Ozinoz

Yeah... mine will be a new application. The guy I spoke to was very grumpy when I called but everyone else I have spoken to in the UK for various things have been very chirpy and more than helpful. Hubby still has his and his actual card and the guy said I could work without it anyway. I never take no for an answer so I don't foresee any problems when I get there and am planning on taking a couple of weeks off to get adjusted anyway I just like to be super organised in advance so I did give it a shot.

I called up the other week and was told in no uncertain terms that I had to show up in person to an office in the UK to get my NI number.

We live in Metro Sydney and the competent Doctors at our local Medical Centre are Indian... the rest are shite to be honest but it is a Bulk Billing place so it is to be expected LOL In Australia we don't refer to Indians as Asians. When we say Asian we are referring to people from China, Malaysia, Thailand etc. So you will find that you will be called Indian here and if you refer to yourself as Asian prior to meeting someone here, people will expect you to be from a different country. I think Australia is very multicultural and if you get someone swearing or honking their horn at you whilst driving, don't take it personally, everyone gets treated the same way on the road ;P

The exit rows are fair enough, but you can't be sat in those seats anyway with young children. It is absolutely ridiculous that you should have to worry about the safety of your child when you are going to great lengths to ensure that they have a safe journey. They have a duty of care and if they deny you using the safety harness then they are exposing your family and themselves to unnecessary risk. If I was sitting behind you and the staff told you not to attach the harness, I would be complaining too.

http://www.mypreciouskid.com/CARES-kids-fly-safe-restraint.html It clearly says you can lower the tray in the seat behind, attach & then raise the tray again... it doesn't matter where you sit and it would not be of any intrusion to the person behind

Sorry to hear of your troubles My friend (who is Aussie and certainly not a whinger either) rented up in Cairns many years ago because her Hubby was in the Navy. She had endless problems with her real estate and it got so bad she went in and paid her rent with a huge jar of 1c and 2c pieces (back in the day when we still had them). When they vacated the property she mowed the lawn and returned to Perth. The real estate didn't do the final inspection for weeks and when they did, they tried to charge her a lawn mowing fee for the overgrown grass *sigh*. Of course it was impossible for her to return to sort things out at tribunal without great expense but after many threats they finally backed down. Just stand your ground, the law is on your side. All real estate agents suck but some are worse than others. I had one here in Sydney advertise our rental as an open for inspection at the same time as our final inspection. Needless to say I hit the roof and I doubt anyone that came that day rented the property LOL

I would suggest Gumtree http://www.gumtree.com.au/s-short-term/nsw/c18295l3008839?ad=offering Short Term accommodation is really expensive in Sydney but Gumtree tends to have people renting out their own homes short term and/or people wanting cash rather than putting it on the books.

May I suggest to anyone in Australia with questions to pop down to their local Immigration Office together and ask there. We honestly could not have wished for more friendly, lovely people at the Parramatta Office in Sydney. Hubby came out here on a Working Holiday Visa and they simply extended it instead of changing it. It was 17 months before they contacted us again, 1 month for me to reply to the lovely lady our case had been referred to in Victoria and as of this moment, 2 months later the Visa still stands until we go to the UK and officially withdraw our application. I completely understand those people in a rush to get their Visa approved but if you are happy just living here and having time to make your life decisions, just do it yourself. We did get married before the first year was up but in retrospect it wasn't a necessity. Although he already had reciprocal Medicare rights, he was issued an Interim card which is a bit more comprehensive and covers Eye Tests etc and they automatically send a new one out every year. The one thing I will take away from our visit is the guy at the front counter telling us that there was a girl paying an Immigration Agent who was insisting she had to renew her Visa every 6 months, it wasn't until she showed up at the Immigration Office that she learned she could have had a 2 year one from the get go and the Agent was ripping her off. So the Visa costs may be expensive but their advice is free and they are always happy to help P.S. Take a water bottle because there are no cups left at the water machine LOL

Thanks Cal, shall give them a whirl too

Oh I see... thanks for the info We will be staying with Hubby's family at first whilst we look for work. No kids yet and Hubby is already Registered with a Doctor etc in the UK when he went back on a visit last year. He has a current UK Drivers Licence and to be honest there is nothing to say that he ever left except for his Passport and a Marriage Certificate that says he married an Aussie chick in Australia

Oh... well I won't be applying for benefits and we have reciprocal Medicare agreement with the NHS so healthcare is covered and I am never sick anyway LOL I tried to organise a National Insurance Number over the phone but apparently I have to rock up and apply in person but I can work without one anyway Would there be anything else it is required for?

Yay! As far as I can see on the Customs Website you only need to fill out forms for unaccompanied personal effects. http://www.customs.gov.au/site/page4354.asp We do have very high import limits these days. You can import $1000 AUS excluding freight costs in a shipment. Years ago it was $400 including freight and then you really got stung as they whack on the Duty, then GST. Just be very careful what you use to package, best to use new materials, not recycled as most of the stuff that does get opened for inspection is for Quarantine.

Just to clarify... in Australia we go to High School until we are 17/18... I think what you are calling "College" is what we call Upper High School here as you can leave with a School Certificate at 15/16 after having completed Lower School. Depending upon the state you live in you go to University the year you turn 18 or 19. No harm in a gap year if things don't go to plan

No idea about Emirates but you can with BA and they have the maximum dimensions and cost on their website. It is how freight forwarders send your stuff anyway! Just call them with the dimensions and get a quote. Never be afraid to ask even if they don't say they do, they most likely will

Cheers That is really good information. I guess the Police always like to know where you are in Perth Also it is very important to know that if you permanently move States within Australia you MUST change your Driving Licence within 6 months or you will be fined.

So there is no misinformation for those coming from the UK to Australia. There are Landline 2 telephone providers... Optus and Telstra. Everyone else is a reseller of their lines. There are 3 Mobile Phone providers... Optus, Telstra and Vodafone. Everyone else is a reseller. For example iinet is a Telstra Reseller and Virgin is an Optus Reseller. If someone says you have choice in Telecommunications in Australia... it is limited to 2 or 3 and more often than not with Landline and Pay TV it is limited to none as the lines either belong to Optus or Telstra. If it is a Telstra Landline then you will find the resellers are not interested and if you do go with a reseller and have a problem with your line... good luck with getting it fixed.

It is not always possible. I moved within the same suburb in Sydney Metro and the only carrier here was Telstra so I could not keep my Optus Service. When I rang around the Telstra resellers were not interested because there was not profit margin. If Telstra owns the lines and no one has connected a service with Optus years before at the property you are moving to you are basically screwed. On the bright side Telstra has far better speeds even on ADSL and once connected will bend over backwards to help you

I feel your pain! I had everything ready to go for my UK Visa, checked with the British High Commission, got all the info last year and went to fill out the online application in January only to find there wasn't a box to tick for my circumstance. Cost me $70 in $4 per minute phone calls to be told I didn't have a box... only work around was to have the one Certificate I hadn't ordered from the UK. Luckily it got sent before the snow hit! In the end because I had dotted all the i's and crossed all the t's, I had my UK ROA Visa within 2 weeks. So super excited for that. On the flipside it took 1 year and 5 months for the Immigration Department here to even look at our Marriage Visa Application... us Aussies tend to be a bit laid back LOL

http://www.telstra.com.au/help/contact/complaints/ Call them and go through to the complaints line. Tell them you are going to report them to the Telecommunications Ombudsman http://www.tio.com.au/ if they do not resolve your complaint immediately. Do not take no for an answer and ask to speak to a supervisor if they try to fob you off. If your Hubby has to go into the store again, just tell him to do the ID check, nothing else and they can print out confirmation then and there. The staff member was probably trying to get a sale. It is ridiculous but Telstra store staff have always sucked.

You have to be here for 6 months to swap your Drivers Licence over to an Aussie one HOWEVER you can get a Proof of Age Card immediately from the RTA or similar (depending on State) if you have a UK Licence and it carries the same POI point weight as a Licence

You can pre pay excess baggage with your flight cheaply. So back up to an external hard drive and take that on board. Cover the box in brown paper and loads of tape. Insure it for the full value in the UK and if it goes missing you will get a better one here in OZ for the insurance value if it goes AWOL but you will have all your data so no real personal loss

Sorry to hear that Andy It will be the first time living in the UK for me and I am very much looking forward to the history and culture and being able to pop over to Europe on holiday with my Hubby on the super cheap flights I think everyone is in Recession at the mo so you just have to look at the bright side of wherever you are living. Although I may eat my words come next Winter LOL Thanks for the recommendation, I will be packing myself but I shall request a quote from OSS too.

Hi, I have a Certificate of Entitlement to the Right ofAbode, there are no restrictions for moi! I can live & work, leave and go back to the UK anytime within the validity of my Australian Passport. It is a Statutory Right and has nothing to do with my marriage. After 5 years of living in the UK I will get UK Citizenship and hold Dual Nationalities thus avoiding the annoyingly expensive Marriage Visa stuff we forked out for here in OZ

Thanks for the quick replies I have requested a quote from Wridgeways so we will see how they compare. Any other suggestions would also be very much appreciated. We are moving to Suffolk which is where his family is to start but may end up anywhere depending on jobs. ebay is better than Gumtree for selling furniture... you just say you accept offers and end the listing when you get a message offer for cash on pickup, so no fees except what it cost to list

Hi! After living here for a few years, my English Hubby and I have decided to live in the UK instead. I have the Right of Abode in the UK so no issues for me to live there. As I have lived in Oz all my life, I would like to take some of it with me... about 30 tea chest size boxes would suffice. We are on a tight budget and was wondering if anyone had any good experiences with an International Mover. I am looking at Seven Seas Worldwide as their prices are so good but am worried about the negative reviews they have been given. We are in Sydney. Any help or suggestions would be most appreciated. Cheers