Chasing a dream

No we are not restricted, allowed to work anywhere but obviously would have to be able to find work where we live. So I guess yes. Also worried about putting the kids through more change unless I feel confident it will be a better place for us! Always harder with kids.....especially big kids.

So what is your opinion of each one? Would love to know.

Hi, I was just wondering if there was anyone who has lived in different cities/places/areas in Oz and how they found they differed from each other? Hope that makes sense. We have been in Port Stephens NSW for 5 months and finding parts of it very rural, parts of it very quiet (very large retirement community) and obviously in the holidays it gets vibey and busy. It is so beautiful here and we do love the beaches but sometimes wonder if we would feel more comfortable in a built up suburb that is a little more modern and has a bit more going on. Hope that all makes sense to someone. ?

Thanks Skani, I have managed to get her into dance and my son into rugby which they are both enjoying so hopefully they will make some good friends there!

Hi, I have enjoyed reading this thread as have been wondering the same thing. We have only been here 5 months so early days and I am the type of person who can just get on with life. Happy with my UK friends and haven't made a huge effort to make friends here yet. But have been a little surprised as my daughter 12 is finding it hard, she has some girls she "hangs out" with at school but says they don't seem interested in her or even each other really. There have been no invites over. She has invited 2 over here. My son, 10 says he has loads of friends at school but as they all bus to and from school you never see the parents so impossible to organise get togethers. There is no after school sport, or any type of clubs offered where they could get together with like minded kids......any sport etc is done through a club/organization which can be hard to get them to when working! Daughter feeling lonely and wants to go back to UK! Hoping with more time things will feel better for her! Only time will tell I guess.

Just to add, we are in NSW and if you move after your child is enrolled in school and you are further than 2.2km (I think) you can apply for a free school bus pass. Good Luck with the move. Also, in my experience, once you enroll at a school your child can literally start the next day (if you can get organized with uniform etc). I met with my kids schools (one in Primary and one in High) on the Tuesday and they both said kids could start next day but I asked for a Monday start rather to give me time to get uniform, books etc.

Thanks for all the advise....will go to shops tomorrow and see what I can find! Really appreciate it!!

Ok so slightly strange topic but we have been in Oz for just over 3 weeks now and are making sure we are being very sun sensible. The problem is that my 12 year old has typical oily spotty skin and covering her face in sun cream every day is not helping! Any suggestions for a non greasy good face sun cream?

Hi, We arrived in Port Stephens 12 days ago and it is beautiful! There is more here in the way of shopping, cafes, restaurants etc than we expected! But the beaches are amazing and there is so much to do here and nearby!

That is so weird.....you are right, if I go onto Quantas Air website they only mention a direct flight to Perth from March, but the "edreams" website wants to sell me a direct flight to Sydney??? On Quantas Air......dodgy website I guess!!

Hi, Looking at flights and just saw Quantas now fly direct to Sydney...22h45 mins in the air. Anybody have experience with Quantas.......cannot imagine spending that amount of time in the air.....may be a stop over is better??? Any thoughts?

So it is now official!! Hubby has been offered the job and we fly to Oz second week of Feb!!! We have been extremely lucky and have been offered a lovely looking house near Anna Bay in Port Stephens to rent at "mates rates" ......fully furnished! That will make it so much easier to settle and find our feet, allowing us to focus on everything else and give us time to slowly accumulate everything we are selling and tossing this side (decided not to ship very much at all). I cannot believe it is all happening now......and in such a beautiful place!! Thanks for all the advice so far, am sure I will have a million more questions as I go.

Oh dear, glad you got it sorted! Did the handling fee include the IMC clearance etc (so that was the total amount of A$ you spent - aside from storage)? Sorry a little clueless in all this!

Hi Kevsan, It was the guy on the phone from seven seas (move cube) who gave me the Aus $ quotes. I was pleased he did, but was surprised by the amount!

Hi, I am now in the process of getting quotes! Eeek....so excited to actually be going now. We are not taking much with us, mostly just pictures, ornaments, some of the kids stuff and a few small appliances etc. Oh and sporting equipment. Anyway, were going to go with a medium movecube as it seemed the cheapest but was told when the cube arrives in Australia we will need to pay an additional $780 for customs or something........PSS quote was for more items so a little more but they said we will only have to pay between $100 and $200 once it arrives in Aus, apparently the entire container customs fee is $600 plus....but we will only pay a portion as we will be sharing with at least 2 others. I am a little confused as to why movecube's fees in Aus are so much higher.....and now I am worried we have been under quoted by PSS?? Has anybody moved recently using only a portion of a container with PSS, and what did you have to pay once your goods arrived in Aus? Hope this all makes sense, just don't want to go with PSS and then have a nasty surprise 3 months down the line. Thanks for your help! (We are moving to Port Stephens, so Sydney harbour I guess)

Thanks for the info....luckily we have a PR visa!

Lol.....we are not there yet!! 3 interviews down and another one on Friday.....hopefully that will be the final one, can't wait to start packing and booking the flight! Everything crossed...

Thanks for all the info....took my daughter along for the orthodontic assessment to see what the outcome would be, and have been told there is a long waiting list so it will be 6 months before she has an appointment to have them fitted...........REALLY hoping we will be in Oz before then so looks like the decision has been taken away from me anyway! Oh Well.....think it is going to cost an absolute bomb by the sounds of it....apparently she needs to have the block plate braces for 2 months and then have the permanent tracks fitted, so a long complicated process.

Thanks northshorepom, sounds fantastic! Just wondering, realistically how often do you find you need to go into New Castle for shopping etc? Is it about an hours drive from Soldiers point?

Brilliant news, looks like hubby may have secured a job on the Port Stephens side of New Castle......just waiting on the paperwork, salary finalisation etc!! I love the look of Port Stephens......looks like a dream place to live, however I know that things are not always as good as they look in the pictures. Any advice about Port Stephens and/or best places to live between New Castle and Port Stephens? (With 2 "almost teengers"). Oh and we are def not city/nightlife type people. Any advice gratefully received!

Thanks so much for all of this advise......very helpful! So, decision made, we wait until we get to Oz.......fingers crossed it is February and we don't get delayed!

Hi, Just a quick question......still in the UK and my daughter has finally received her orthodontic appointment after waiting for 8 months. She is desperate to get her braces to correct her teeth. Do I get them fitted here and then find an orthodontist in Oz to continue treatment, or wait until we get to Oz to have them fitted? We are hoping to be in Oz in Feb. I don't want her to have to wait another 8 months or so to get them fitted in Oz (and here they will be fitted free on NHS) but I also don't want them fitted here and in Oz they do it differently and it will be awkward to find someone who "works with what she has had fitted". Hope that all makes sense?

Thank you so much Jessica, this is very informative! I would rather have read that the average time is 2 weeks (haha only in my dreams), but it helps to feel we are going into this with our eyes wide open!

Thank you Coblers.....really appreciate your response. I love the look of Adelaide but unfortunately the defence and aerospace jobs all state that applicants must be Australian citizens