4forAdventure

I joined this forum a while ago whilst I was in the UK and found it very interesting and informative, although some of the posts a little negative and depressing at times. Certainly after our visa's had been granted and we had sold our house and the move was imminent I started to freak out a bit about the job situation as there were so many unsuccessful stories but we pushed on with our plans. We had applied for a skilled migration visa as an Accountant and we arrived on 3 September in Melbourne without any job or specific plans except a holiday rental for a few weeks. With two small children in tow some might think we were a little crazy to leave a good UK job behind, a house we had just renovated and family and friends but we had lived overseas before and loved it and thought Australia would be a good move for us as a family. Although we loved Melbourne, we quickly realised that the job market wasn't as fast paced in financial services as Sydney so although it wasn't our preferred option (for a variety of reasons) our nerves got the better of us and rather than sit it out and spend what savings we had we arranged flights after two weeks and in effect started all over again, job searching, house searching and generally familiarising ourselves with a whole new city. Having kids, one who had just finished Reception in UK and the other 3 years old we knew a family friendly community was paramount but Sydney is very expensive and we weren't prepared to sacrifice distance to the beach so we had to widen our search to affordable costal areas. Searching for a rental when you haven't actually secured a job is stressful, not from getting the rental aspect but just making a decision on an area (and therefore a school for us as we weren't going private and they are all catchment area based) without knowing the location of the job nor how much you are going to actually earn. We researched and researched and thankfully made a right choice for us and found a suitably price rental in a lovely area. My husband battled on with the job search and a month after arriving in Australia was offered a job practically the same as what he did back in the UK with a fair salary so it all worked out. We are loving our new lives. We love being close to the beach and are enjoying the warmer weather now and lots new attractions to see and do. I think we are lucky we didn't have the stress and worry of finding a job and home and school for too long and have managed to settle really very quickly but it wasn't without a lot of hard work. So I guess my message is this, it is possible to make the move and everything to work out but it does take guts, lots of research and I think you really have to want it as it can be tempting not to bother as it is tough at times. The flight alone was a killer, then having to make a tonne of decisions straight away from buying a car to which type of milk to buy (as believe we tried a few and they all have such different tastes it was trial and error to find something to suit us all). There are still challenges we face but the major ones have gone and we are enjoying settling in. It is of course a whole lot easier and a lot less stressful if you already have a job before you come over but for us we really wanted to explore the state/city and job options and not be tied to an employer through a work visa so we went for PR. I can only speak for financial services but the job market is tough and really you are only likely to find employment once you come over doing exactly as you did in the UK. If you are looking for a career change or to move up or across then get some experience in the role first as they are only really interested in your latest work experience. I have found money to be comparable to UK, salaries and expenses (minus the cost of housing which is a bit crazy) so the same lifestyle you had in the UK is achievable (depending on whether you rent/buy and how much you decide to sign up to pay each week/month). We really love it here and I wish everyone else luck on their migration plans, whatever they may be. If you believe it then you can make it.

Hello, just following on from this.... Of you have a choice of doctors do I need to request my uk health records to be sent across or to request a leaving file from my doctor when I leave uk in a few weeks or is this not necessary a there is not one gp you register with/would hold your file etc? Some of the todo lists say about requesting medical records from doctors and opticians and such like but I'm not sure in reality whether it's required?!? Any advice appreciated

I have loved reading your post owensfamily, it's was great to hear about your experiences. We were toying with either Sydney or Melbourne (and still maybe are in our minds a little) but have plumped for Melbourne and our circumstances are almost identical to yours so it's encouraging you have gone through the same thought process and have now considered Melbourne as an option too. Good luck with your plans.

Very valid points about the sunscreen/UV issue thanks so for that! We have lived near to the equator before so not un used to applying creams, hats and such like but not having to worry about it as much at certain times i imagine would be quite a blessing. The more the hear the more Melbourne sounds right for us, it will be exciting to explore and find out

Can I ask what made you decide to return to London after what seems like going through the entire visa process and spending the time to get settled etc? Thanks to to everyone's comments as well. There are so many differing views it's hard to know what to make of it all. We are coming to Australia regardless and we are very excited. We are always up for a challenge and have lived overseas before so the whole emigrating thing doesn't bother us and our children are young enough for it not to be a problem just yet. We aren't personally hoping the grass is greener just different as such and looking forward to all the differences and challenges we will explore and overcome. Life is an adventure and we intend to make the most of it and living in Australia is part of the grand plan. We will be coming with a chunk of savings so in some locations we could afford to put down big deposit on home/buy outright potentially so would help take the pressure off the salary but clearly we don't want to invest in an area before we are settled and found a job etc. Yes hubby works in financial services sector and Sydney would be the ideal from a job perspective but we are trying to explore more "liveable" options without a horrendous rent/mortgage or crazy commute. Melbourne seemed to tick a lot of the boxes although slightly concerned how seasonal it is in reality and a change from UK weather would be a bonus. We are hoping to have a more outdoors lifestyle, maintain a good work/home life balance. We do love the coast and water but also mountains etc. Never tried skiing so that sounds fun. The culture sounds good but we aren't die hard concert/theatre fans although maybe that's due to having children at the mo! We did used to live in Brighton and Hove but aren't overly arty people. Just enjoy a good mix and variety of everything really, particularly the outdoors. In the backs of our minds we are also considering Brisbane but I guess it's a little harder again re the job market and chewing over peoples comments of the available variety of activities/culture but the coastal aspect would be great. Lots to think about in not a lot of time

Hello Spangley, I'm really interested to hear what you thought of your reccie. We are moving to melbourne later in the year and I have also identified south frankston as a possible area for us (we have two children aged 3 and 5) and it is likely that my hubbie will be working in Central Melbourne as presumably many of the financial services based there. Are you also in that field or is that rather presumptive of me seeing you are Switzerland based? I would also love to hear what you made of the weather at this time of year and you read such mixed reviews and opinions. Thanks very much Annette

We are thinking of Melbourne as our preferred destination too so I would really love to hear responses as I'm slightly concerned (mainly due to the comments you read on these forums) that the jobs are harder to come by in comparison to say Sydney which was our second choice. Hubby will be getting a job in financial services in an accounting role. Annette

Hello lebourvellec. thank you you for your message. Yes I realise they could decline our application which is why I'm finding this quite stressful and want to ensure I can provide them with everything I can. No we are not using a migration expert, just trying to do it ourselves. So far it has been relatively pain free, it's just I don't have tonnes of historical paperwork so it's a case of requesting it from the companies and putting your faith in their hands to locate it whilst trying to second guess exactly how much detail the CO wants to see. I read somewhere to provide every other month of payslips for the last year and quarterly prior to that which is the basis I'm working on at the moment and hoping that will be sufficient along with everything else.

Hello, I am new to this forum but it seems like a great place to meet people and chat through any worries so I am hoping someone might have had a similar request or some advice re the following. We are applying for a skilled independent visa (Accountant) and have been asked by our case officer to provide evidence of employment for the claimed period through "payslips covering the period of claimed work experience; bank statements showing payment of salaries into personal bank accounts; taxation documents". The employment timeframe spans close to 10 years and unfortunately we haven't kept a lot this kind of paperwork. The current job we can provide everything. Before that we lived overseas in a tax free jurisdiction of which the bank account had to be closed when we left as part of their tax rules. They do still potentially have our records in the archive and I could request a copy of say 2 bank statements showing the payment of salaries from each of the two jobs we had out there. Do you think one payslip, bank statement and taxation type document for each job across the timeframe is sufficient? We have already uploaded reference letters - it is unrealistic I can obtain copies for every month of bank statements or payslips from the last 10 years and seems a lot to upload but I'm clearly nervous as I want to provide everything I can to receive a positive outcome. The tax office said they can produce some kind of letter stating salaries/tax paid over the years so hopefully that should cover the UK jobs and luckily our UK bank has 8 years of archives so I could again request one bank statement showing the salary received towards the end of period of first job. Am I doing enough? Any suggestions welcome.