BendigoBoy

Jealous. Haven't seen a payrise in 3 years!

A nice scenic walk and free exercise!

Southgate isn't too bad if you're in early and leave after 2pm. Something like $25 a day

Which puzzles me. The R series passports are just so bloody gorgeous.

And please keep to the Western Suburbs if you do.

Coolies This is why I so very often caveat everything with my stock phrase of "I do, as always, yield to any RMA".

Although maybe give it a miss if you enjoy going for walks or jogging.

Personally? I'd be suggesting somewhere like Sunbury or the outskirts. Could probably pick up something that's a little more out in the sticks but still less than a 15 minute drive to Tullamarine, or a hop to the station to get into Southern Cross.

How long is a piece of string? That's going to be down to your lifestyle, as much as anything. $200k would be a palatial income for some, it'd barely cut it for others. Personally, I think it's a pretty darned strong number. Where you're going to have a bit of an issue is something "rural" an hour from Melbourne, if you're thinking of that being a commuting time during rush hour. I used to live in Caulfield South and it would regularly take 50 minutes to drive into the CBD at 7am. At 7pm, less than 15 minutes. You might want to look around Lilydale and such areas in the Eastern Suburbs if you want something that's a bit more countryside. But it'll hardly be rural. Last I checked, it was only 71 genders. As for drugs, you'll get those sorts of problems all over the world. Western suburbs can be particularly prone to things like ice, but you have to balance it out with the coke heads in Brighton.

Pretty sure Fire Fighter is on the SOL for 187 nomination; as @Marisawright says - definitely worth consulting a registered migration agent.

Any of the registered migration agents who post regularly on this forum would be worth consulting. In terms of cost? An absolute drop in the ocean compared to the rest of the costs you'll find associated with immigrating.

If you get a 189, you can work at anything you like as long as you can secure the job. No need to stay in any one profession.

Depends on your state, really. Neither me nor my wife have ever even sat on a motorcycle, but Vic Roads still gave us a completely unrestricted full R licence when we converted our UK licences.

A bit of an oversimplification to say pretty much everyone. In the West of Scotland, it's extremely common for students to live at home (from as far afield as Ayrshire) and commute into Glasgow to attend university. I was very much the outlier when I left the fold to go to St Andrews.

Hopefully that citizenship application is sorted out nice and quickly for you, mate. Then hopefully no need for you to concern yourself over your docos from there on out.

Last two engineers I hired, I just couldn't tolerate the arrogance of the younger folk that were sat in front of me (let alone the absurd salaries they were asking). Both of the successful applicants were a good few years older than me, had experience I could only dream of, and have been nothing less than stellar performers. Sadly, this is - in my experience - still an unusual situation in the Australian tech sector. Which is all the more insane given the number of younglings that go into the field only to burn out or quit after five years because they realise how much hard work is actually involved. Give me a dyed in the wool expert any day of the week over an uppity upstart.

Aw mate, I have no advice to offer. But I really hope you can find a resolution to this.

I'm equally confused. If you're eligible to work legally in Australia, then you're eligible for a TFN. I think this one's beyond us normies - this sounds like absolute, categorical RMA territory.

Mebbe worth giving Hargreaves Lansdown a call. I've got a couple of SIPPs with them from before moving out. I've *no* idea if they'll allow you to do a 25% withdrawal of TFC if you're overseas or not. But no harm in giving them a bell and asking. Decent platform for investments, as well.

No. If you're a citizen, you're a citizen. As Nemesis mentions, for the purpose of entering Australia if you are outside, you will need to get an Australian passport. As a citizen, you are not eligible for a visa: whilst technically you cannot be refused access to the country, carriers may refuse to allow you to board without evidence/confirmation of citizenship.

You should speak with a migration agent. Parental visas are issued to parents of citizens/permanent residents. They're not issued to parents of children in the country on temporary visas (although if this is the case, as always I will defer to an RMA). Also, the cut off age for the majority of skilled permanent resident visas is 45, not 50.

Actually, about 45 of them I spent playing FFVII: Rebirth. But shush.

I had to chuckle at the line about work life balance. 71 hours I have been at my desk this week...

The only thing I would add is perhaps to put a little caution - not cold water - on your approach. You say you don't intend to return. Without meaning any disrespect, or trying to put a dampener on things, until you know precisely what visa you'll end up with, that's as cloudy as getting a job. If you're coming out as a skilled independent (189/190), then more power to you and good luck. If you're coming out on a sponsored visa, unless it's a 186DE, then you'll (in all likelihood) end up on a temporary visa. And for a 186DE, you'll need more than an offer, you'll need a solid contract. Whilst there are pathways to permanent residence visa some temporary visas, it would not be a great idea to take these for granted.

I think at least part of the answer to this will be hinged upon whether you read Scots or English law.