Cheery Thistle

I fancy a Mazda jeep thing. Who knows? I’m not really bothered as long as it goes and has air con! Have actually suggested that as a defence tactic to hubby - let’s just buy a really sh*t cheap car that nobody wants to steal!! The key to never getting robbed is to look really skint!!

Well that’s the thing about jumping. We’ll never know what’s on the other side for us unless we do it. I have had one big wobble so far, but for now the closer we get to it, the stronger our resolve seems to get. Scottish winter helps!!

Not necessarily. I’ve heard of many many horror stories related to migration agents, many of them MARA registered. In fact, I’ve had personal dealings with one who gets recommended on here regularly and wasn’t impressed. Let’s face it, most people can’t be bothered to pursue someone for a grand or two - they just want to move on and get someone who can help them get the visa. Personally I couldn’t fault DUC and I’d recommend them wholeheartedly. I have also had some contact with Emergico and they seemed very professional.

Thanks. Not sure what we’ll do about a car. Actually considering a lease for a few months so we don’t rush in and buy a turkey! I think @Simontucks is having some totally understandable jitters about selling his lovely house. It’s a huge thing and makes everything feel sooooo real. And aye car insurance, another racket. All the premiums have shot up since Covid. We pay £900 a year for a 2018 Audi estate. 10 years no claims!

Add about 25% to your costs here. Cars and houses are more expensive than where you (and we) are. Food looks a bit more expensive depending on how you eat. We spend about £130 a week in Aldi on food/drink/dog food/household stuff so I’ve budgeted $300 for Aus. Alcohol on the whole a bit pricier. Fuel and transport are cheaper as are utilities. Mobile phones about the same. Really not sure on car insurance - does rego cover that? Haven’t priced health yet but we have bupa here anyway. If you search this forum for dentists you’ll get a good indication of costs for that. One big thing we’ll save on for the first few years is holidays abroad. We spend an absolute fortune going away 3-4 times a year to escape the Scottish weather!! Won’t need to do that any more and looking forward to exploring Sunny Coast, GC, Whitsundays etc. The other cost is education. Even at state school you’ll likely have to cough for uniforms, books etc. Obviously you have the fee paying Catholic and/or private options too. Could your brother not give you an accurate and up to date run down of this to reassure you?

Yeah I’m fairly sure this is the business model of most larger agents who aren’t one man/woman/person bands. The UK based ones anyway.

I have heard others say the same, that they took the sponsored route but with hindsight would probably have been better holding out for the 189/190, so you’re definitely not alone in that. Isn’t hindsight wonderful though, and you don’t know what you don’t know as they say! Hope it all works out for you.

Gah! Focus your revision on that exercise and sounds like you have done well in the rest. Good luck!

Yes I know I am lolol

Oh no! Which element was the one you didn’t get 79 in?

Here is the link to the page on immi where it says 79 in each of the 4 sections https://immi.homeaffairs.gov.au/help-support/meeting-our-requirements/english-language/superior-english

It’s not easy to get a UK mortgage any more. I have a UK govt job reasonably well paid (higher rate tax payer). Good credit scores, no debt and several rental properties. Hubby is self employed and has 7 years books. We moved 2 years ago and had a bit of a time getting a relatively small mortgage. We did get one but it was probably 40% loan to value. Best bet is to try and get a good broker and sound them out just now about your situation, they’ll be able to give you a true answer about what your chances are and how to get yourself into the best position to get a mortgage. I’m not sure how lenders will view income from an overseas business.

2 people in past 5 years in the UK I don’t think will compare favourably to car theft in the Redlands from what I’m seeing. I think it’s really hard to a) get accurate stats and b) do any kind of a proper comparison because of the challenges described above in comparing apples and oranges. I wonder why there’s such a big difference in crime stats England vs Scotland though, which is a bit more similar/easier to compare? However, I don’t think denial is a good place to be in, regardless of location. I think it’s obvious that there is an issue with youths breaking and entering for car theft and/or car jacking in QLD. I don’t think it’s been an issue on any scale in the Uk for more like 20-25 years, not 5-10. There are myriad other issues to replace it though!!

Well a quick Google shows 1,700-ish crimes per 100k people in Brisbane as opposed to 93 per 1000 in England (so 9,300 when you scale it up) and 52 per 1000 in Scotland (so 5,300 when scaled up). Am I doing the maths right?

Hmm yeah well we would have to drill down into the stats to see about that I think. I know you like a statistic! Bear in mind I’m in Scotland which has about half the crime rate of England. We have drugs problems here but apart from that I don’t see a lot of actual crime. We’re generally a placid bunch until you poke the bear!! Breaking and entering to steal cars just isn’t really a ‘thing’ here. In fact, joy riding of any description kind of went out of fashion about 20 years ago. It does still happen but it’s isolated/rare. Another thing we don’t really do is drink and drive which I know is a bigger issue over there too. It’s partly cultural differences I think. It’s probably easy to get wrapped in your own ‘bubble’ and not realise things are happening in both places.

Good luck with the agents, keep us posted.

Yeah I’ve read that about the schools, the school situation in Brisbane seems a bit extreme to be honest, people literally reserving school spaces for foetuses! Absolutely no chance I’d buy upon getting off the boat, the more I’m reading about petty crime, car thefts and break-ins, the more wary I’m becoming. To be honest I wouldn’t buy in the UK without knowing the area a bit myself so it’s not happening 10k miles away!

Legal or not it’s definitely still happening. I did see in the headlines earlier (when I was reading about the 70 year old lady who was stabbed in the car park in Brisbane for her car by a 16 year old) that they are making it illegal, but at the moment it looks still to be allowed to offer to pay more. Since the OP is concerned enough to potentially not move due to this issue, it’s a tactic he may consider as part of a bigger picture.

If you need 79 for the points you’ll need to get 79 in each individual section I’m afraid. Book your resit!

Not sure what that was but guessing it’s good!

Hi Simon Things we are doing to try and get a place: Making a PDF rental CV of who we are, with our background, qualifications, pictures of our home in the UK (inside and out), how long we intend to stay, level of savings, weekly rental budget, references (including an Australian reference and guarantor). Check out local Facebook and network pages for anyone potentially breaking lease. Be prepared to potentially offer more rent than advertised or bigger bond or both and /or 3-6 months rent up front. No messing around. I know your brother is on the ground there which is a massive advantage - get him asking around on your behalf - I think in QLD it’s very much who you know not what you know. Be consistent and persistent with agents - they may not be responding to you because you are not yet on the ground and maybe don’t have proof of travel or a job there yet. Once you are there go round agents in person, hand in your rental CV and introduce yourself and check in with them regularly. The rental crisis is a concern but let’s face it you’re at a really big advantage already having family there. This move is huge and is not going to be without challenges - you cannot fall at the first hurdle. Come on, big boy pants on!

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Looking for a qualified and reliable professional to inform on the following: - Tax on property income from UK when Aus PR - Pensions - how and when we set up to keep paying NI contributions for pension stamp in UK so that we can draw UK state pension when time comes - Tax implications of property disposal of UK properties when PR in Aus - Pensions - what should/can we do with occupational and private pension pots from UK Ideally if you have actually used the person and been happy with the info and service provided.

Hi you’d be better looking on Seek and and WA government site for vacancies. A lot of folk on here are retired and in all honestly nobody can really speak to your own job chances anyway. I think you’re probably better on a spousal visa but others might know more about that.

What’s your profession? I used Down Under Centre and they were great for me. My 189 was done in 6 months end to end. They are particularly good with nurses, trades and teachers I think. Others that come recommended are Emergico and True Blue. If you have any complicating factors like medical conditions or children with specific needs it might be best to seek someone who has experience of that. All the best with it.