Collie

It really easy how long is a piece of string question. Are you including a vehicle in the set up costs or not? Are you shipping furniture and household stuff (90%+ of rentals are unfurnished). Where are you planning on living? For pure living expenses, I think you would need $5-6k per month. Check out domain.com.au (prices are per week) to get a feel for rental prices in different areas but inner Sydney will be about $500pw for a 1 bed apartment. Additionally you will need 4 weeks rent as a bond (deposit). I think I read the other day that the Sydney rental market is quite tight at the minute. Hopefully, you are lucky with work, check out seek.com.au for current vacancies and to give you a feel for salaries. Get in touch with recruiters before you arrive. You may get lucky, I once hired somebody from London with just phone interviews (although she turned out to be a nightmare). To be safe, I would be bringing 6 months living expenses so $30-35k + whatever you need for a vehicle (may not be needed of living in inner Sydney, also look at car share schemes like goget.com.au) and whatever you are going to spend to kit a place out (or you can rent furniture until you start working). Hope this helps.

Hi there, I think the right vibe for you is inner Sydney and probably inner west or eastern suburbs, although not great for north Sydney travel depending on where you are (2 trains). The north shore is beautiful but very quiet. North Sydney is ok during business hours but pretty quiet at night & weekends. Crows nest has a bit of life to it and may be an option that direction or Neutral bay/Cremorne. North of St Leonards is pretty much suburbia. Manly has it's own vibe going on but awkward for North Sydney, better for the city with the ferries. TBH, my recommendation would be Balmain/Rozelle, close to the city but has it's own village vibe going on. Although a lot quieter than it used to be, still lots of good pubs, cafe's restaurants and has a really good community. Close to the bay walk/run for a bit of exercise. About 1/2 hour to Eastern suburbs beaches and to the airport also. Easy access to the city via bus or ferry and your husband can commute to work by ferry to McMahon's point. Commuting by ferry never gets old, only issue is that the journey is too short. I live in Perth now but lived in Sydney for over a decade, mostly in the Balmain/Rozelle/Drummoyne areas (so may be a bit biased) Forgot about driving in Sydney, traffic is a nightmare as is parking but public transport in inner Sydney is quite good and ubers are cheapish. I would recommend getting a motor bike or moped as it's an easy way to get around (can use the bus lanes and free parking) . May want to re-consider your budget or requirements. Why do you need/want 3-4 bedrooms and a garage for 2 cars for a couple? If you live inner Sydney, you won't need 2 cars (or barely 1) as you will commute by public transport. There are some great car share schemes in Sydney where you can rent a local car by the hour (About $6 ph) on an app. Have a look at goget.com.au A much better & cheaper option for occasional drivers. You should get a nice 2 bed apartment in Balmain for your budget, 3 at a push. check out domain.com.au for a browse. Feel free to pm if you want more info, I know Balmain pretty well.

As above mate. I have heard of ways & strategies around certain obstacles (such as the never-ending temporary visa (30 year processing time) for parents - not sure if it is still around ). Your best bet is to find a good migration agent, give them as much info as possible and ask them what your options are. Then you at least are pprobably inofrmed to make a decision. No personal experience with the following but the 2 Perth based agents I regularly see recommended are Edwina King and Patricia Halley (Visas4u or something like that). Good luck. BTW Work is not exactly plentiful in Perth at the moment.

Raffles is a hotel now as well, 1/2 price pizza on a Weds. Airbnb is always my 1st choice now. You should get a nice 1 bed place for c.$100pn I have a friend living in Applecross and it would be similar to Mosman in Sydney (but quieter). Lovely area, on the river but dead after 7pm. Perth's "Surry Hills" doesn't exist (I've been looking for Perth's Balmain for 3 years). The closest you will find is Freo or Leederville or Mount Lawley. Raffles, is fairly close to the train for shooting into the city but I would recommend a car for Perth. Freo is close to Applecross (15min drive), Perth CBD is a bit soulless although they are tring to improve it with Elizabeth Quay etc. A few nice small bars around Murray street. I like my area - Mt Hawthorn/Leederville, some nice bars/cafes/restaurants - a bit of life. Leederville is a bit like Newtown (except about 1/3 of the size). Weaher getting warm now - 30's this week. bring your wallet - Perth is Sydney+20% for food & drinks. I suspect you will gravitate towards Freo rathar than Perth. LC worth a visit (LC next door is good - upstairs)

No, some others make very specific comments - How can somebody living in the UK (for a long time), with no financial qualifications or knowledge (even a layman's knowledge or life experience) of the Melbourne property market possibly be qualified to comment on the OP's query? I make sure I say that they are IMO and relate to general issue or qualify my opinion based on my experience. I don't make stupid/factually incorrect statements like "No brainer, property always goes up and doubles in value every 10 years" or "Don't go to Sydney" as 2 posters advised a young backpacker when neither one has ever lived there (both live in the UK btw and 1 only spent a year living in rural Queensland - How does that qualify one to give advice on living in Sydney. Anyway - I think I may be hanging up my keyboard on this site (following some of the sensible posters) Some of what is allowed to be posted in the Brexit thread and Chewing the fat is very distasteful with a strong undercurrent of racisim and facism. I didn't realise that PIO was an outpost of the EDL. I thought the purpose of the site was to offer help (based on appropriate life experience) to migrants looking to move to Australia around a range of relevant day to day issues.

I have never given anybody specific financial advice on this forum. I couldn't do that without knowing a lot more about their specific circumstances, financial goals and attitude to risk. I have made general comments about issues raised based on my qualified opinion. With regards to my qualifications - I am a CPA and an ACMA/CGMA with over 20 years experience working in the Financial Services sector in Ireland and Australia. Does that answer your question?

Well, first of allm the statement I have bolded is not true. 2 recent GBP examples are the June 2016 when the GBP "tanked" 25% after the Brexit vote and further back in the 1990's when George Soros speculated against the Bank of England and made about 1B GBP. Secondly, saying that Labour are planning to wreck the economy is not an accurate conclusion based on the article. Not sure how anyone could possibly draw that conclusion based on the article written. Have you read it? It merely says that Labour have policy plans based on certain scenarios, if the scenario doesn't happen, the plan stays on a shelf. BTW - I am neutral when it comes to UK politics. I would be centre right on fiscal issues and centre left on social issues.

Have you actually read the article? What is your problem with it? Scenario planning is a good thing, every business worth their salt does it on a regular basis and boards often ask for BCP (Business Continuity Plans). You should be more worries if they didn't have these back up plans. you can be damn sure the Bank of England does. Good to see that you are starting to recognise the likely economic impacts of Brexit. What brought about your "Come to Jesus" moment?

Well Kate, Legally, to give financial advice you are meant to be a qualified financial advisor. Making off the cuff and factually incorrect statements such as "Property always goes up" is not really useful to the OP. Also being made by somebody who (AFAIK) has no financial training and hasn't lived in Australia in quite a while is misleading. I actually think stating your qualifications/experience helps. There was another thread where 2 posters were advising a poster not to travel to Sydney, both live in the UK and have never lived in Sydney - how could they be possibly qualified to comment. It is actually impossible to give financial advice to the OP with the information provided. At a minimum, you would need to know: His/her age, appitude for risk (both asset class and f/x), financial goals, other assets and liabilities (for diversification), whether the property would be positively or negatively geared etc. It makes no financial sense to keep a negatively geared property in Australia if you are living overseas and have no other Australian income. For most people, a property in a city like Melbourne would be a significant asset (probably their largest), hence why I suggested the OP get professional advice from a qualified professional who will take their overall financial position, risk profile etc into account. Hope the health is going ok.

Are you sure about this? AFAIK, in Australia, they generally insure the vehicle, regardless of the driver

Again, are you a qualifed financial advisor? Houses in Dublin are still 20-30% lower than they were in 2007 (a 10 year time frame), I have a reasonable knowledge of the Dublin market. $100k invested in Dublin/London property in 1995 would be worth less today than if it was invested in most managed funds.

Should also add, if you are living overseas, it really only makes sense to have a property investment in Australia if it is positively geared.

They don't always gain in value, that is an opinion, markets go up and down, unless you are going to guarantee the value in 10 years. Also is property going to outperform other investment options for the OP's timeframe? Are you a qualifed financial advisor? (I'm guessing not). eg property in Perth is down quite a bit on 4 years ago (and still falling). Property in Ireland dropped 50-60% after 2007, and although now recovering (well Dublin & surrounds), it is still 20-30% below it's peak of 2007. To the OP, there are a number of factors to consider Do you need the money in the UK in the short-medium term? (eg to buy in the UK or other uses) Is property your investment of choice? (how diversified are you?) Do you ever plan to return to Melbourne? What do you think is going to happen to the f/x rate? which means having a view on Brexit. While the rate is quite good now it may go either way depending on a soft/hard Brexit. Most forecasts are for very soft economic growth in the UK for the forseeable future which will weaken the GBP (good for you if transferring AUD over), the impact of interest rate rises to curb inflation will strengthen the GBP (bad for you) So it really depends on your outlook for the UK, Australia, your appetiite for risk, your investment preferences (Property, shares, bonds etc). You have 2 decisions. Do I wish to keep some assets in Australia (or AUD)? You probably have super in Australia already (Good hedge on Brexit) Do I wish to keep the investment in property (and your specific property) or sell and move it into another asset class (managed fund)? Some professional advice looking across your entire financial position and what your financial goals are is probably required to give you an accurate answer (go fee for service to ensure you are getting unbiased advice). My own view (not related to your specific situation but on the relevant components): The short to medium term outlook for Australia is probably better than the UK (ie I'd rather have assets in AUD then GBP right now) Many forecasts are saying that Melbourne property is reaching a peak, particularly in units - with an oversupply expected to hit the market in the next 12-18 months (but then Melbourne is growing, so tough to call) Over the long term, equities generally outperform all other asset classes. Equities or managed funds are a lot more liquid and less hassle than a property investment.

They want to know what you had for breakfast and your first born child too. WA are extremely strict on category A documents. I went to transfer my NSW license over with 2 passports (Australian and Irish) bank cards, utility bills, medicare card, lease, NSW license and it still wasn't enough. If you are a citizen and were born in Australia, they want your birth cert, born overseas, they want your citizenship certificate. I'm on my second Aussie passport (ie citizen 10 years +) and this is the only time I have been asked for my citizenship certificate (which I lost years ago) apart from my first Australian passport. Immigration and border control accept an Australian passport as proof of Australian citizenship but not the WA Department of Transport. They have the list on their website, the Category A documents are the crucial ones, the others are fairly routine.

As others have said, the big 4 in order of size are CBA (c. 27% Market share) Westpac (25%) ANZ (15%) NAB (15%) INGDirect are another good option, they are an online/phone bank - they don't have branches and you can use Australia Post if you need to do a cash tranx. You get charged here if you use another bank's ATM ($2-$3). ING refund this to you (with some minor conditions). The big 4 are much of a muchness, I have had accounts with most of them over the years (and worked for 2 of them). My preference would be CBA as their online and app banking is world class. Just very easy to use (ING a close 2nd). ING online saver has the highest rate currently (think it is 3%). Re credit - as long as you are working and have a reasonable income ($65k +) you should get credit cards fairly easily. Worth signing up with a frequent flyer program before coming over (Qantas & Virgin/Velocity are the big 2). Many credit cards earn ff points and often offer large sign-up bonuses (but you will pay an annual fee). Amex normally have good deals on (100,000 points etc)

Hi LJV, So, if I understand you correctly, you will be moving to and living in Australia and working remotely for your UK company (online, phone etc), paid as a PAYE worker (tax deducted and paid to HMRS). I'm not 100% sure but in principle I would think that it should be ok as long as you declare the income (& tax deducted) on your Australian tax returns. You would bear the f/x risk of course if you needed to bring your net salary over Worth having a chat with a tax expert (if it is a large company - there may be somebody inhouse, if not the company may be willing to pay for a consultation with a tax expert). The high level principles are as follows: Australian tax residents are taxed on their world wide income (where and what currency they are paid in is irrelevant) Australian tax residents complete a tax return each tax year (July to June) There is a section on your tax return for foreign earnings and tax deducted (ATO will provide f/x rate to use - I still have a small Euro income that I declare every year) You will not be charged tax twice on the same income as the UK and Australia have a double taxation treatment You will pay tax at your marginal rate in Australia and receive a credit for tax paid in the UK. If the UK marginal rate is higher than Australia you should get a refund (as the deductions in the UK will be higher than your liability), if it's lower, you may have a tax bill (shortfall of deductions) Worth doing IMO, at least in the short term until you get sorted in Australia. I had a friend in Sydney who did something similar, both he & & his wife were still working for their employer in the UK while working in Sydney. I think they agreed their salary in AUD before they left though (ie the company is bearing the f/x risk which is a problem when the GBP tanked). Again, worth checking out with an expert (oe even the ATO) as there may be payroll tax liabilities etc on the employer. An expert may recommend that you set up as self employed and invoice your company. Hope this helps.

Good luck Vicky, When you are looking at salaries you need to know whether they include or exclude super. Super is superannuation and is a mandatory pension contribution of a minimum of 9.5%. It is still your money, it just gets put away into a fund (of your choice). So using your $130k, if it was $130k+ super, it would be $130k base and super of $12,350. $130k including super would be $118.7k base +super of $11.3k, $130k base will be about $7,600 per month after tax (the 118k would be about $7k). You could have a nice comfortable living (without being extravagant) on Sydney on that (for a small family). There are a few threads on cost of living in the money section. It is a bit of a how long is a piece of string ? as everybody prioritises different things. But at a high level, you will be able rent a nice apartment or a small house (2-3 bed) in a reasonable inner to middle ring suburb. You will be able to enjoy life with regular leisure activities, meals out etc. If they offer to sponsor you for PR, go for it. Great opportunity and you will be giving yourselves and your children options for the future. You can always move back to the UK in 4-5 years after you have gotten citizenship.

I lived in Sydney for >10 years and loved it. It is a great city for all ages. It is expensive though so you need to take that into account. What does your OH do? He will be free to work for anybody. I hear the caveats above though and would agree with some of them. A couple of things to look for. See if they will sponsor you for PR insterad of a 457. A 457 visa is a temporary visa and will only get you 2-4 years depending on occupation. It also means you are tied to your employer and are not eligible for many govt benefits (childcare rebates, school fees etc). If you don't like the employer you are stuck with them unless you find a new company to sponsor you. If tehy sponsor you for PR, you do a min of 2 years with them and then you have more options. If you come on a 457, I would put off the 2nd child until you complete it. The employer would not be happy and may look to exit you. Even on PR, probably put 1-2 years in first. Australian healthcare (and pre natal in particular) is excellant IME Sydney is in a bit of building boom at the moment with many large projects on the go at once, Perth is struggling btw Let us know how you go.

The big distinction you have to make is whether you will own your home or will need to pay accomodation costs.

Me either. My advice in my earlier post stands. I would go to a major city first (except Perth which is struggling at the moment) for work and to mix with other backpackers to get the lay of the land. If you are determined to go to regional centre firss, then I would pick somewhere on the coast (particularly as summer approaches). Newcastle would be my pick as it has it's own vibe and is only 21/2 hours to Sydney + Port Stephens is close by too.

Why would you go to the Gold Coast from Singapore (Short Holiday?) If you are going to Toowoomba - I would think that Brisbane would be better to fly into. Look each to their own, Toowoomba wouln't be my choice. What I do remeber from my WHV days (and every backpacker I have ever met says the same), is don't plan too far ahead, plans will change all the time. We used to have a different travel plan every week. Embrace and enjoy the whole experience.

$50 - $70 in a cab depending on traffic/time (& ED toll)

I think everything after 20/04/17 is in limbo. They can't apply the proposed laws until they are passed. They are currently held up in the senate, either they will have to be amended, a deal is done and they will fail and the current.old rules apply. they have made a complete mess of the whole thing, mostly with the planned retrospective action which goes against a key principle of implementing legislation.

Yep - I agree with Ozzie. Get you citizenship, then re-assess. 1st thing - Australia is neutral where you met and are on common ground. If you move to UK/Ireland, 1 party will be at home and 1 party will be starting anew, it may upset the equilbrium. 1 party will look to fall back in with their circle of family and friends and the other party will be trying to fit in with that. The other big thing is that you have been away for 4 years, life moves on for your family and friends while you have been away. When you are home on a visit, people make an effort to come out and spend time with you to catch up etc. they suspend normal life to see you. I moved back to Dublin at 33 ("for good"), I had (and still have) a great circle of friends. It still took a while to settle back in, people all move on with careers, relationships and kids etc. My mates at home now all have young kids and they don't get out for a few drinks/meal every week (once a month if they are lucky). They mostly catch up at a weekly Weds night footie game. It was and is very different to when we were in our 20's when we would have a gang away every couple of weekends etc Often, they have told me that the last time that had a big night out was the last time I was home. Thanks to whatapp and included intl calls, quite often I would have spoken to mates in Ireland more frequently that they would with each other. I kept my old friends but also had to develop new friends (friends of friends) to socialise with when living there. I was lucky in that an old friend returned from Canada around the same time and we hung out a lot together (no kids at the time so we had time for golf, trips, socialising etc). He experienced the same as me and was looking to return to Canada within a year (quite difficult with his job as it is very specialised). You are at the age when your social circles will be having weddings and babies. That changes the group dynamics you used to have. Weddings are great for catching up with people as often the whole gang will be there. I have an English friend who lives in Singapore and his siblings are all over the world (some in Europe, some in the US). They try to organise a holiday once a year somewhere new for them all so they have a shared experience together and evrybody gets a holiday. Always thought it was a great idea. If the long term goal is to get settle in Australia, then I recommend getting your citizenship first. I got mine in 2007 and wasn't planning on returning to Australia as quickly as I did, but it was about having options for myself and (at that point) future children. Thanks to the GFC, I took the option to return in 2011. Without my citizenship that option may not have been open to me. i suspect one of you has a real itch to move back for the reasons you have outlined and the other person is open. At least see what the law changes are going to be (should have some clarity in 6 months) and then reassess.

AFAIK - it is a bit variable and the following may apply (I may be wrong but this is a summary of experiences I have heard about) The idea of PR is that you plan to move to Australia permanently and the are initally given a 5 year travel window to do so. It is not an open-ended option (citizenship is) If you are living overseas when that 5 years expires, you can apply for a RRV. You may get a 1 year visa, a further 5 year visa (unlikely from what I hear) or it may be denied. There is no guarantee. You also may need to show significant ties to Australia and/or plans to move permanently in the immediate future (job offers, plane tickets etc). Given that the trend is to tightening the borders and immigration, it could be a big risk to take. As I said on your other thread, the proposed change in citizenship laws is not yet law and is running into opposition in the senate. If it doesn't pass or is amended, you may only have to do 1 year as a PR (with the other qualifications) to qualify for citizenship (& probably a year to process). Unless there is an urgent reason to move to Europe (seriously ill relative etc), I suggest you postpone your decision until there is clarity on proposed/current citizenship laws (probably early 2018).