Xerxes

Its not the only reason we are going!

Lol, I know- I won't make it too obvious!

It's exactly the same here in the UK. When new people start at my work I think "ooh she looks like someone I could be friends with" but then I learn that she still lives in her home town and has a strong circle of childhood friends plus her boyfriend's friends, so has no real need to make friends with work colleagues. It is so hard. I don't live in my home town and have lost touch with my childhood friends (apart from on facebook). It's the one thing I really regret. So I'm determined to meet people in Australia!

I suppose it does depend on the individual. If you have a similar personality to the Aussies then I imagine you would find it easier to gel with them. English people tend to be a bit sensitive so to become friends with Aussies I reckon you need to be more like them, i.e. enjoy having banter and accept their ways, not complain about them.

Have you not made any friends at all in Australia? That seems an awful shame. Did you not meet anyone through work or your neighbours? I've read a lot of blogs where people say they've been invited to more BBQs and parties than they ever had in the UK and there is a huge social scene there. People who had no close friends in UK have said they've now got loads and they all go to each other's houses and stuff like that. Maybe Sydney is hard because it's a big metropolitan city like London where people don't notice each other or actually deliberately ignore each other. We are going to Brisbane which from what I've read has more of a 'small town' feel.

Thanks. That's what its like here too. People have their childhood friends and don't want to make serious new friendships- argghh!!! We are just going to try and make friends with our neighbours!

Thanks! I'm hoping other poms will also be looking to meet people as we will all be in the same boat, so fingers crossed!

I live in Shropshire.

One of the main reasons we are moving to Australia is to make new friends and I just wanted to ask people who have made the move- what is the best way to meet people when you get over there? I don't want to end up only knowing my work colleagues which has happened here due to my moving around a bit. Although I have friends at work, when I see them outside of work it feels like being at work!! My hubby is very sporty and will join sports teams and a golf club, but it is harder for me as I haven't really got a social hobby to sign up for. I'm hoping to meet couples through his hobbies. We don't have kids yet but are hoping to start a family there and hopefully I can meet people through parent and baby classes, but that won't be for at least 2 years after we get there.

Thanks guys! God my head is spinning!

I just wanted to hear from someone who had actually used them instead of getting the "please use my business" spiel!

What exactly does Moneycorp do and do they charge you? Do you transfer your savings into a Moneycorp account and then they transfer it into your Aus bank account?

Thanks @k8bug79 ! Did you set up with moneycorp before you left the UK or when you got over there?

Lol! I just don't want to start my new life looking over my shoulder and dreading the post coming in case its a threatening letter. Therefore I shall continue paying my debt from Australia!

Thanks for picking up the thread again for me here! With regards to paying your credit card, how exactly did you do it? My credit card is with Lloyds, who I bank with. I've got a current account and 2 savings accounts with them, so do I close those and just leave the credit card open? Do I tell the bank I'm emigrating? What address do I give them? Sorry for all the questions but I really haven't got a clue!

I think it's the fact that they charge massive amounts interest so you really only use them as a last resort before bankruptcy. I think if you were at that point you would probably be deeply in the doo-doo and not have any option but to leave them behind!

I imagine that most people who are emigrating are going as skilled migrants so are probably earning a decent enough salary, so I doubt many would have those kinds of debts. I think you have to be in a real hole financially to go near those companies so more than likely wouldn't be in a position to emigrate. I don't know though and apologise if anyone has got them and is offended!

What do you mean?

It's good to hear that you don't necessarily need a shed load of money to do it. We need a big chunk of cash to ship our 3 cats and 2 dogs over. We were going to leave them behind cus it will cost so much, but we can't do it! Otherwise I reckon we wouldn't need that much money. We have friends who love in Brisbane who we are hoping will let us stay there when we first arrive, and we are hoping for me to get a job before we go, so it's only paying for flights really. We aren't taking any furniture, only the bare essentials!

Thanks! To be honest the debt I have is from years before we even thought about emigrating to Oz. I just accepted the fact that I would be paying it off until I got a windfall or inheritance to clear it! It's not even a very large amount but that's my business! I just didn't know if you had to clear your debts before emigrating or could carry on paying them from abroad or transfer them to an Oz credit card. I'm really glad and grateful to have had so much advice from everyone and opened up quite a lively debate!

I'm sorry but you have no idea what life is like in the real world! I'm 33 and bought my house 8 years ago. It has not increased in value at all. Therefore I have only made the money back from the sale that I have paid off it over the last 8 years. I imagine that when you bought your house 30 years ago it has probably increased in value by at least 200%, giving you a huge profit to use for your emigration. My credit card debt is from struggling as a student with no help from my parents whatsoever, not from being frivolous and buying things I couldn't afford! We are saving £400 a month between us for this move so don't judge me with your typical opinions from a middle aged man who has no clue about how hard it is for people in their 20's and 30's to start a life. Oh and I never asked how to leave my debt behind without paying it off- I asked how to transfer it so I could continue paying it off. I never "blamed financial institutions" for my debt

Sounds very tempting!

Thanks so much everyone for the advice! I didn't know if you had to close all of your accounts before you left. We could definitely change our address to the in-laws and keep the bank account open to continue paying it off. I have read elsewhere that you can emigrate and they could never catch up with you to make you pay off UK debts, but I think I would constantly worry that they would find me lol!! Brill, you've made me feel a lot better.

How stupid of us- we didn't think it through! Of course we can't afford to emigrate because we don't want to pay off a bill that can potentially be transferred and paid off monthly, why didn't we think of that?! What would we do without people like you on these forums being so kind and helpful? If you've got nothing to contribute to the discussion please keep your negative opinions to yourself. Everyone else- thanks for your feedback! We do not want to waste the money we have put aside for the move on paying back a credit card that we would just rather carry on paying for monthly. We want to use our lump sum for the move and sipping the pets over and getting established etc. Can you keep a UK bank account open and carry on paying it from Australia if you don't have a UK address? The credit card is with Lloyds who I bank with.

I wondered what people do about credit card debts when they emigrate. We can't afford to pay it off before we go. Can you transfer an outstanding balance on a credit card in the UK to one in Australia? Thanks.