Stuart16

Aconcannon, Thanks for your reply. The position is more supervisory to begin with, progressive after a settle in period. I think it's good money, the uk equivalent is good over here. We're over in OZ at the moment, cost of living doesn't seem overly different to Scotland tbh.

We're over on the sunshine coast at the moment on holiday, as Cal has said it doesn't stop you doing anything. We're already getting up earlier, going for a walk with the little one and having breakfast watching the sun rise. I know it's a holiday and working will be totally different but it actually makes you want to get up in the morning.

Hi Chickbock, Thanks for your response, appreciate it's difficult to guage as everyone has different expenses to consider. With regards to hobbies, rugby and golf for me and i suppose whatever our daughter grows to enjoy. We've been looking at rentals circa $600-$650 per week, probably look to buy once established as we will have decent equity from the sale of our house in Scotland which we are looking to keep for a deposit. We did an online shopping comparison, very little difference to be honest which is also encouraging. Thanks

Hi All, I wonder if anyone can offer some advice on a potential job offer in Brisbane. A little background on our family, My wife, 8 month old daughter and i are quite far into the visa application, positive skills assessment, English test etc EOI lodged in October for pur PR 189 visa with 65 points, still waiting! I have a job offer in Brisbane, pending my visa, in the constuction industry ( I'm a carpenter to trade and qualified construction manager). The offer has a Salary of $85-90k + super, company car + other benefits. The company are happy to wait until the visa arrives. Can anyone advise if this is a good salary to live well enough in Brisbane/surrounding area? It works out just over what I'm currently earning in the UK. As a family we don't over indulge, at the same time we have a good lifestyle and dont want for much at the moment. Just worried about putting ourselves in any financial difficulty, but knowing I'll have work to go straight into is a bit of a god send as i know others have long waits to find employment. My wife is a medical secretary with over 15 years experience in the UK and Ireland. She will be looking to find a part time position, 3-4 days a week to provide additiinal income. A bit long winded, appologies. Appreciate any advice and thoughts from your experience. We will be in tge area for a few weeks from 19th April to 12th May, meeting the employer and doing a bit of a tour around to get a feel for things. Thanks in advance

Hi Justme, It was reasonably quick actually, around 3-4 weeks for me.

Scubacam, our dog will definitely be coming with us couldn't even contemplate leaving him behind. I've started looking into it, pricey but worth it I suppose.

I have the exact same feelings and emotions at the moment. We also received our full invitation to apply this week, excited, scared, nervous etc etc. I'm of the opinion let's give it a go, if it works great if not at least we say we tried. Leaving family is the hardest part I think, my wife is very much on the fence to be honest. However my brother in law lives in Australia along with his Australian fiance and our god son so we at least have family out there already. Good luck with it all, let me know what you decide to do. It's very daunting having to actually start thinking about selling the house, getting the dog organised, selling cars etc etc but I think it will be worth it.

I may be wrong but I'm sure your husband could work in QLD as well while you're there!? I was advised 190 is a moral obligation for that state. As I said I may be wrong and others may well be able to advise differently?

Hi Dean, I had the same response from NSW, same points as you and received my invite after a week. I've since sat the PTE English test and passed all that, went in with zero expectations and no practice- R 89, L 90, S 89, W 81. This gives me superior English score now so I've also submitted for my 189 now with 65 points. ? Processing time is the big thing now, but things seem to be moving.

Hey Ozzie, Received my invite on Friday morning, way quicker than expected (1 week after lodging my EOI) !!!! Yes it's very daunting, my wife wants to go but worries about leaving her folks. Her brother lives on the sunshine coast with his girlfriend and our god son. I suppose that makes things slightly easier for us as we have some family over in Australia already. Things are now moving slightly quicker than expected so I'll PM you with a few questions I have if that's OK? Did you mention above you brought a pet across with you? Cheers Stuart

Hi All, Some good news on Friday morning, invite received from NSW for my 190 PR visa with 60 points, one week after submitting my EOI. Slightly surprised as I thought we were in for a long wait after reading through the forum!! Delighted I don't need to re sit the IELTS test though. Looks like we will need to start getting organised quicker than expected, so exciting times ahead.

Hey Ozzie, Great post, very informative. We are a family of 3 from Glasgow looking to move to the Brisbane area, my wife and I plus our 10 week old daughter, oh and our dog Hamish the frenchie. We've lodged our EOI so just a waiting game now. What area are you living in? We've been looking a bit outside the city in the Manly area. I have a provisional job offer subject to my visa so it's good to know we'll be earning straight away. Can't wait for the adventure.

Jack, Good work on getting the 8's, reckon I'll need to re-sit or face a long wait. I've used an agent to assist with everything, costs a few quid but I feel it takes a bit of pressure of when lodging all the info and making sure everything is in place. Mine has been extremely helpful throughout, happy to pass on details if you want? Cheers Stuart

Hi SD_MOA, Thanks for your message. Unfortunately I don't have the 60 points without state sponsorship, if I had the extra half mark on the IELTS then I would of been fine to apply for both ! ? I looked into SA as well, but due to starting a new job just over 2 years ago I miss out on the required work experience by a few months which is again frustrating. The only way I can get additional points now is to resit the English test! ?

Yip sure did, very frustrating. I was sure I'd done well in the writing. Chances are I'll re sit and miss out on one of the other areas next time. You put in all the hard work, to miss out by .5 is soul destroying.

Hi all, I'm new to the forum, very interesting reading everyone's comments good and bad. I'm 34 and will be moving over with my wife and our young daughter, can't wait for a new adventure. Submitted my EOI carpenter subclass 190 today with 60 points. Received my IELTS score this morning, very frustrating as I could've done with the 20 points. My results were- Listening- 9 Reading- 9 Speaking - 8.5 Writing- 7.5 So close yet so far, seriously annoying but anyway EOI submitted and I'll probably give them more money and sit it again. Are there any carpenters on here who have received an invite on 60 points recently? Thanks in advance.