Marisawright

The trainline is better than it used to be? Geez must have been pretty bad!

 

I did the CBD commute and it's a looong trek. I used to drive from Davistown to Gosford ..ok there was parking up near the hospital but still it was a 20 min drive, then of course you arrive 10 mins before the train so there's half an hour gone. 1 hour 20 to central....10 min walk to the office.

 

That's why I said, if you're going to live on the Central Coast then you've got to live close to the station! Yes, the train used to be a lot worse, the line was in a poor state and there were constant delays and closures due to problems with the line. You can imagine what a pain it would be to find you're constantly being decanted on to a bus.

I posted on another thread about the "Wanted Down Under" program bringing families out, looking at work in Brisbane but showing them houses on the Sunshine Coast.

It's below - you'll see that the majority of people thought it was an unrealistic commute. The only reason WDU does it, I'm sure, is that if they showed the families equivalent houses in Brisbane, they wouldn't be able to afford them.

http://www.pomsinoz.com/forum/chewing-fat/244053-do-people-commute-sunshine-coast-brisbane.html

I've known several people who commuted from the Central Coast. The train line is much, much better than it used to be. Take a look at the train timetables to find a station that offers an acceptable commute, then look for towns within a few minutes drive/cycle/walk of the station (if it's a drive, check to make sure you'll be able to park at the station).

Don't even think of commuting by car. My boss did it for years and I'm amazed he's still alive. We got used to him being constantly late due to accidents and hold-ups on the highway, and he used to regale us with stories of the crashes or near-misses he'd seen on the way in. He had a few nasty smashes himself and wrote off two company cars.

The problem is that stretch of the Pacific Highway is the last stretch of the journey from Queensland for the long-haul truckers, and they're dangerously tired (or on uppers!). On top of that you have commuters rushing because they're late for work in the morning, or tired and hurrying to get home at night.

Umina Beach seems to be popular with Brits.

One of my friends was very worried about her elderly mother because she was doing the same kind of thing - of course she started to think "Alzheimers". She went to the GP who worked out that she had an infection. Once she had completed the course of antibiotics she was back to normal.

I was just making a joke Marisa. Calm down!

So was I

My metaphorical UK bread has only ultra light supermarket own brand margarine!!

Ah but that's the point! No one migrates to Australia thinking it's going to be worse than the UK, but sometimes they have rose tinted glasses on.

They may THINK their British bread is buttered with light own brand marg, but when they get to Australia, they realise it was actually M&S Farmhouse Butter.

Some folk didn't know their bread was already buttered in UK.

 

Some work it out within weeks of getting there and know turning round fast can sometimes be the best option

Like I said, unrealistic expectations.

Another vote for marriage counselling here - or maybe even mediation. You both need to sit down and talk to each other and reach an agreement about what you're going to do. It sounds as though right now, you're talking at him and he's just ignoring you. I think the only way to force him into participating is to bring an impartial outsider into it.

I have arrived in Sydney with a permanent visa and I am looking for a job (IT). It takes time as I need to go to multiple interviews and some people are still on holiday..

 

I'm staying at the moment in a temporary furnished accommodation which is quite expensive as I need to be close to the city for interviews, etc.

 

I am thinking at my options to reduce my cost of housing

If you can provide proof of adequate savings, then you should be able to get an apartment. If you look for a studio apartment then you wouldn't need much furniture, just go to IKEA and buy a sofa bed, a few kitchen essentials and an outdoor table and chairs (which you can use as a dining table now and move outside when you find your permanent home). What you save on rental will more than pay for the furniture. You're unlikely to find a rental for less than 6 months, but that's not a bad thing - once you've found a job, it will give you some time to settle in before you start hunting for your permanent home.

Although I've not emigrated I used to laugh at people wanting to return within a few weeks. I thought how do they even go on holiday. However I really struggled on my first week in Australia, it was much harder than I expected. Everything went wrong and I just didn't enjoy it as much as I thought I would. so I can see how how the feeling would be completely magnified if if sold my house, uprooted family etc

I can understand you feeling like that because you'd come to have a holiday - and what's the point of staying on a holiday that you're not enjoying?

I struggle to understand people who invest so much in starting a new life and then give it all up just because things go wrong in the first week or two. Of course it's going to be challenging to get set up in a brand new country! What did they expect? It just goes to show how many people emigrate with unrealistic expectations.

To get your family into Australia, only one of you needs to hold a visa. So if your husband is applying for the 457 you don't need to submit anything about your skills. However there is a potential snag with the 457.

A 457 is just a temporary visa - it gives you the right to stay in Australia while your husband is working for that employer, nothing more. Even if your employer says he'll make it permanent after a year, it means nothing - they're not under any legal obligation to fulfil that promise. If they change their mind and terminate the contract, the whole family will have 90 days to leave the country.

The attraction of the 457 is that you arrive in Australia with a job to go to, and your travel paid for - and many people do make the transition from 457 to permanent residency. However there are many things that can go wrong. Your husband may hate the job (if he leaves, you'll all have to go home). The employer may go through tough times and have to cut staff (if your husband loses his job, you'll all have to go home). The employer might even go broke altogether - you get the picture. In fact statistics show less than a third of 457 visa holders transition to PR: allowing for the fact that some of those people didn't want to stay, that's still a figure that should make you cautious.

In your case I would say it's worth going for. Your children are young enough that if you do have to leave the country at short notice, their education won't suffer. You can imagine people with older children need to think very carefully about the risk if they got thrown out in the middle of exams!

The bottom line is that if you decide to go for it, treat it as a temporary move. Rent out your house rather than selling it, for instance.

Your kids can have a far more advanced education, better career opportunities and the chance to attend world class universities when they grow up.

 

Actually, I agree. In terms of opportunities for further education and career, the UK is definitely better. Because the population is larger, it's financially viable for universities to offer a greater variety of degrees. The relative compactness of the UK and Europe means it's much easier to relocate to where the jobs are, and the fact that many companies are headquartered in the UK/Europe also helps.

However I don't agree that means the whole "aussie thing" is an expensive illusion. There are pros and cons to every country. If you moved to Australia for bigger and better job opportunities, you'll be disappointed - but that is not a priority for everyone.

Also of course, not everywhere in Australia has a backward slow pace.

Rules do vary from state to state,but if they've stated a range then the bottom figure quoted is definitely the very lowest they'll even consider.

Australian real estate agents play silly games, they promise the seller a ridiculous price to get the business, then persuade them to offer it at a lower figure "to tempt buyers in". The theory is that once you've got buyers interested, they can be persuaded to increase their price. It always amazes me that sellers fall for that tactic because it never works.

Chances are what the seller really wants is the price at the top of the range. If the property hasn't been on the market long, it's likely they'll hold out for that price. The longer the property is on the market, the more likely they are to accept a lower offer.

Once you are legally resident in Australia, then you are liable for tax on your income from ALL sources worldwide, like any other Australian resident. You get the same allowances etc as any other Australian resident.

As for Canadian tax, that depends on Canada. Once you've left Canada you are no longer legally a resident, and in most countries that means you'll be taxed differently to a resident. In some countries non-residents are taxed more harshly, in others less harshly. This article may help.

https://turbotax.intuit.ca/tax-resources/tax-compliance/5-tax-tips-for-nonresidents-of-canada.jsp

Finally, Australia and Canada have a double tax agreement. That means you won't be taxed twice on the same income. When you submit your Australian tax return you would declare your Canadian income, and then also declare the Canadian tax you paid on it, and the Australian tax man would take that into account.

6 weeks to go and getting bored. To early to pack / ditch things. I only work 1 day a week for my old business. Have to start sorting garage or pack something soon.:goofy:

With only 6 weeks to go, you should be well stuck into the decluttering already! That, and the packing always take a lot longer than you think.

I see, I have just searched the two quickly and 189 seems do-able. My OH wouldn't want to commit to any job until visiting the place and meeting the people

With the 189 visa there's no job involved at all, it's a case of moving to Australia and then seeking work after you arrive.

If you decide to go for the 457 visa instead, then your oh is right to want to check out the job thoroughly before accepting it. On a 457 you are tied to that employer: if you don't like the job and quit, you lose the visa and you have 90 days to leave Australia (unless you can find another sponsor before then).

How much would that cost if we were to apply for a 457, also would my OH have to make contact with a possible employer for it to be granted?

 

It wouldn't work with a 457 - it would work with a permanent residency visa. If you can get one of the PR visas then you should go for it, even if you're not sure that you'll stay forever - a 457 just gives you a temp job in Australia for a few years, it doesn't give you any right to stay.

I know Sydney is a whole new world! everyone says Northern Beaches is a must....ive never actually been to Sydney so its pie in the sky for me. Here is the list of essentials, and hopefully you sydneysiders can assist me with locations!!

 

 

 

• Private all girls school (daughter goes to a fab all girls school here and is thriving...)

• Don't want to have to do a 30 minute drive to school and back (as I do here), I want her to have access to friends out of school

• Hubby needs a 20 (30 mins max) train drive into CBD

• I want a house with a POOL! its essential!

• Not too worried about being close to beach, we can see the beach now and we NEVER go there

• Thats it really!!

 

 

So essentially, close to CBD, a pool, great school for daughter and Im happy!! I would welcome some great suburb suggestions!! (Oh and one last thing, I am obsessed with the east coast swimming pools carved in the rocks at the beach, would be lovely to have one of them to go to every day!)

A 30 minute commute is a short commute by Sydney standards. There are no trains to the Northern Beaches, though there is the ferry from Manly.

http://www.businessinsider.com.au/cheat-sheet-the-top-10-private-schools-for-girls-in-sydney-2015-5#1

Of the schools on the list, it will be very much cheaper to live close to Presbyterian Ladies College in Croydon or Meriden College in Strathfield than any of the other choices. Both have excellent reputations. Personally I like the area around PLC - Ashbury is a lovely old-established suburb full of original Federation houses, and you can pick one up for around $1.5 million which is cheap by Sydney standards. I find the Inner West less pretentious and conservative than the North Shore but each to their own.

You can check house prices on domain.com.au and realestate.com.au

I am going to buy a house and I am on PR 189. What if I decide to return before I am elligible for citizenship, do i need to sell the house? Can I keep it and rent it? But since if I return and will lose the PR , how can I return to Oz later on ? Was just thinking of this situation and looking for answers

You can certainly keep it and rent it out, but you will have to pay tax at 30% on the rent. If you have doubts about whether you want to spend your life in Australia, I would think twice about buying, though - by the time you've paid conveyancing costs, stamp duty, rates etc, you're not going to be any better off than if you paid rent for a few years.

If you decide to return before you get citizenship, you can apply for a RRV (Resident Return Visa) which will give you the right to return to Australia within a certain period (probably 5 years).

Some people will say, don't bring furniture because you're going to have to wait two months for it to arrive, and you can't manage without it.

I disagree. I recently moved in the other direction and I wish I'd shipped stuff. For one thing, I had enough on my plate without trekking round furniture stores. The fact that I wasn't familiar with the stores, and didn't know where they were, made it worse. Secondly, for things like lounge suites, many stores don't keep stock and you have to wait six weeks for delivery anyway!

You say "Victoria area" rather than Melbourne - when we first emigrated we were in country Victoria, and we found it extremely difficult to buy furniture. There just weren't any furniture stores in the small towns and most people drove to Melbourne for furniture shopping, something we didn't have the time to do. We ended up having to buy second-hand stuff from deceased estates, and borrowing from work colleagues.

So I would say, ship as much as you can. It may sound expensive, but just sit down and add up how much it will cost you to replace everything you've got - and remember, if you ship furniture then you'll be able to fill up all the little spaces with stuff like toys, crockery, towels, cutlery, kitchen utensils, pots and pans - and they can all be more expensive than you realise.

When you arrive, buy an outdoor table and chairs and use them indoors until your dining table, chairs and lounge suite arrive. A picnic set will give you a basic set of knives, forks, plates etc.

Wardrobes - Australian houses tend to have built-ins so they're not an issue. Beds are more difficult - sizes are a bit different in Australia so your British sheets etc won't quite fit, so unless you have lots of bedlinen, it may be easier to leave the beds behind and buy new when you arrive.

Fantastic Furniture is good for really cheap furniture, it won't last long though! Freedom Furniture, Oz Furniture and IKEA are in the next rung. Harvey Norman is the big name in furniture and has a range of prices.

Once you've got your visa, there's no obligation to work in any particular occupation.

Thank you for the information, I'll speak to another agent before I make a decision on what to do next. I don't fancy working as a scuba instructor full time but if this is what it takes to be able to emigrate I'd happily take a pay cut for a couple of years. Wish us luck

Unfortunately that's not the whole story - you also need to be able to get enough points, and by the time you've got the experience you'll be 45 - which means you lose points.

If migrating is so important to you, then I advise speaking to one of the agents recommended, and be prepared to pay for more detailed advice than just an initial free consultation, for two reasons.

One, if the answer is still "no", it's clear you're not going to be satisfied until you feel you've explored every possible avenue. It would be better to spend the money and get a clear explanation than waste months or even years trying in vain to beat the system. Both the agents named are experts - if they can't find a way round it for you, the way doesn't exist.

Two - if there is a way, you need to act fast because your age is against you, so you don't have time to try to work it out for yourself.

Why would you not enrol for Medicare? If you were in the UK, would you not register for the NHS? It's exactly the same thing.

I assume that you are seeking to avoid the Medicare levy, but I'm pretty sure that all Australian residents are liable to pay the levy whether or not they actually enrol for Medicare. The only way to avoid/reduce it is to be earning less than the threshold or to have appropriate health insurance.

Never seen a cockroach since moving to Tassie.

Really? When we come back to Australia I'm definitely moving to Tassie then.

If you have an occupation that's listed on the SOL, you are eligible to apply for permanent residency immediately, without having a job to go to.

If you have an occupation that's listed on the CSOL, then you are eligible to apply for PR but you must have sponsorship from a state or from an employer.

For both lists, it's not enough to be working in that occupation - you need to have the qualifications AND the experience specified.

I think you should get a second opinion and the agents recommended by The Pom Queen have a good rep on these forums. However be prepared - some people simply can't emigrate and there is no way round it, short of retraining in a different field, and at your age you could be too old by the time you'd done that (migrants over 50 are not accepted).