Jersey2Sydney

Thank you both for replying. I should have said that we have the budget for the area. It's somewhere we have been considering since our PR was granted 8 long years ago! Following a stint in Singapore it's taken us this long to finally make the move properly. We've been watching these suburbs grow in $$$ all of this time....oh, if only we'd bought all those years ago

We arrived in mid-August and as PR we got seats (we are a family of 5) on an official repatriation Qantas flight and flew direct (17hr 35min because had to avoid Afghan airspace!) to Darwin, quarantined at Howard Springs. With 3 children, 9, 11 and 14, 14 days stuck in 2 hotel rooms with no fresh air or space was a deal breaker so we were very happy with Howard Springs. The quarantine there was also a lot cheaper (and we got 5 single rooms - result!) and I was less worried about the children being exposed to Covid in quarantine (in Aug vaxx rates in WA were very low. Covid exposure in quarantine was possible) It was incredibly stressful and expensive but ultimately worth it. Now there are no repatriation flights I can imagine it is more difficult. Flights to the east coast are easy to get but getting a G2G pass to enter WA from outside the state is now almost impossible. It is an ever changing story and I do not envy your situation. Try and stay informed and up to date on Australian covid news. As for flights, try Jennie Bardsley and her team at British Travel in Perth. I know they have been getting people in and out of WA successfully throughout the pandemic. Good luck. https://www.britishtravel.com.au

We are a family of 5 (and a daft spaniel) who are considering a move from the northern suburbs of Perth to northern Sydney, from Manly up to Collaroy Plateau and in as far as Frenchs Forest. Our children are 10, 12 and 15 and the ideal time to move would be over the summer break at the end of this year. Has anyone made the move, arrived recently from elsewhere to that area or moved to elsewhere in Sydney with similar aged children? We'll be looking for independent schools ( Pittwater House and Oxford Falls Grammar are 2 we have looked at) and recommendations for these too would also be appreciated. Next year the children will be in school years 6, 8 and 11. Feedback on life in general with 3 kids in this area would be great. Thank you

Child car seats are not classed as excess luggage and are not part of your luggage/weight allocation. They will be checked in separately and do go in the hold so be sure to secure all straps etc. that could get caught and damage the seat. I have travelled with boosters and high back isofix seats and I usually but them in a black bin liner which I then tape shut at the check in desk. Good luck with your move!

Amanda - send me a direct message on here and I'll answer any questions you have x

Thank you. I was just putting the feelers out there in case someone had moved off island from Jersey or Guernsey to save myself a heap of research! I will be speaking to my vet and getting quotes from most animal shipping companies. I will also be speaking to the airlines locally as it may be that I can fly him to the UK and arrange for a pet shipping agent to collect him from the airport in the UK and then they do their bit from there.

This is a really narrow question but has anyone shipped their dog from Jersey to Australia? I am trying to avoid having to take him cross on the ferry to a shipping agent....the cost and time is prohibitive! Any guidance gratefully received

Please can you help me? Are there any/many State or Private (not Catholic) schools that go from primary through to year 12, preferably co-ed too? We are hoping to move to Perth in the UK summer of 2016. We have 3 children. Our eldest girl is 9 and would join year 5 in the UK in Sept2016. Middle girl will be 6 and due to join year 2 in Sept2016. Our youngest, a boy will be 4, almost 5 and due to start in reception - the first year of school in the UK in Sept2016. I know in NSW the ages and school years coincide with the UK but I am unsure of the WA situation. There does not appear to be the breadth of choice as there is in Sydney, though this is the same between many major cities. I have only just started investigating Perth schools. Our moving plans have changed from Sydney to Perth because hubby will need to travel a great deal to Asia so it makes sense. We swung by Perth last summer to activate our visas - a 2 day flying visit! I know a little of Perth of old having lived in Cottesloe for 8 months in 2002 - but it is a different city now - places and suburbs that were desert when I was living there! We are flexible of location and have a healthy budget for renting/buying so schools really are the focus at the moment. Any pointers gratefully received. Thank you

Thank you everyone - I had found and used all these sites. I think my enquiry was more about find the 'one' website with all the information as comprehensive as the NSW one. But it appears you need to dig a little deeper and cross reference a few sites.

we are looking to live from St Kilda West, down along the coast through Elwood and Brighton as far down as Sandringham. I am happy to come inland an acceptable distance for schools. Our children currently attend a fee paying co-ed primary but we are happy to look at state schools too - at the moment we only require primary from early learning 4 year old age. That said we like the idea of a straight through school for the children so an early learning through to year 12 is also an option. My main issue is that I cannot find local state school websites....only a few seem to have a 'feature' page on the Australian School Directory. Thank you.

yes I have used this (tried to) but the information is minimal - no school website links. Thank you though.

Dear All, I am trying to search for schools in Melbourne and cannot find any one comprehensive and useful website! I know which suburbs I want to search in but unlike the NSW websites there does not appear to be a complete list on the Australian Schools Directory nor on the City of Melbourne website. The NSW site links to schools individual websites...perhaps Melbourne schools don't have websites though this seems unlikely. Can anyone point me in the right direction? Thank you.

Umm, yes I think so. It is beautiful. The beaches are truly amazing. As good as many I have seen in exotic locations. But it is small (9milesx5miles)and the winters, though mild and pleasant are long with not much to do. France may be only 14miles away but it's expensive to hop over there or to the other islands. It is clean and safe though so a great place to bring up children. That said we are off to Oz next year, our visas having been granted. We have 3 small children and just want to give them every opportunity. Enable them to know the world is a big place, feel ambitious enough to explore, confident enough to be themselves. This is not something we believe can be achieved in the UK or Europe in the coming years. But I recommend Jersey for a long weekend....spring, summer or autumn xx

We used an agent. We are a family of 5, my husband works away and we have 3 small children. We decided that the prospect of getting together all the documents, remembering all the timelines and getting everything right was too much to juggle! The consequences of a wrong box ticked or deadline missed cab be big in time and money (fees are not refunded) The cost was worth it and we judged it as an investment in our future life. If you can justify it as that, as something you really want and so are investing in then I believe it is the best way to go. The entire process took less than 1 year. We received our visas on 1Nov13 ) I will happily recommend our agent. i can PM you her details. She gave us a lot of information before we even paid a penny. Have you decided which of you will be the lead or are you both applying for a 190? Whoever is the lead applicant is the one who sits the IELTS, the other person does not have to. Best of luck whichever route you take x

I have just set sky+ series record! We too are only interested in the Oz bits :cute: