rosiew

Welcome. Torquay is a lovely place to live. Do you have a job that can be easily done in the area?

You have to also consider if you would be happy to be renters for a long time. If you currently own a property you may find it hard to go back to renting. Also, on that income you would not be able to return to the UK very often. There are threads on here about requalifying as a solicitor - including estimates of how many subjects and how much it will cost. You may well be very surprised how many subjects will be required. Unless you have a particular speciality you may also struggle to find work that justifies the expense - Australia has a large of over supply of lawyers, and Sydney has many UK lawyers who are requalifying and competing for work. I'm sorry to be a purveyor of doom! Perhaps don't fixate on that one job based in Bondi Junction.

I'm sure that the hackers are fascinated by the number of housework hours we knock out in a week....

If you are planning to work in the city, I would say neither. Get a realistic idea of your commute and don't just think about the fact that you can get a big house relatively cheap

If you think that is harsh, spare a thought for the British children whose parents return to the UK after 3 or 4 years in Australia. They are usually classed as international students - huge fees, no loans. That is why this forum is full of warnings to the parents of teenagers to seriously consider all of the potential downsides of emigrating at that time - which often coincides with the parents quickly reaching age cut offs.

Conspiracy theorists get everywhere........

Thank God somebody else said it. Just because it's sometimes 'Brissie" it is NEVER Mellie..........................

I see on ebay that the van alone is $50-65,000 second hand. That's a lot of ice creams!

I'd be patient and wait for Victoria over SA unless you know that there are jobs in SA in biotech that cannot be filled locally

Because Mooloolaba is a holiday town, I'd contact some agents about getting a good deal on a holiday let for 3 months. Arriving in August your 3 months will be up before the peak summer holiday season kicks in and you may be able to negotiate a better rate as a long term tenant. Google "holiday rentals mooloolaba" and send a few emails.

You seem to have it the wrong way around for hospital types. In public hospitals the midwives are fully involved and managing ante and post natal care and births. Most people who have a baby in a private hospital are there because they have a private obstetrician managing their delivery. All nurses/ midwives need to be degree qualified for registration. Have a look at some of the nurse specific threads on here for a better idea of registration and employment prospects which vary widely around the country. Good luck with it all!

Lots of school rankings available for all states and levels - http://www.bettereducation.com.au

The 12 months includes the pregnancy btw. So you have it for 3 or 4 months before conceiving

If you have a baby in the public system it is just like the NHS. Hospital visits for checks etc. If you need a c-section it is done by the doctors at the hospital - no charge to you. Your GP may also offer 'shared care' which means that they will do your prenatal checks at the surgery rather than going to hospital - and then it is off to the hospital to have your babies with the midwives as usual. This is how most babies are born, just like in the UK. The difference here is that having a baby privately is more popular than it is the UK because with Medicare contributing to the cost and private insurance it is affordable for a lot of people. Some people also like to choose their own obstetrician to deliver the baby. The difference with having a baby privately is that you choose an obstetrician and s/he manages your ante natal care and comes to the delivery. It is not about which hospital you are at - as soon as you have your own doctor you are a 'private' patient whatever type of hospital you are in. Medicare will cover part of your visits to the obstetrician for your prenatal checks at his or her rooms and your treatment in hospital (just like you normally claim back part of the cost of visits to the doctor). You will need private health insurance to cover the hospital stay. Most people find that the obstetrician fees are a lot more than you can claim back from Medicare - this reflects the cost of their insurance etc. I paid about $2000 in additional fees 15 years ago..... At the end of the day if you are happy with the NHS style of management and birth then you should find it similar here relying on the public system. Talk to your GP about shared care too if that seems to work better for you. Melbourne has excellent public hospitals to have babies at such as the Mercy Hospital for Women in Heidelberg, The Royal Women's Hospital in Parkville and the Monash Medical Centre in Clayton. Personally I think it is better to choose one of these big hospitals as they can also take excellent care of your baby if extra care is needed.

I'm just clarifying this for people who may have been completely scared off..... The median house price in Melbourne is around $700,000. That means that half of the houses sold in Melbourne cost less than that. Yes, houses in Melbourne are very expensive and it is a very difficult market to move into if you do not bring a lot of equity with you, or as you say, have a cashed up relative to help you out. I think it is important that new arrivals look into the cost of housing near any job that they apply for. This is difficult for people arriving on 457 visas in particular who are tied to an area but may find they face a long commute to affordable housing. There are thousands of houses for sale in Melbourne and surrounds built on concrete slabs with central heating (and air conditioning). However, many of them are further out from the CBD and for whatever reason obviously have not worked for your circumstances. Good luck with the move back. You will certainly feel cosier in winter by the sound of it.

If you have a look on the map you will see that Reservoir and the airport are not too far apart as the crow flies. If you google kennels near Melbourne airport you should easily find one in the northern part of Melbourne between you and the airport. The area around Greenvale and Bulla has a few kennels. As for rentals, many will accept a cat. Almost all rentals are unfurnished so as you say it is less risk.

I think you can just enjoy yourselves for a bit first!

When it comes to secondary schools that enforce a zone, they can be a bit more ruthless. They do sometimes expect that you will move your child if you move house and some will call around to your address to check that you actually live there! Primary schools are usually not so concerned. That price difference in a move of two suburbs can sometimes relate to the quality of the secondary school in the more expensive suburb. It has been estimated to add a 6 figure premium in some areas.

If you were not asked to prove a permanent address in the zone when you enrolled it seems unlikely that it is a very strictly zoned school.

It depends on the school and how strictly they enforce the zone. Most will not ask a child to leave even if they leave the zone after starting school. Obviously you may want to move her anyway at some point unless you want to drive a long way to school every day for 7 years.

Petals and I suggested Sunbury last time you asked - and it is still worth a look if you want facilities, a garden, trees, a train and an easy freeway drive to the city whenever you need to go by car.

By the way, this all depends on what part of Collingwood. The South Western corner of Collingwood is almost the edge of the CBD and you could come from anywhere to get there really. The train stations in Collingwood are to the east of the suburb.

I think 500k will take you beyond tram routes for a house. On the train, the line that goes through the stations in Collingwood is the south morang line. You'd need to look at Epping or south morang for a detached house. A bit closer in like reservoir for a townhouse (2 on the block).

They are known as South Eastern - we use the whole compass except the South West because it is a bit wet that way....

I don't think you need to worry too much about rough....Melbourne is 100km wide - there is housing for every budget, and not all jobs are in the CBD either.