Bromney

Very tough situation to be in. My situation is similar to Harpodom in that I am British and my wife is Aussie, we've been here about 1.5 yrs now. I understand your reluctance to move to the UK because the chances are your wife will feel happier there and you will then (possibly) feel down living somewhere you don't really want to be. The stark reality is that one of you have to be away from your family and the geographical distance makes this extremely hard. I have no easy solution for you, I guess it really depends on how much you are prepared to compromise for your wife and child. Give some thought to the adage 'A happy wife is a happy life'. You have my utmost sympathy as I am not entirely happy being in Australia but I have made the conscious decision to do this for my wife and child. I miss my elderly parents like crazy but take solace in that my sisters are there to support them.

No, wasn't the customs form. Oh well, maybe I'll just try a different post office next time!

Thanks for the replies all. The people at the post office can't be very good as no one bothered to explain I could track this on-line. I find quite a few Australian websites lacking in usability so just didn't bother checking the Aus Post website. Anyway, I was specifically asked to fill out a card and was told this would be returned to me to prove delivery, of course I never saw that card ever again. What irks me is that I paid a premium for this service, either Aus Post is shoddy or the people at the post office I used are clueless.

Hi All, Can someone please explain the recorded delivery through Australian Post? I have now, twice, sent a recorded delivery to the UK and paid extra to get delivery confirmation. I have not received delivery confirmation on either occassion and at least one of my deliveries did make it to it's destination. Who is responsible for sending me the delivery confirmation card, is it the recipient of the letter or should it be Aus Post responsibility? If it's the former I can't see the justification in paying extra for recorded delivery!

Yeah I think you're right, we've discounted Padstow. Yep, looking further afield. The commute isn't the problem for me but we want to be close to as family as possible as the further we move the less likely we are to see them. Family are in inner west.

I currently live in Mortdale but its too pricey hence looking a bit further out. My ideal would be Oatley as its beautiful but way out of our price range. A colleague's in-laws live in Padstow and they've told me some of the positivies and negatives. I feel with a young baby I would worry about my wife and the baby as it does seem there is more crime there. Only last week I read in the MX about a guy that stole a blind lady's handbag in Padstow, how low can you get?! If you are unfortunate enough you can be a victim of crime anywhere and that's the reality but I feel Padstow to be that little bit unsafer. Looked in Riverwood and once we saw it we kept driving on!

I've been in Sydney for 16 months, have been living with family and renting for the last 10 minths. In the process of selling our UK property to be able to buy something here. Padstow is affordable(ish) but I'm not sold that it is a 'safe' area so we'll be looking a little further out, Gymea, Kirrawee and the likes.

I heard of this 'subcontracting' recently from an Indian colleague. This is nothing more than agencies like Lester taking advantage of people in a poor position, it is abhorrent to make you do all the leg work and then charge you a fee for the visa. The legalities of this are very questionable i would imagine. I'd also comcur with verystormy, you face a ban and deportation is immigration get wind of your plans while on a tourist visa.

Marisa makes some great points as do others. Make sure you see the properties before you buy as you may be disappointed with the build quality of some of the properties, majority I've seen are brick veneer which makes the walls feel very thin. Why not get your husband over first a few weeks ahead so he can at least sort out a rental and the like before you and the kids come over? Maybe a little bit less stress that way.

Hi, Does anyone have any good tips on getting cheap(ish) flights for August/September from Sydney to London return? Am I able to buy a ticket from London for a Sydney to London return with the starting leg being in Sydney? Ta.

Really depends on your experience, your area of expertise (i.e. financial services, ERP, etc) and location. For Sydney $90k would be right for a junior PM, you'd be looking at $140k to $160k as a senior PM with experience in the financial services industry.

How has your search been going? We've just started looking at the Padstow area too!

I live close to Hurstville and in fact it is my closest biggest shopping center. I have been out to dinner a few times at night and have been there a lot in the day. Yes it does have a lot of Asians there but it feels totally safe. It is very busy and the trains, at peak times, get very packed so it's not a particularly nice line to travel on (Illawara). There are lots of rises and it does have a real city rush type feel to it. Overall I think it's OK but I wouldn't choose to live in Hurstville in itself but only cause I don't feel there's enough space to bring up a kid and we have a 4 month old.

I tried UnoTelly, it works but can be a pain to set up as once you set it up you can't get your on demand local channels.

Rego is essentially like road tax, it is registered a car and is transferrable. You can't get rego unless you CTP (Compulsory Thrid Party) insurance. The CTP is also registered to the car and is transferrable. When buying a car (especially used car) try and get these included in the price. Don't forget, you also have to include stamp duty on any car you purchase regardless of its age.

Does anyone live in or near Revesby / Padstow area? Or are very familiar with the area? Is it relatively safe for a young family? Looking to buying a house and looking around for affordable areas.

I was with O2 and wanted it unlocked, didn't realise they would unlock it for free if you're in contract with them. Anyway I was quoted $100 in some places, rang O2 and they did it for me for 15 pounds. Maybe try Vodafone in the UK? They might do it for a much smaller fee then you are likely to pay in Australia.

So I've finally decided to part ways with my iPhone 3G S, yes it has been *that* long since I bought a new phone! The phone still works great but I'm upgrading mainly because I want a phone with a better camera. I'm torn between the Nexus 5, Samsung Note 3, Samsung Galaxy 4 and the HTC One. Anyone have any of these phones and care to share their experiences whether it be positive or negative? Cheers.

Thanks for the kind offer and will certainly take you up on that. I totally agree you have to be quick and prepared hence we're only looking at properties on the web for now. Until our place is sold, we have the funds the sale and have a mortgage sorted we're not even going to bother to go to inspections.

Beautiful house, congratulations! We're in the process of selling our UK property in order to buy here so you give us hope!

I let the agent deal with it all, we got 100 pounds more than the asking price. I'm taking the money and running!

Got 2 more offers overnight, one just 2k shy of our asking price. We've had more viewings and I agree with the views here the Sydney market doesn't seem to be slowing down so we've decided to sell. Need to get on the property market here quickly especially with our first baby only 3 months away! Thanks for the replies all.

Unfortunately we need the money otherwise I would hold on to it as our flat is actually located in the South East and the surge in prices has been surprising.

UK flat on sale and will likely sell in the next week BUT market is on the way up. Do we sell and use the money for a depoist on a house in the over price Sydney market or do we hold in the hope the UK market continues its climb? At the same we'd have to rent and hope Sydney property market doesnt keep rising.

Flat on the market now and no drama's selling from overseas. Have an offer before property even hit market!