Daffyduck

Hi, Quick question I'm hoping someone can help me with. My wife was the main applicant for a 186 skilled PR Visa. She was looking to make a small reduction in her working hours to spend more time with the kids. She's been told by her employer that working FT is a condition of her visa. I'm not really sure where this comes from, does anyone have any experience of this?

Congratulations Rob, hope the move goes smoothly

Thought even the Merchant City was going downhill, all started when they closed Boudoir. Same all over Scotland, our council tax was sitting at 2.5k before we left and the council kept dreaming up ways to add in additional charges. Best one was when they started charging you if there was any grass in your food waste bin.... Swimming pools closing, libraries the same, roads and pavements a sate but still charging full whack. Still seems like there's plenty of money for hair brained schemes though, the cycle lanes appearing all over Scotland for a start, then Glasgow council restricting the biggest motorway in the country to 30mph. Glad I left.

The West end might as well have been another planet when I was younger, don't think I even went to Ashton Lane until I was in my mid 20's.

Still posh, comparatively speaking of course. You know when you're in the nicer parts of Glasgow when they've got a Waitrose.

Fair point though Glasgow is far smaller than most of the capitals, it's about half that of Adelaide and the average income is about $45k PA less than Melbourne/Sydney. Suppose when you factor the difference in average salaries the $700k works out equivalent to $1.2m. Either way, I don't think it'll be too long before the UK is following the same curve as Australia and most people will end up being priced out the market all together, either that and it'll be like Canada where you'll start seeing lenders offering 90 year mortgages (I wish that was a joke).

Newton Mearns still had a young team, used to see them swaggering down the street with their bottle of Buckie in hand.

Newton Mearns, just outside Glasgow. West of Scotland has never been known as somewhere with sky high property prices so $700k for a 3 bed semi there is still considered very expensive compared to a few years ago for that part of the world. Compared to what my budget would have bought me in Glasgow Vs here in Adelaide, it's worlds apart. Got a nice big house with pool on a quarter acre plot, something I would never have been able to afford before. Long of the short is the houses all across the developed world are becoming unaffordable for the average person. Unfortunately I can't see an end to it.

Agree 100% re housing affordability, it's a crisis that many (Most? All?) developed countries are failing miserably to deal with. Australia does seem slightly further down that road than some places in the UK but it was becoming very similar. There are 3 bed semis going in my old area for over A$700k, it's not sustainable.

Same, I'm old enough to remember Glasgow in the 90's before they cleaned it up and made it somewhere you actually wanted to spend time, sad to see it sliding rapidly backwards. Used to spend many a night out in town in the 2000's, lot's of good memories of the Garage, Cat House, Shack etc. (even went into Bonkers one time!), nothing but empty units, junkies and homeless now. Almost couldn't believe how busy Rundle Mall was when we got here, reminded me of Buchanan street back in it's good days. The tax thing is great, I always get a laugh when my Aussie colleagues complain about tax rates here. Try 42% tax plus NII and your pension coming out of salary rather than being on top!

Glasgow, was the same before we left. Price of things was just getting insane, that and the taxes kept creeping up. Couldn't believe it when I paid nearly 7 quid for a pint in town.... We've been here a while now and I genuinely don't think it's that much more expensive, some things are but other things are actually cheaper here. What amazes me is how clean and tidy everything is here, I know Glasgow ain't Edinburgh but Glasgow was looking like an absolute midden when we left, here is utterly spotless and tidy by comparison.

Magic, thanks folks, cleared that up nicely.

I'd heard that you're exempt from the Medicare additional surcharge if you're still on the first 12 months of your PR visa. Not been able to find anything online about this, can anyone confirm?

Yup, would far prefer to go myself but can't guarantee time off work required for the trip, just the nature of the job unfortunately.

Just had our certificate if import come in, agent has requested a spot in quarantine and hopeful that we'll get a date soon. Can anyone recommend an agency that could collect from the quarantine centre outside Melbourne and drop off in Adelaide?