Teejams

If you have several people viewing and applying for each house you want to rent, how do you stand a chance on securing it, if you are all in the same position? I have contacted several agents ...... And no, no one ever replies!

I'd be cautious on relying on money made on Australian property, as price increases don't appear to be as predictable as they do in the UK? Maybe it's just down to area? Australian friends of ours bought their house 10 years ago. Over the 10 years, it has gone down in value, the equivalent of £50k and now is only just worth what they paid for it. They are switched on people and didn't pay over the top when they bought initially. In comparison, I'd be amazed if a property anywhere here in Hampshire, still cost what it did 10 years ago!

No you need the HAP number to put on the medical application form. We got this once our visa application was in. good luck

The Bridge Clinic, Maidenhead.

Ok, so we had our Medicals yesterday. I've seen details before regarding what's involved, sometimes slightly varying. Here's what we did if your interested as a prep for yours. 2 children 8 & 10 and us the parents, did a urine sample in a plastic water cup. Ease of task, boys won! Then we all had a basic eye test. Cover one eye and read the letters on a board, that the nice lady is pointing out for you. Children did this too. If you wear glasses they asked you to take them along with your prescription. Height and weight for all of us. Chest X-rays for adults only, which we saw straight away and asked questions regarding anything we thought looked a bit iffy. We then all went into a room and spoke to the Lady Dr regarding our medical history and the X-rays that had been taken. Luckily my husband and I haven't any medical secrets we've kept from one another, as this discussion took place in front of the whole family. I'm not sure this is always the case, but something worth bearing in mind! Children - kept their clothes on and had their eyes and hips checked, followed by a prod around the tummy area. I had to strip down to my pants, for a breast check and tummy prod. Hubby had his tummy prodded but I don't think she squeezed his moobs? Then adults only had a blood test and that was that.......£680, thank you very much!!

Medicals tomorrow, children aren't too chuffed about weeing in a pot! We'll see how this goes!

We are doing something very similar. Giving up three very successful business' that we've built from scratch, a fab house and amazing school and area that's taken us years to find, not to mention family and friends. We'll be taking a huge pay cut on employment in Australia and moving to a complete unknown for us. I've thought several times, if someone described these circumstances to me, I would think they're completely mad. However.... You said that Australian schools and lifestyle are better than where you live now. You've lived in Australia before and have family there. Therefore you have proof of positive experiences and the benefits for your family. We are going purely with reckie experiences and lots of positivity! With everything there are risks, but life is now, not in the future! There always seems to be some sort of talk of recessions. Look back on years of PIO forum discussions and you'll see people were talking about the very same years ago. It sounds very exciting and I'm sure you'll have a great adventure if you decide to go for it. Good Luck

Thank you MARYROSE02 and Peachy. Having looked at Adelaide, Melbourne, Sydney and Perth we finally chose the Gold Coast. Like finally finding the right house to buy, the Gold Coast felt right for us!

Just to have an adventure! We have an amazing life. If we stayed in the UK, we'd be doing similar things in years to come, the sky would be the same, the plants and animals in the wild would be the same, as would most things in our day to day life, which is predictable and after a while we don't even see what's in front of our eyes. On moving to Australia. We don't know exactly where we'll be living, what the children's school will be like, what our new home will be like, if we'll like the weather or hate the heat! We don't know if we will cry with joy at the bright photos we'll take and refresh our eyes with new senses. Or cry with sadness for the things we don't even know right now? But for us, I think our memories will be more varied because of the risk we're taking. How exciting is predictable, anyway?

I've had a diesel for years, but recently watched a scientific program which had come to the conclusion, that you get more pollution poisoning from driving a diesel vehicle, than from being a pedestrian or cyclist in the centre of London. Combined with the changes in price, I think I'll be buying a petrol car when we move!

Hi we stayed in the Gold Coast with Airbnb earlier this year. We paid £1200 for 10 nights, for a massive water side home which was amazing. I think because you're staying in someone's home, each place is going to be completely different, depending on how good the owners are. Our rental was very homely as it was the owners home and we had a great time. We are looking for rentals again for when we emigrate. Airbnb for about a month has come out much more expensive than anything else though!

Having looked on the UK. gov. Web site for tax information regarding property in the UK, I'm not really any wiser. Can anyone recommend an experienced professional who can help? Thanks

Thanks Gbye grey sky, for the gov.uk link Having looked at the site, I'm not sure I completely understand though. Can anyone recommended someone who can give specific personal advise regarding CGT, property and future planning? Thank you

Oh poor you Karen75 it's so difficult. You've done so much and got so far in the process. If you don't go now that you're so near, you'll never know! I'd go, yes your hubby may be right, yes you may hate it, but you can see that first hand and make the decision together, with no blame on one person. Take a risk, have an adventure and come back if you don't like it. Good Luck!

Thank you I'll aim for K mart, Target and Big W then.I'm surprised Australia has so many familiar shops, I didn't expect it. It's just nice to know where to head for things, when you first arrive.Marisawright, I hope you're selling back ok? let me know if there's something you can't find locally, we are near you in Fareham!

Unfortunately or possibly fortunately for my husband!.....I don't like shopping, I don't like spending a fortune on parking and hours walking around shops to find one thing. I'm also not that keen on Internet shopping either, I like to see or feel what I'm buying. The amount of times I've bought something on the net only to find the quality is really poor or the size not what I thought. (Even with a tape measure) If something breaks, or I'm looking for an economical present, or something a bit unusual, my first thought is the Argos catalogue! It pretty much has everything, I can get reviews and more product info on the net if I need to! Look at it before I agree to take it home and I've never had a problem returning anything. Yes it's cheap and cheerful and often the quality is not that good, but it does the job and is so quick. On our recent visit, I realised Australia has no Argos or equivalent. I know there are stores such as IKEA and K Mart, etc, but is it just a case of tramping round the shops and hoping you can find what you need? Many Thanks

342313 Electronic Equipment Trades Worker - 60 points

Does anyone have any experience of living in Varsity Lakes, Reedy Creek or Wongawallan? All in Queensland, although different areas? Thanks

CaptainC is right. The email came from our agent so the delay was because it came via them! Thanks

AusApril27 and RMT1980 We've just recieved an email with our invite.......I feel guilty now, as we applied after you! Good Luck I hope you don't have to wait too much longer!

Thanks CaptainC, I think we misunderstood the agent. We have just recieved our EOI so can now apply for the visa! I guess then we'll get a case number and can apply for the Medicals and Pcc, before we get a case officer? Is that right? thanks

Hi How did you manage to front load your Medicals and Police checks before getting a CO? We asked our agent twice regarding this and they stated this couldn't be done? when we tried to see if we could actually get a medical app. we were unable to because we didn't have the CO details to input on the application? thanks

I think employment is good. Like everywhere it's harder than it used to be, but if you keep trying eventually something comes up and we've never really struggled. Nice areas near us are Chichester and Fareham, near to cities and the coast. Good Luck!

Congratulations and Well done Jac, I bet you're feeling like you could explode! We've been trying for 7 years too and we're currently the furthest we've ever been able to get in the process so far. So hopefully not far behind moving to Qld. Hope you and your family have an amazing adventure and keep posting your experiences!

Let me know if you'd consider Hampshire? Not near Liverpool at all, but I know of some nice places!