Collie

But that is a personal view. I know loads of migrants from different countries and backgrounds who love living in Sydney. I was one for about 10 years.

I meant the bit about avoiding it like the plague. That is a personal opinion based on what is important to you and your circumstances. I agree house prices are very high but that is a function of supply & demand. It is a sign of success in some ways as many people want to live there. Similar to many major cities in the world. Maybe the OP is coming on a very high salary, can afford to live in a nice suburb and enjoy all Sydney has to offer.

That's a very personal opinion. It really depends on the individual and what is important to them in terms of lifestyle preferences etc. I now live in Perth where house prices are less than half of that in Sydney (& better beaches & climate) but would be back in inner Sydney in a heartbeat if family commitments didn't keep me in Perth. In any case, if the OP is coming on an employer sponsored visa, they won't have much choice on where they are located. To the OP, you will be up for $5-$8k pa in school fees. What's probably more important though is that there is no guarantee of PR at the end of your sponsorship. You are tied to your employer also. Very much treat it as a temporary (2-4 years) opportunity to live and work in Oz and not expect to migrant permantently based on this.

Hi Hugh, Where are you based? The 2 I see most recommended in Perth are Patricia Halley at Visas4u & Edwina King.

The bigger ? is why did you lie to Centrelink and steal money from the rest of us? (because that's what it is to fraudently claim entitlements that are funded by taxpayers).

I'm open to correction but I think it's 4 years as a PR. When I did mine (2007), it was 2 years as a PR, any time out of the country was tacked on at the end ie I had 3 weeks overseas hols and my eligible date to apply was after 2 years 3 weeks). I think there is a website which will tell you when you can apply.

I used to use Halo but now use Currency Fair. No issues with either, just find Currency Fair easier to use. Referral below gives you a bonus on your first transfer. Transfer money on CurrencyFair and get €€30 free! https://www.currencyfair.com/rafland/?channel=RBHZ31&utm_medium=RAF&utm_source=MOBILE_ANDROID&utm_campaign=sharebutton

It's a week's rent, just suck it up and move on. Not worth the grief. You could have pushed the air con issue when you moved in but irrelevant now.

2 weeks notice is short, other states is 3 or 4 weeks. Most leases automatically roll to month to month. E.g. my lease expired nearly 3 years ago but I am still living here. So yes the RE is correct, you should have given notice earlier.

I thought I was replying to a different thread before. I'm sorry your relationship is not working out. Moving to Perth from Qld is like moving overseas with the kids and will damage their relationship with their father (& probably with you down the line). It is a very selfish act without extreme extenuating circumstances (e.g. major drug use) I have lived this issue & been through the family court circus. There is no such thing as parental rights in Australia, there is children's rights and the children have the right to a relationship with both parents. Unless you have the other parent's permission, the courts are unlikely to allow the children to move that far away without very good reasons. I'll leave you with this to ponder, how would you feel if your partner decided to move & take the kids 3,000 miles away?

Hi Kerry, I agree with Ali. Talk to a good migration agent. The 2 I see regularly recommended on the Irish families in Perth facebook page are; Patricia Halley at visas4you and Edwina King. They both serve the Irish community in Perth.

Hi Alan, You can place an order with the online options too. I used to use Halo but now find Currency Fair easier, can do it all myself online. No issues with Halo, just prefer CF.

Hi folks, Anybody switched to NBN yet? I was wary as had heard mixed reports on service. Unfortunatley, my ADSL 2 service has been steadily declining in quality over the last year and just became unusable so I made the jump a few months back. So far so good. I went with Aussie broadband who were good with set-up niggles. $79 pm for 50mbps download, 20mbps upload and speeds have been close to that everytime I tested it. Unlimited downloads too which is good as tend to do a lot of streaming (Netflix, Optus Sport, Stan). Cheers.

He's a troll, probably not even in Australia.

Not great tbh. Not nearly as many opportunities as Sydney or Melbourne. It is very much a resources town and few big companies outside of mining or oil & gas. Also Perth has effectively been in recession for quite a while now. Some signs that it is bottoming out but it's slow. I'd really think twice unless you have a job to come to. Happy to have a chat if you want drop me a PM.

Ok. So what suburb is your place in? I live in Perth and know the suburbs.

Yep, trolling in various threads.

Where in Perth? I doubt you'll find something good cheaper.

Hey mate, Look at Currencyfair, really low fees ($4 I think), and easy to use. Can do the market rate at the time or pick your rate and if/when the market moves to your rate, your exchange happens automatically. I've been using them for years. You can use this referral link if you like for a bonus on signup, (I get a bonus too for referring you but would recommend them anyway) Transfer money on CurrencyFair and get €€30 free! https://www.currencyfair.com/rafland/?channel=RBHZ31&utm_medium=RAF&utm_source=MOBILE_ANDROID&utm_campaign=sharebutton

Hi there, I am a CIMA and CPA member based in Perth and lived in Sydney for many years. You should be fine in Melbourne. The whole "Australian experience" is less of an issue now than it used to be, espeically in Sydney & Melbourne. The only aspect where it's relevant really is Tax which CIMA people don't do a lot of anyway. CPA & CIMA have a mutual recogition agreement so you can get CPA by just applying and paying the money. Not sure if you need to in Melbourne, CIMA is becoming more recognised. I only got CPA when I moved to Perth. Have a look at seek.com.au for roles & contact with the main agencies before arriving. Recruitment tends to be very quiet in December and January (summer hols) pretty much everywhere over here. Hope this helps.

Should be ok. I use Currency Fair. Can use market rates or pick your own and wait for the market to move. All very easy to do online.

Cars in Australia have registration (rego) on them and need to have this to drive legally on the roads. In NSW, to get rego, you need a pink slip (MOT) on cars more than 4 (?) years old and a green slip (CTP insurance). It follows and is driven by the car, not the driver. The car should be already registered for a test drive and will have so much rego on it when you buy it (vendor is responsible, dealers may have special exemptions). After sale, ownership transfers to you after both you & the vendor notify the RTA (now called RMS, I think). Additional insurance is optional (eg Comprehensive) abd can be bought from any of the big companies. Have a look around the rms website, pretty sure they have guides on there (or the link above).

Hi Ballartbud, I haven't lived in Melbourne but visited lots and lived in Sydney for a decade. Moved to Perth 3 years ago from Sydney, it's "growing" on me. I also have a 51/2 year old child. I'll try to give you my honest pros & cons on Perth v a Sydney or Melbourne. Some of the other posters may not agree but this is my view. Pros: Weather is nicer than the eastern States, can get hot but humidity is less. Gets cold overnight in winter but days generally ok (can be 5 degrees at 7am and 22 by 10am and back down to 10 by 6pm) Easy to get around with good roads and less traffic (traffic pretty much a peak hour thing only) but you definitely need a car. 20min drive gets you most places. Great beaches and loads of them, rarely crowded Accomodation is cheaper to rent and buy at the moment (mining bust, renters/buyers market) Nice city to raise a family About 3 hours travel time closer to Europe but not as much competition on flights (depending on where you are going) eg Etihad don't fly from Perth anymore. Better time difference to Europe (7 hours winter, 8 in summer, no daylight savings here) No pokies in the pubs Super public playgrounds and pools for the kids. Cons: Work availability is the big one, a lot of people still out of work. Depends on what you do but very reliant on the resouces/resources services industries. You have mining, oil & gas, mining services, health & education that have some scale and that's about it. Financial services, Insurance and pretty much every international head office are Sydney or Melbourne so career opportunities may be limited if you are not in the resources industry (may not be an issue for you). Lots of talent available so it can be hard to break into. Expensive for everything except accomodation - eating out, drinks (no pokies in pubs), entertainment (gigs, shows etc), groceries, fuel (& you need a car). I estimate that it is Sydney +20% so probably Melbourne +25-30% but then your accomodation costs will be 30% less., eg a coffee is $4.50-$5+ Lower salaries (depends on what you do though) It is quiet although improving. It is very much an early to bed, early to rise town (may suit you). e.g. you would struggle to get a meal after about 8.30pm. There are not the same choices in terms of entertainment and stuff going on e.g. many international acts skip Perth completely when touring Australia. While the food scene is improving, it is miles away from the quality, choice and value for money in Melbourne (although Melbourne is a bit of a foodie heaven) CBD is small and can be a bit dodgey at nighttime, also a bit soulless but it is improving (I've never felt uneasy wandering around Sydney / Melbourne CBD late at night but would be wary in Perth), Yagan square is good and the small bars off Murray street. Northbridge can be ok but gets a bit feral from about midnight. Lots of bogans and they are far more visible than in the bigger cities. Lots of suburbia - pretty much from about 10km out is suburbia and you don't really have the city of villages like Melbourne. There is the CBD and Freo. Leederville is not bad but small, Mount Lawley is nice but quiet these days, as is Subiaco. You don't really get suburbs like Fitzroy, St Kilda, Richmond, South Yarra. Can be quite cliquey and everybody knows everybody. People tend to socialise at home/friends places (probably due to the cost of going out) so can be hard to make a social circle initially. It is isolated and with a few exceptions, you are either doing a long drive or a flight to go away. Having said that there are great beaches close by so the "need" to go away is less, i.e. staycations are easy So a mixed bag. My advice, don't move unless you have secure work lined up. Rent for a year to see if you like it and suss out the area you'd like to settle in before buying (prices have been flat/falling for about 6 years now and no sign of them rising significantly anytime soon IMO). Hope this helps and happy for you to pm me if you want more info.

No as you will not be tax resident in Australia until you move here. Can recommend Currency fair for transfers.

Ok, so it sounds like you have the classic dilemma of property size v ideal location v budget, join the club :). TBH, something will probably have to give. I'm not sure where you live now but Sydney is a large international city (and not very well planned) and space is at a premium in the inner suburbs. You may need to go through a bit of a prioritisation process to decide on what constraint is the one you are most willing to compromise on. If it's location, prepare to live in a quieter suburb (15-20 + kms out) where you probably need to drive to the attractions you listed above and longer commutes. The upper north shore may be more suitable for this but it is quiet suburbia. If it's property size, you could look at renting a storage unit close by for your toys which is cheaper than the additional rent needed for a bigger property in the inner city. Shorter commutes, walking distance to attractions etc. Re the car, if you need one every day, it is worth buying one but if it is just for weekend stuff, really do look at the car share schemes, it works out far cheaper (owning involves, rego, tolls, parking, insurance, fuel, maintainance etc, it adds up) and just as convenient. I moved back to Sydney in 2011 and was going to buy a car until a friend put me onto go get. I happily lived without a car for 4 years (I had a choice of at least 10 within a 5 minute walk whenever I needed one) in Balmain and I was similar age to yourselves. It worked for me but may not do for you (btw I had plenty of toys too). If you want the inner city vibe and a larger property, it exists but you will pay for it. Balmain is an old suburb which has been gentrified in the last 20 years or so. There are a lot of old workers cottages etc. Larger properties are pricey, you could also look at Drummoyne or Lilyfield which is close to Balmain/Rozelle but has larger properties. You can still get the ferry from Drummoyne to North Sydney and the city. BTW, If you are into your skiing, look up the Sydney skiers and Snowboarders group on meetup.com, a really well run group of fellow snow enthusiasts of all levels (mostly 30's and 40's). If you are going to ski often it is worth buying a season pass (about 6 days is the break-even). Most of that group ski Perisher and there are people who go down most weekends between June and October. Hope this helps. PS - worth investing the time for a bike license, it's not difficult, I wished I did mine years earlier.