think if I had to choose a beach location it would be West Beach/Henley Beach as they are a bit quieter than Glenelg. Also, have a look at places like Golden Grove which is North and although it's further out does have some good facilities. Mount Barker also is further out in the hills, but has some good houses and schools - It's about 30/40 mins into Adelaide CBD. Hope some of this helps. There were few areas that I haven't liked there, but I know the difficulty you face in choosing from afar

Hi, I'm interested to understand whether there is a maximum amount of medication that you can take with you from the UK to Australia when you move. I suffer with mild Asthma and have about 6-8 months supply of inhalers (preventers and relief) and I'd like to know whether that would be permitted to enter Australia with. All comments would be most welcomed. Thanks :)

Hello, I wanted to gain some guidance on whether importing a car to Australia really does make any sense after all the import duties/modifications and what's likely to be a lower value on a PX in the future. We have a Porsche Cayman which is only a few years old, has very low milage and we keep thinking let's take it, then it's no, not bother for the reasons above. Yet, we know the cost to buy a similar one in SA is not cheap so just thinking once more before we bight the bullet and sell it here. All help / guidance would be most welcomed. Thanks

Hello, Just seeking any recommendations on removal companies from the UK to Adelaide. All recommendations/guidance would be most appreciated. Thanks

Hello, I'd like some guidance on how the cost of prescribed medication works in Australia and what the most cost effective way is to obtain medication. I have to use 2 inhalers for Asthma along with 3 other types of medication for minor ailments each day. In the UK I have these on a prepayment so it costs about £9 a month and I want to work out how much roughly I'd have to pay each month in Australia and also whether 'bulk billing' (not sure how this works) is the best way to go. Appreciate any guidance. Thanks

Hi, We are a family of 3 and have been offered the opportunity to relocate to Sydney, but concerned about the cost of living and income that would be required to have a relatively nice lifestyle. I’d also like ideas on good areas to live that would be within a 30/40 minute commute of the CBD where there would be good private schools along with good family housing. Appreciate any thoughts as I’ve been asked to put forward salary requirements and not sure what number to put forward for Senior / Exec level Accontant/Finance roles. Thanks

Hello, I’m visiting Adelaide for a week in October with my 12 year old daughter ahead of moving next year. We’ve never been to Adelaide before although Aus isn’t new to us. We want to spend the week looking at areas we could live in and also schools, but also to have some fun too. I’d appreciate some views on where we should stay that’s close to restaurants and places we can walk too, but not ultra busy. I know history doesn’t predict the future, but what’s the weather typically like in late October. all help would be most welcomed. thanks

Hi, We're moving to Adelaide and would like to know if there are any parenting forums that we could use/join to get some first hand knowledge on schools in the area. If there are any such forums it would be most appreciated if you could let me know. Thanks so much.

Hi, We're heading to Brisbane for 5 days and thinking of heading north to Noosa and wondered if anyone had any thoughts on the area or other areas we could consider staying in and around Brisbane , but north the Gold Coast. Thanks, Rich

Hello, We are looking at moving to Adelaide from the UK and at the top of our priority list is our daughter who starts senior school next year so we want to make sure we're in an area that can provide the best schooling. We are only looking at Independent/Private schools and would appreciate any guidance on which ones we should look at / which ones are the best and why? We have a budget of about $1 million for housing which will leave us mortgage free, but will look at extending this for the right house in the right area. We are not to concerned about being near a beach as being near the right school is our priority and would therefore appreciate some views on what areas would be the nicest to live in with this budget - We need a 3/4 bedroom house ideally. All comments would be most welcomed.

Hi, My wife has been offered a job in Darwin out of the blue and whilst Darwin was not our first choice the offer is very attractive so we are seriously considering it. We've never been to Darwin/NT and would really appreciate some inside advice on what life in Darwin is like on a day to day basis. We know it's not Sydney or Melbourne, but we also know these offers don't come along very often. We have a 10 year old daughter and she will be paramount in making this decision as we want to ensure we provide the best opportunities and education for her ahead of ourselves. If we move we will be looking to buy a house rather than rent and have a budget of about $650-$700 so any advice on good suburbs and schools would be most welcome. I'd really appreciate the real pros and cons of living in NT so please all comments would be most welcomed at this stage. Thanks so much.

Its great to see some varied responses on here I wonder whether if the climate in the UK was more like that of Australia if so many people would make the move? I know for us we've had to delay and delay our move, but desperate to go as we feel it will offer us a more outdoors life, our daughter a chance to grow up in a different way to what she would in the UK, the fortunate chance of being able to buy and not have a mortgage as we do in the UK and through this work less and spend more time as a family unit. Yes, we could move to other parts of the UK and gain the same financial benefits, but I don't think that would bring the same life experiences as moving overseas would bring us. Our delay though has caused some re-thinks on where to live. We were set on Melbourne, but have then considered NSW along the central coast and now maybe thinking Perth. We've been to all and love Melbourne the most, but we are not hiding the fact that we are making the move for a slightly better climate and wonder does Melbourne offer that versus Central Coast or Perth. I know we'll get there one day and hopefully be as happy as some of the posters to this thread:)

On this wet day in the UK I thought I'd ask those that have made the move what living in Australia really means to them versus living in the UK and whether the expectations and visions that you had before you set off on this big move were fulfilled when you settled in?

Hi, I'm thinking of coming to Melbourne later this week and wanted to get a locals view on what the weather is currently like in Melbourne rather than looking at the varying forecasts. If you are a local, it would be great to hear from you. Thanks

Hi Bungo, thanks for the views. It will be a permanent move.

Hi, I'm interested in gaining some views on whether people who have made the move with children of primary school age have seen that the education system in Australia has been a positive or negative on their childrens education. If we were to remain in the UK, we would now be starting to lay the path towards the eleven plus and then hopefully a good grammar school for our daughter, but as we are soon to move we will be looking at alternate routes - maybe private education. It would be great to get some feedback on anyone who has recently made the transition from UK primary to Australian primary and what we should look out for/be aware of and whether you are generally more or less happy than if they had remained in the UK education system. Thanks so much

Hi, Thanks for the detailed post. Did you find it beneficial coming over prior to the move and meeting with recruiters/interviewing or were they still as I've found not too helpful as you weren't actually based in Sydney yet? Would appreciate your thoughts. Thanks.

Hi, Thanks for the detailed post. Did you find it beneficial coming over prior to the move and meeting with recruiters/interviewing or were they still as I've found not too helpful as you weren't actually based in Sydney yet? Would appreciate your thoughts. Thanks.

Hi, Thanks for the feedback received so far. It is of concern that now we're ready to make the move and the house prices in the UK have moved upwards along with the FX rate, the employment market seems to have quietened off so we are in a dilemma of wanting to move, but not sure if the time is right We are being quite pragmatic and would take lesser jobs with much lesser salaries if it allowed us still to live in a nice area, provide a better way of life for us as a family, but if we got there and after six-ten months couldn't find anything it would be a major concern. I guess it's more calls to the recruitment consultants to gain some more views.... Thanks again

Hi, We have been planning our move to Melbourne for some time, but now we're months away from leaving we are seeing that the employment market for accountants/finance professionals is very sluggish/stagnant which is causing us to re-think our plans. Our original intention was to purchase a property along the Mornington Peninsula for about $550-$600K and just have one of us working - We are told that we could earn circa $200K-$250K each, so a combined $4-500K PA if we were both to work which isn't our desired objective of the move. Now we are looking at Sydney, but the question is what areas should we look at? We know we cannot afford any of the northern beaches, so maybe looking further out - Hornsby way? We would really like a nice 4 bedroom house, with good primary schools in a pleasant location that's ideal for a family. Our budget we'd like to remain the same at $550-$600 as that means we can still live relatively mortgage free if we want too, but we could afford to increase this with a mortgage if we can secure good jobs with at least one of us working, so maybe up to $750K. Would welcome any advice on employment market for finance folk and also what areas we could/should look at... It's fun this moving Thanks so much

If I'm not mistaken you can still contribute to the UK state pension plan even when living overseas until you have reached the maximum level. I will be doing this for my wife (who is UNDER 50) unless the legislation has changed since we first considered moving to Australia a few years ago.

Startlight7.... Please explain what being over 50 has to do with anything as that's a very ageist comment...???? I am 51 and will be moving in a matter of months and I don't see any problems with that! Both myself and my wife are giving up six figure salaries in London to move as we feel moving will give us and our young daughter a better way of life. And yes, maybe we are lucky that we have worked hard and when we move will be financially secure and won't have the stress of working long hours every day like we do today. And maybe people who are over 50 can enjoy the same benefits that Australia can bring to people who are 30 or 40 and want to move. One day you will be 51 and then maybe you will decide that there are more important things in life than working 12-14 hour days to chase the big bucks, and that you can when you've worked damn hard take a new direction in your life without people making stupid ageist comments about why you would want to move at 50+!!!

We used Sort out my Visa and they were good. They achieved our goal of obtaining a visa which is all I called have asked for. I'd certainly use them again if I needed too.

Hi, This list was compiled by someone that works for me and I asked him to research data on areas I was considering moving too so I easily had some data available with phone numbers, emails etc. It may not cover all areas but I've found it useful when researching certain areas.

I haven't bought a pint for years as have given up drinking (boring I know), but compare some of the prices you can pay for water in some restaurants and I'm sure beer can appear cheap....