theleggates

Hi, we are just starting the PR visa process and have job offers in Bunbury so was wondering what areas would be good for a family with primary school aged kids. Most housing I am seeing seems to be in Australind or Dalyellup so wondering how the schools are in those areas and how they are for general safety/crime? Any advice would be much appreciated! Quote

Hi, we are just starting the PR visa process and have job offers in Bunbury so was wondering what areas would be good for a family with primary school aged kids. Most housing I am seeing seems to be in Australind or Dalyellup so wondering how the schools are in those areas and how they are for general safety/crime? Any advice would be much appreciated!

Hi Thanks for your replies. As I mentioned, we were previously been to Australia on a 457 visa in 2014/15 for around 18 months before moving back home for the birth of our second child. We are now considering moving back and have a job offer and visa sponsorship offer from my previous employer. They have been consulting with their migration agent who has suggested coming over on a 482 visa and then once we are in Australia applying for a 186 employer nomination pr visa. Alternatively they say I could apply for a 186 straight away. I was under the impression transferring from a 457/482 temporary visa to a pr visa was quite straight forward once you have been living in Australia on a temporary visa but maybe this is not the case. The 186 visa would probably be our best option as we will not need health insurance and public schooling will be free so it will make living in Australia cheaper for us. I am currently discussing with my potential employer if they will cover the full costs of this visa for us but it is looking like they are willing to do that but I will be expected to work for them for at least 2 years or have to pay back the visa costs. The only downside of going for the 186 visa is the processing times are much longer. At the moment it says 5-15 months but in the long run it would be worth the wait to have permanent residency straight away.

Hi, I am considering moving back over to WA on a 482 visa with my wife and 2 kids after previously living there on a 457 visa in 2014/15. I am just figuring out costs of living etc and I know we had separate health insurance on our 457 visa that was quite expensive but I am wondering if it is required on the 482 visa? I have read that it is but I also read that if you are from a country with reciprocal health agreement then medicare will will be enough and health insurance is not required. We are moving over from Scotland so we do have reciprocal health care. Can anyone confirm if we will need additional health insurance or not? Thanks!

Hi bobby122, We lived in Gero from May 2014 till October 2015 and we absolutely loved our time there! If you like beaches, 4wd and boating it is the perfect place for all that. The beaches are amazing and in my opinion Geraldton has everything you need although it is quite isolated being a 4-5 hour drive from Perth. We lived in the newer part of Glenfield which is next to Drummond Cove and in my opinion either of those places are the best areas to live in. I also like those areas over the likes of Wandina because they are north of town which means you will drive past Glenfield IGA and Target on your way in and out of town. I don't know if you have kids or not but we absolutely loved the foreshore area of Gero and the water park was amazing(and free) for kids but since we left they have developed the foreshore even more and have lots more things to do there now. Crime was an issue in certain areas like the ones you mentioned but we never had any problems at all while we were there. Good luck and if I can help with any other questions feel free to ask away

No I have never been there before but the small size of it dosent worry me at all. I am from a pretty tiny place in Scotland and we were living in Geraldton,WA in 2014/15 which wasn't a big place so I have no desire to live in a big city. As far as the location is concerned I think its fine but was just wanting to know a bit about the different areas around Bundaberg. I was thinking Elliot Heads, Coral cove and Bargara look like nice areas

Hi, We are moving back to Australia from Scotland when our permanent residency visa is granted later this year and I have the possibility of a job in Bundaberg. I was just looking for opinions from people who live there or have lived there in what the area is like to live in and what suburbs/areas are the best to live in for a family with young kids (5 and 1 years old). We would probably be looking for a house on the coast rather than in Bundaberg itself as we are used to living by the sea and don't think we could handle not being able to see it! Thanks!

Also have a look on seek.com.au and search for jobs in Geraldton. A quick search just now showed 166 jobs so it might give you an idea of what kind of jobs are going

I may have just found the answer to my own question! I have found you can get a 6 month holiday visa subclass 676 which sounds like it would be suitable for them to come for the 6 months

I am hoping to emigrate back to Australia (previously been on a 457 but now back in Scotland) with my family on a 189 visa but one of our sticking points is my inlaws being a huge miss to us and our children. I know they can visit and stay for 3 months but I was wondering is it possible for them to stay longer? My father in law was saying he would love to spend 6 months in Australia with us and then spend the other 6 months back in Scotland. I have read some info on retirement visas but not sure if they would be eligible or if there is any other kind of visa that would allow them to do this? My father in law is 65 in March and his wife is 63. Any info would be much appreciated as it could be a deciding factor in us making a permanent move!

We mved to Gerladton from Scotland in 2014 and were there for 18 months before moving back to Scotland. We absolutely loved our time in Geraldton but if we were to move back to Australia in the future we wouldn't settle there. It has everything you need and the beaches are amazing! Rent is pretty cheap and we never had any bad experiences as far as crime goes although we did hear of plenty of break ins and other crime going on. I would recommend Drummond Cove and the newer side of Glenfield. I know lots of people would suggest Wandina but we preferred living north of the cbd as you pass everything (as in Shopping centres, Supermarkets etc) on your way in to town plus the Glenfield beach is fantastic. If I were to live there again I would buy a decent car for normal driving and get an old proper 4wd or ute for going down the beach as thats something you will definitely want to do living in Gero! Good luck with it and hope you enjoy it as much as we did. Fire away with any questions I can help you with

Thanks everyone for the replies, they have been very helpful! I will take Chris up on his offer of professional advice to make sure I am eligible for a 189 and see whats involved in the process. From what you have all said it sounds like it will be much more beneficial to go with the 189, providing I can get it.

Hi, I moved back to Scotland last October after being on a 457 visa in WA but we are now thinking to move back to Australia next year as a permanent move. I have a wife, a 3 year old and a 4 month old at the moment and we will be staying in Scotland till he is a year old but after that we would like to return and I have been thinking a 189 visa would be better as I am not tied to one place of work. I am just wondering what benefits the 189 has over a 457 as it is a lot more money. The worry with the 457 is if for whatever reason the company that sponsors me for the 457 (I am a car mechanic) dosent work out then I will be forced to move back to the uk if I can't find another employer to take me on. Does a 189 visa help with costs such as child care and schooling compared to a 457? Does it also cover more medical costs that a 457 dosent cover? I have heard the 189 visa being called permanent residency...is that what it is? I understand that is completely different to citizenship but when we were on the 457 we were told after 2 years we could apply for permanent residency so is does that mean transferring to a 189? Just trying to figure out what visa to go for then we will have to decide what areas we would like to move to and then contact possible employers to see how many car mechanic jobs are available. In the end where we go will probably be decided by what job offers I can get. Thanks!

Yes I was thinking the 189 Visa would be most suitable. I did a quick visa eligibility assessment last night and my points score is high enough to be eligible for the 189 so I will look in to going down that route now as it may take some time. Thanks again

Thanks for the input folks! I realise that the final decision as to where we move to will be most likely decided by the job I can find. I was also thinking about this for Busselton and Bunbury as I am currently working for a Mitsubishi dealership (I also worked for Mitsubishi and Mazda in Geraldton) as I know they both have Mitsubishi dealerships which would be my most likely chance of employment although it all depends on how busy they are and if they are looking for an experienced mechanic at the time. I am also not sure as to which visa we would be planning to come on. When we lived in Geraldton it was on a 457 sponsored work visa but not sure what the visa options are now. Can we go straight for permanent residency (at a high cost I'm sure!) or is it still best to come over on a 457? The issue I had with getting mine is finding an employer who is willing to sponsor me especially when I'm not in the country. At least i have some experience working in Australia which Im sure would help. Realistically it will not be till around this time next year but I thought I should do as much research in to the areas I would like to live and then start contacting employers with plenty of notice as I know visas can take a while