Kooky

Thanks. maybe it varies state to state! I will have to try to apply from uk until October then. Then worst case scenario I will go and work at a supermarket or cafe or something until I can find work!

I ment in the uk. Great oz don't have same restrictions!

Hi Luke our posts crossed ;-)

Yes schools all follow the same policy there I think - have to resign by certain dates. We decided once we know visa is granted we will resign for sept and supply until we leave that way no notice needs to be worked. We may be able to get supply in our current schools.

We would love to come end of July but would have to fly back for sisters wedding in oct (none of our family know yet) which would cost around 8k for our family to do return flights hence why we are going to have to wait until October :-( we may not be able to sell the house on time yet - it really is a pretty uncertain time isn't it ! Can't wait to actually know if we have the visa - at least then we can plan a little better!

Anyone know what month/time of year the most jobs are advertised? We are hoping to make the move quicker than origionallg planned and were going to go sept but my husbands sister is getting married in October so we are thinking we should wait until after the wedding. Is October going to be a stupid time to get jobs do you think?

Me and my husband are at the last stages of applying for the visa (meds and police checks) and have the funds in the bank to cover it. We were not going to move until the end of 2015/16 but have started to change our plans and it looks like we will be heading out october/november (assuming we actually get the visa). Originally we were going to remortgage to free up cash to do the moving stuff and a recci this summer. Since our plans are changing i am wondering if we may be able to do without the remortgage and wait for the house sale to go through (fingers crossed we can sell on time!). so i guess my question is this - How much of the rest do we need funds for. We are shipping a pet, our camper van, we will obviously need flights, and a move cube or container. How much of this do we have to pay up front? (just trying to work out if it is worth applying for the remortgage to not - we have a little bit in an investment that may cover it). any advice?:huh:

hi bigmac have you done your medicals yet? Just wondering what the outcome was? My Dh has a bad back (2 slipped discs and one damaged) and although it is getting better he still takes masses of drugs for it. He also takes anti depressants (due to bereavement related depression) so i am a little concerned they will decide he can't pass. As it is approaching our meds (next week) i am beginning to worry (i am usually reassuring my husband that it'll be ok but the nearer it gets the more the worry seeps in!). Its getting a bit scary at this stage - after paying all that money to apply for everything, and it is starting to feel a bit real - that it could happen, more to loose now! aaaahhhhh!!!

Thanks petals. Any idea of 'nice' places in between mountains and sea in Melbourne? Thanks

I think my husband would like somewhere a bit like the Lake District in terms of hiking. Doesn't have to be SA (though if we could find somewhere there that suits I would be pretty chuffed).

Thanks NicF that's really helpful. I will check out the link now :wink:

Thanks nickynook - any idea of a nice place in between the beaches and the blue mountains to start me off with my research?

the teaching is ok I have done skills assessment, EOI and applied for visa. Not worried about that. Happy to supply. More than happy to teach private too. Equally I'd be quite happy working in a shop or cafe! It's more finding a place which suits us both. I can't stand the cold and don't really want to move all that way to have months of snow :rolleyes: my husband loves walking though and really likes the idea of mountain (or big hills!).

Trying to decide where to live. Are there any areas that are pretty close to mountains (perhaps 20/30 minute drive) and not too far from the sea (again about 20/30 minutes drive) in Victoria? We have kids so need to be near to good schools too.

Oh really the mountains are that far from the sea then? Mmmm. Wonder if there are any other mountains nearer to the sea? My husband doesn't necessarily want snow just mountains/very large hills for hiking. We are both teachers.

Me and my husband are in the process of getting our visa and are starting to try and make plans. We have a problem though in choosing an area. I like the idea of Adelaide as it is small and everywhere is not too far from anywhere else etc (and my friend lives there which is a bonus as she has children of a similar age to ours). My husband however wants to be near mountains (I don't particularly as it tends to be colder!). Can anyone recommend an area/state. Is there a place where we would be roughly 20/30 minutes away from the beach and the mountains. Needs to be near to decent schools. I'd like an 'arty' or cultural area if possible. My husband is a musician so a good music scene would be great. We don't need particularly good nightlife but do like theatre and eating out. Any suggestions?

Me and my husband are trying to decide where it is best to move to at the moment. He wants mountains (and seasons). I don't care about seasons really, don't need mountains, want to be near (car ride 20-30 mins) from nice beaches, and really loath the idea of snow/cold. Is it possible to live pretty near to the snowy mountains (again a short drive) yet it not be very cold in winter? If so where abouts would be a good place? We have small children so need a nice area where schools are good. Any suggestions?

Hi nuttersuclan I believe it depends on occupation. I am a secondary teacher and took academic but didn't have to (made a mistake when booking then decided I may as well just sit that than wait for a new date!). So for teaching general is fine BUT I think some of the states teaching registration want you to have academic (but I am not 100% sure of that). Not sure if lecturing is different. Do you have an agent? If so they will advise. To be honest though there are only 2 parts of the test that are different and they were not too hard (sure a teacher and a lecturer should be able to do it no problem). I just went through the tips they gave on booking and didn't really 'study' and got 8.5 overall. I'd say go for the academic unless agent advises otherwise. :wink:

We are using concept australia and so far they have been brilliant! They are manchester based though so may not be right place for you?

Hi it's age at time of invite. I was in a similar position I am 39 and needed my points. Started process with agent in sept (IELTS) then skills assessment in nov. I passed skills in feb - pu in EOI and got invited first time so only had a few days wait. I am 40 in March (at beginning) so only had 3 possible rounds of invites so I was pretty worried. All worked out - just got to apply for visa now. Not sure about the other points but sure someone will have advice. I think though an agent would be useful because if you haven't had nursing experienvpce in the past 10 years you may not get any points for experience? I have been part time for a good 6 years so I on,y managed to claim for 5 years experience - without my agent I am not sure I'd have known what points to go for. Hope it works out for you. Good luck

I have been teaching for 13 years, I am a part time teacher at the moment but have been at various levels previously (teacher of, department head, faculty head) but unfortunately my subjects are Drama and Dance and I hardly ever see any jobs here let alone there. I am teaching Art at KS3 at the moment so maybe I could convince them I can teach art!!! I think I may struggle to get a job in my area to be honest but i am very up for supply and don't even care if i end up doing something different with less pay! I am hoping my husband (also a teacher) will have better luck than me! He is Assistant Head at the moment and also SENCO, has been teaching same amount of time as me and got lots of extra strings to his bow!! We don't really have a set place in mind (going to validate in the summer if visa comes through on time. Hiring a camper so we can visit lots of places). I am between Adelaide and Brisbane at the moment but open to anywhere we can get a job. Seen lots in NSW at the moment (assistant/deputy roles). Anyone got kids in tow? We have 2 boys (4&5). They don't know about our plans yet - going to wait until visa comes and we are a little more clear on time frame of move. Well done TeacherBen for starting this thread! Good luck everyone!

What is your business going to be skippy? And what're a bouts in oz are you thinking? I agree it would be great to be 20 again and just chill out and travel round a bit first!

Antrimlad thankyou for your positivity not sure if I will do it yet (if a job comes up then maybe I could just go for it and see if teaching is any better). To be honest landing a teaching job sounds pretty tough anyway so I may have to do something else! I don't know - I'd work in a shop/cafe anything really - want to work to live as they say. Its all just musing at the mo. Not even got the visa yet so may not be able to go at all! Thanks ;-)

Thanks everyone this really helps ;-)

Niamh thanks for your advice/opinion. I appreciate you and others may have 'alarm bells' but I can assure you a holiday isn't what I am after. I know myself pretty well. I have masses of things to miss here but I know I need to do this (not the start a new career thing - the move thing). The new career thing is the thing I have done for all of my life (the amount of different businesses me and DH have looked into but never really gone for is untrue ha ha). I just like to question things now and then - never want to look back and think 'I should have...' I have always lived like that and so far I don't look back and wish I'd have done something (not major things anyway). Me and DH will go to oz (providing we get the visa that is). We will also probably go into teaching (but to be honest if a different job came up that suited me I'd probably go for it). In the short term i am looking for a new (teaching) job here. I know my place is awful, that although teaching has got more consuming over the years my place is particularly bad. Think this post was more about wondering 'what if'. A pondering thing I guess - like a chat with mates that isn't necessarily set in stone, more chewing the fat. I am sorry if a few of you on her have taken it very seriously and decided I am sending out alarm bells. I am pretty sane really and pretty logical generally. I just have a creative side I suppose that likes to think I am fancy free and can do whatever I like! :rolleyes: I have 2 small children to look after I would never put them at risk - teaching pays ok, I get holidays with the kids. There are a lot of pluses. Need to just get out of my current job to be honest then I may go back to loving teaching rather than feeling it is consuming me!