Moobear

OOH can I ask where you are? Its almost impossible to tell from here how realistic it is to find a smaller town with good work opportunities and schools. I have lived in a small town in norfolk for 5 years so am used to a lack of shops etc thats not my worry. The most important thing for me is to be able to get my kids to school and the other half to work.

This is really helpful thanks so much. Its so tricky to tell where would work and where wont when your not going for the obvious places like Sydney etc. It's almost impossible to tell what the smaller towns are going to be like so having the perspective of someone who has visited them or lived their is beyond awesome.

This is really helpful thank you. I've lost track of how many weather aps I have looked at to gauge a general idea of temperature but its great to have it all laid out by someone who lives there so thanks so much. Based on this it looks like WA or NSW would suit us best as we are trying to loose those depressing winters and possibly seasons all together haha but I don't do well With humidity so Queensland is an absolute no go.

Hi thanks for the response. I have a list as long as myself that I have been adding to for over a decade about why I would like to relocate. I have weighed up the pros and cons multiple times and every time Australia has come out on top ( even with the terrifying creepy crawlies) We will now definitely be investing in driving tests before we come as its become very apparent life will be difficult without them. We will be renting initially so although we are a working family the price of buying a house on the beach doesn't worry us to much just yet.

There certainly have been and thank you for being the first to respond. I will definitely keep updating. I noticed some wonderful pictures on your page which were of course super inspiring. Hmm I hadn’t realised my partner may have to completely retrain. That seems crazy considering we have to fork out around 3k for him to do a skills test to prove he is qualified in his chosen field. I will definitely have to look into that more.

Wow what a response, thank you so much everyone for all the help. I’m sensing a common theme so looks like driving tests before we leave will be on the cards. Weather wise thanks so much for the clear view of exactly what the different areas are like. We are considering either WA or NSW weather wise so the final decision will be made based on school and work opportunities. We don’t own a house here so will be renting wherever we end up. I am of course aware being close to the beach comes with a hefty price tag but we have no interest in being in a big city so are hoping we will be able to find somewhere on the outskirts that will be slightly more affordable . I’m also aware my partner will have to undergo some sort of training once over there as his uk electrical qualification won’t allow him to work unsupervised. Does anyone know what this is and how long it takes. Thanks so much again for all the help guys you are all so fab xx

Haha thanks for this, we are a bit strange to be fair! We live in the country side at the moment and we do have public transport but it’s limited so we are used to it. It’s good to hear that we could potentially still get around. Most important is my daughter being able to get to school and of course that I can get groceries etc. Driving would be one of the first things on our list of course but with lockdown still so strict here it’s going to be almost impossible to sort this end. We are open to different areas around Australia though so could potentially be swayed by a better transport system. Ultimately we would like to move to somewhere with good schools choices and preferably close to the beach as we live being by the sea.

Thanks for your reply. We have definitely considered trying to get our licenses before we move but due to covid no one is allowed to take lessons and even when things open up again the instructors and test facilities will be fully booked with people who were booked in before our lockdowns. I have read that there is a lack of public transport in more rural areas. Is it crazy to think that we could survive for a while without driving and take our lessons and tests out there?

Hi everyone, My family and I are in the very beginning of our process (covid has of course put a pause on it) we know we want to come over using a 189 visa. However we don’t know exactly where in Australia we want to go and would love some advice from those in the know. We have two kids (8 and 2) and them attending good schools is a MUST for us. My partner is an electrician and neither of us drive so would need to be somewhere there are local or commutable work opportunities. We would also love to be walking distance to the beach as we live in a coastal town now and our favourite thing to do is walk to the beach. Thanks for reading