MaybeOzIsForUs

Brilliant advice - thanks everyone

Just found this : New South Wales and the Australian Capital introduced fees for the children of 457 visa holders in 2011. In New South Wales the fees range between $4,000 and $6,000 per child per year and in the Capital Territories fees range between $9,000 and $14,000 per child per year.12 Aug 2013

Thanks Woody - we ave made a start on our pros and cons list. I agree - really good way to try and organise your thoughts. Best wishes with your move!

Thanks so much Lady Rainicorn - it's really quite overwhelming the amount of people on here willing to give up their time to post such detailed comments to help a complete stranger out. Really appreciate it. It's so interesting hearing the stories of people who have been-there-done-that. Especially in a similar position (...young child). I'll be taking every one of your comments into account. Thanks again x

Wow thanks for all of this information. Really appreciate it

Thanks for this insight. I've asked which type of Visa it is so hopefully they'll let me know soon. Appreciate your comments

Hi all, I'll keep this as to the point as possible, here it goes: My husband and I met nearly 10 years ago - he had just come back from travelling in Australia and I had visited a few times as I have a sister in Sydney. We both expressed that we would like to live there one day. Roll on nearly ten years later and ...life happened! We got on the property ladder, got married, we have moved into our third home now and we have a 7 year old who is very settled in his school, we have moved to an area that is close to both sets of grandparents who help us out with dropping him off and picking him up. I have a well paid job over here and my husband works in a school round the corner from where we live. Financially, we are stable with equity building in our home and manage-able debts. We live a very comfortable life over here with support from family and able to afford nice things. My husband made a career change around 5 years ago to work in a school for children with special needs. He completed his degree last year with first class honours and specialises in behaviour support. We also have a cat and a dog. The deal is that I have been contacted by a large reputable firm in Sydney and offered a position with a sponsored Visa. I am yet to find out the visa details. I know the salary details and there is a small relocation amount also on offer. If we chose to make the move, here are the things we would have to consider: How would our son adapt? (he would miss his school, friends, karate and football mates) We would have to sell our home to ensure we had back up savings therefore if we decided to come back we would need to rent / keep some savings We have worked out that my take home pay would just about cover our living costs (advice on this would be great as they are estimates): Rent in Sydney (Frenchs Forest kind of way) for $4000 p/m Bills $800 p/m Food for two adults and one child $500 p/m A car on lease $750 p/m travel card for the city $260 p/m [*]My husband would just focus on getting our son settled and then look for work in the local schools [*]We would need to know the process for shipping our dog over after 6 months of being there (he could stay with family until then till we were certain we were staying for a while!) - any advice on this is greatly appreciated [*]We feel it would be too much for our cat to take (stress wise) to get her over [*]If we chose to move, we would be minutes away from my sister .... but half the world away from our parents and our sons friends I know I may sound a little negative about this opportunity - I'm not. I wouldn't be considering this if it wasn't something we wanted and were excited about. It's just that, when it all becomes real, there is so much to consider and feel very anxious about. I don't think we would have thought twice if it was when we first met but we have built such a life here, it is quite a scary thought to say good-bye to that without feeling like you've made an informed decision (...hence me posting on here!) Wow - and I said I'd keep it short! Sorry! If you feel you can help at all, if you've been-there-done-it, if you could give us any perspective or facts - we would be grateful. Thanks!