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Hi All My husband has a sponsored job offer on a 457 visa. We are planning to move to Bunbury early next year, we have 3 children age 15,12 and 9 all girls hoping to make a better life for them, like all other parents we are worried that they will be able to adjust and make new friends and that the Australian kids will accept them. The kids are currently in afrikaans schools and can communicate in english how difficult will it be for them to adjust ? What is your oppinion, should we first visit Bunbury before moving there? (people here in South Africa are trying to discourage us.) All we want is the best for our children and hopefully a safer future. Everyone is so excited and can't wait for everything to get finalised. Please Help? Thanks MarieSa and Family:goofy:

My dad's been offered a job in Perth and the company he's going to work for have sent off visa applications for our family (dad, mum, little brother and myself). We're waiting to hear if the visas have been approved and then will hopefully be in Perth before Christmas! I was wondering if anyone could help me with what to expect when I move, how easy is it to settle in? what are the schools like? is there plenty to do? did anyone miss their friends when they moved and if you did how did you get over it/make sure you kept in contact? How easy did you find the move? Any other information on the move, Perth or any other aspect of moving to Australia would be greatly appreciated from everyone! :ssign16: Thank you, Emiley x

Hi All, New to the forum/site but have a few questions that i'm hoping some of you guys may be able to help with! Myself and my other half are thinking of moving to Oz late next year (2013), having looked around on the net at the skilled migrant process, I am unsure on what is the best option for me to get skill assessed on. Below is a bit about my experiece and qualifications: HNC Building Services (HVAC), C&G 2079 F-Gas (Air con), Qualified UK Gas engineer through the ACS/gas safe scheme, 7 years working within the M&E industry working on mechanical services. Aside from my qualifications above I have also got the Engineering Technician status from CIBSE which has a mutual recognition from engineers australia as a chartered engineering associate. I suppose, what i'm asking is what people would recommend as the best route to take in getting out to Oz next year as a skilled migrant? What trades are more in demand? Would it be as a general Plumber based on the above skills (even though I have no formal plumbing qualifications)? Any help will be much appreciated! Thanks

Hey I would just like a review on Albany western australia from any teens/parents with teens living there and what high school is like there in comparison with high schools in the england. Thanks:)x

hey, Im a teenage girl from the uk, hoping to move to australia in a couple years time. I'm quite worried about missing friends and family in the uk. I'm also excited about living a new life and experience a complete different way to life! But thing is, my parents are divorced and my step dad is originally from australia and wanting to move back with my mum and my two younger sisters. I havent actually told my dad yet, but im delaying it because i feel that i will have pressure put on me and i dont want to be put in that situation. I know that he could visit me and i could visit him, but i know money is tight and it wont be easy. I'm close to family in britain and will miss them millions! i just need advise from anyone who has ever been in this situation or could give me advise and ideas on what i should do. Also I would like to know from teenagers on what i will expect and is there much too do, and whats it like there. Is it easy to make friends because i know when moving it can be difficult, and whats education like because i would be in college when i move? I really would like to hear back... Laura

My hausband has been offered a job in Newcastle and we have to let them know by friday 11th May if we would like to take them up on the offer. Can anyone let me know anything about Newcastle? Cost of Living, lifestyle, what to do with two kids aged aged 9 and 6, which areas to look to rent in, Anything would be appreciated as its such a big decision and we dont know much about Australia........ Thank you, Louise

Hi guys, i am moving to gold coast in 3 weeks and if you want to chat about oz and stuff and you are roughly the same age and are in or moving to gold coast then pm me and i will give you my email address. Thanks, Harrison..

Hi I just wondered if anyone had or knew where I could get a sort of checklist of things that need doing before the big move...eg contact shipping companies, redirecting post etc etc....... :unsure: Many thanks

So we're moving back. Melbourne has been great but there are so many factors now that mean we are making the move: births, deaths, loved ones, LAFHA (don't get me started) etc. Anyway, was just wondering what everyone else was doing in terms of selling stuff or are you all taking it back with you? We're planning to ship/fly boxes home but not the 1/2 container that we came over here with. Personal stuff will go but everything else has to stay. We have 2 months left and, well, don't want to sell til the very end to avoid sitting/eating/sleeping on the floor especially with two young children. Thinking we'll have to frantically sell sell sell in the last few weeks. And the Car??? So glad we're leaving in winter/early spring, would be tough leaving in summer...saying that, we won't get a summer for another year! Thoughts, comments, suggestions welcome.

Hi All, After being in Sydney a week we decided to put a post of our experiences which will hopefully help / reassure others if they're thinking of doing the same. Flights with Emirates were great, no delays and no issues with baggage etc. Arrived in Sydney 07:00 and had booked a shuttle to take us to serviced accommodation. Despite the shuttle being an hour late it was ok (but cold!!!). We had booked the Meriton serviced apartments on Campbell Street purely due to the location. I would recommend constantly checking prices because we managed to book through booking.com and they had a flash sale so for 13 nights it was only £63 a night which for 5* accommodation in Sydney is amazing. When we arrived it was pretty daunting, despite us planning everything to the nth degree we didn't plan for the pure feeling of fear and it's amazing how despite being 2 grown adults we felt like lost children! We just didn't know how to do anything, how to get anywhere, where to shop, it really was a bizarre feeling. We had opened bank accounts with Westpac before we moved so had to do ID checks first thing which was straight forward. We still don't have debit cards as you need a permanent address before they issue one but we are managing without. Now the rental situation! We had read so many posts on here that the rental market is horrendous and we would struggle getting an apartment in 2 weeks. My advice is to research areas massively when you're back in the uk. We ideally want to live by the beach but for ease we decided to look around the Waterloo and surry hills areas as there tended to be some new developments with open viewings rather than set times. We had emailed the landlord prior tour visit so she knew we were coming. We went on Monday at 9:30 and by 11:00 we had secured a lovely 2 bed. Yes it's not necessarily near the beach but for ease and to stop stressing its ideal. It's a lovely complex with lots of bars, shops, restaurants nearby plus when we walked round danks street in Waterloo and crown street in surry hills it was full of cool bars and couples which is what we wanted. I believe if you're really specific about where you want to live it can be quite a challenge but in our view for ease it was great to secure somewhere so quickly, and we're only renting its not permanent so whist we're living there we can have a proper look at the areas and decide 100% on where we want to live. Bring your $$$ though it ain't cheap and 4 weeks rent as a bond plus 1 months rent in advance is costly but worth it :-) Its been quite easy to set a lot of stuff up, Medicare took 2 minutes, still haven't done driving license but it's on our list, bought pay as u go mobiles quite easily. My advise to anyone with a smart phone who wants to use it out here - GET IT UNLOCKED IN THE UK! Makes things so much easier! Started work on Tuesday after landing on the Sunday, was the best move ever as I quickly got into the routine of work and it felt like I lived here instantly rather than thinking I'm on holiday. Paula is finding it a bit tough being on her own in the day but she has a lot of appointments with recruitment agents and a few interviews lined up already so once she secures something and gets into a routine it'll be fine. I can honestly say that I had real doubts about coming here, saying goodbye to family at the airport, and the flight taking off was emotional and I spent a few hours on the flight secretly getting upset thinking we'd made the wrong move. How wrong I was!! It has honestly been the best thing we have done - I love the place. My work genuinely has the nicest people and my team are lovely - everyone is so willing to help and we have met so many people already - we forgot that there are hundreds of people doing the same thing as us and it only takes a minute to get a conversation started and before we knew it we had plans to meet people. Everyone works really hard but come the weekend it's a different story. It's winter here and weather is lovely - spent yesterday at Bondi just chilling out and today may do the same, whatever takes our fancy! With regards to the cost of everything, I think most things are similar to the UK. After our 1st shop at Coles we were pleasantly surprised, yes some of the brands are very expensive (coke etc), but you soon adjust to the prices. Plus Paula found a discount chemist so we go there for our toiletries which saves us a lot! The only thing that is a lot more expensive than the Uk is alcohol. Again, we aren't massive drinkers but $9 for a bottle of beer certainly sobers you up! Saying that though most bars have happy hours, which saves u a fortune. Plus they do great food deals, on Tuesday we went to cargo bar in the harbour and had $10 steaks. Believe me, for $10 you are getting a bargain! Really nice meal that we would have paid $30 for! Last night we spent in darling harbour watching the free fireworks, it was amazing, despite the $10 beer haha. I'm English - I have to moan about something!!! :-) Anyway, anyone thinking of doing it please do, it's been amazing for us, the Aussies have been so friendly and welcoming and it's been a great move. Just remember that lots of people move here so its normally quite easy to sort out most things so dont worry about sorting things out when youre here as you'll sort everything iut quickly and easily! If anyone would like anymore info (sorry for going on so long!),please let us know. Or if anyone fancies a beer (or cocktail in paulas case!),let us know, Jay & Paula

Hi, We are moving to Gladstone, Queensland in Feb 2012 and want to know about primary schools for our 6yr old son.....do we organise now or wait till we get to Gladstone??? so much to think about....any help would be greatfully received....any good schools in which areas...? thanks so much

hi guys im leah and im 15 years old. me and my family are moving to redcliffe area, QLD in 8 weeks and was wondering if there was anyone who i could talk to about australia and schools and stuff. thanks leah :biggrin:

Hi folks, We're moving to Melbourne this December and we obviously are going to need some place to stay.. The thing is I'm not sure how can I find an apartment remotely? Is it even possible? How can this be done? To complicate the things even more, we land at December 28, which is 3 days before Sylvester and it's also a weekend, so I believe that the city will be "paralyzed". I'm really stressed about this and I consider to move our flight few days forward to Jan 3. Any suggestions? Thoughts? Thanks!!

Hello All, I am very new to this forum and the reason I am here is because I am relocating to Melbourne. I am a banking Consultant and have got a new Job in Melbourne. My employer has sponsored my 457 application. I am very newly married. I have some questions, and If someone can answer them, It will be really helpful for me: 1). What is the average cost of renting a house in a apartment with good security, close to city( My office is in Queen Street) ? I will be okie with a 1 or 2 BHK house with fuly furnished facilities. 2). Can we get International TV Channels in Melbourne and if yes, What is the procedure and charges for them? Apart from this, 3). I am also planning to rent a car. Can anyone tell me what is the average rent for a decent car( does not have to be an SUV or a BENZ ! ). 4). We are currently moving on a 457 VISA and plan to apply for a PR. If anyone has done it in the past, please provide me any suggestions or recommendations to hire a immigration consultant. Your answers to the above quesstions will really help me in planning ahead for the move. Thanks in advance.

Tourism Australia have some videos on You Tube (published June 3 2012). Thought some people might like to take a peek at the highlights of Aus so to speak. My hubby sent me the link to the national one and simply said 'Shall we?'. Some of the places shown are on our bucket list of places for us to to visit together/as a family in Aus. Tourism Australia's Latest Ad http://youtube/3pOVfJwBd5s There's nothing like Australia: Victoria [video=youtube;O63NL-xPfUM] There's nothing like Australia: South Australia. http://youtube/FoBxq8lB2iY There's nothing like Australia: Northern Territory http://youtube/r02jEig086M There's nothing like Australia: Queensland http://youtube/ef2xx987bOo There's nothing like Australia: New South Wales [video=youtube;-wCViAvwTVY]http://youtube/-wCViAvwTVY There's nothing like Australia: Western Australia http://youtube/YHoT5sCZ48I There's nothing like Australia: Tasmania http://youtube/fkCAN_B53XM More in post below..............

It’s 6 months since we arrived in Perth and time for an update. 6 months has flown by but we have gone from chaos to almost normal – and we still love it. :smile: The trip over was better than expected, largely because the children coped better with the long flight than we had imagined. Going through customs with 220kg of baggage was also easier and much quicker than anticipated. The hire ‘car’ that work had provided was more of a hire ‘bus’, so we fitted in 6 of us, 7 suitcases and 6 small bags for the journey to our temporary home. So a good start which helped a great deal. The first 5 weeks were quite manic, mainly due to trying to fit in the following – setting up bank accounts, buying 2 cars, visiting pets in quarantine, house hunting (what put off landlords more I wonder, pets or 4 teenagers?), husband starting work almost straight away and having a very weird Christmas. We also had to keep the children entertained and occupied for 8 weeks between arrival and the new school year starting. The next 4 weeks were spent moving to our current rental, unpacking our container from England (yay!), getting the pets home (yay!), sorting out schools, buying uniforms and equipment, DOING PAPERWORK! Don’t underestimate the amount of paperwork. Schools, doctors, vets, health insurance, pet insurance, gas, electric, phone and broadband, mobile phone, car insurance, driver’s licence, etc. :arghh: The next few weeks were spent settling children into schools, clubs and some sort of routine. The clubs all help with making friends and getting into a routine. They also help with getting out and about. The children have been on outings and camps and it’s helped them to get to know the area. After that I started building some sort of social life for myself, mainly through PIO. I’ve even finally got round to setting up my blog. 2 of the children put on their board shorts the day they arrived and haven’t looked back since. 1 of them was quite ‘lost’ for the first 8 weeks (due to not knowing anyone or having any friends over here). He soon fitted in at college and found new friends, he started to settle after that. And 1 of them treated it as a holiday until she started school. She loves it here now and thinks of this as home, loves her new school and made lots of friends. All of them still miss their old friends to some extent, but they all keep in touch on computers and mobiles. We’ve had plenty of great outings, and we try to help them all to make the most of this opportunity. We’ve celebrated 3 birthdays so far, and there’s another next week. Good things – the wildlife, warm sea, beach, friendly people, the weather, work opportunities, space, petrol costs, salary, scenery, outings, adventure Bad things – price of a weekly shop, distance from friends and family in UK, cost of moving, missing pets in quarantine, at least 6 months of major effort in order to make the move work, TV :frown: Thank you to everyone who’s answered questions, offered support or kept me amused on PIO. Was it worth it? Definitely. Will we stay forever? Who knows. Any regrets? Not yet. We love it! :biggrin:

Hi all We have just had a good quote from *** to move our stuff from Essex to Brisbane and we are keen to go with them, but haven't read any reviews or anything on them - can anyone who has used them let me know what they were like? Thanks

Hi All, Has anyone had experience with these two companies? *** is a smaller firm, very competitive(low price) however, trying to see if they are an accredited international removals company. Anglo Pacific, out right said they are unlikely to be as cheap as the smaller firms, (that makes sense due to overhead costs being higher for a larger firm) However, as I am going groupage this makes me feel a bit more secure with regards to waiting times. Any views?

My husband has been offered a job in Gladstone for $60K. Not sure its high enough. We have 2 children under the age of 5. Any other English people living in the area? Would love to hear from you, especially to find out where the best beer in town is !! Little concerned that it is very flat there and "remote." What do you do at weekends?

The global recession caused a drop in skilled migrants and international students coming to New Zealand, the Labour Department says. But industry groups say there is still a huge shortage of trained chefs and regional shortages of experienced mechanics in centres such as Wellington and Christchurch. In its latest analysis of migration trends the department says 12 per cent fewer people were approved as skilled migrants in the nine months from July 2011 to March 2012. In that time, 13,265 people settled in New Zealand under the skilled migrant category, 1800 fewer than in the same period last year. The decrease was due to the flow-on effect of fewer people coming in under the temporary essential skills category, the department's head of research, Vasantha Krishnan, said. People in this category are a key source of future skilled migrants, and the demand for these workers slowed from October 2008 with the onset of the global financial crisis. Many skilled migrants came to New Zealand initially on some form of temporary policy, for work or study, Krishnan said. "About 70 per cent of the total resident programme is made up of those who come through temporary policy in one way or another." This was similar to Australia, and the process tended to produce more successful labour-market outcomes, she said. The drop in essential-skills workers had been across the board, with low and semi-skilled people particularly affected. There had been less demand in sectors including the arts and media, human resources, marketing, the legal profession, vehicle technicians, skilled animal and horticultural workers, carers, and hospitality workers. A 7 per cent fall had also occurred in the number of international students coming to New Zealand in the nine-month period. The Christchurch earthquakes were a big reason, but the high kiwi dollar and the general world economic situation had also played a part, Krishnan said. "There is a general global recession which I think has seen fewer people able to move around." Motor Trade Association marketing and communications general manager Ian Stronach said that, like many sectors, there had been a downturn in the vehicle industry, and there had less demand for technicians. But it was cyclical, and the chronic shortages of experienced mechanics with New Zealand-compliant qualifications would return. Shortages still existed in Christchurch, he said. "But even around here in Wellington I've got people sometimes tearing their hair out." Hospitality New Zealand chief executive Bruce Robertson said he was surprised by the figures, because a huge demand continued for trained chefs. "We're still looking to import talent, because we simply can't produce enough of our own." A lot of chefs were working on temporary work permits, because there had been ongoing problems with getting them approved under the essential skills category. Nine months to March 2012 13,265 people approved as skilled migrants, down 12 per cent. 56,741 international students approved to study in New Zealand, down 7 per cent. 28,674 people approved for New Zealand residency, steady on the 28,695 approved at the same time last year.

hey guys im moving to perth jan/feb dont know many people in perth is anyone else heading out and would like to meet up/make new friends:cool:im 27 years old

Hi everyone We are a family of 4 (44, 42, 12 & 11)moving to the Sunshine Coast In January. We looking at moving to Little Mountain or Mountain Creek areas. Would love to know more about the schools in that area, if anyone can help. Anybody with kids who go to Meridan State College or Mountain Creek State High school? Booked shippers today and now it feels very, very real. We are excited but very nervous at the same time and feeling like our brains will explode!!. :arghh: We have rellies in Currimundi to stay with the first week or so before we find a short term rental. We do not have jobs at the moment but hopefully that will change after a few weeks/months of being over there. Would love to meet up with others in the area. Cheers Jo

Hi Guys, Just a quick message, to ask if someone could tell me if the 12 month working holiday visas counts towards anything regarding Migration. As me and the missis have had a 12 months working holiday visa, and are granted another. So when the time comes for me and the missis to move would any of that information i.e 2 years living & working in australia count towards anything @ all??

Hey all, first post so go easy on me :wink: Our story: We came to Oz in April 2004 on a scouting holiday after living and breathing moving to Oz for 18 months. Managed to grab some interviews while here and after being back in the UK for a couple of months we got a call asking when I could start. So.....we arrived in Melbourne in March 2005 and I have worked for the same employer for all of the six and a half years we have been here. The first 18 months were very hard, but we listened to others telling us - Yep its hard at first you'll get past it don't worry. Well we have come to the conclusion that although we have a good lifestyle, double storey house, flat screens etc etc - it means nothing when your eleven year old son can't even talk to his grandma over the phone becaue he falls apart.....bless him he hasn't spoken to any cousins in four years now. My wife is doing it hard also, school holidays, public holidays, but mostly Christmas - well it isn't Christmas really as far as we are concerned - it isn't cold for a start and there's no family around more importantly. So with all of this in mind, and after some soul searching we had made the decision that family and friends come first and so we are going to move back to the UK whether I have a job or not. I cannot stand the thought of my wife and two kids not being happy.....wow glad I've got that off my chest :biggrin: Ideally, we'd like to move back to our old village (Berkhamsted, Herts) but I guess we'll have to be within an hour or so drive (for me) of where I would hopefully find work. I've spoken to some friends who still live around the Watford area who tell me I'm mad thinking of coming back, but they don't understand the situation here with an unhappy family. Feedback appreciated, although it won't change our minds LMAO.

Hello everyone, I wonder if anyone can help me...a month ago my husband accepted a transfer to Brisbane. Everything has happened really quickly and I am starting to panic a bit now as the move gets closer. We have three children, 4,3 and 1 1/2. I have so many questions! Can anyone advise me about northern suburbs with good state primary schools and kindegartens? Mark will be working in the cbd and will rely on public transport to get there. Ideally he would be within 30/40 mins commute. We are hoping to find a house for about $600pw. is it worth contacting agents before we leave? We have accomodation for 4 weeks and are sure to need to extend this while we wait to receive our shipment. However we need to enrole our oldest in school before the start of term on 24 th of jan, so will need a tenency agreement fairly early on. Any thoughts on good agents to contact? Sorry to inundate you with questions!!! I meant it when I said I needed help! THank you, thank you.