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Apologies in advance for the long post but after some advice or people’s opinions, in case we are missing something or being crazy here. Myself and my partner have been back and forth from Australia for the last 7 years or so, probably have spent 4 years total over there. Currently back in the UK, have a permanent visa application approved (186) and when we applied for said visa, intended our current life in the UK (jobs, house etc.) to be temporary until it’s granted. We’ve unexpectedly been doing ok and are reasonably happy. Would we rather live in Australia (we love the country, weather, outdoor life etc), sure…. but we both earn quite well and are comfortable in the UK at the moment, partner has own business where he’s earning what he’d earn in a week in Australia in a day in the UK, I’m on 40k at 28 which I never thought I’d earn right now, and have some promising further career progression in the next few years. We are renting a nice place in a nice area and could probably buy in a couple of years. Our end game is to be in Australia, but if we had it our way we’d do it in a few years once we’ve had a baby in the UK (with family nearby), got in a better financial position and felt completely ready, and maybe got an investment property in the UK under our belts for back up in future if ever needed. Unfortunately the visa won’t wait longer than a few months from now. For a bit more context we are both wanting to start a family soon due to age (28 F and 37 M) of my partner mainly. Also keen to get a house and settle or make a base somewhere. Our permanent visa application was successful as partner’s old Aussie job agreed to sponsor the permanent visa, but if we reject it now it will be on me and some further education/ work to apply for a permanent visa in a few years when we’re ready, as all his Aussie work experience we used to get the visa will no longer be valid by then. Of course a risk exists that if the skilled lists/ anything else changes before I have everything needed, we might not tick the right boxes in future and lose the chance altogether. The other factors we are considering are that the work I do is quite niche and isn’t really a big thing in Australia at the moment (data protection), and the company he has to work for for a couple of years as a condition of the permanent visa, isn’t great so it will be a bit of a slog until he can leave and until Australia catch up in data protection to create more jobs in the field for me. In the meantime I’d most likely have to pick up unrelated work or struggle for a while to find something. I also love working remotely which I do currently, and heard this is much less common in Australia compared with the UK. The big question is, do we throw this visa opportunity away, which has taken years to get and is notoriously hard to get granted and stay in the UK with the risk of not being able to apply again in future, but be able to settle for a while, have a child and get in a better financial position- or- do we say ‘you only live once’ close partner’s business, quit my job and move to australia with unknown job prospects and feeling not quite ready but loving the country we live in? If we had it our way, we’d put the visa ‘on hold’ for a while as our end game will always be to end up in Australia as we simply love it, as it seems crazy to jump right now but also a risk to wait and throw away this visa. I know only we can truly know all the ins and outs and make the decision, but opinions are very much welcomed as we are totally stuck and worried we are missing something or the bigger picture! To jump or not to jump? Thank you for reading if you got this far

Hi I have been offered a job on a 457 in Melbourne, but have just have just been told about another location for the same job in Adelaide. To be honest I have not really considered Adelaide before and would be interested in peoples opinions on whether they would choose Adelaide over Melbourne and vice versa? I like the idea of living someplace that is not quite as big as Melbourne and get more for my buck, but I don't know if Adelaide has much going on about it. We have done a lot of research into Melbourne to accept the job, now this alternative office base has come along has given us a dilemma. Would be interested in any perspectives on both locations! Thanks, Ginge

Hello all! I'm very new to all this. I've never been part of a forum before so if I seem a bit slow on the up-take, bear with me! Very basically, myself and my partner are hoping to come for a 4/5 week trip in the next 12-18 months. I've been doing some researching on what to do, where to go and what to see, however my better half is really indecisive. He's also not the 'leap of faith' type and likes a more 'tried and tested' approach. So I thought where better to ask advice than with you guys! The trip will hopefully be the first of many and will also play a part in determining if we really do want to take the plunge and move here in the future. We unfortunatly can't take a trip any longer than 4/5 weeks because of work commitments, and to allow for a 4/5 week trip it will have to be around the Christmas/New Year period where we are given 2 weeks by our employer. What I'm after here are any opinions/ideas on what to fill our little trip up with. What are the 'must do's' and the 'must see's'. I'm still in the very early stages of research so anything I can then go on to find some links or webpages, with plenty of info to bombard the other half with, would be fantastic!! Thanks for all your help, hope you're all having a great day! Erin x

So earlier I posted about myself and my OH planning a 4/5 week long trip to Australia, to help startmaking decisions on possibly emmigrating in the future. It basically outlined that I had done some research but was after some opinions of people in the know, and I got some you guys have been really helpful. Now I'm after some more opinions on the ideas that have come to light. The trip will be 4/5 precious weeks long, and it will be around Christmas/New Year (2013). The places we'd like to go are... Sydney Brisbane (via campervan) Whitsundays Island The Barrier Reef Perth. I'm trying not to plan too much but I would love to know in what order you think we should visit these places? I had a plan in my head but then Perth got thrown into the mix and then we realised we had to go in December/January, so now It's all wide open. Perth first, Perth last? Are there any places you would recommend for Christmas or New Year? Are there any places to avoid? Thanks so much guys, you've been such a great help already! Erin x

We're moving to Sydney, the question is before or after Christmas? There are pros and cons for both, but overall, probably before would be better. However from finding accomodation point of view, when is the best time to move, bearing in mind it's holiday season in Oz? please let me know your opinions, I'm way too old to be offended by anything :embarrassed: thanks Cal

I'm considering SS, although I'm not sure yet. Ideally, I just love how Taz looks from afar - it really does look like an amazing place to live. Not only is it hidden from the world, but it's serene and beautiful - at least that's my impression. With that being said, which is the best State in your opinion and why?

First off, sorry if this should be in the jobs section, but it is more of a dilemma to me. What would you do if you were offered a job you could do standing on your head but already know it will be boring, however the money is good and you would therefore feel less guilty about sitting at home all day and not contributing to the family income? I know money isn't everything.... but it does help solve a lot of problems and helps you sleep at night. At the same time boredom in the workplace can be very detrimental. Would be really glad to receive some truthful opinions, many thanks :wubclub:

Hi all, We just arrived in WA last week and have signed a 12 month rental for a property in Merriwa. The house is on the Merriwa/Butler border, but I think Merriwa Primary will be the closest school for my kids. I have a 6yr old and 3 yr old, and I'm just looking for thoughts/opinions on this school, please? Does anyone have kids who go there, or have you heard anything (good or bad) about this school? I believe East Butler Primary and Butler Primary are both very good, but I don't think we'd be in the catchment area for them. (And apparently they are both full!) Any comments welcome. :yes: Thanks, From Catherine

Hello After much deliberation, our family of 5 have decided on a suburb north of the river and one south of the river that we feel would really suit us as a family. Job offers aside, we've been chatting to a few Aussies about suburbs and searching on forums for info from fellow Brits. Can someone honestly say what they feel about the NOR/SOR divide, differences etc. I know it's a personal thing, but the general feelings are so different, we're just confused as to the whole issue. It seems such a big deal and we just don't get what it is about!! Some say that NOR is the 'posh' bit for Poms, some say the total opposite! Some say both are the same and it's the individual suburbs that count. So really just to understand what the whole deal is, could anyone explain clearly?? What would your honest choice be and why (it may not reflect our situation, but it's just good to know a little more and hear some honest opinions!). Of course, we're going to see what happens when we get there, but not having been to Perth, we wondered if we could find out people's views beforehand. Any opinions most welcome :wink:

Hi all I have failed the charactor test for 176 vsa due to a substantial criminal record, there for our case is going to the minister for a decision were a barrister will fight my case. Does anyone know of anyone been through this proccess and has any info would be appriciated.. cheers..

Hi all, We are due to come out mid september my husband will be working in henderson, and i have looked into rentals in rockingham,baldivis,wellard and hillman. I have 2 children son 14 and daughter 7, I would like opinions on the schools in these areas, i am drawn to rockingham high school ONLY because it has the specialist engineering course which my son would excell in and is what he wants a trade in. I have looked at rockingham beach primary for my daughter anyone have children there or an opinion i would like to know the good the bad and the ugly on both :wacko:. many thanks tracy

I could to some extent could be classed as a 'Ping Ponger/Pommer', have been back and forward more times than I can remember, mostly due to unforeseen circumstances or for other people involved,:wubclub:. And if things turn out we will soon be making our way back again. I would like to point out that my/our returns to the UK were not because we 'wanted' to, just circumstance is all, and I appreciate that many return to the UK because Australia (at the time) didn't tick certain boxes. So for those of you who have returned other than 'having' to because of family reasons AND are thinking of going back do you 'think' that it is still the best idea. I guess what I am trying to say do you just remember the good times and forget (often sub conciouslessly) the bad times, or even the very thing that made you return in the first place. I don't want to uproot any bad memories, just wondering for those that have tried on several occasions to emigrate do you still go with eyes wide open or say to yourself, 'This Time It Will Be Different'. And in all honesty I know of a few migrants who have indeed been out there twice or more and in the grand scheme of things they have 'settled' far more successfully because they have learnt from previous mistakes. Cheers Tony.:wink:

Hi all After trawling realestate.com.au looking at many areas from Sandgate to Ormiston (bayside theme there!), I'm now concentrating more on practicalities like public transport to work, and Northgate is looking great for frequency of trains and reasonable rental prices - we'd like a 2 bed townhouse or unit with aircon and some outdoor space, and I'm seeing a few nice rentals just now within budget. Even better, if my current job networking works out, I'd be ideally positioned to train it to Bowen Hills for Herston. I don't see much mention of Northgate on this forum, anyone have any experience of living here? If it helps we are a 30s couple, no kids, not bothered with nightlife on our doorstep (happy to train/taxi to wherever for that) and prefer a quietish neighbourhood but aren't offended by kids playing in the street! We get that in spades here and it's not a bother :biggrin:

Hi all, just trying to get a feel for places to live when we move out to Sydney. Just looking at the rental property in Castle Hill, which seems quite reasonable for a nice house, much more reasonable than in the inner suburbs. How feasable is it to commute back into the CBD by public transport? Driving wont be an option as we shall probably only have one car between us to begin with.

Hi , Hope i have picked the right thread for this . I would love the thought's from people on this Hopefully by next April we will be in WA ( depending on visa and hubby being early released from the RN ) Fingers crossed hubby get's FIFO work i will travel around WA on my own with the chidren ..... now we thought we would take about 3 months to travel around WA looking at areas and schools before deciding where to settle . I really don't want to pick a suburb and school to quickly and then a few months down the line realise we have done the wrong thing ie put my daughter in the wrong school /area for us. She is a bright and is well above her peers on the educational side . 1:Do you think taking 3 months to travel round will muck her up with schooling ? (she is 11 .) 2. Do we have to enrol her in to a school as soon as we get into the country do they check ? 3. We have a four yearold too ....... im not worried about him missing preschool for a while .. because the traveling will do him good , i believe. Your opinions ? Any thoughts would be great ...........:wubclub: Brides x

Ok, so I'm looking for recent experiences and costs of Medicals in various parts of England. I live in North London, so Knightsbridge or Brentwood would be the obvious choices I guess. I was quoted £295 per adult and £95 for my son. Does that sound about righ, and would people recommend Brentwood? I can't bring myself to look at the prices for Knightsbridge. I guess Birmingham would be doable - anyone know the costs?

We.ve just got our visa :biggrin: and will be moving out to Melbourne in November. We were going to rent (at least) a 2 bedroom flat in point cook for 3/4 weeks before finding somewhere more perm but the only ones we could find there are Quest and they are alot of money (although v nice!). We then searched some sites and discovered Williamstown. We dont know this area although it looks nice. We have 2 small kids, 2 and 8 months so wouod be looking for somewhere with parks etc before we probably rent somewhere longterm in point cook. Does Williamstown fit in with a young family (well the kids are young anyway!!)? Many Thanks for any replies.

Hi there folks, long time lurker first time posting. I'm a 27 year old male who is a British citizen and currently residing in the UK. I have got a working holiday visa for Oz and its my intention to get out there in April of next year as my work contract here finishes in March. I'm an IT Consultant by trade and am looking to take a career break to gain experience in a different IT Market along with seeing a bit of Oz and maybe trying out some different types of work. I understand that if I wanted to extend my WHV that I would need to work in one of the specified industries for a period of 3 months, so may consider this depending on how I get on. I have recently re-written my CV / Resume so its more in line with Oz format and have started sending this to prospective employers and agencies in the hope of securing some short term opportunities before I leave. I'm a little apprehensive about a few things and just after some experience or guidance which I would be most grateful. Does anyone work in the IT sector in WA, if so, whats it like and how much in demand are IT roles here? I'm hoping to have in the region of £10,000 GBP to bring with me and the exchange rate isn't that great at the moment and I have a mortgage in the UK, so will need to keep paying this along with paying for accommodation in Oz, do you think I will get by ok with this? Also i'm a bit stumped with accommodation, I would like to book something well in advance, but looking at the price of hotels that will eat into my budget. Have looked at hostels too but alot of reports of Trip advisor mention infestations of Bed Bugs, which just seriously put me off. So I was wondering whether it would be easy enough for me to get a flat share out there? At the moment, I'm a bit in two minds whether now is the right time for me to do this, as I have a mortgage and the possibility of having my existing work contract extended, but if it isn't, then financially I am going to be in a right mess, hence why I would like to try Oz in terms of securing work. The situation here in the UK is getting dire in that unemployment is rising, redundancies are high and the employment market is saturated with professionals out of work, so competition is high and professional jobs are few and far between. Just to give you some background, I have 10 years of experience working within the IT industry, covering technical support, IT Consultancy, sales, training delivery, publishing training material and key note speaking at national conferences, but I don't have an IT degree, my highest educational qualification is an Advanced Vocational Certificate. I am most grateful for any thoughts or experiences that you could share with me and any opinions you have. Apologies for the long post :err: Kind Regards, Fox

Hi All! My husband and I are planning on applying for Visa's to come and live and work in Australia. We have a positive outlook on leaving the UK - we are not looking as it being a forever move, we are looking to rent our house here in the UK so we have a base should it not work out but we are hoping to give it a good go (should we have the good fortune to be granted our golden ticket that is!) and not to give up if we get a bit homesick etc.. We are really not overly concerned as to where we go, Alex (my Husband) has family in Perth (Fremantle) I have friends in Sydney... My husband is a Gas Fitter, I am a GP Practice Manager. We have enough points (allegedly - according to the aus.gov website application thing...) but reading all of these posts on here I get the feeling that things are not progressing for people and I just wondered what you thought our chances of getting in were - I appreciate that different states have different entry requirements etc but if someone could explain the process from start to finish in easy to read terminology I would be very grateful!! I was hoping to give myself a 12 month period of time in which things start to progress - or is this ridiculously optimistic!!?!?!?! We are off to the Manchester Expo event this weekend so hopefully we will be clearer in our approach to how we will begin our journey but any hints/advice/instructions would be most gratefully recieved! Thanks - Nic :notworthy:

hi I know this isn't particularly about OZ, but being new here didn't really know who to ask for advice! My husband told me last night that he fancied his ex girlfriend more than me and thought she was more attractive than me. He wasn't being nasty just frank and as he puts it 'would I prefer it that he lied to me?' to justify it he also said that he thought people like Angelina Jolie and Jennifer Aniston are more attractive (I do have to agree with him here) than me and that he fancies them more too. What would you make of that? I am being 'silly' by being upset by this - what would you say back? would love anyones advice x

Hi all, my hubby and I are thinking to move to mt martha as we would love a more relaxed lifestyle. We have a 2yr old daughter. We both would work for ourselves, him a finance consultant and I am a graphic designer artist. Would anyone be able to tell us their honest opinions on: -if we would find some good clientele up in mt Martha? - good kinders / schools - kids activites, classes - good libraries, community centres - good hospitals doctors etc. - shopping for groceries and general - are their concerns with living by the sea and around bushland in relation to high winds and fire? Any other insights would be greatley appreciated! Would love to make some great local friends from the area in the meantime. much thanks, Melissa ps we are currently living in eastern suburbs

Hello, this may be an unusual post, but I'll never know if you dont ask! My hubby and I are thinking about moving to Mt Martha from Melbourne. I am a graphic designer and artist and work for myself. I wanted to know if there is an art and design interest and appreciation or focus in Mt Martha as I am wanting to run an exhibiton of my work and run an art class for children. Any opionions would be greatley appreciated. Thanks so much! Ps I really hope we can move!... Depends of finding the right land/house and land opportunity at a comfortable price!

Hi all, my hubby and I are thinking to move to mt martha as we would love a more relaxed lifestyle. We have a 2yr old daughter. We both would work for ourselves, him a finance consultant and I am a graphic designer artist. Would anyone be able to tell us their honest opinions on: -if we would find some good clientele up in mt Martha? - good kinders / schools - kids activites, classes - good libraries, community centres - good hospitals doctors etc. - shopping for groceries and general - are their concerns with living by the sea and around bushland in relation to high winds and fire? Any other insights would be greatley appreciated! Would love to make some great local friends from the area in the meantime. much thanks, Melissa

Hi all, me and my g/f are trying to narrow down suburbs for when we get out to Perth in Oct/Nov. We have been looking at Joondalup. Anybody been there or got any tails to tell. I am 28 my g/f 26. We want to be near places for work and ideally near a nice beach. Would this be the place. Any thoughts as always much appreciated.:biggrin:

Hi Folks. I have decided that from now on, well for at least a week I shall only post the more humorous of posts and threads as I was told by my good lady to stop thinking too much. At home I am often been accused of being glib, sarcastic and 'It's not big or clever', or 'Grow up, you juvenile' But when my other half reads some of my posts and threads on PIO she is shocked at the contents. So just to prove to her:wubclub: and PIO that I do have a great sense of humour I am only going to post funny IMO:embarrassed: stuff for the foreseeable future, so here goes. You know when MORI do a poll on certain political issues, or on the TV you often see ads with in small print at the bottom of the screen, '80% of women agree that such and such shampoo was better than the leading brand, or 'Was tested on 1234 women, blah, blah. Has ANYONE ever actually been asked their opinions about these polls. I for one have never been questioned by Mori or ANY other business that use such statistics. Is there a group of people locked in a cellar somewhere that these companies drag out sporadically and ask their opinion, having done so they are once again locked up and fed bread and water until the next 'opinion' poll takes place. I have NEVER even met anyone who has been questioned on their political persuasion, shampoo type, face cleansing product, do these people exist or should the advertisers be prosecuted for false imprisonment and kidnap. Is there anyone out there who has ever experienced a poll before. Cheers Tony:biglaugh: