Ausvisitor

For a decent Sydney suburb you will need $2.5m at least for a pretty run down 3 bed house. Nearer $4m for a decent "turnkey" 4 bed option.

So assuming that's you now sorted the family property, it's time to help the kids with theirs.

A 1-bed that isn't completely a death trap in somewhere they will want to live (inner west) will be a minimum of $650k and more likely $750k

To afford that with a $100k deposit you need a salary approaching $130k a year - so you can see it's not a simple option

Not seen any indication of a drug culture in Sydney at all, or Melbourne.

Some pockets as there always will be, but it's no where near the US or UK.

I think maybe @Blue Flu needs to move to a better locality if they are seeing this level of drug culture as it certainly isn't the norm

In answer to your question, Camberley in Surrey in a pretty large 4 bed on around half an acre plot.

To get that within the same commuting distance of the city offices in Sydney, you are looking at 3m+ (so about 1.75m GBP)

Wading in to this discussion.

We had a much better life (in terms of "keeping up with the Jones") in the UK. Huge house, nice cars well paid job.

Moving to Oz (Sydney) for the adventure we managed to retain one of the three (the well paid job) but as all the other costs have rocketed we are much worse off (don't cry for us though we aren't in poverty, we just aren't saving as much).

Sydney is great but if you are moving to escape the London rat race look elsewhere I can't see much difference. WFH is being faded out for a number of reasons (won't ever go back to full office life though)

1) they are about to enact legislation that makes your employer responsible if you get a "workplace injury" even if that workspace is your bedroom 

2) most orgs have instigated "glue days" or "core days" basically 3 days a week you are expected in the office (note these generally include Monday and Friday)

3) the quality of the training the younger team gets is abysmal so we need people to be together

If you are basing your plans on WFH be very careful I reckon what most people call WFH will be gone by XMAS (I sit on the workplace planning exec for the company I am with and that's over 15k people)

I did (well it ended up a 70 because I applied for the 190 which gave an additional 5 points).

Very unlikely at 65 for a 189 visa but for the state sponsored ones perfectly doable if your career matches something they desperately need.

Whilst the buying market may seem like there is more availability (and in terms of property available there probably is) what is hidden under that stat is the 30+ prospective buyers looking at each property and the fact that most go to auction and auction prices are almost always quoted (if they even quote) at 10% at least below the vendors minimum sale price.

We went to an auction last week (10 properties being auctioned on the one night) 6 or 7 bidders for each property and all went for at least $200k above guide price (one house was $600k above)

Rental prices are actually cheaper than they should be at the moment, an investors cost to own has gone up over $1,000 a month for the typical $500k loan since may last year (interest rate rises) yet even the worst examples of rent increases are in the $5-600 a month increase range, meaning the landlord is much worse off than they were last year - it's the bank's making money not the landlord here

When you get here you will see the housing stock is generally in a bad state, and it will take you months to adjust your standards to the available options, 9 months seems like the very least amount of time you will be renting. 

As others have said most employers have a 6 month probation period, no lender (or almost none) will touch you in that 6 months. We looked to arrange a small mortgage in case we needed some auction wiggle room and we couldn't get one until 6 months was over, despite having a deposit of nearly $2m and only wanting to borrow at most $200k. Three weeks later after the 6 month probation completed the same bank who refused $200k was quite happy to offer $1.4m as a loan.

9 hours ago, Marisawright said:

What field are you in?  As Ausvisitor highlighted (and as I should have mentioned), it does vary in different occupations.  

It does, but as some have suggested on here IT is supposedly one of those "bad ageist careers".

All I can say is that the behemoth IT suppliers (Accenture, TCS, Tata and the Big 4) are actively and aggressively recruiting older IT trained professionals.

Maybe the issue isn't with age, maybe it's the quality and ethics of the companies people are choosing to work for. I for one am disgusted that Telstra employees are openly saying that their company is ageist whilst Telstra is currently spending many millions on advertising to inform the Australian public about it's inclusion policies and telling all of us we should be trying harder - whilst all along not following their own advice it would seem

22 hours ago, Raul Senise said:

If you are in Australia, NSW requires that you be in Australia for at least 6 months. 

The States can change their sponsorship requirements at will. 

I guess that's to stop people gaming the system one way or another

Makes sense I suppose

8 hours ago, bearnova64 said:

Thanks and any idea of the rough cost an agent charges?

Our agent fees where £2,100 three years ago. That covered three of us (Me, spouse, daughter) and our process was more complicated as it was a 189/190 rather than a relationship visa.

I would suspect given your process should be easier you will be looking at about £1,500 plus other fees for visas application and medicals etc 

When we paid for our kid to come over (at uni in UK) for Xmas it was $3,200 but obviously in reverse to what you need (i.e. coming to Sydney for Xmas)

To put that into perspective we booked flights for July to visit her (and others) in UK this year and paid $3650 for both of us together, so Xmas does appear to be more expensive

(That said we got a great deal on our flights they are $2,400 each now if you tried to book them today)

I had remembered it wrong that seems much better

The possible issue though is around the time allowed out of country. In your last year you can only be out 30 days. 

So if leaving now you would have to be back by early April or else wait another year until you can say you've done 12 continuous months with only 1 out of the country 

52 minutes ago, Parley said:

They don't know how old you are until after the interview.

Only show the last 10 years relevant experience on your CV. (No one cares what you did when you were a new graduate 30 years ago)

Or as your signature shows, if you really are old and incompetent move to the US not AUS there is no limit to how far you can rise if you are old and doddering in that country !

12 hours ago, s713 said:

I found ageism much more prevalent in Australia. Bunnings launched a campaign to get older workers in but, in the industry I work in, IT, Aussie companies were very judgemental. Being over 50 and applying for any job in the UK is much more accepted.

I have seen very little ageism in IT in this country and I'm working at the top of that profession with the C suite of salesforce, atlassian and others every day.

We all agree that mediocre people use this as an excuse but honestly if you are good you won't have a problem, if you think people are being ageist towards you maybe have a look at your abilities and team working skills, you'll probably find it's your poor skills that make you unemployable not your age.

Other industries may vary, but IT (at least big IT) couldn't care less about your age just your ability 

10 hours ago, Cheery Thistle said:

Interested in how you settled and adjusted at that stage of life - did you feel you were ‘starting again’ or was it an adventure? Don’t get me wrong I’m not sure I want to return to the classroom at all but I realise that’s the pathway for the visa (probably). 

Settled well, but the reality is I worked all over anyway. Lived in Toronto, New York and UK and done extended work in Switzerland, France, Italy, Jakarta, Bangkok and Dubai - so used to being "a fish out of water"

I know some are saying AUS is an ageist society but that isn't true anymore in the white collar professions in the blue collar trades it is still a thing though 

You will certainly need professional advice. Generally a teacher of your age with years of experience would be fine (sometime a long wait but generally it's a when not an if application)

Your move out of teaching to industry though is probably going to cause an issue as the skills assessment requires a minimum amount of time in the nominated career in the last few years.

Also one key issue for UK teachers is how did you qualify. If you didn't do a 4 year course you don't meet the Australian definition of qualified teacher (so a degree plus PGCE or a specific teaching 4 year degree) you also need to be able to show your training involved a substantial amount of classroom experience and not just lecture room theory.

Get a call in with an agent quickly, time isn't on your side and you will be waiting in the process long enough without effectively also waiting now but having no idea if you would be successful or not.

We applied when I was 44 (not teaching) we assumed we didn't have a chance given age, called an agent their view was time against us but worth a try, less than 9 months later (and the day before my 45th birthday) I woke up to a shiny visa grant letter in the email inbox

On 24/02/2023 at 06:42, tomwatson92 said:

 

I was thinking of applying for a WHV beforehand as i have to meet the guidelines for that so surely if i get accepted for a WHV for good character then i should for a 190/491? 

Not guaranteed, they may take a chance on someone with a relatively minor record way in the past on a visa that they know means you'll be here 2 years and can be chucked out if you misbehave.

Once they give you a PR you are Australia's problem - it's very hard to deport a PR (the hint is in the word permanent) so they are much more picky about who is let in forever

Worth reminding them that a floor is a perfectly good example of a surface then. So unless you've brought a really crazy amount of stuff there is no excuse not to unwrap it all

Equally as an accountant you should be used to the concept of paying an expert to handle things you can't/don't/won't or aren't interested in understanding

Stop dithering and get talking to some agents to see what your options are...

As a teacher you need state licensing as well, and they almost always post new teachers into the rural community rather than the big cities.

Given that you might as well accept it and apply for a 491 (or 190) in the state you want to be in, as it will be quicker and either way you'll probably get your first job outside the city anyhow.

I'm sure there are other recent teacher migrants or migration agents that can explain this better as I'm only going off anecdotal stories

Also teacher shortage is really only in the BIG high profile subjects (maths science) the others have more applicants than vacancies

3 minutes ago, Rob Frain said:

Checking December many with just 65 points were getting visas, and being two teachers we have everything crossed. There just seems to be a delay - hopefully due to the 35,000 being processed. I know these 35,000 only have 60 days to press apply. I’d be keen to see how many of these pressed apply! 
 

We actually ate decluttering at the minute so let’s see what happens! 

There was a lot pre Christmas that were fast tracked because they had medical backgrounds and at present the medical profession is desperate for people, for most other careers the wait time seems to have increased.

There are also huge amounts of onshore visas where people have applied for a visa after doing 2 years on a Holiday working visa.

The way I read the quota guidance is that out of the 195k visas to be granted, 17k are for 189, 55k for 190/491 state sponsored.

So when you consider the average 189 awardee is coming with their partner and on average one child that's 3 of those visas taken up meaning there are effectively 6,000 189 awards available.

If you have a career that your chosen state is sponsoring you are far better applying for a sponsored visa - you get more points, and there 3 times as many chances to get an award.

Also of importance, the 189 is very much highest points first granted, whereas in the state sponsored they can pick and choose a bit more (I had 70pts with a 190 application and was offered in 24 hours of putting in EOI)

3 hours ago, Lavers said:

I’ve not been but I imagine similar to London.

Nothing like London, but I guess closer to London than any other Aussie city, more like a baby-New York.

There really isn't anywhere in the world that is like London (and some people would say that's a good thing), ultimately 750 years at the head of modern exploration and empire (whether you like that sort of thing or not) tends to create something unique.

You'd love Sydney - if only to be able to say Ive been on the bridge and I've seen a show in the opera house (I only watch comedy in the opera house - Jimmy Carr, Nish Kumar etc - not cultured enough for Opera)

And on the subject of being behind, it's totally true, stuff I was doing in the UK 10-12 years ago is considered cutting edge in the finance and utility companies here today. Which of course is great as I just rinse and repeat stuff I know I can already do

Your first concern should be do either of them have a career/job on the skills list - as Marisa says, if they don't it's pretty much a dead in the water case.

Let's assume they do...

How much do they really want to move. The process is pretty intrusive nowadays - generally at least a year of paper shuffling before you get the green light (if you do) and by then with fees, agents, exams assesments, medical and police checks, a family of 4 will easily be in the hole to about $15k

Once they get here (unless you have room for them to live) it's basically another $5k a month in short term rentals and living costs (unless they can get a job straightaway).

Migration isn't a cheap thing anymore and if their only impetus is the "UK ain't what it used to be" that probably won't be enough to make them feel the huge outlay was worth it. 

That said AUS is a great place to bring up kids (as our adult kid who was brought up in the UK keep telling us) and she went to the very best private schools and had an idyllic childhood compared to mine, so maybe it will be worth it for the OP after all...

28 minutes ago, Tychen said:

Fair enough. It's easy to forget that the calculus is different if you don't have a container worth of relocation allowance to fill.

This might be more helpful: here are some random examples of things we haven't been able to replace and/or have paid much more to get the same quality here:

- Tailor made suits/shirts

- Ties, cufflinks, silver jewellery

- Clothing from high street chains like GAP, Hobbs, etc

- British-made pottery - eg milk jugs

- French made knives, pots

I get my work clothes tailor made (always have). Years ago working in Bangkok got fitted. Now I just look at the current styles online, call up a few weeks in advance and then jump on a long weekend to Bangkok to pick up the freshly made items.

Did it when I lived in the UK, still do it now. Even adding in the airfare and hotels it is many times cheaper than comparable onshore quality items (in the UK or AUS)