The Smith Clan

Many thanks. I will be in touch. Maria

Thank you. Hope you got your points required. Mria

Has anyone shipped one over and any difficulties? What sort of costs could we expect? We have read about some modifications re gas bottle Thanks in advance. Maria

Any advice/tips appreciated. Just getting started. Are the online links good practice? Thanks in advance Maria

Can I ask what site you got that info from? (photo) Kind regards Maria

I am work based around here and agree its the areas heading out to Malvern and Hereford that are nice. It depends on your budget. Trip advisor is also good for finding out about places. Zoopla is a good site as when you look at property it gives you information on area such as type of families living there, single, children etc, also levels of crime, schools etc I love Malvern for its breathtaking views of the hills, its very beautiful, but good and bad areas their too. Good Luck

Do you have an agent, if not I would try ringing one for advice.

you read it wrong! I meant it brought a sense of being home for me. Im sure that if you were to travel o another country there would be something on returning that would give u a sense of being "home" My feedback was my experience which is impossible to be the same as anyone else!

One thing we have always been mindful of is that oz is a different country and will never be the same as uk although it may be similar in many ways. Seeing the English countryside (my point) was more a sense of "we are home". we would never move and give up our home and everything here, we would move for a set period and then if we were happy would consider more long term plans, it may well be that we always keep our home here and continue to rent, as life does change. I feel what we have learnt since considering a move is that Oz is another country with its own issues like the uk and we would have to work there, but would have a more outdoor lifestyle in the sense that a lot of winter weekends (and throughout the year) here are spent indoors, there are limited trips one can do out when its pouring down.

Its very early days and im guessing most people go through the motions once they arrive. Is it just the area he does not like or has he had any negative experiences? You have been very supportive and whilst things are not moving as quickly as he would like, even 6 months, I would say, is not long enough. You appear to have put your own desires aside already to enable him to progress his career and be happy and it is a case of supporting each other. I really hope work comes in and all goes well.

Sorry I posted in the wrong thread

I agree that I felt safer and this is a concern for us and I am mindful when we go to popular places and try to avoid big events and even shopping malls these days. We went to the Australian Zoo which I guess is a popular attraction in Oz and did not have any concerns about safety. I feel things can happen anywhere and there have been incidents in Oz but I have to admit to feeling the risk is a lot less. I guess a sense of belonging also results from family also here and where you were raised, for me it is.

Thanks yes we did, we loved it and are soo glad we visited. Hopefully back next year down South. Thanks for all your advice on here. at least we know we could live here, even if for a while. I knew from visiting New York straight away I could never live there, so visiting has helped but even for those moving out until you actually live there and are living life day to day you can't really know.

Yes same here, as in we moved from the City from when we first looked to move to semi rural, and we have a lovely home that we've built some of and its so close to so many lovely places, had we still been in the city, I feel we would be starting Visa process now. However, my husband has now changed from the visit to still coming for the adventure and making a decision whilst being out there. We would keep our home and everything here, I like that idea. We are the kind of people that feel life is for living and you should have no regrets so maybe who knows. But home and a sense of belonging is very true and seeing the country side on he way home did remind me what a beautiful country the uk is too.

We knew it was Winter and yes it does get dark earlier in our Winter here but I was referring to our Summer nights when it gets dark a lot later. We plan another visit next year (South), as we had the best adventure ever, my husband feels we should visit in the Summer to get a feel for if I would cope. But it was hard to imagine it was Winter as the weather was lovely.

We were in Byron Bay and also went more up North in a supermarket near airlie beach. I just found it amusing as we felt the same about the aussie accent.

Thanks for sharing your experience and I feel your mindset will be very helpful in that you didn't go with rose tinted glasses. Hope all gets sorted. We have just returned from 3 wks travelling from Brisbane up th East Coast and was also surprised with the early nights. Do you gets the bats out where you are at sunset, ive never since Bats that size before. Good luck and keep us posted. Maria

As a family we have had an amazing adventure travelling from Brisbane up the East Coast and as far South as Byron Bay which stole my heart. WE have had so many first time experiences and just living on the open road in a camper was amazing and such a free feeling. Before we left I could have stayed In Oz, but once back in UK the English countryside seems soo appealing. I never got the immediate pull like I thought I would as we have been considering a move since 2006, my mindset was I am on holiday and I would be working here if we moved. We travelled with my sister who has been on a WHV since last Oct in Oz so she was able to give us some advice. What we learnt.. Oz is not very PC like UK so you will hear words used casually that would be considered offensive in UK words including swear words and words we consider racist. We met some amazing friendly people who were so eager to help. Whilst travelling North on camps there were a lot of the older generation we feel travelling North for the weather in Winter and who did not seem amused there were children around and did not like to speak, not all but some and I guess this happens everywhere. The English accent turns heads in Oz, I found this amusing, ppl would stop us to say how "cute" our accent was. Food shopping was not as expensive as we though, Coles and Aldi were reasonable. You can find Paradise in Oz some of the beaches are beautiful, especially Fraser Island and Whithaven but the countryside does not compare to UK. We loved how it was Winter and the weather was so great, we understand this applies to Brisbane and further North, down South gets cold. The outdoor living was amazing and all campsites had free bbqs and the parks and we loved this. A fish and chip shop in Oz is not what you get at home you get fresh fish you can select to be fried we loved this. Our children were off the internet for 3 wks and had limited tv access due to poor ariel reception on camper and did not miss these and were outdoor all day. Commutes are long and as a social worker I would need my car so would be unable to leave my car and take the train. Working hours can be long. The sun sets a lot earlier in Oz even in Summer, so no long days like we have here. A lot of the things we did we could do in Uk its just not promised the weather. For those considering to apply for Visas I would say we loved Oz and are planning another trip of travelling, we have agreed we could live here as an adventure and if we loved in then so be we would stay but the plan would be to go back to UK at some point. Returning home you get a sense this is "home" I guess this depends on individual. We also learnt from everyone we spoke to that the heat can be oppressive in Summer and you have to bear in mind the added risk in Oz of sun as this is a lot higher than UK and my sister explained that there suncream is a lot stronger than what we have in UK. We felt that we would need to live down South to climatise but it still gets very hot in Summer. I didn't get the over pull I thought I would but I would move there as an experience for us as a family but feel we would return home, we have discussed this and know this could change but it really is impossible to know unless you make the move. If you plan to travel to Oz to see if you would like it only do so if you want a holiday we did as we wanted to travel but it won't help you make a decision. Thanks if you got this far

Thank you.

Thanks for sharing. We are visiting Oz in August for 3 weeks, Im worried I will want to stay! We land in Brisbane and hope to do plenty of travelling

Any recommended hire sites, tried Jucy and Discovery so far. So far around $180 daily to hold 6 people, is that about right? Thanks in advance. Maria X

Many thanks Marisa, Had a look we plan to fly now to Airlie Beach now and have found somewhere to stay, it looks soo beautiful, what time frame would you say is good to stay, we were thinking 20th - 24th (we have 3 wks in oz), is that a fair amount of time to see some of the islands? Let me know if there are any things not to miss there Daydream island looks simply amazing Thanks

We are visiting in august too,looks amazing there

First trip to Australia and top of the to do lists is great barrier reef. We plan to hire a camper van and wonder if we can drive or will we need flights. Need the most cost effective way. If we drive what sort of travelling would this entail? Thanks in advance

What a great positive post, it sounds from the start you were set on moving to Australia. For me I revisited the idea in Jan this year after an attempt failed in 2006 (dh skills were changed on list and I was training to be a social worker) and still cant decide to start process, some days im 110% sure then I get days when I think its the scariest thing and im not sure I could actually move, could I manage the heat, what if its the worse thing, why do soo many return? My dh I think has had enough with the idea and to be fair I don't blame him I simply cant make my mind up! Thank you for sharing, maria x