Marisawright

i'm actually already going through an agent for my application.

 

 

Is your agent MARA registered? Are you sure he knows his job? Keeping quiet about the breakup is basically illegal - you may well get away with it, but I'd be a bit suprised if a genuine agent would be willing to risk his reputation by advising a client to head down that route, so I'm worried. I certainly wouldn't talk to the visa dept until you've got a second opinion from another agent.

 

Incidentally, what part of the word 'permanent' means temporary?? As in Permanent Residency? I thought that it meant permanentally.

It does, while you're living in the country. However if you're out of the country for too long, you lose the right to come back, ever, unless you have a RRV (a Resident's Return Visa). And your RRV will only be valid for a few years. I don't know what the current limit is - I became a citizen as soon as I was eligible, to avoid any potential problems - but I'm sure others will know.

but why would it have to end in divorce emigrating doesn't cause divorce ! I would not let this emigrating business come between me and my hubby not worth it ! If I got on a plane tomoz he would follow ! There has got to be deeper problems than that !

You obviously have a very solid marriage. Also you're a good example of "when the going gets tough, the tough get going" - even though you're having a bad time, you can cope. Not everyone is so strong and not everyone is so devoted to their partner that they'd make major sacrifices for them.

I have seen people - on these forums - so deeply miserable in Australia that they've been in tears all the time, yet their other half won't contemplate moving back. Result - separation and divorce.

I'm sure your hubby didn't nag you into coming to Australia, and if you were deeply depressed about it, he'd move back for your sake. I think VeryStormy is worried that the OP is the kind of person who lets his enthusiasm get away with him, and he'll steamroller his wife into moving then be unsympathetic if she hates it.

I must be a one of the few people on the face of the earth who doesn't do Christmas. Even when we went back to the UK every 2nd year when our sons were at school - it was great to see Mum but honestly, for me it's just another day. People eating far too much and spending far too much. Also we're not religious. Of course we always exchanged gifts with close rellies and close friends but yeah .................... Bah Humbug.

You've got one other person in the same boat! Once the childhood magic had worn off, I never cared for Christmas at all. I do miss a Scottish New Year though.

Was just logging out and going off for tea, but cheers Marisa. How are you? You changed country for another, I get that. I have always put every one else first. Not anymore. How are you doing? As you know, and I would not insult

you with this comment, England has sooooo much beauty to offer. Do you need to up and move? or has it got better. Do you not think the hardest part was from Australia to England?

 

Hi @kiwiinaus I completely missed this post! Yes, it has got a bit better as we've found dance classes to go to, so we don't feel so isolated. Plus our little flat is just gorgeous with its view out over the river. But we still feel like aliens - we went on a holiday last week in Vienna, and felt far less like foreigners there than we do in Southampton! Pity we don't speak German, we'd move there tomorrow if we did!

I really don't know whether moving to another city would give us more of a feeling of belonging, but we are going to try. Our lease expires in November so we've been getting about checking out alternative cities with the objective of moving then.

what about a PR visa, say it doesn't work out after a year or two and we decide oz is not for us does can our children just go back to school here in UK?

Your children's entitlement to UK education has nothing to do with what kind of Australian visa you have - it depends on whether they are resident or non-resident in the UK before enrolment, and how long they've been away.

Oh right I thought you meant he needs licenced here. Is the only way to find out by paying for the skills assessment? Would they give you advice on the phone?

Once he gets the visa, he doesn't have to follow that profession, so there's no need for him to be licensed in Australia.

Iam a little confused to why it would cost same to come home isn't it the simple cost of flights and accommodation ?

Of course you won't have the cost of visas, medicals etc but you will still have the cost of shipping your belongings or replacing the lot (and having just done it, you need to allow a fair chunk to replace all the little stuff - kitchen utensils, pots & pans, linen, hoover, music system etc etc etc.). Like you, we just bought the bare necessities when we moved to the UK and I was surprised how much it cost.

I wish we had shipped our furniture because we would've filled the space with all those small things you don't think about but can't manage without! It would've saved us a lot of money plus the hassle of having to traipse round and replace everything.

 

I'm aware I'm taking a huge risk, but what is my best option to find a sponsored job given my situation?

You're coming over on a working holiday visa, where's the risk in that? Or do you mean you're coming with the hope of being able to stay?

The first thing to do is check whether your occupation is on the list of eligible occupations. If it's not, you have zero chance of being sponsored, even if you can find an employer who says he'll do it. Many employers don't understand the rules. A manager where I worked once promised to sponsor someone, and she was very upset when the company said no - but the fact was, the application would've been rejected anyway, she didn't qualify.

Hi there we migrated as a family of 4 in 2012 and the cost for us was about 5K british pounds to do all the visa stuff etc and that was for a permanent residency! The dog cost us around 3 1/2 K (but wasnt going to leave her!) And it was a few thousand cant quite remember exactly how much to bring our things over! We also bought our car over which ended up not being as bad as I thought cost wise! My kids were 12 and 14 when we came here and have settled really well!

Added to those costs are the ones you tend to forget - the cost of temp accommodation while you looked for a place to live, and the cost of all the myriad little things you had to buy to set up house. Plus the air fares of course!

Hi everyone!

 

I need some advice on how to tackle the gap in my CV that's getting bigger and bigger due to the fact that I am still looking for work.

 

 

I'd just acknowledge it. Call it a sabbatical.

Just a quick question, are these employers aware that the applicant is currently oversees or are they just for aus residents, do you know?

When an ad says they want "Australian residents" they usually just mean someone who has the legal right to reside in Australia, not whether or not they're actually in the country. However, most employers will be reluctant to hire someone without actually meeting them, so I'd say your chances of getting a job before you arrive are extremely remote.

I agree with the warning about temporary visas. Some employers will offer you a 457 visa with the promise that it'll "become permanent" in two years' time. It's rubbish - there is NO WAY a 457 visa can "become permanent", ever.

What MIGHT happen is that the employer will offer you a permanent job at the end of the two years, and sponsor you for a permanent visa - but there are so many things that can go wrong with that. One, the employer might hit hard times so there's no job. Two, he won't be allowed to sponsor you if the job isn't on the list of occupations at the time, or if you don't meet the requirements - and it does change.

Also, don't think that just being in Australia will give you some kind of advantage in getting a permanent visa. The requirements are exactly the same whether you apply from the UK or from within Oz - so it's much safer to apply from the UK.

If you were a single man or a young couple with few commitments, I'd say go for it anyway - if it all goes pear-shaped, young people have time to recoup their losses. For an older family with kids, a temp contract is just too much of a risk, IMO. It will cost you £20,000 to £30,000 to move out to Australia and the same again to move home at the end of the two years - can you afford to throw that much money away on an adventure?

As I'm sure you know, Australia is a young country and Newcastle is even younger, so not a lot of historical buildings! They didn't start building a proper town in Newcastle until at least the 1820's, and then the 1989 earthquake knocked a few down.

I think we do have one or two Newcastle residents here, they'd be the best people to advise on restaurants etc. As for celeb haunts - would you ask where the celeb haunts were in Winchester or Tunbridge Wells? Newcastle is a lovely city to live in, but it's not a major centre!

http://www.happycow.net/australia/new_south_wales/newcastle/

I'm sure you've already got sights like the Hunter Valley wineries, the dolphins at Port Stephens and the sand dunes at Anna Bay on your list.

Can't offer any helpful advice I'm afraid but it's a lesson for others - never say never, get your citizenship before you leave Australia.

I'm with cBus. I joined originally because I was in that industry but I stayed with them because I like the fact that they invest in real building projects, as well as the usual stocks, shares etc. Not the highest performer but it's an industry fund so low fees.

My oh is with ING Living Super and loves the simplicity of it.

You have put your finger on it @Marisawright. For some it’s a case of ‘wherever I lay my hat….’ but for the rest of us there is that really hard to define quality or aspect that makes everything click into place. And it’s hard to define because we don’t always know what ‘it’ is until we find it, or perhaps lose it.

 

Fwiw I would cautiously suggest a trip to Cardiff - as a lovely city it manages to combine the old and new, proximity to the coast, and a waterfront housing cafes, restaurants and the award winning national theatre. It’s a cautious suggestion because in your heart of hearts you may already have decided that home is one place only, or at the very least not in the UK. There’s nothing wrong with that, it just means you may be on something of a fruitless quest as every option will be clouded by that emotion or fact.

 

Whatever you decide, I hope you can find the missing piece of the jigsaw (great analogy @caramac), although it may depend on knowing which picture is on the front of the box? T x

You're the second person to suggest Cardiff, which I'd never thought of, so I should have a look! Actually I have no great desire to be near the sea although I do love my river view from my current flat.

Hi Friends,

 

We've been recommended to do an age appropriate developmental assessment and provide a report. Any recommendations for a hospital or clinic in Bangalore, India where you might have done a similar test?

 

Thanks in advance.

Most members of this forum are either British or Australian, we do have one or two Indians but not many, so I'm afraid you may not get many replies.

6 weeks here so far, have been in Bristol, Bath, Preston, Nottingham, Boston, plus a couple of villages, can't recommend any of them to you Marisa for the sort of coffee culture you are missing. Bristol and Bath seemed the best of these.

hope that helps to avoid a few more places!!!

 

off to Cornwall tomorrow, then back to Bristol. been great spending time with grandchildren, and even though I haven't lived properly in UK for 22 years, have visited fairly regularly, old friends have gone out of their way to see us, including a pub lunch in our old village with 11 there. Interesting comment made, that the only time they all get together is when we visit!

 

Very strange though, I don't feel I belong here, or want to live here, and can't wait to go home.

Not turning this into one of those stupid Oz against UK threads, just know where my home is.

Exactly how I feel I think, there are places and events in the UK I've enjoyed but that's not the same as feeling at home

No offence, but it was obvious that you would feel a massive hit / culture shock. Moving from Sydney to Southampton is a bit like moving from London to Dubbo.

...but if it's all Southamptons fault, why didn't I get a similar good feeling during my week in Exeter with my sister, nieces and nephews?

A move back to Oz perhaps Marisa?

This does make it seem more likely but there's still the issues of family and housing affordability

Here in Vienna on a city break for a few days and loving it, but having a strange realization...

Both oh and I feel very out of our comfort zone because neither of us speaks German. People do speak English here but not with the same level of ease and confidence as the Germans or the Dutch,and we've had a few misunderstandings - nothing serious but just enough to make things slightly stressful at times.

BUT in spite of that, we both feel more "at home" than we have ever since moving to the UK. It's that indefinable feeling that so many Brits leave Australia for - that feeling that they don't belong. It's not a case of life being better or worse, its a gut feel.

Well, I think I've just had it confirmed that I don't feel I belong in the UK.

Very hard to put it into words, but the Vienna lifestyle feels much closer to the Sydney lifestyle than anything we've found so far along the South Coast of England (and I don't just mean Southampton, since getting the car we've been traveling around a lot). I know people say that the arrival of the Italians, Greeks etc after WWII transformed the Australian way of life and I was never convinced - but now I see what they mean. And it seems as though I've become too much a part of that way of life and don't fit the English way any more.

The cafe society, the types of food in the bars and restaurants, the attitude of staff, the behaviour and appearance of people on the street - sure, the streetscape couldn't be more different but otherwise I feel so much more at home in Vienna. MaryRose, living in Surry Hills you'd fit right in here immediately!

As others have said, it's virtually impossible to get a rental before you leave, so just book temp accommodation and start looking when you get here.

Once you find a place, the process is much faster than in the UK. When we arrived in the UK, we were in the last week of our holiday flat booking by the time we found a place. We saw it on a Wednesday and assumed we'd be able to move in on the Monday, because that would be the turnaround time in Sydney. The estate agent looked shocked when we suggested that - impossible! In the end we had to stay an extra week in the holiday flat.

What is/are "Masonic police"? I'm an Australian and have never heard that phrase before.

I think he's talking about the suggestion that the Freemasons run the police.

I think I heard a news item about this years ago, but not since.

Corruption is a problem in every country in the world, unfortunately there's always going to be some dishonest people in every place. Australia is far from perfect, but IMO it is better than many other countries. Compared to my experiences in Africa and parts of Asia, for instance, Australia is pure as the driven snow!