cathy99

Hi We used to live in weston super mare too which is not far from Bristol and I have a friend who lives there and I also used to work in the centre, like any city it has it's good parts and bad parts - you're right clifton is probably one of the nicest area's, hence the price, if you want more for your money you're better of looking on the outskirts i.e. dundry, barrow gurney, long ashton portishead, gordano, clevedon they're all easy to get to bristol from and also have a nice villagey feel to them, unless of course you like being in the city. The transport is pretty good in and around bristol and it's also very accessible to the motorway for going down south, london, wales or north.:wink:

Like others have said the last few weeks before you go are the worst ever! We rented our house out from January 1st and weren't flying until 27th January so were in holiday accommodation for 4 weeks and it was the longest 4 weeks ever, I feel like I was in limbo land! I was dreading the 'day' we left, but I was also secretly excited to be starting our new adventure, and like the others have said your friends and family will be feeling a lot worse than you as you have so much to look forward too. I did a lot of socialising in those last 4 weeks, it was very moving actually the amount of effort my family and friends were going to for us, meals, gifts, drinks, family gatherings in fact in the end (this sounds awful) but I was glad to go when we did as it was all getting a bit too much for me. Thankfully with technology now and skype I've kept in touch with everyone and making more of an effort too, it's lovely to be able to keep them all up to date with our new life and they're genuinely interested. When you arrive you'll be in shock for a day or so, I know we were, but a lot of that was jet lag as I just could not sleep on either flights so I was knackered, homeless and all of a sudden the enormity of what we'd done hit me - but i soon shook that off once I looked at the blue sky and felt the warm sun on my skin and the rest is history as they say, but yes it's perfectly normal to feel the way you are feeling but just focus on the adventure :rolleyes:

I'm puzzled to know why you're having a medical in the first place? We've been here since January on a 457 and not once has a medical been requested or needed, nor since we've been here have blood tests etc been asked for! Unless it's changed since we applied, but ours was only processed in November and granted in December so can't imagine it's changed that much:wink:

one good way is to keep looking on the jobs websites i.e seek.com for whatever it is you do and plumbers, any jobs that come up apply for them you'll be surprised how much interest you might get (or not!), you may even be able to secure a job before you go out. As we're here on a 457 this is what we had to do in order to secure a sponsorship, so I got my husbands cv together (aussie style) and uploaded it to seek.com and a covering lettering and everytime a job came up i'd just apply for it. I did get quite a lot of people respond, but when they found out we didn't even have a visa yet the interest faded, but as you already have your visa you may have more luck. Just an idea to see what the job market it like :tongue:

Can't a member of the family sponsor you if they already live here? I thought that was an option? Have a look on find a visa it may be a bit more informative I've just had a look and come up with this, not sure if it applies, sometimes it's best to speak to them directly as there are so many visa's around. [h=3]Resident Return visa (subclasses 155 and 157)[/h]

Hi I've no idea what that visa is, but we're here on a 457 and all we got was simple travel insurance at a cost of £49 for 30 days cover. Our visa agent said that that is all we needed as they just need to see that you are covered for the first 30 days you arrive in Australia. At the moment we don't have any insurance, it's not essential like in america, as medicare covers you it's mainly for if you need an operation or pregnant or need any ongoing treatment then you're advised to get it as the waiting lists could be very long - plus, when you have insurance you get money back on them for dentist, opticians etc. One essential I would advise is ambulance cover which is very cheap, because if you need to call one it could cost £800+ :wub:

Hi Hazel, yes the rental market is very competitive and also, obviously closer to the cbd you are the more expensive it is! it's nothing like back in the uk - I think I can honestly during the whole process of emigrating (we only started the process in April 2013 and moved out January 2014) the hardest thing for us was finding a suitable rental. I'll tell you how I did it. Once my husband was offered a job I knew which area he would be working in, so from that I did a lot of research on suburbs and areas within Sydney. I googled the 10 best suburbs to live, wrote them down then I would google maps the distance from my husbands work to these areas - I then wrote them down in my book (I have a note book for everything australia related that I would write everything down in from schools, to banks, to shipping, doctors etc) so that when we got here and started looking on the real estate agents websites I knew which area's I wanted to search. Next, as i have kids i researched the schools in these areas so I could narrow the search down even more, because obviously it's all very well getting the house, but if the school isn't that great then there's not much point, and you don't want to be moving around all the time! I then got my rental pack together, I made lots and lots of photocopies of all of our passports (as school will want them too), mine and my husbands driving licence, I had copies of the last 3 months bank statements so they could see a healthy bank account. If you have any friends or your new employers in australia ask them to do a reference for you either character and professional. I had one from some friends in Perth and also my husbands boss did one to confirm is place of work, a copy of last 6 months mortgage statements, we also rented a little cottage for 4 weeks before we left so I asked if they could do a reference too. I didn't include bills but wished I had so that would be a could idea anything that basically shows the landlord that you're a good tenant, will look after the place and can pay the rent (this is what one of the real estate agents told me they look for). I did a covering lettering explaining that we were landlords ourselves (we rent our house out back home) so know the importance of renting etc. The more you can do before you get here the easier it will be for you, the last think you want to be doing is trying to find somewhere to make photocopies of everything so you can include them with your application. When you turn up to view a property it's nothing like it is in England (my friends in Perth had pre-warned me), they generally have an open house on Saturdays and you turn up along with about 6 other families, all looking around at the same time, then you fill out the application form include all your paperwork which the agent submits to the landlord and you basically wait for a phone call to see if they liked you!:confused: Like I said I found this really hard as we had the kids with us (obviously no grandparents to look after them!), we had google maps on our phones and it was a case of planning when the viewings were, where and working out how many in one day we could manage, in the heat at the time, filling out application after application, knowing you need to get our of your apartment in a few days, it was very stressful - I think we were lucky and viewed about 8 before we got one! Then it was trying to find stuff on gumtree and co-ordinate trying to pick it up when my husband finished work again with the kids in tow - it was horrible:arghh: But we did it, we knew it wasn't going to be easy, but now we're in the kids are settled at school, we've made friends with the neighbours, I walk the children to school which is a 5 minute walk away and it's all worth it - especially for the children and the outdoor lifestyle x

Hi there Well this will make you feel rich, when we arrived 5 months ago we only had $800 cash and $3,600 in the bank! We're on a 457 visa so my husband started his job after a week of being here and gets paid weekly so we had a wage virtually straight away! We were lucky though his boss bought a car for us to use indefinitely, just need to pay for petrol and he paid for our first 2.5 weeks accommodation whilst we were looking for rentals, we also have two children. We managed though, did all the sightseeing etc the bond on the house was £2,100 + 2 weeks rent so $3,200, we bought stuff off of gumtree to keep us going until our shipping arrived, but like someone else said you cut your cloth accordingly, we were never extravagent at home, we hardly had take aways or ate out so it was the norm to us. We now live in a lovely house in the hills area, still one wage at the moment but doing better than we were in the uk on two wages! The two main things i would advise is get your mobile unlocked in the uk before you come then you can just buy a sim card, optus are pretty good. Also some advice I got from here before I came is get yourself a rental pack together because every property you view and want to apply for you have to fill in an application form, usually one each, and also attach a copy of passports, bank statements, drivers licence, utility bills and character references. I also enclosed my last mortgage statement as proof of up to date payments. Also as soon as you can when you arrive register for your medicare card as it's a good tool to have for id purposes. On that note, with 40K you're laughing!! :laugh:

Lovely to read your post, I like the cup we have that cutlery, from Kmart?:wink: Like yourself we are now in our 5th month and I am feeling really settled, I have finally sorted my home phone and broadband out! Until now its just been our mobiles! Totally agree with schools, mine are in a public school and are totally thriving, doing much better than they were at home and made loads of friends. My husband, whose visa we're here on, has settled in now (panel beater with trucks) it's taken him a while plus back home he was a big socialiser darts, pool, footie etc and since being here has done none of it and not missed it either. We're enjoying the outdoors, have bought second hand bikes off of ebay and spend a lot more time together and talking - sounds odd but it's not until you're forced into a situation that you realise how much you didn't do back home, there was always something to do - but here it just seems so much more laid back! I've not made hardly any friends yet, but that's okay it will happen in time, I chat to a couple of the mums at school and I'm applying for suitable part time work when I see it, but yes totally agree the first month is the hardest month you'll ever have, arriving, feeling lost, in a strange place, trying to find a rental etc but once you've done all that then it's sit back and enjoy all the hard work it's taken you to get here! :rolleyes:

Hi can anyone help please? After my last post i have now done some research and decided we would go with optus, filled all my fetails in on line, all ok then they rang to confirm connection only to say that they don't service our area....***** it even said on their website that they service our area!! Anyway i then thought i'd go with telstra but the want aus passport or aus drivers licence as part of ID so went to iprimus and the same there! Can anyone recommend how or whom i can sign up with when you don't have those details please? Many thanks xxx

Hi brownsauce, good post and i have only been here 7 weeks and can relate a lot to what you say, mainly about school. I don't think you should move back to the UK but try and move somewhere different in aus. We're in Sydney (west) about 30 mins from the cbd and originally we were heading for perth as we have friends there but a job came up here and we took it. I have to say i love it we're in a great suburb the kids school is a 5 min walk away and i feel safe. i'm not keen on the school system but am rolling with it at the moment. i do know from speaking to my friends in perth that it seems to be more expensive in perth than here, although i know that depends on lifestyle but we aren't extravagent and manageon my husbands wage. It is harder re the friends thing but we'll get there. I'm actually looking at adelaide as another option if things don't work out here. x

Hi. i'm just trying to work out which is the best health insurance or if it is even essential to have health insurance? I've had a quote from nib of $230 a month for me, my husband, and two children. Can anyone tell me if this is a good quote or maybe what they pay for insurance? Many thanks Cathy x

Hi me again! I wonder if someone could let me know all the costs involved in buying a car here and what the procedure is please? I'm just trying to sort out our monthly budget and i don't quite understand rego or how it works:wink: obviously back home we had car insurance, mot and tax! Many thanks cathy

Thanks for the info guys will go check them out:rolleyes:

The best advice i can give is take one step at a time, don't worry about schools, houses etc yet it's too early. firstly i would do as the others say and get the permission from your kids dad in writing, i expect a solicitor can do this. Then you need to decide which visa to apply for, there is a link on the aus immigration page which does a visa wizard for you to help determine which option is best for you. Don't be put off with a 457 it's the quickest and cheapest way to get here and you don't always have to pay school fees, i applied for an exemption as we're on a low income and got it also some sponsors will pay it for you. Then i guess you need to look at which area if aus you'd like to live and what the jobs are like for midwifery, some areas are crying out for them others aren't taking any on! Good luck and just do lots of research it's a mindfield but you'll get there x

Hi there, we had our stuff packed up on 30th dec hoping it would be on it's way well before we flew on 27th jan, but because of a few hiccups with the shipping people it actually set sail a day before we did! We stayed in serviced apartments for two weeks whilst we tried to drive around and find a house. if i were you do as much research in uk as you can on tge areas you think you want to live, i researched the 10 best suburbs in sydney and wrote them all down so that when we got here and looked for rentaks i had a list of areas i knew were ok. What i will say is don't pin your hopes on one school as you may not get a rental in the catchment area. Getting a rental is very tough, they have lots of open houses on a saturday and when you turn up you'll find there are several other families there too! You tgen have to fill out an application form and submit it to agent and hope the landlord likes the look of your application and lets you have it! We were lucky (i did lots of research before moving here so came prepared!) and got a nice rental within 2 weeks. We then bought things off of gumtree to tide us over until our shipping comes on 28th march. It's what a lot of expats do and when your stuff arrives you just sell it on again - we have two beds, frudge/freezer, washing machine, tv sofa, microwave and table and chairs. my children are 4 and 7 so similar ages and its ok to be worrued or scared it's perfectly normal :0) x

I think you really need to ask why you want move? What is missing in your life that you think you can get in oz? What are you giving up/sacrificing to move here? From the sounds of it you already have a happy fulfilled life. I've only been here 4 wks and although it's ok i don't know if it's forever but i have given us 18mths to fully settle and get used to the place, it certainly doesn't happen over night. For us we decided to come as a last resort! Sounds mad i know! A year ago we weren't getting on very well we have a 4 year old and 7 year old. life was dull and boring, struggling for money working long hours for nothing and not getting much quality time with the kids or each other was taking it's toll! I was in the verge of walking out when we saw an advert in our local paper for panel beaters in perth and i jokingly said to my husband 'go on you go, we'll come and visit'!! Lol well it sowed the seed and we started talking seriously about it, and it was the first time in a long time we had anything in common to talk about! We have friends in perth so i spoke to them and did lots of research, got his cv together and just kept sending it out everytime i saw a job advertised. We got lucky and found a sponsor who offered my husband a job in august, paid for our visa, two weeks accommodation and bought us a car to get around in. All this happened in a relatively short space of time and here we are 9 months later and we've been in Sydney for 4 weeks. I guess what i'm saying is for us we had nothing to lose by 'giving it a go' we haven't sold our home we've rented it out, the kids are young enough to adjust, i wouldn't of done it had they been teenagers and the visa is for 4 years, so after two we'll know if we want to stay or not so can apply for our permanent residency or hold our hands up, cut our losses and say 'we tried', and i'll not get to the age of 60 and wonder 'what if'?. It's been a tough 4 weeks already, lots of ups and downs, but i'm feeling very positive about our future here, we're in a lovely suburb about 30 mins from cbd, the girls start school on monday, there's lots to see and do and i'm looking forward to ticking them off my list. So for us i feel it was the right thing to do at our time in life - you need to weigh up your pro's and cons for staying or going, good luck it's very stressful but worth it if it's right ;0) x

I registered on monday, we're here on a 457 and the only requirements were all people registering had to attend, we haf our passports (which obviously show we'te from the uk) and a copy of our visa. Filled a form out thet took copie:tongue:s of docs and job done in 10 mins!

Hi there, We arrived in Sydney 4 weeks ago. Things are going really well so far we hav found a nice house to rent, which we've been in 2 weeks now (and quickly furnished via gumtree until our shipping arrives). I've got my girls starting school on monday and have managed to obtain an exemption of the school fees, which i'm very pleased with. My next dilemma now is who to go with for our tv/internet/phone provider? Any suggestions or recommendations would be great thanks. I'm aware of foxtel but they seem a bit pricey, i have a contract with optus who say they also provide the extras we're looking for and will give us 10% off.I have also been looking at these set top boxes but i don't really understand them!! Many thanks cathy :wub:

Ours only took just over 4 weeks, i think it was a bit risque giving up your jobs but if you've been told that then hopefully it wont be long:)

Hi I think i just replied on the wrong thread! Our 457 visa was lodged on 7th nov and approved yesterday 9th dec, so just over 4 weeks. Just to give you some idea of timeline. I can't believe how long some of you are having to wait, you must be going stir crazy! 4 weeks was bad enough for me! Hang in there, you'll get there in the end:)

Hiya I promised to come back with my timeline, our visa was lodged on 13th november and we had them approved yesterday, 9th dec so very excited and pleased. Hang in there it will happen

Hi We're due to fly out with SIA in January so this is very good news. A couple of queries though, as i'm new to all this! is the 30kg allowancer per person? and does that mean all your luggage has to be 30kg i.e. suitcase and hand luggage or just your suitcase? Many thanks Cathy x

Hi We're due to be in Sydney in the middle of Jan 2014, on a 457 visa via my husband who has a job as a panel beater. I am a qualified teaching assistant and once the kids are settled into school (aged 4 and 7) I was hoping to be able to volunteer in their school in the hope it would lead to a teaching assistant position. Does anyone know what qualies are needed? Will my english qualification be enough or would I need their equivalent? And how in demand are teaching assistants? Or is it a case of just depends which area/school you're in? Grateful for any tips/advice thanks, Cathy :biggrin::tongue:

Hiya We're moving to sydney in January and are getting our stuff shipped out at the end of November. Like you we didn't/don't have a lot of stuff to bring but we do need to ship my husbands toolbox over (it's huge), so we decided to go through everything we have and decide if it was worth it or not. We are going to be shipping out our washing machine as it's only a year old, still undecided about the fridge and freezer, they're decent hotpoint ones and are 5yrs old, our new suite and definitely our bed (it cost £2,000 5 years ago) and our girls mattress's and beds (because we'd heard that furniture i.e sofa's, beds, table and chairs etc are really expensive) also our table and chairs and my pc. That's it though the rest is just a box of bed linen, photo's, some clothes and kids toys. The rest we will buy when we are there, oh yes we'll be taking our tv too. We had a really good quote of £2,850 with gb liners and our stuff will be going groupage (shared container) as it isn't enough to fill a whole one. Hth :wink: