JGayle

I'll do the same, are reccies booked for March.

Social work seems like a good bet to me.

I enjoyed 35-38 degrees in Melbourne recently. Once it got to 42 it was too hot for me but it didn't stop me going out to the local pool and corner shop. . .or sleeping under a duvet in a non-airconditioned room, my friends thought I was mental but I love to be cosy when I sleep!

That's the thing, post recession prices for food, rent, travel and mortgages in London have shot up. . .I'm not talking just the inner circle I'm talking about all of it. On top of this salary increases stalled for about 3 years. This means that people are poorer whilst the things we buy have gone up above inflation rates. Melbourne is cheaper and salaries higher. . .I spoke to friends across multiple industries (IT, community services, HR, cafes/retail), Australians who have lived in London and Londoners who are now living in Melbourne. The only things that seemed slightly more expensive were tobacco and alcohol.

Where do they get these stats from I wonder? I ask because I came back from a 3 week trip to Melbourne 2 weeks ago and I live in London. I was staying with friends and when I asked people how much rent etc they paid it was less than London prices for a very nice house, I have lived in various London locations and no question it was better and cheaper over there. When it came to food some things were a little more expensive but some things were cheaper and the quality was better. Drinks (coffee, slushies etc) were the same or cheaper, alcohol was similar or slightly dearer. Travel was cheaper and cleaner too. So were sports tickets.

Thanks so much for replying. That's really helpful. We're going to try and get our application together asap:biggrin:

Can anyone help? When it came to your employer references (For points assessment) did you put down job titles that are exactly the same as the occupation code you are applying for? Or were any of them different (perhaps with a job description that matched the job code)? And if so did it go through okay? I don't see how we can expect employers here to call job titles exactly as the codes are set. Thank you

Hi guys, please help me and the OH out with some info as we're unsure about whether our migration agents info is completely true! When you applied for your visa/EOI did the jobs you counted for experience points have the same title as the occupation title you were applying for? The OH is applying as a software engineer (he is currently a senior programmer and has been with his company for 3 years) and was hoping to count his previous role for experience points but his job title was systems administrator and was never changed to reflect coding. . .will this matter? I'd have hoped it'd be the job description that mattered more. Cheers

Seconded. . .I live in Lewisham by the way :biggrin:. . .well for the next two years until I move to Oz. I'm a born and bred Londoner and I've been dying to move away since I was a teen. I've lived in various locations and anywhere remotely affordable is either miles out and thus requiring a commute of over an hour (with all the train delays and engineering works that seem to be a near daily occurance) or so dodgy and dirty that I couldn't bare to start a family there. Yes it's good for going out but the cost of bills/rent/housing is so expensive and commuting takes so long its rarely worth the effort.

I work in the community/education sector in SE London and there are always jobs coming up for experienced people. Best websites I've found for those kinds of jobs are charityjob.co.uk jobsgopublic.com and the jobs section on The Guardian newspapers website. Where to live can be tricky as rents and house prices are ever increasing. I guess it depends how quickly you want to be able to travel into central London and where you are working. I live in Lewisham which isn't the prettiest place but rent/houses aren't too pricey, there are quite a few parks, and its well connected for easy transport to kent and central London. Good school places will always be tricky to come by in London (I was a teacher until December), what age are your children?

I've also been having issues with agents (just getting the initial info before signing/paying). . .pretty curious which one you're using in case it's the same! I looked on the forums for ones with good feedback before applying as well. Issues I have Agent 1:Said that she would call me on Wednesday to discuss terms and conditions (we booked a time and everything). Didn't call and has not replied to emails since. Agent 2:Sent me through documentation that featured a state we'd never talked about (in fact she's never asked me about state at all) which makes me wonder about her attention to detail, most of her emails just seem to be cut and paste. Fingers crossed you come to a decision/get the responses from your agent you were hoping for. Both agents have also given me completely different responses about who should be the main applicant, the both said only one of us was applicable as well

The young people I work with are not generally leaving care. . .a very small percentage of them are but the majority are not. Many of the young mums I work with are planning their second child already whilst relying on state handouts and at the same time have the latest Iphone in their hand and sometimes mid-level designer clothing too. I do not begrude those leaving care anything, I just think that things need to be more balanced. Those on low incomes/benefits often get half price travel, half price gym membership (for local services), free school meals for their kids, free school uniforms, child benefit (now being denied to higher income families) etc. It gets to the point when there is an overlap where people working (especially in London where the cost of commuting and rent/housing is so expensive) may be working 35-40 hours a week and have a standard of living only slightly higher than those on benefits (who may be getting to stay at home with their kids most of the time). I'm saying this as someone who works with young people on benefits trying to encourage them to support themselves, having grown up with parents on benefits. The area of London me and my partner live in is fairly rough and not very pleasant but it is what we can afford on our £60k joint income. . .I am managing (just about) to save towards our migration but my partner cannot afford to and part of the reason I can afford it is because I have taken a second job to supplement the one I work in 36 hours a week.

Myself and my partner live in London and our combined income is £60k and we are definitely not rich. . .sometimes we are comfortable but we often struggle. We own a very little house (2 bedrooms but one is my OH office as his IT job means he works from home) which we managed to buy only thanks to a deposit provided by OH's parents. I'd love to start thinking about a family but we simply couldn't afford it, definitely not on one income. I work with young people on benefits and a lot of them are getting their own flat that they pay nothing towards, these are 17-24 year olds often with kids being given a 2 bedroom flats and maisonettes with limited expectation on them to work. . .it seems unfair. . .I am 30 and have worked since leaving uni.

Thanks guys. I meant migrating on my partners profession rather than mine (in my last email I sent her his cv). It could be that the email has gone into the spam folder but I also didn't get a reply from my previous email for over a week. I'll look into another agent :-)