exiled in Wales

Thanks for that, we are keeping a diary as evidence and hope to be able to plead our case with the immigration people if she is sacked. It appears the company is over-staffed and looking to shed the easiest targets - my wife being on probation is the easiest to sack, but I can assure you she is doing EVERYTHING to try to avoid being sacked.

Details from Kaplan: The fees for the Diploma are $1,980 which may be the sticking point at present for me. Also the lady I spoke to at Kaplan said my UK Diploma was worthless as they only consider qualifications from NZ - therefore any UK planners have to start again from scratch.

Sorry all, it is the 187 we are on.

Hi all, We are in OZ on a 187 employer nominated visa. Recently my wifes employers (who sponsored us) have turned nasty and are threatening my wife with the sack. She has only been with them 3 months and the Visa specifies she has to stay with them for 2 years. It says on the forms that if the job is terminated we will have a chance to explain why our Visa should not be cancelled by writing to the Visa people. Anyone got any experience of this issue and what the outcome was ?

We're off to Warragul in September - my wife has already gone, she arrived at Melbourne at 5am on Wednesday. We are married with 4 kids (aged 13-3), the way we are looking at it is at worst it will be a 2 year adventure and then we will come home - house has been Let, our cars have been sold, half our cash transferred to Oz - so we have a back-up plan if we hate it (neither of us has ever been to Oz). My wifes salary is about 60k plus commission as a podiatrist and we got NO relocation costs so are taking a much higher risk than you. I would say a backup plan will help you move forward knowing you can return - BUT - you only live once, better to regret what you have done than what you never did.

Just phoned sevenseas re: medium movecube from South Wales to Warragul, Vic, as website says only available to major cities. I was told we have to arrange transport from Melbourne to warragul & also have to arrange a custom agent ourselves. Cost for 3 cubic meter medium movecube = £669 plus destination charge of 150 - 250 USD per cubic meter, plus whatever charge we have to pay customs agent. All seems a lot more hassle than the original post on this thread suggests - any helpful tips that may help?

We have applied for a 187 Visa - my wife is the primary applicant with a job offer in Vic. We applied September and haven't heard anything since. I will probably look into the rg146 in more detail when we get there. If you find anything else out please let me know.

Hi all, I'm a fully diploma qualified adviser from the UK. My wife submitted our visa app in September -she is a podiatrist and the main party in our application, still waiting (Victoria) for them to even look at our application and send the relevant forms for our medicals to be completed!! I'm gonna look after the kids initially but will probably look at getting back into advice when we are settled after a couple of months. I understand I will need the R146 but does anyone know if the UK diploma is taken into account or will I have to start from scratch? Also in the Uk I went thru all my exams whilst working as an adviser - does this happen in Oz or will I have to pay and get myself qualified before looking for jobs?

My son and I are big fans of a Championship football club and I was wondering if you get Championship games on telly in OZ - I know it would probably be a niche so I would pay for the channel if one was available - we will probably end up in the Melbourne area. I couldn't give a monkeys about the Premier league and wouldn't pay 2p a month to keep up with their overpaid girly players.

You're a few years out of date old boy. We got rid of the mini & maxi ISA, although it's still a pretty similar concept. I wouldn't want to live with one though, TESSA sounds much nicer to live with.

Blobby - I'm sorry it hasn't worked out for you and your family & I appreciated your honesty on the "reasons to leave" thread. I agree entirely with Northshorepoms post - if you are going home in December don't concentrate on the negatives but have the last couple of months as "the end of a long holiday". I'm sure if you all concentrate on what you have learnt and how you have grown as people it won't look so bad. I wish you luck with whatever happens.

It's not real woop woop - just my friend in Melbourne calls it that to wind me up. It's only 1.5 hours from Melbourne by train.

On a similar note do they use the same plug sockets in OZ or do you need an adaptor like when you go to the continent?

Yes Mary, we have heard Sydney is RIDICULOUSLY expensive. We are aiming for WOOP WOOP outside Melbourne, my family have joked that the 6 of us will double the towns population

Quality of life is subjective - it depends which particular Jones' you are trying to keep up with. I'm skint all the time now, so there'll be little difference there, but I'll be poor somewhere new and exciting. A nice cup of tea, a bacon butty with HP sauce = Happy exiled in Wales.

Thanks to one and all. To sum up my learning points: 1. Get kids alternative fruit based squash rather than Ribena. 2. Everything is very expensive or ........No it's not & if get paid in dollars it's OK. Don't compare with UK prices just go with the flow. 3. Get Tinnies and cheap stuff from Aldi. 4. Learn to identify speed cameras quickly. 5. You can't live on less than $100k.........or yes you can easily. 6. Get decent amount of bank holidays on top of 20 days holiday. 7. PG Tips & HP sauce is readily available - This is probably the MOST important learning point. Thanks to all, hopefully Visa will be sorted soon and we may get out before Christmas.

Blimey - I think from the gubbins at the bottom of your post that you can't even have been there very long - not much of a honeymoon period. I don't like Ketchup much - do they do brown sauce sachets too?

Don't know how long you've been in OZ but we've just had the wettest summer since 1912 in the UK. So we haven't been out much all year, which is a double pain when you work from home & have 4 kids who you can't chuck out into the street to play because it's only 15 degrees and the rain is horizontal. Twice this summer I've had to put the central heating on, and I am MR FRUGAL (Some would say tight, I prefer frugal).

Education may be years behind UK - but as others have said, that may be a good thing. I think Wales ranks below Latvia for Educational achievement at present. And my kids won't have their time wasted having to learn Welsh. I very much appreciate your honest post, I'm still coming (Visa permitting) but feel much better prepared and realistic in my hopes. Surely there are some positives to life in Oz for you?

Excellent advice Sydneyhorn, thanks.

I can't see myself ever supporting the saggy greens. I will do the same as I do with Wales, I'll support them against everyone apart from England, that is unless I ever get to a point where I feel more Australian than English. Having been in Wales 13 years I don't think I'd ever feel more Welsh than English, not even if I lived here the rest of my life.

Mary Rose02, it doesn't have to be bad enough to force you home to be helpful to me, at least now I know to pack some warm jimmy jammers Also I have read a few posts that mention less holidays, 20 days p/a is the figure quoted and this is the figure in my wifes contract. Is that 20 days plus bank holidays like it would be in the UK? Do they have bank holidays ?

Thanks 3 Piccos some interesting points, glad the healthcare is good & all free (4 kids etc etc), hope all goes well with your husband. There must be some negatives you can think of - what about the cold houses in winter - this seems to be a common complaint, or do you have double glazing & heating? As I've said many times before on this thread I'm not trying to "put down" OZ or dwell on the downside, it's just sooo easy to find good points and I want to look at the whole picture not just the good side of things. BTW - it didn't rain at all yesterday - to compensate it hasn't stopped at all today !

OK so must prepare for Coldness in Winter and rubbish housing stock by the sounds of it - Thanks again acj this is exactly the kind of helpful post I'm after. The reason for Warragul / Drouin area is that is where my wife may be working. I'm gonna be Daddy daycare for a bit until we are settled (4 kids aged 2 - 12), but jobs for me are likely to be more Melbourne based - you never know though, there's work everywhere for those willing - I've always worked since moving to Wales but every local programme about unemployment or deprivation contains at least 5 heavily tatooed, obese locals swigging from cider cans saying "there's no work here, see" - they never mention the fact the local Catholic schools are full to the brim with Polish kids whose parents have travelled half way across Europe to work in the meat packing factories of Merthyr Tydfil, but this is a rant for another thread I feel.... With what appears, purely from the posts I've read, to be high rises in Oz utility bills surely double glazing and good insulation will become more cost effective in the long run?

OK I don't know it's exactly 10 days with 0 rainfall - but I won't be far off I do know that - the best figs I can get are the met office stats for the Cardiff Bute Park weather station - bear in mind Cardiff is down on the coast Merthyr is up in the Brecon Beacons (mountains), so we are usually 2 or 3 degrees lower in temperature and significantly wetter. I'll be generous and give you April as part of our summer ( I would say this is Spring but I'm generous): April 150.8mm rainfall May 67.6 mm June 180.8 July 123.2 No figs for August yet but look at the current weekly forecast - no dry days in that, Cricket in Cardiff not started - due to rain. Try picking more than 10 days since May when we have had NO RAINFALL and you will struggle. Why are you so sure Merthyr Tydfil has had significantly more than 10 dry days this summer & why does it matter so much to you, it can't be proved anyway as there is no weather station in Merthyr, so you'll just have to take my word for it, I do live here after all. Anyway enough of that I will not be pulled any further into arguing with you on such a silly point, I have better things to be getting on with.