swc132994

We were initially granted 190 visa to go to Victoria in 2014. However, the job market and the property market haven’t been great in Melbourne. We have now decided it would be better to go to Queensland as the houses are relatively cheaper as well as the job market for my skill is similar. Overall it would give us a better chance to survive the initial set-back. I did email Victoria asking their permission to release us. However, I did not get any reply. I’m not sure whether they don’t usually reply on such emails or they are just extremely slow. They have always replied me fairly quickly in the past. Does anyone have experience on going to a different state during the two year obligation period? We would go to Melbourne if the markets were not that tough but it does make sense for us to go to Queensland. When we leave the UK for good do we have to fly to Melbourne as point of entry or can we fly to Brisbane directly? Do people experience any problems later on?

Another thing we have just thought of after seeing the flood photos, does Jimboomba houses have problems with mould spreading.

Unfortunately I don't really have a clue where I would most likely be working but I think it is more likely to be a suburb than the CBD. I work as a mechanical design engineer in product design and sheet metal as a speciality. I don't mind a longer commute as long as it is mostly free flowing. In the UK my commute was 45 miles from Leamington Spa to Loughborough taking just over an hour to drive.

Thanks for the info and the pics. We aren't certain where we intend to go yet which area we will go yet but the feedback so far has been great.

We are just wondering what’s like living inland around Brisbane. The area we are thinking is Jimboomba because of the school. 1. We know it’s much quieter but how safe it is to live on your land? 2. Are cockroaches very persistent in rural areas? 3. How bad are mosquitos in summer in the home. Our worry is that we can’t enjoy sitting outdoor because of the risk of mosquito bites. Best regards,

Thanks for the info, this is definitely something to think about. We have certainly noticed that good but cheap housing in a decent area is now a hard find. We have even considered finding a house way out as far as Christmas hills but then we worry if we would be off grid for utilities as well as locating a supermarket and a GP.

Thanks for the suggestion, I will take a look if I get chance.

Hi Parley, You make a good point. We have desired to goto Australia for some time now and I do feel if we pass up the chance it will lead to future regret. We are trying to weigh up everything as we can't afford to be too reckless.

thanks everyone's reply. If we were to stay, my wife could find a part time work which leaves us £4k cash (after mortgage). It's still very good and we do have a nice house in the UK but the problem is the routines. We would absolutely love to move to OZ. There are so many amazing places to visit there. We know that it means a step back in terms of lifestyle. However, we don't want to be on the breadline if this is the compromise. We are now considering Brisbane. I can find 40 jobs currently on the market in Melbourne, 18 for Brisbane. Given the population in Brisbane I feel my chance of getting a job is about the same. The properties are much more affordable there. We like the beautiful coastline and the tropical trees, it seems this could be the solution/compromise. We are on 190 visa but read that we just need to let Victoria know if we are moving to a different State.

thanks unzippy, They look good, I bet you enjoyed your steak night!

Thanks for the reply, We have been reading a discussion from last year. https://www.pomsinoz.com/topic/197707-cost-of-living-in-melbourne/ Our situation is actually similar. We want to follow our hearts but the numbers don't add up. Currently our combined pre tax income is £95k in the UK. However, we work long hours and our jobs are demanding. My wife wishes to spend more time with our young daughter. This is why we are hoping that we could survive on my income in Melbourne. However, it seems my job there will pay $80k. This is about average pay in Melbourne and would not enough for us. We could buy a property in Upwey area for $600k as we like the trees. However, we have a much better lifestyle in the UK, so we struggle to see why we are going there if we follow our head. This seems to be a now or never decision as our PR visa runs out next year . We are struggling because it's always our dream to go there.

This is really helpful. We probably either look for a cheaper property or not sending our daughter to daycare at first. We were thinking to buy a $850k house with a deposit of $600k. I'm not aiming high with my first job, probably $60k to be safe.

Thank you for the quick reply. I would say we are not the extreme type, pretty average overall however we do like to buy better quality food from supermarkets but we balance our spending by not going out to eat at the moment in the UK. Other than that, our current monthly outgoing is just bills, utilities, insurances, road tax, some repair work every now and then etc, pretty average really

Me and my wife have been taking a look at what price range of properties we should be looking in Melbourne. Our take home pay less the mortgage payment should be in around $2500 per month on one income. We are a family of three. The $2.5k will pay utilities, all bills, nursery and our grocery shopping. We don't usually go out to eat but our grocery shopping tends to be higher because we are both foodies. If we have money left we probably will buy new furniture and other stuff but they are not essential for us when we first arrive. I'm hoping that I will get pay more once I gain local experience. Does anyone have experience shopping at Costco in Melbourne? Are they good places for grocery shopping?

Thank you all for the many suggestions. I am truly going to enjoy picking out something new, my wife likes the look of blackwood furniture.

Hi Maria, It did actually occur to me. However all the furniture I currently have is oak, therefore it would be ideal to be in the same wood as it would match current furniture. Even in the UK most of the oak furniture bought is made in China. Australia is closer in distance than UK so I thought I would check with the community on this forum to see. I don't have a problem with local wood and more than happy to try a new furniture theme, it just an ideal of mine to not mix up decor themes.

Thanks for the advice. I guess it is best to just check them out and see.

Thanks for the info. Will check out timbers. I must admit I had not heard of them until now.

Hello, I am trying to find a way to locate a good GP surgery but coming from the UK I am still mystified as to how it all works in Australia. Is there a website containing any rating information on GP surgeries? Are GP surgeries assessed by government at all for their quality of service?

Thank you for the replies. I have been checking out what you all have sent me, I now have a pretty good idea of what I could get. I like both the Wormy chestnut and Tasmanian blackwood.

Thanks for the reply. What furniture would you say is most popular with a decent budget?

Does anyone know a good store that sells oak furniture. We are looking for an Australian equivalent of oakfurnitureland, cotswold Co, etc?

It starts with a phone call to a certain office dealing with recruitment in the area. Then I have to be put through to the right person dealing with engineering, they are unavailable but will email me back, they don't so I follow it up with another call some days later, still not available. I repeat this process over some weeks and I ask questions but they don't deal with engineering so they cannot answer questions like skillset so I never get anywhere. Other agencies are similar. Thanks Drumbeat, it seems to be what I feared. I may have to look to change my skillset to suit the Australian market. I know going down the route of an electrician is long process and would nor bear fruit in the short term. Has anyone done this from scratch and where did you start from? I imagine it needs a combination of practical as well as academic (exams, tests, certification)

Maria, I do phone agencies using skype credit, they tend not to engage with me since I am not in Australia. I don't live or work in London. In the UK, Solidworks and Inventor pretty much a norm across the manufacturing sector except for automotive.

Hi Drumbeat, I did a quick search for drafting job in Perth. I can find only about 7 jobs listed. I usually add in a keyword such as solidworks or Inventor to filter out non applicable jobs (mostly in civil design) One question comes to mind: do companies usually advertise on Seek or do they use local newspapers perhaps even advertise internally such as word of mouth? My thinking is that maybe there are more than 7 jobs out there but they don't usually advertise on seek in Perth