Meerkat

I was looking into my own RRV application options and found this definition of a former permanent resident which may be of use to you: An Australian permanent resident is defined as someone who holds a permanent residency visa (i.e. a visa that allows you to lawfully remain in Australia indefinitely). Under Section 82, your permanent residency visa will cease if another substantive visa comes into effect. If you’re granted a temporary visa that comes into effect (except for ETA or Border visas) after you are granted a permanent residency visa, then your permanent residency visa will cease. Consequently, you have become a former permanent resident. You may be eligible to apply for a RRV on the basis of being a former permanent resident as long as your last permanent residency visa was not cancelled. Being a ‘former permanent resident’ is a status. You don’t lose this status just because your RRV application is refused or if you’re granted a temporary visa. Source:- http://myaccessaustralia.com/australian-permanent-residency-subclass-155-resident-return-visas-rrv/

Just interested to know if you are you talking central Perth or do prices vary the further you go outside of Perth eg northern, southern, etc suburbs? After all if you were to compare London prices to Yorkshire prices or a major city compared to a suburb much further away from the centre in the UK there will always a marked difference based on location.

Curious to know what you pack for your kids school lunch in Oz. We have a healthy schools policy at our UK school so my kids take a packed lunch of: Sandwiches usually cheese or ham, sometimes tuna, egg, etc or occasionally a pasta salad Salad items eg some tomatoes, cucumber/carrot/celery sticks, etc Yogurt or Fromage Frais usually the tube style ones rather than a pot as not great for their lunch bag when they send it home half eaten Piece of fruit or grapes, strawberries, etc Fruit juice carton Occasionally I might pop in a cake, cereal bar, choc biscuit bar or a packet of crisps for a little extra treat or if I have run out of yogurt, salad or fruit They also have milk through school for morning break costing 20p each day and have to take a drinks bottle filled with water and the eldest needs fruit for morning break too. Sweets and sugary snacks are frowned upon especially for break, but our school is not as harsh as some that don't even allow any chocolate at all in their lunch box. At our school a hot lunch costs £2.10 and there are 3 choices of main and 1 dessert, but although Jamie Oliver worked wonders with his healthy school meal policy it's still not great and I wouldn't rely on it for their main meal of the day as the portioning means they would still be starving by tea time! Interested mostly as I can't see Frubes/tube yogurts or 6 packs of 125g pots on Oz supermarket website and that is something they love so I rely on heavily

Thanks for your replies, that's really helpful. They both enjoy and do well in maths so that's reassuring and getting some info from the secondary school is a great idea plus I could ask some of the mums who already have kids there if they know how streaming works at the school too which I hadn't thought of before. Thank you that seems to be one ticked off my worry list now

Hi, thanks to all this has reassured me. I think my main worry is do UK schools make the decision which group (ie top, middle, bottom) to put a child in at secondary school during Y6 or before then ie during Y5. My eldest (Sept birthday) is in Y4 at primary school here and if we returned after a year would come back to mid Y5, when visits to secondary schools would take place, as the decision on which secondary school to go to has to be taken in the Oct when they are in Y6. My youngest (Jan birthday) is Y2 primary and we are currently investigating a job opportunity in Perth. I don't feel the school they are at now is necessarily the best (but it is the only one we can get to) and some parents have removed their children as they feel they have fallen behind due to substandard teaching and a dreadful headteacher. I certainly felt my eldest was held back in Y1, but this was swiftly righted in Y2 under a different teacher. They are both doing well at school now and are mid to top group level, but having seen my eldest being held back once, I would hate to see either of them lose out. On the upside I realise the experience they would gain will be an amazing opportunity for them. Meerkat

Hi, have been doing some research for diesel/truck mechanic jobs and most of these seem to based in the Eastern suburbs near Perth airport. Rule of thumb is that these jobs are generally based in industrial type areas, so where would be best to look to live? Ideally would like modern/new build 3-4 bed, in a nice area with shops and facilities, approx 30 min drive from work and not too far from the coast. Looking at renting in the region of $400pw and am not looking for city or beachside living or a pool! There are also a few jobs that are near Fremantle - what are Baldivis, Port Kennedy and Secret Harbour areas like as these don't seem to too far away? Got 2 kids in Y2 & Y4 so would have to consider schooling and not having to uproot them again to a different area. Thanks Meerkat

We are considering a move down under next spring, but have 2 kids currently in Y4 & Y2 in UK. We think it would probably be a great life experience for them, but as we understand it they would go into Y3 and Y1 in Australia. I'm not posing the Australia v UK schools question, but rather that their school seems to follow a set curriculum here so the question is if we were to return to UK after a year would this mean they would likely be behind and as a result have an affect on their education? We may not even return after a year, but it's sensible to ask the question before we go as they are settled, have made friends and seem to be doing well at school here, even if IMO the school is not the best. Thanks Meerkat