Niamh Y

Kooky it sounds to me like your head is spinning with stress that you're focusing on Oz as the answer to all of your present difficulties. As a few posters have said now, alarm bells ring for me too. You said you want the sun, beaches, wildlife, exploration. Sounds to me like you just need a good holiday and break from the rat race. Not sure the pressure of emigrating will help you in the short term. Maybe in the long term your life will improve in certain ways. I'd advise a good holiday and a career change/job change at home instead of moving for these reasons, but it sounds like you have your heart set anyway.

Not sure where you got the figure of $100, perhaps you're thinking of travel insurance..? I'd imagine medical insurance once you are here would cost much more than $100 for a family, maybe look for quotes online from HBF, Bupa.. cant think of any others. We qualify for medicare so havent looked into it yet.

Hi lano, I recently made the move from Dublin to Perth so can understand your desire/need to get out of there. Just wanted to mention one point which you probably know anyway. If you come out here on a 457 visa you and your family will have no entitlement to Medicare or to childcare rebate or other centrelink benefits. While the visa costs are much more on a 189 or 190 visa they are definitely preferable. What everyone else has said regarding expenses is all true, it costs an arm and a leg to get here and get set up. But again things are so bad at home that it's worth it in the long run for job stability, job progression, half decent lifestyle, not paying so much tax on the bailout etc. Go for it if you can x

Very exciting! I'm sitting at home right now waiting for my stuff to be collected by the shippers, they should be here any minute.

Also I just wanted to add, maybe she will be more willing to compromise and make sacrifices when she knows you better. Its probably all very scary for her too and it is also difficult being the one that someone picks up and moves half way across the world for. There's huge pressure to make it all work and guilt for asking someone to move that far. I think it boils down to you two not knowing each other well enough.

Ok meca sweden isnt perfect, where is. But you still seem to have a nice life there, you're close to your family, good job with 6 weeks holidays, free healthcare etc You're getting good advice. Go for 6 months and test the water. Get to know your girl better. You'll probably have made up your mind either way after only a couple of months.

No its not your case officer, they refer it to the delegate in the department who decides on refunds. It'll be outside of your case officer's control.

Oh no thats so sad

I guess its a sign that (some) newspapers would rather entertain than inform its audience.

Maybe the child was found?

Mike Cant help but reply. I dont get any child rebate or anything remotely like it here in Dublin. Childcare is so expensive in Ireland that it prices mothers out of the work force after they have two+ children. It simply doesn't pay to go to work for a lot of mothers here at the moment, which ultimately is bad for the economy and doesnt do anything to help financial stagnation both on a personal and national level. Providing a childcare rebate if it promotes mothers being able to get back into the workforce, pay tax, contribute financially and be able to afford just to even get to work everyday, should not be scoffed at. Your pension whatever story is frankly irrelevant to the OPs question. Petals, get a grip. Its not about 'wanting more' as you put it. Its about being able to afford to go to work. Yes maybe wages were less in your day but cost of living was also a lot less. Ever hear of the double income trap? Its where a lot of middle class workers find themselves in this day and age in order to pay for the basics, mortgage, transport, healthcare, groceries, utility bills. You say you never thought you would get anything for having your children, you had them because you wanted them. OMG seriously, why do you think people still continue to have children? Yes its because they still WANT them and don't expect to get anything for them. But forward thinking governments know that if mothers can't get out to work because the cost of childcare exceeds wages, the country's tax take and growth is affected. So seriously, its not about mothers on the take, its about mothers contributing. WOW i never go on an internet rant because generally I couldnt care less about what people post, but your comments are so ignorant they made my blood boil.

Hi Lakaal The $31,500 (after rebate) you'd pay for 2 preschoolers in full time childcare in Melbourne sounds roughly the same as you'd pay for the same service in Dublin. I dont know where in Ire you are but creches around Dublin are approx €900 per month for one child (sometimes more, they can be €1,000 or even 1,200) But say if you got a creche for €900 per month (which is what I pay here), so €1,800 for two children. For the year thats €21,600.. which converts to just under $31,500. Maybe as you have 3 children an au pair may work out cheaper?

Hi lakall I’m not sure if I’ll be any help but I just wanted to respond anyway as you sound so confused. I’m in Dublin but moving to Perth in 6 weeks on PR visa. We did a lot of weighing up options, pros and cons. I don’t think there are many who make such a big move without playing it over and over again in their heads. Even at this stage, when everything is done and I’m just waiting to go, I still have moments of WTF.. what am I doing. And the guilt of leaving family is killing me the closer we get. I think ultimately, even though it hurts to be away from your parents and to separate your kids from their grandparents, you have to think about what’s best for your little family as a whole. It sounds like you yourself have it quite handy here (sorry I really don’t mean to be smart when I say that) but working 2 days a week with a child minder you love and being able to take the summer off is a major bonus for any working mother with small kids. It’s definitely not something most would give up lightly. On the other hand your husband doesn’t seem to have it as easy with no back up if he got sick, the responsibility of being the full time earner and no job security. I guess it seems like a move to Aus would even things up a bit between you, in that your husband would have more job security and at the same time you would be working and earning so the burden wouldn’t all be on him. At the end of the day, it’s all about which scenario is best for both of you and your kids, in the short term and long term. Maybe do a bit more research on what jobs you both could likely get, salary, cost of living, childcare costs and rebates, housing, basic family logistics, who will do morning drop offs to crèche & school, who will collect and all that, would you need two cars and then reconsider everything in comparison to your life here in Ireland. Also the cost of the visa, as you said approx €6000, flights for the family, another €4000 maybe.., rental deposit plus first month’s rent when you get there, buying an aussie car, holiday let while you arrive and sort out a rental, a container costs approx €3800. Then you have to service your mortgage at home, service the house as a landlord and all the costs involved, property tax, standard and maintenance of the place, letting agents fees etc. It seriously adds up. It’s definitely not an easy solution. If it was, everyone in Ireland would do it at the moment. I agree life in Ireland is so unbelievably tough right now for young families and there is no prospect for it improving for at least another decade, probably longer. What realistic future will your children have here? No one can tell the future but all the signs point to years and years of unemployment, underemployment and emigration ahead. That’s just the way it is for our small country, it always has been. I think our decision was probably marginally easier than yours because even though we both worked full time, neither of us had job security and no prospect of changing/improving jobs here. Both of our occupations are in demand in WA and salaries are good. Our salaries here had been cut and combined with increase in income tax, life just became impossible. Don’t even get me started on the universal social charge. Also the fact that there is not so much as a sniff of a tax credit for full time workers with children in childcare, honestly it sickens me. All in all it is the right move for us right now, financially and economically. If that changes in the future so be it, we can reconsider life again. Best of luck with it.

I haven't read the replies but I think you should stop worrying about the future, kick back for a few years down under, work hard, play hard, save if you can, and then worry about the big decisions much farther down the road. Please dont worry about what's best for your kids years before you have them. Trust me, when they do come along, your plans, outlook, basically your whole world will be turned upside down (in a good way) so just enjoy the easy life while you can :cool:

Hi ghostgirl To answer your question, when I was down under on my whv I was much healthier than I am here. I'm one of those moaners who hates the rain and cold and wont go out to exercise for practically the whole winter, although I do enjoy a crisp frosty morning but in reality in dublin those days are very rare, its mainly lashing rain and windy enough so that you're walking almost bent over with your head in the wind and trying to avoid being blown out onto a busy road. I lost so much weight during my whv and I loved being so healthy, it was a concious effort, i ate well, exercised more, enjoyed the warm weather and got outside to run, walk and swim. I also worked in a physically demanding job so that helped. I do remember being shocked at how many Aussies we're overweight when i was there and I also remember walking around the supermarket and having to pass down approximately 7 aisles of crisps, chocolate, cake and general junk food in order to get the essentials, fruit, veg, protein, milk etc. Maccers, kfc and hungry jacks are everywhere too. It's what you make of it to be fair. It sounds like you'll do ok.

Thanks for the replies, much appreciated! Wow its so scary, moving to the other side of the globe and all that. Exciting too though.

Hi all, just wondering if anyone can tell me what goes into a standard rental pack when trying to secure a house? I'm a bit worried as we wont have any references when we arrive as we live in our own house here. So i'm thinking, copies of passports, copies of visa, bank account details maybe? I'd like to have one prepared (as much as possible) so its one less thing to worry about and we can start rental hunting asap when we arrive. Thank you!

Love this post. I can't wait to go..!

I'm in Dublin if you have any specific questions I might be able to help (haven't moved back though, we are still waiting to go to Oz)

Lara and Sarah I did not know that about car seats, thanks for the info. Its annoying as we have 2 really good car seats here which I guess I'll have to try sell before we go. They cost about €450 for the two of them so i was hoping they would last a few years.. i guess not!

:biglaugh:haha i was just logging back on to tell you not to look at Perth Trotters but to look at Gumtree Best of luck with it. I'll be watching the other topic you posted with interest.

Hi gypsy, yes very exciting! Honestly I have no idea where to rent yet. I'm constantly on google maps and rent.com.au looking at the various areas and whats available. Perth Trotters mentioned above to look at gumtree for accomodation so i'll do that. I really have no preference over NOR or SOR but I'd like to be close to the city for a short commute to work but having said that I would like at least a decent 3 bed house with a nice garden, same as most i'd imagine, so cost will probably be a huge factor. Location or house mmmmmm..

Thanks all, i appreciate it! I'll look into all of those sites and options mentioned. Sarah I was planning to bring the car seat as luggage on the flight because when we buy our own car we'll need it. Do you plan on buying a new one there once you buy a car? Good luck for the 25th!

Hi all, we're planning to make the move to Perth in September; me, husband and toddler. I'm starting to think (panic) about the logistics of it all. I'd really appreciate if a few of you who have made the move would let me know your views about the first month or so. Would it be sensible to arrange for a holiday let for 1 month to allow ourselves time to look for a decent rental house? Would 1 month be enough? Also, does anyone have any good websites for organising holiday let houses, i'd really appreciate it. Regarding a car, we're thinking we'll hire one for a few weeks and buy a second hand one as soon as we can. Did most of you do this? I think that's all for the moment. Thanks

Great post and very informative for those of us just about to make the move.