Graham Fletcher

20 hours ago, Fergie said:

Hi Graham

Where did you move back to and what was so awful there that made you want to come back? 

I lived in Buckinghamshire before I left the first time but was working in Birmingham when I returned. It wasn't the country, per se, it was the people and the vibe more. It just felt so depressing and everyone seemed so angry and down... as my daughter described it, it was all so grey.

I went back to England about 6 years ago with my daughter. She was only 11 when we emigrated and had a view of England based on holidays, she felt like she needed to check it out and see where she belonged.

We arrived in June, she was back in Australia by November! I had to wait until January when my lease ran out but got straight on the plane the day it expired. All the reasons for leaving in the first place were still intact and we both have absolutely no intention of returning to England ever again!

That said, at least the truth about her feelings have been fully examined! At 26 and now a mother I am sure she will be an Aussie forever, just like her brothers (both in their 30's) who have no interest in going back either

By contrast, we have no family in Australia and loads in England, modern technology just makes keeping in touch so easy that it has become less relevant where you are for real relationships

On 26/02/2021 at 20:38, calNgary said:

Qld .. I actually live in a Regional area (according to the visa postcode list),i  have done since we arrived in 2006 and although the area has developed loads and the population has probably  tripled in that time, im yet to find somewhere id rather be. Less than an hour to the Gold Coast beaches and less than an hour to Brisbane city with everything you need on a daily basis on the doorstep.

 Cal x

I'm a few hours further out from you and there is NOTHING here! lots of farmland and emptiness. but that's what happens when you chase the big money! hahaha

46 minutes ago, Toots said:

I'm Scottish and the weather where I live in Tasmania is a lot better than the weather in Scotland.    Yes, during winter some parts of Tassie get ice and snow and bitter cold but not where I live. I dislike heat and humidity so Tassie (for me) is the best part of Australia to live in.  Biggest drawback here   ........................  lack of employment prospects - not that it affects us as we are retired.

Lots of tourists from all over the mainland  .......................  Covid is but a memory now.

 

wasn't picking on Scots Toots! as I said, it's all about what you personally prefer, Australia has every option!

This is a really personal question so hard to call it. If you like Scottish weather then you would undoubtedly prefer not to live in the North, for example.

I personally love the hot and sweaty tropical areas, far north Queensland (Cairns for example) and Darwin, Tasmania is far too cold but it is beautiful. Horses for courses

13 hours ago, ali said:

Could the visa attract a no further stay clause if you're not ready to retire and your other half still needs to travel to see you?

It does but after initially getting 1 year visas she now has a 3 year visa (one year wasted thanks to Covid) though each stay is limited to 3 months. The application process was a bit more difficult for the 3 year, she had to have a medical, but otherwise it is very simple. She has been traveling to Australia on them since 2014.

Fortunately we are a bit older so we don't get hung up on periods of being apart for a month or two. Unfortunately the closing of the borders has kept us apart for about a year now - that has been a bit tougher - but it is an anomaly so we carry on

My significant other is a non-resident and only comes over on Tourist visas. She stays for two or three months then goes home for a month or two. The three year visa allows her as many visits as she wants. It's not how it's supposed to work but it cost about $300 including the medical rather than $7000+ for the partner visa!

I plan to retire in a few years and move to her home country so it makes no sense paying out thousands when you don't have to - she has no intention of working here so it's simple. And a Tourist visa takes weeks to obtain rather than months or years!

On 12/02/2021 at 07:01, engoz said:

Thanks for that information, that's very helpful

have a trawl through www.seek.com.au too, it may give you some ideas on potential fields of work

1 hour ago, Bobj said:

And I am searching out real estate to get back! Not really, but could very easily move back. The Kimberleys and all that wildlife are in my blood.

 Cheers, Bobj.

Spent three years in Darwin, heard many stories but never saw a croc in the wild. Didn't go on the boat rides though.

I was more concerned about melting during the build-up than wildlife!

On 12/02/2021 at 13:51, Bazzer09 said:

Hi Graham new to this, I’m hoping to see if anyone has recently done the technical interview for motor mechanic and can give me some pointers as to how it went and what type of questions were asked? is this something you can give me advice on? 

See the answer from Jon French mate, he's been there and done that

1 minute ago, Domo said:

Let me know If you hear of anyone needing a carpenter for critical infrastructure in NSW. I've been waiting for my NSW 190 grant for +12 months now, and I could potentially facilitate the visa processing if I find some work in the mines or a hospital. Thanks!

that's a bit tougher at the moment I think - a fairly big Brisbane building company just announced closure yesterday. Whilst we are completely open, with the odd local lockdowns from paranoid state Premiers, the housing market is still pretty slow. Another 6 to 12 months and you should be seeing much more enthusiasm as the vaccine roll out works through the economy.

in the car business we had virtually no customers for a few months and then it took off big time, I can see the housing market going the same way

Just now, Domo said:

I just put your post on my immigration page. You should be flooded with people from the UK soon enough. Hope this all works out for everyone!

thanks Domo

A local dealer just brought in 5 people from Sri Lanka - they just don't have the same mechanical skill level as the UK and Europe!

32 minutes ago, Jon French said:

Hi Graham,

I am a light motor mechanic currently in the UK with a positive Australian skills assessment.  I’m interested in hearing more details about what you have to offer.

An error message comes up unfortunately when trying to DM. 
 

Be great to hear from you if you’re still looking to speak with people.

Regards,

Jon.

Absolutely Jon. We have two dealerships either side of the NSW/QLD border. Small rural towns with Toyota, Ford and Nissan franchises. We are looking for people to come out for 4 years under sponsorship and add some skills. The biggest problem is that people always want to migrate to the big cities, Brisbane, Sydney etc... they rarely have any interest in rural life. Unfortunately it's hard to compete with the Gold Coast!

We have 5 people currently on staff under sponsorships, most are looking to get permanent residency over the next couple of years. We are lucky in that we are still seeing Mechanics getting in on sponsorships despite not being on the list, we just have to do an application for each individual.

I will try to send you my work email so we can correspond directly

1 hour ago, Azstafford93 said:

I’m a motor mechanic of over 10 years cars and light vehicles have my skills already assessed looking to go on a 491 visa for regional nsw. I’ll give you a direct message if you’re interested 

Totally interested. Drop me your details mate

1 hour ago, StuartBolton said:

Hi Graham,

I am a mechanic from the UK. I recently passed the skills assessment level 3 light vehicle mechanic with vetasses. I have submitted an EOI but only Tasmania is available at the moment. I'm very interested in your comments about mechanics being needed in QLD. What part are your companies based?

We are rural dealers either side of the NSQ/QLD border - about 4 and half hours drive out of Brisbane. It's all farming country out here so great for a quiet life, not so much fun if you are looking for beaches and partying!

On 12/02/2021 at 13:51, Bazzer09 said:

Hi Graham new to this, I’m hoping to see if anyone has recently done the technical interview for motor mechanic and can give me some pointers as to how it went and what type of questions were asked? is this something you can give me advice on? 

sorry Bazzer, not something I've had to do. Maybe BrazilianPom86 can help, her partner's already here!

On 09/01/2021 at 19:46, Tulip1 said:

If you’re in an area of about 8 miles of Hillary’s/Mindarie then I’d love some suggestions for when I’m next there. It would be nice to go out about 7.30/8 and be able to stay out for a few hours. Nothing posh. Thanks. 

The Grapevine Italian in Heathridge - great food, but then I have to say that as my mate's the chef!

On 10/01/2021 at 00:21, MARYROSE02 said:

I am thinking, aka diithering about those things. Talked to young English girl whose family is doing ti tough at home whilst you would not know there is a problem going by the crowds in SP tonight.

It is like being in a neutral country during WW2 like say Switzerland or Portugal where life goes on as normal. I read in the paper here that life in the UK is close to the way it was during the darkest days of WW2. I don't know if that is true but it sounds grim.

spoke to a friend in Buckinghamshire yesterday. She went to work on the train for the first time in ages, 3 passengers in a whole carriage at 8am. She went out at lunchtime for some food and struggled to find anything open... a ghost town!

We have been incredibly lucky, hopefully the vaccines will work as planned and the rest of the world can get back to where we are

8 minutes ago, BrazilianPom86 said:

Hi Graham, 

My partner and I are in Brisbane. He is a Diesel Mechanic (Trucks) 

 

personal message me if you want to look in to moving to the country!

On 31/01/2021 at 11:43, Marisawright said:

Certainly, they're drawn to the well-known cities.  For people in the corporate world, it's where they'll need to go to get jobs, anyway.  However, as we've discussed before, many British migrants are looking for the big house by the sea, and that's not going to happen for the average migrant in the big cities these days.  Anyone who is a tradesman, doctor, nurse, teacher or small businessman stands a good chance of finding work in one of the smaller cities AND a good chance of getting that house by the sea, too.

Probably the two nicest places I have lived are Darwin and Townsville - certainly not top of anyone's wish list in the UK I bet

On 31/01/2021 at 11:02, MARYROSE02 said:

Yes, I rather like Newcastle myself but it never occurred to me to move there. I don't know why? Come to think of it, when I was first planning to come to Australia I was thinking of going to Townsville, somewhere I've still never been to.

Perhaps people are just drawn to the biggest and well-known cities, unless there is a particular industry which a place specialises in? It never occurred to me to live in Surfers Paradise and I'm only here because my brother moved here. 

If you like beaches and views of islands then Townsville would be worth your while visiting. I lived in an area called North Ward for a year, spectacular views across to Magnetic Island. 

19 hours ago, Cots said:

We’ve  got until August on our RRV and we’ve just this weekend decided it’s now or never. I never wanted to leave but long story, we did. It’s always been there on my mind to go back but didn’t want to break my parents hearts again however we have to live for ourselves. Kids (3) are very keen remembering the times when we lived there. This time round we’re older, I’ll be 46, OH will be 42 and chances of us affording a mortgage are slim since house prices have increased so much and this time around I don’t want to have to worry that we can’t. Renting is a pain but I know it can be expensive with all the maintenance, insurance etc so maybe we just accept that we can’t own again. Is that the worst? Are we mad! The timeframe is killing me due the deadline of August with Covid limiting flights and therefore cost! 

 Quote

 

We sold all three houses when we divorced back in 2012 and both ex-wife and I have rented ever since. We are both perfectly happy living in other people's houses, we both move regularly when the mood takes us, me because I change towns/cities and her because she just likes trying new parts of Perth! Being free to roam or putting down roots is a very personal thing.

On top of that, none of my three adult offspring have bought a house because they simply refuse to live miles from the action (new housing estates seem to be the only option for first time buyers) and they would rather spend their money enjoying themselves than locking it all away in a house deposit.

It's not all doom and gloom being a renter!

We shipped our entire 3 bedroom house-full and when it arrived it disappeared in the 4 bedroom house we rented on arrival. Ended up buying a whole load more stuff just to fill it up.

If you are getting a standard 4x2 home in Australia it will probably be huge compared to a house in the UK!

In retrospect I probably would have sold everything and started afresh on arrival

I think the card is fairly new so can't help there. However, like you I have used them numerous times to transfer funds and they are definitely good value. If you hear anything more please share 

4 hours ago, MARYROSE02 said:

I'm sentimental/nostalgic about Perth because it's where I first landed in Australia, on 3rd November, 1978. I loved it from the moment I arrived - wrote in my diary "I love it and I want to stay".  I stayed for a month, mostly in a hostel in Newcastle Street (still there I think), then got the bus to Adelaide which I did not like. Nothing against Adelaide but I missed the guys I'd got to know in Perth. I nearly went back but changed my mind again and got another bus to Sydney, where I stayed for 18 years and my two brothers joined me in 1979.

I went over to Perth in December, 2017 for seven weeks, loved it again, so went back in May 2018 for six weeks, but this time I wasn't so sure about a permanent move. There was nothing wrong with the place, just that all my family, friends and job were in Sydney. Now, I'm six months into life in Surfers Paradise and no desire to go back to Sydney or anywhere else but with a few "loose ends" to tie up - home in Sydney and in Southampton.

I still have an offer from a friend to stay with here in South Perth but the border has been closed for most of the last year - opening again I see soon, as is QLD. BUT you have to be able to move at a moment's notice because both Anna and Mark LOVE closing their borders at a moment's notice!?

I have my first grandchild now, living in Perth (with my daughter, not on his own or anything!!!) and I missed his first birthday thanks to McGowan. One of my sons, also in Perth, is getting married in May and if I can't get back for that me and Mark are going to be having words!