evets

I hope so... And sorry to hear that, but at least you are not believing it is going to be easy. Good luck with your move and I do hope everything works out for you both.

Ah ok, handy that. If she has an employer sponsoring her, then you can be part of that application. The requirements for you will not be as stringent as they will base the decision on the main applicant ie your partner. It also means, good for you, that you will not be tied to a specific employer for work and also not have to rely on a tourist visa.

Has she found an employer to sponsor her, as she cannot apply for a 457 visa without an employer who has a role lined up for her. And if she is only thinking one year, best not to let any employer know that as the costs of the visa would outweigh any benefits. Her best bet is a Working Holiday Visa and would allow her some freedom to travel and work in other cities around Australia. For you, if you have the funds. If you are planning on spending 8 months or so in Australia, you would need to budget short trips to say NZ and back to revalidate your tourism visa in Australia.

Firstly congrats on the job offer and sponsorship $140K is a pretty good salary for Australia, around double the average of Australia. Will your company also provide you with private healthcare, as anything decent can work out expensive if you have to pay for it yourself. And if you are over 30, if you do not have it you will pay extra in your taxes. As for Sydney, I cannot truly comment as I live in Melbourne. But rentals in Sydney are crazy prices. Based on what you have quoted, from what I understand will take up nearly half your pay. Cost of living expense's are quite high here, grocery shopping can be pretty expensive compared to the UK. I personally do not think you will struggle, your child is off school age and so you can avoid the child care expense's, high. Are you and your family looking at this as a permanent move? I think value for money you should be able to find that properties give you more room, albeit the quality is not as good. Looking at Google maps, you are looking at living quite a bit out of Sydney. Not sure where your office is, but if in the CBD this could be a bit of a commute. Going by your username, if you are based in Falkirk, Scotland. Do be shocked at the massive jump in cost of living expense's. My parent's are around 15 minutes from Falkirk. If you are coming from Scotland, do you already own a property and as the equity you have, you may struggle with the housing market in Sydney, again ridiculously expensive and not helped by the way the auction market works. I suspect you may find it hard to find a nice 4 bed house in Sydney, but I may be wrong. Will you maintain or improve your standard of living, that all really depends on which part of the UK you are moving from. With the weather and standard of living here, I suspect you would but times are changing here in Australia.

I am based in Melbourne. I was not aware of that so cannot comment.

Haha funny how this thread had went. I posted something similar a while back on a different forum about the housing build quality. Answer: Australia builds it house's for a country that does not think it gets too hot or too cold. The old art deco houses are fantastic in the summer, but dire in the winter. The new builds are just dire all year round as have no insulation or double glazing. I have never owned so much thermal clothing in my life living in the UK, even got to the point of buying an electric blanket.

Thank you, appreciated

One more thing. Coffee shops - coffee is an institution here, I can only comment on Melbourne. I had my favorite coffee places in the UK, but now going back they are bland and tasteless. Melbourne is not big on brand chains, so you find many individually owned coffee shops. Starbucks did not do well here. Another nice thing, is if you frequent a shop often, they will remember your name and how you take your coffee.

Speed limits are very strict. You can buy golly wogs! Well here in Melbourne. Who would have thought in this day and age. Be prepared to own more thermals than you ever did in the UK, depending on what city you move to. My mum still finds this funny. In Melbourne, people will talk to you on public transport. Bit of a shock after coming from London. Woolies will suddenly decide to stop stocking items, but will happily tell you to check out there competitor Not sure about this now, as only experienced it in Sydney. Motorists would warn you of upcoming police checks, and would call radio stations to inform them of hot spots. Megan is pronounced Meagan The postman drives a motorbike on the path to deliver the mail. Still to this day find this odd. School kids carrying huge backpacks, which are around half the size of them and usually full. Poor kids. Hook turns. This is only in Melbourne CBD and due to the trams. No other city in the world has this crazy right turn system. Best to avoid if you can or practice regularly. Be prepared for Asians! If behind them on escalators when they get to the top, they will usually stop and gather before deciding what to do next. Same with walking behind them in the street. Also be careful when doing a left turn, as they just walk out and do not even look to see if a car is there. In Melbourne, cannot comment on other cities, but in the morning it can sound like you are in the jungle with the bird noises. This is not a bad thing but unexpected. Another nice thing is seeing the bird wildlife so close to you on your doorstep. Sometimes feels like you are in paradise. Sushi, cheap and so much better than what you find in the UK. It is basically fast food and tons of shops that sell it. Head to Coles if you want British style bacon, as Australian bacon not that great. Buying a meat pie or sausage roll, you can get this funky tomato sauce packet. Essentially to make it easier to dispense with one hand, far better than what is on offer in the UK. Some parts of Australia DO get snow. This is another preconception from people North of the equator that Australia is just sunshine all year round.

Initially I was 50 50 about the Brexit, and not going to vote as do not reside in the UK. Reading the scaremongering tactics from both parties, you could not tell what the actual truth was. Since Brexit and seeing the true colours of Germany and France and the way they want to treat the UK exit as an example to the rest of Europe not to try the same thing. I am very glad we did vote to leave and hope it stays like this and the politicians do not work it out to stay part of the EU to line there own pockets instead of listening to what the people decided. Ironically, the people complaining the most are the younger voters, who incidentally decided that they did not need to turn up to vote and had such a low turnout. Yes people are complaining that their parents/grandparents have brought this on and they should have been thinking off their children/grandchildren and not about themselves, even though a large majority of them lived through an independent UK before they got lied to about joining the EU. I really hope the UK has the balls to stick this out and work it through. Countries around the world are now looking to this as a good thing, as independent trade and not trade based on how the EU dictates. Being Scottish, it is frustrating to watch Sturgeon, try to get another referendum in for Scotland to leave the UK and try to join the EU. She only has her interests at heart and not the good of Scotland, who would ultimately get the short straw if they left. All the promises they made that Scotland could support themselves as they have oil, are slowly falling apart and the reality of the Scottish economy starting to show. Scotland had its chance to leave, knowing fine well the Brexit vote was on the horizon and the people voted to stay. Now the Brexit vote went against what the Scottish people voted, they are up in arms about it. Since the Brexit vote, it is interesting to see how the rest of Europe is responding, others actually thinking themselves that leaving may be a good thing for there own country. The EU is a complete mess at the moment, and not every country has a fair say or representation. It is over run now by people crossing the borders making the most there new found EU status. Look at the camps at Calais and the French government saying it is the UK's problem to deal with it. When the French should be addressing it as they are the first country the illegal immigrants might have entered. Things are going hill fast.

Surprising they did not ask for medicals, as during my 457 application I was to get an chest x-ray done. Cannot remember if I had to do blood tests at that time.

Another thing for you guys to consider, is the IT job market in Newcastle. It it pretty tough outside of Sydney and Melbourne, and even then still tough in those cities. Have you done any research to see the jobs available and what he could potentially apply for?

If you live in Tamworth, you could try a Jackaroo course, great fun. Tried it myself many years back, the countryside and the sky at night are breathtaking. http://www.leconfield.com/ http://www.leconfieldjackaroo.com/

Did you mean: whinging Spellcheck or google will help you

Hi Hope, My friends moved from Sydney to Adelaide with their cats and then relocated back to London, bringing the cats with them. Similar to yourself did not want to let them go. They were indoor cats and now roam outside in the back yard in London. They have recently moved to a new home and the cats still wander around outside. If you decide to take the cat, maybe look to get another one when she turns up to give a her a play pal and initially keep her indoors for a bit till they both settle.

Why do you think life will be better over here, weather, beaches, lifestyle, cost of living, bigger house with the pool? The grass is not always greener, just different. Coming from one of the cheapest parts of the UK to the most expensive city in Australia(and one off in the world), it will be a shock. As for the equity you mention on your property, most of that will be eaten up if you do not have a good savings fund behind you with the move. Getting on the housing market in Sydney, I suspect you would struggle, unless some major correction happens in the near future as you have very little equity on your current property which I believe you would use to fund the move. Would you consider renting your place out in the UK, as a buffer, in case things do not pan out. Could you afford to do this, based on your posts I suspect not. If your hubby has a job lined up, would they consider sponsoring him on a 457 visa. This would greatly reduce your costs, but downside means he is tied with the company for a good number of years. Would you be funding this move including shipping of any goods yourself?

What line of work is your hubby in? Yes I think Oz as a destination of over sold in the UK, just look at the TV programs about making a new life abroad. How you can come over here and live the dream in this large house with a swimming pool! This dream is dying due to the high cost of property. It has not really helped with the mining boom crash and major manufacturers leaving Australia. This has had a big impact on the economy. You both should not feel jinxed, if you moved over here a few years back things might have been very different. If moving back to London, do you think you could get on the property ladder? If you are prepared on look out at the Western Suburbs in Melbourne, still some relatively affordable properties.

I feel for your situation, after a month it is really hard to make that decision without at least giving it a fair go. You see lots of posts on different expat forums about moving back to the UK after a short period of time. Since he has already moved to another country, he should be well aware of a settling in period. Coming from London myself, originally from Scotland, was very much a culture shock. Regarding his trade, were you both not aware of the license for Vic by researching prior to the move? If he can work in QLD or NSW, it certainly is a far cheaper option and ,hopefully, a marriage saver. QLD would offer a much cheaper cost of living, but that all depends if his work would located in Sydney or Brisbane. You could both look at it as a 1 or 2 year vacation before returning to Melbourne, then again you may like your destination of choice and not want to move back. Other than that, stay in Melbourne and see what work he can pick to get to the 12 month period. The job market here is pretty tough and competitive which will not help both your situations. Have a look at the whirlpool forums and some of the threads. Longterm, if you both dislike the idea of driving to the shops and the suburban lifestyle that may be a difficult to avoid in the future considering the ever increasing house/unit prices in the more vibrant areas. Then again the same can be said of London. Going out to some of the outer suburbs in Melbourne, you somehow forget that you are in Melbourne. Finding a job and moving to a more lively neighborhood, so you can get out of the house more and see some of what Melbourne has to offer may give him a boost. And also spring is here, so the weather will start picking up.

There is a big latin dance scence in Sydney: http://latindancecalendar.com/classes/location/sydney-aus/ Also think a West Coast Swing is quite big.

Firstly why Sydney? Salary wise, try to see if you can get near the 6 figure mark, not sure what the going rate is for a Nurse. Accommodation is going to stretch your budget as Sydney very expensive, unless you are prepared for a long commute. Try looking west or south of the city. You may want to consider other cities which would make your budget go further.

Hi AJT, I am cannot see how to PM you though.