tina0101

Welcome to the forum. We got lots of useful info from here. Don't be afraid to ask anything! Where are you looking to move to and what type of visa?

I really feel for you, but it does sound like they have forced your hand in telling the kids. Its hard, but now you should just concentrate on what goes in under your own roof - at the end of the day, what goes on within your four walls is the most important thing. It sounds awful but your parents will not be around for ever and if you give up on your dreams because of them you will regret it when you look back. Good luck xx

For me, the pros have outweighed the cons. I do agree that making the move should not depend on a list of things though! Good things: Way more sunny and nice days than the UK, meaning you can go out and do things. The sun being up early so when you go to work, it feels better! It's not as expensive as people make out (depending on where you're from in the UK; we came from the commuter belt near London, so we're used to things being pricy!). Always room on the beach. People are friendlier (again, depends where you are from in the UK). Cons: The bloody mozzies and every other insect that seems automatically attracted to me. Hail the size of golf balls (we've been lucky where we live). The lack of back roads if the motorway snarls up.

Yeah, the broker was 'free', in the sense that the company pays and not us. If if you're looking away from the city $100k should cover your deposit easy :-)

We've been told the same but deposit - if you've not got 20%, you get hit by insurance costs. Our broker has also indicated that my salary will not be considered until my probation period of 6 months is over, although our bank are willing to just wait until I'm 3 months in (hubby is already employed with no probation so we could still base it on his alone, but wouldn't get as much).

I've struggled to find an equivalent to the UK shops. Supermarkets like target and Kmart have a fairly decent selection.

Have you registered? My husband had to register to teach in Queensland. http://www.trb.wa.gov.au/Pages/default.aspx I think this is the relevant webpage for WA (not 100% sure). It it did take 12 weeks for my husbands registration to come through, so if you haven't already registered and you need to, I'd get a shift on as nobody will employ you without it.

We used Crown with no problems really. The packing and unpacking guys were excellent.

We live in Wellington Point. Husband is a teacher and I work in school IT/admin. School fees, for the equivalent of private education here, are so small compared to the UK. I would strongly recommend that you see the schools before you commit - Sheldon was most definitely not for my son when we visited!! there are quite a few private schools (mixed and single sex, religious and non denominational) in the area. Our son is at a Catholic boys school, even though we are not religious they were happy to have him as long as he respected the schools values. The state schools around here also have pretty good reputations. I agree that If if you look further down at Victoria Point/redlands Bay/Mount Cotton, you do seem to get more house for your money. They're also not on the train line, which is why we are looking probably up to Cleveland (although I like Thornlands too!). Hopefully you'll hear hear something soon!

Glad to hear you're getting on well!! We travel down to the Gold Coast most Sundays to laze by the beach and bodyboard :-) We've just had our 2 month electric bill and it was $300. We don't have gas, so that covers it all. Hope the scorching days weren't too bad for your little one!! Xx

Welcome!! Weve been ren here nearly 3 months and have no regrets. In the run up to leaving, I think most people 'have a wobble'; are you doing the right thing? What if it doesn't work? Etc, but it's totally normal! We we have been lucky and both of us have secured jobs and our son (he's 17) is happy in school. Ive de found lots of new friends and there are so many opportunities to meet new people if you are willing to make the time. We're on the Bayside and there's a Facebook group for our area which is how we've met them. Enjoy the adventure!! I can't help on the business side but if you don't give it a go, you'll always wonder. I've met people who've had a torrid first year or so, but have stuck it out and love it. Family will still be there and tbh I don't find Skype that bad and there are mobile phone deals where you get UK minutes included. What at area of Brisbane are you looking at?

We used Crown. Declared the PS4 (as it was obviously under a year old). Had no problems and just had to pay the charge they sent us for it. I cleaned everything thoroughly that we brought over and we didn't incur any extra charges.

I think it depends on whether you can borrow stuff while still in the UK or when in Oz. We had everything packed 3 weeks before we left. We also did a shared container so it took 12 weeks to arrive.

Have you spoken to an agent? We got some really useful advice over the phone for no initial fee when we were ringing round to choose one. X

Maybe give them a ring? They'll know if there is a system problem.

I'm over in Bayside, but get the impression Shailer Park is a bit dodgy, I'm afraid. The traffic on the motorway always seems to be busier round there too. Im sure there are nicer areas too though - maybe someone who knows the area more can help, but those are the impressions I have.

Congratulations. She's a cutie :-)

Singapore gave us 40kg each as we were first time validating :-)

It depends - we sold/got rid of loads in the UK and pretty much started again. With haggling, I don't feel that overall we spent more then we needed to. We were in the position to buy new; otherwise bring as much as you can and beg/borrow what you can to live on until it arrives :-)

My son has just joined a school in Queensland. He turned 17 in September, so would've been starting UK Year 12. After seeing a couple of schools, it was decided that he would do October - November in Oz Year 11 and then just do Year 12 from January. He can claim credit for his GCSEs towards his final result here. For Qld, it will depend on the school you are looking to attend and also how good your GCSEs were.

Randomly, could you join a cash back website and see what they have on there? You would need a UK bank account so you can eventually get the money back, but it may be worth looking into!

Have you discussed taking your child away with the mother? how does she feel about it (ie it will be easier if she agrees, but you're facing an uphill battle if she doesnt) Regarding jobs, which state are you looking at?? Every state is a bit different, so once you know roughly where you are looking, it will be easier to give you pointers on where to look for jobs. It's good you're doing the groundwork before jumping in. :-)

It really depends how much you are bringing! We used a shared container, which was about £2500. I know others that have filled a whole container. Some people only need a movecube.

I took an old toothbrush to scrub the soles of all our shoes so I could get every little bit of mud out the grips! All the tools we brought over were cleaned within an inch of their life. The guy wasn't lying or trying to scare you, just save you money :-). Our stuff arrives on Tuesday (yay) and we seem to have been all ok.

I would personally have a look at whether you want your children around them. If they are capable of behaving like this by cutting you out the will, you do not know what they will say to the kids. Its a a horrendous situation; we had an issue over money with my parents and it hurt a lot. It does sound like you are doing the best thing moving away. Poison like that is not healthy and you need to think of yours and the kids well-being. If you now stay, you won't ever forget what they have done. Xx