Trailing Hubby

Well, here's an update for all the the people that must have been on tenterhooks wondering what happened... :unsure: After a long and laborious process we are at the point where we will be going to Switzerland. Mrs TH got a great package so it's a no-brainer really. It's close (and cheap) enough that we will get people visiting and we can nip back and forth no problem. It would have been great to have gone to Melbourne, and had they offered the same we may have accepted it. Certainly no regrets though, and it's been fun reading through the posts on here. It's definitely an invaluable resource, so thanks once again to everyone who took the time to reply. So, all I have to do now is find a job. And learn a new language. And find a flat. And pack everything...:arghh:

You can definitely spend euros at the Wetherspoons there. Get the traditional English breakfast and 7am pint before you go!

Just realised how rude I've been to not thank everyone! Cheers for all the responses - always interesting to get opinions from people who have made the move, even if in a different situation. Latest update is we said no. We are off on a reccie to Switzerland in a couple of weeks... Busy busy...

Well, this is all very stressful... Mrs TH worried we would regret it if we didn't go. Hard to weigh up the chance to try something new over opportunities in London or closer to home...

Thanks all. Some interesting responses. I said before that we don't have that burning desire that some have to emigrate. If we did it would be a no brainer - more than enough money to have a decent lifestyle, especially given that I would be earning as well. The thing is, and this will no doubt smack of wanting our cake and eating it, is that we don't want it enough to compromise on what we earn. Also, all these figures are based on what we are currently earning and realistically we are both looking to make the next steps in our careers. Mrs TH has the opportunity to be earning a lot more than what is on the table here, and as much as 4/5 years in Melbourne is very attractive it seems like it may not be the right time to go. I assume that I'm coming across as obsessed by the money, but it's not really all about that. It's a long way to go away from friends and family, and it's not as if we don't like where we are now. Still talking through with Mrs TH, but erring on not going at the moment...

Not really. Mrs TH spent a month working for the company a while ago and got a good idea of what the culture is like and the day to day stuff. There are ups and downs in any city - we don't have problems that will be "solved" by moving or anything - and I've had nothing but recommendations from people that have lived there. I know we would have a good time there, it's a case of working out whether the move would be good long term for our (her!) career.

I've yet to find a job I've been happy with, so we know we can deal with that. It would be repeating the process I've done three times now in terms of following her job, just this time in Melbourne... Shame it seems to coincide with the job market starting to turn. The 2.5x thing doesn't have any scientific basis, but a lot of people seem to use it.

Cheers guys. Like I said, eyes very much open. It looks like by the end of the month we will have two offers to choose from, both the "road less travelled."

So, hello! First post, but have been lurking for a while. We are in a fortunate position and are lucky to be so, and I hope this won’t come across as flippant, but I would very much be interested to see people’s thoughts on where we are at the moment. Bit of background – we live in London, and have a combined salary of a shade under £100k. We like it here, but have always said that we would be interested in working abroad should the opportunity arise. We don’t have that burning desire to move to Australia that some have but would love to go if we got the chance. We wouldn’t be emigrating as such, more working in a different place for a while. If it ended up permanent then so be it, but we have no kids and are pretty flexible with where we go. I’ve never been to Oz, but Mrs TH was there for a month working. I’d be comfortable moving without visiting, aware that there is no land of milk and honey and that there’ll be just as many problems there as the UK – we have our eyes open! The offer is for Mrs TH, who currently has a much better job than me – about $120k + car + super + a flight back for her a year. The job is Clayton way, so first thoughts are to rent a flat in the CBD (some of the ones on St Kilda Road look nice on realestate) and take the train out. She loves St Kilda and the areas around there, so that’s also an option. Now, I know that this “2.5x UK salary” thing is hotly debated, but it’s obvious that simply using the exchange rate as a comparison doesn’t work. If we move we want to have the same standard of living, if not better, than we have here i.e nice flat, eating out, travelling, putting money aside etc. My first thoughts are these: 1. The offer isn’t high enough for Mrs TH. I read in a similar thread yesterday that $120k would be much like £40k in London. I know it’s all subjective and everyone spends differently, but this would effectively be a cut in “spending power.” 2. Bit worried about jobs for me. I have an ok job here, but not anything that would get me a visa on my own. I see lots of threads from people in Melbourne struggling to find work, and although I can do any number of things I think I might struggle to find something in what seems like a worsening job market. We could obviously live on the wife’s salary if it comes down to it, as we’d hardly been in poverty, and I’m sure I’d have no problem working in a bar or something, but it doesn’t really fit in with the intention to do better than we are now. 3. Not sure what the visa is. Assume it’s a 457, but we obviously need to confirm. Further complicating matters is that she may also get an offer from a company based in Europe, which would be considerably more money. Obviously not as interesting a place to live as Melbourne, and a foreign language to make things harder to settle into, but I could go skiing every weekend… :biggrin: I hope this isn’t coming across as pretentious. It’s a lot of money, but what we don’t want to do is come across and find out that we are worse off, which I think might be the case here. We know we would love living somewhere new and would embrace everything Melbourne has to offer, but with it being such an expensive place to live we want to get as much info as possible before making the decision. Thoughts are welcome, even if it’s just to tell me it’s not all about money...