Victoriagal

Absolutely correct on the visa - we moved to Australia on 444 visas being NZ citizens, didn't get that info from your first post as you mentioned being on WHV. So why are you not on PR if married to a NZ citizen? Doesn't make the work situation any better though. You will read many posts on here about work being hard to find and it being who you know not what you know. It is Christmas so guys might be busy but hopefully some sparkies in OZ might come on and let you know what the work situation is like. We spent eight years in NZ and one in OZ and now back in the UK - happy to share some of our experiences off forum - PM me if you like. Cheers.

Merry Christmas - 'twas the night before Christmas - chef's in the kitchen doing some prep, mums on the vino getting in the spirit , Shrek is on telly and the weather is atrocious! It's good to be home for Christmas!!! - (hic - that could be the vino starting it's magic). Wishing you well wherever you are.... weather report for the UK - ️ ️️️

TBH - on that Visa you will face the exact same issues. Most sparkies we knew in NZ had to do more quals and serve an 'apprenticeship' type thing where they had to have their work supervised and signed off by a sparkie that was 'fully' qualified. They found it very frustrating and they weren't on full pay until they had completed their training. These were guys that had been in the trade for donkeys! I would have thought you might have more luck picking up casual work in Christchurch - if the rebuild has kicked off yet that is!

Where are you looking for private advertisers? Is there a recommended web site they use? Trade me in New Zealand was great for finding private rentals but haven't really found anything similar in the UK. Any info greatly appreciated.

Interesting - we've been told we don't have a credit history so not sure how they can do a credit check. Wonder if we can save the money by telling them not to waste their time as we will have to pay the rent upfront?

We tried Santander but having no credit history as we have been away 9 years they wouldn't accept us. We are currently using our offshore HSBC account but don't think that will help with credit history. Have been told we won't get a rental property unless we pay upfront as we have no credit history. Also struggling to get a decent price on car insurance as no-one will accept our overseas NCD. Wouldn't mind so much but at our age and having just bought a 1.4l Desiel not exactly a high risk! Finding it it all a bit daft really especially as we have never had 'credit' our whole life! I will try some other banks I the new year and see how it goes.

Cost from Melbourne for 20ft - $7,300. HTH.

Have to say I'm with Quoll on this one. We have come back to the UK for a few reasons but one was that the support at school for our son with Aspergers, although promised, never materialised and the bullying from students and teachers was just dreadful and even written complaints failed to resolve things. It became so bad we just pulled him from school completely in the end. He will be the first to point out that primary school (he's had four) has been dreadful for him and we are very aware of the need to make sure this is not repeated at High School and to be honest given the emotional turmoil he has been through if we do manage to find a place where he is happy we would not take the risk of moving him for all the tea in China. We figure as adults we can adapt to most scenarios but much more trauma for him could just tip him over the edge - so for us the decisions we are making now are entirely in pursuit of happiness for him. Obviously I don't know your daughters position but if like my son she needs a therapist then I would have thought she would need the stability and security of what she is currently comfortable with and the uncertainty and anxiety of the move would not be good for her. I think every child deals with change differently - I had 13 schools over 13 years of education and thought the experience of 'travel' would be good for my son... but sometimes on reflection I wonder if all that travel for the last 9 years have caused more problems than any of us could have realised. I can in no way make these decisions for you - and they are tough ones - merely give you a little insight to our experiences in the hope that they may help. Big hugs - being a mother to these 'special' children is hard enough but sounds like you are doing it on your own too! Something else to consider is if you are making this move without support at the other end you have to also deal with the maze of culture shock and navigating the health and education systems on your own. Do not underestimate how hard that is especially while handling three sets of emotions to boot. :hug:

Left the Army with no real plans as we had an unexpected pregnancy very late in life so went travelling for a year and ended up in New Zealand, had a great time. Earthquakes pushed us on to Melbourne and we've decided it's not the right place for us at the moment so moving back to the UK for a while until we figure out our next move... Rolling stone and all that - but junior is coming up for high school so may need to stay grounded for a wee bit?

The way I see it if the 'system' is set up for people to make a claim (on anything), you will get those who will stay within the boundaries of its intent and those who will try and push the boundaries to the limit and some who will even see if they can stretch the boundaries past it's intended limit - just because they can. Human nature I reckon. Only way to take the human element out is change the 'system/rules'. Simple example - in our business we said to the guys take a drink from the fridge with your lunch. Interesting to see the ones that would go for the basic cokes etc and one who would always take the most expensive drink and would 'order' something for lunch rather than just grab something from the cabinet that would probably go to waste. You could almost see his brain working it out. I'm going to get the most I can from this, cos I'm entitled. Which they aren't, but we have always given staff meals and let them have stuff if it was going to waste anyway. (And we are not low/minimum wage payers). When we were closing down this week same person was desperate to see what he could have, the others were thankful but not so 'greedy'. Strange thing is the one always trying to get 'more' lives at home with wealthy parents and the others were students on their own. OH and I often comment on these kind of news items - when is 'enough' - enough. Why is it those that have 'enough' seem to need more. Studies have shown that having income over a certain level doesn't make you any happier..... All JMHO of course - happy being neither rich nor poor. (financially that is).:wink:

Wow - naive or very trusting or both? to leave your passport and belongings unattended like that. No wonder the cops thought he was taking a one way trip!

haggis is is really tasty if cooked right.... Especially if it has the right accompaniments - like a good 80/ or a malt!

Hi - not in Sydney (Melbourne) but if it helps I got quotes from Jetpets as they were recommended on here then I googled another two companies based in Melbourne and compared prices and service. Went with Jetpets, they were the cheapest too and so far customer service and communication has been great. We work long hours and it's not been easy to get things arranged but they have been really helpful and accommodating.

Ooooh. Arbroath smokies - now there's a memory, added to my list for the trip up, probably have to do the rellies at Christmas!

Curry, then Chinese, then fish n chips, then square sausage baps (when we get to Scotland), then..... Yeah maybe a kebab, used to be a great wee van at the end of our street, wonder if it's still there 9 years on?

Just had three quotes for 20ft at end of month. Melbourne to South-west. Time of year matters by all accounts as once into December this is their 'peak' time. 1 - $7300 plus extra for boxes as self packing plus $40 for delivering them! 2. - $7300 with as many boxes as I want delivered for free. (Initially $7600 but got them to match 1). 3. - $8500 all in but not 'allowed' to self pack. HTH - went with option 2.

We have a live in 'Demi-pair', Demi as in part time. He is a Korean student on a WHV trying to improve his English. In exchange for bed and board he has to do four hours work a day. He gets our boy off to school, does housework, washing and ironing and is back for when school is finished. He also does some part-time work evenings/weekends at a restaurant for extra cash. As we leave the house at 5.30am and don't get back in till 5pm it's a huge help to us. The agency is often looking for host families especially for the lads as some families prefer the girls. The arrangement is normally for 12 weeks and works in with them attending a college to learn English but our guy chose to stay on for longer. He has his own room, a study and his own bathroom, so for him better than sharing a room with two others which is what is friend does.

I have a HIFX account here that covers fee free transfers from here and NZ back to the UK and another in the UK that does the fee free transfers from UK to here. Never paid a fee - use the online exchange calculators etc to lock in the best rates by the minute if need be and it's so easy. Better rates than the banks, no fees and no hassles, never had a problem in all the 9 years I've been using them. Have also used them (when rates were really good) to lock in a rate for a year and transferred a set amount monthly.

Two great sofas for sale - made to order by Kovacs in New Zealand. Very good condition, very comfortable and from a smoke free home. Measurements 3 seater - 2640mm long x 1000mm deep 2 seater - 2200mm long x 1000mm deep Pickup from Eastern suburbs, Melbourne. PM me for phone no. Viewing possible tomorrow or weekday evenings.

How about if you book online using a company like holiday autos? They book hire cars in the UK (well any country I think) for holiday makers. So figure any holiday maker using a hire car would use the driving licence of their country of origin without any problems. Let's face it hundreds of people arrive in London from around the world and pick up a hire car without any problems every day. You will have to pay part in Aussie dollars so have the exchange rate to deal with but you have that anyway going back.

Probably - we bought our tramp and other outside things that were cleaned and oiled and soaked in spider killer spray (from NZ), even the BBQ and it all made it through. It was cleaned but by no means in 'as new' condition as the things had over eight years use! Just do the best but don't stress too much. I binned out all my wicker baskets only to find some when I unpacked that had slipped through the net and they made it through too!

Oh after the one meeting we have had with her I would say she has many opinions about us - and most would be well wide but hey she doesn't know us and I'm fairly sure doesn't wish to so I'm happy to give a wide berth and see the year out. Junior has Aspergers and is being pulled out for extension work with the VP as well as doing extra Maths work all of which I think she disapproves of. By all accounts she is an expert at 'dealing' with children on the spectrum and did not require any input from us or his psychologist. So we meet with the VP who is a very charming man who appears to have our sons interests at heart and likes to update us on all the wonderful things he is capable of! Because of course we have no idea of our sons 'abilities' as he has a 'disability'. Sorry for the cynicism but I really struggle to work out what some teachers are thinking at times. Do they think that parents walk around in some sort of bubble totally disconnected from their children or are we all stupid and only teachers can possibly know about how to teach? My thoughts are that even in twenty plus years of teaching there is always room to learn more and that sometimes you do get a square peg and chances are the parents can pass on some useful insights into how that child works. But hey that's me as a parent speaking not as a teacher. I also appreciate what help the school is giving and appreciate some of the wonderfully understanding teachers he has had. I also appreciate limitations of the system, just not his current teacher - she is not flavour of the month/year/century....

Call me a wuss but really don't want to go for Miss sourpuss to tell me something I don't already know or that is not going to change anything. Already meet with vice principal once a month anyway. Can I get away with not going? Junior is not bothered either way and dad has said count him out!

My 'Gifted Aspie' (yr 5) is very much in a minority at his state school and yes it's been a tough six months for him, but in fairness to the 'system' they have limited resources for dealing with the kids that fall on either side of the bell curve and for someone like him often its more a case of trying to find a sympathetic teacher that can handle his frustrations and encourage him to excel rather than give up because it is all too boring! The school are just beginning to realise his 'potential' and have allocated one-on-one time to allow him to explore his interests further, so as he has pretty much finished the primary curriculum he gets to do some science, history, IT etc. and he does year 7+ math in an extension class. He is also now getting accommodations to allow him to type all his work on his ipad which has reduced his stress levels and helped the school understand the level of work he can actually produce. I think all of this is a reasonable compromise to allow him to also socialise with his age peers and have the education of the school yard, and yes some of those 'lessons' have been the hardest of all. For our part he goes to a robotics club after school and has a holiday club where he gets to explore ancient civilisations, science etc and we spend an inordinate amount of at museums and art galleries! We have neither the time nor resources here to home school or go to a private school, although we did both for a period of time in NZ, so are happy to get the 'best' achievable outcome we can from the state system. I have to say that given we would qualify handsomely for the tall poppy comments both here and in NZ it has never been raised and certainly has never been an issue. ​Everyone we have dealt with in terms of our sons education has recognised failings in the system and their limited resources but on a whole has tried their best to make accommodations, allowances and exceptions where they can. With a couple of notable exceptions we have encountered some great teachers and they are always the ones that will make the difference. I don't believe that schools and teachers want to 'fail' these students but they have a difficult enough task dealing with the mainstream never mind the exceptions and they don't need us to tell them how to do their job, so it helps if we work in partnership. As our vice principal said last week at yet another meeting to work on our sons education plan, it takes a village to raise a child. I agreed with him but pointed out that if the school were not 'in' our village then it was a very small village indeed.

We bought frosted film online and fitted it ourselves in our last coffee shop. We just took the measurements for each window and the film was cut to size. Watched the video on how to install it and so long as you follow that it's easy peasy! That was a company in NZ but imagine there would be the same here!