Guest guest17301 Posted April 28, 2012 Share Posted April 28, 2012 Does it? Our eldest is in year 12 and you'd think that if it were going to change, it would have done so by now. He is monolingual and has no mathematical ability. By year 12, school should have given him that. He is briight and has good ideas when it comes to English, history, etc. And I know that there is an argument that pupils will be better at some things than others - but I do think he has been let down by school in some important areas. He does do some homework - mostly computer based, but very little of it seems to be in the traditional essay or project format. Maybe I am an old fogey who is out of touch with the needs of modern society (I hope so, as it would be better for the kids tobe right and me to be wrong), but I do think that education in the UK seemed to be better planned and schools to be held moreclosely to account. If he's monolingual did he study a language? just asking as you have to opt in for languages most school as far as I know....and maybe he's just crap at Maths??! My dtr hates Maths she's getting private tutoring as thats where she need help...English top of the class! The responsibility isnt all the schools IMO Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quinkla Posted April 28, 2012 Share Posted April 28, 2012 If he's monolingual did he study a language? just asking as you have to opt in for languages most school as far as I know....and maybe he's just crap at Maths??! My dtr hates Maths she's getting private tutoring as thats where she need help...English top of the class! The responsibility isnt all the schools IMO He did study Japanese for a while, apparently, not that you'd know it. And yes, he admoits to being crap at maths. My point was that people hold up Australia as being a beter life for kids when the education system lets them treat languages as aoptional and allows bright kids efectively to opt out of learning maths. Those are not the hallmarks of a great educational system. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest The Ropey HOFF Posted April 28, 2012 Share Posted April 28, 2012 You see we are all different, my kids are coming up to leaving school, so we as parents are looking at their job prospects and currently things are chronic here in the Uk it doesn't mean that makes it better to live in Australia, all this means its better there for jobs at present. If you have younger kids, it might not be as much of a concern to people, because in a few years time the UK might pick up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest17301 Posted April 28, 2012 Share Posted April 28, 2012 Getting back to the OP....I agree with the idea that once you settle in to your new lives you can get stuck in the same rut you may have been in in the UK BUT I think you have to ask yourself if youd be happy to go back...if no why? The thought of going back doesnt thrill me..I think thats because its a 'better life' here for us. The positives outweigh the negatives...in fact the only real negative to being here is the growing sense of missing out on close family times...nothing can change that...I agree that if extended family is important to you think hard about moving here as once youre here the decision to go back cannot be an easy one Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LostMyWay Posted April 28, 2012 Share Posted April 28, 2012 YES!!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest17301 Posted April 28, 2012 Share Posted April 28, 2012 He did study Japanese for a while, apparently, not that you'd know it. And yes, he admoits to being crap at maths. My point was that people hold up Australia as being a beter life for kids when the education system lets them treat languages as aoptional and allows bright kids efectively to opt out of learning maths. Those are not the hallmarks of a great educational system. Studying a language is not compulsary in the UK system is it? Wasn't when I was at school anyway. How do kids 'opt out' of learning? Surely thats an attitude/application problem rather than a fault of an educational system Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest janeubu Posted April 28, 2012 Share Posted April 28, 2012 Were looking at Joondalup? Do you know it? I will be working as a hairdresser and my husband will be a chef, we have 4 kids all of school age. Do you know what things we need to take into consideration? like paying for schooling, health care etc.....We really want to make the move but as you are aware its a massive jump x hi vikkey im a hairdresser and have been here 4mths and i am glad i have tryed this but at times wish i hadent,left fab clients and renting a chair earning fab money to come to perth where im a nobody the pay is shocking for hairdressing $20-25 an hr on casuel which means no hol pay or sick.you can earn similar doing supermarket stuff,it is so expensive too,its a hard one because what works for 1 dosent for another,but with four kids to feed i wanted you to beaware of the wages just look into it carefully before deciding,and yes the weather and place is lovely but without earning a good wage :wink:its hard here.best of luck Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Perthbum Posted April 28, 2012 Share Posted April 28, 2012 Australia's clocks are no more stupid than clocks in other parts of the world. :wacko:Daylight hours depend on the distance from the equator and whether it is winter or summer. If you live further south in Australia you can have long light summer evenings - but you pay for it by having longer hours of darkness in winter, just as you do in the UK. They have debated for years and years about moving the clocks forward to make the evenings longer instead of getting dark so early , what is the use of it being light at 4 or 5 in the bloody morning for except to get the bloody birds going and squeaking and bloody well waking you up with their horrible racket. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
calNgary Posted April 28, 2012 Share Posted April 28, 2012 They cant change the clocks ,it will upset the cows!! lol TBH it doesnt bother me much but i dont do early mornings anyway,lol Cal x Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Perthbum Posted April 28, 2012 Share Posted April 28, 2012 They cant change the clocks ,it will upset the cows!! lol TBH it doesnt bother me much but i dont do early mornings anyway,lol Cal x Come on, everyone I met would ave liked longer daylight, I reckon the votes have all been rigged. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
calNgary Posted April 28, 2012 Share Posted April 28, 2012 The only reason i could think of that early dark nights bug me is because when its going dark the mossies come out, so if it didnt get dark until quite late id be home and out of the mossies reach anyway,lol.. I am out alot doing sport after school during the week and everything is so kitted up for dark nights with huge floodlights etc it doesnt stop you doing things if you want to do them. Cal x Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Guest31881 Posted April 28, 2012 Share Posted April 28, 2012 Come on, everyone I met would ave liked longer daylight, I reckon the votes have all been rigged. Everybody wow, glad you cannot be accused of generalising.... Where I live the majority do not want daylight saving, they prefer the cooler evenings when the sun starts to set. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quinkla Posted April 28, 2012 Share Posted April 28, 2012 Everybody wow, glad you cannot be accused of generalising.... Where I live the majority do not want daylight saving, they prefer the cooler evenings when the sun starts to set. Plus, if it stayed light longer it would fade your curtains. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
calNgary Posted April 28, 2012 Share Posted April 28, 2012 Plus, if it stayed light longer it would fade your curtains. Come on it's Australia, we dont have curtains we have blinds !! Anti fade ones too,lol Cal x Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Buttercup Posted April 28, 2012 Share Posted April 28, 2012 You can research, plan, do reccies, look on forums blah blah blah BUT you cannot plan for your feelings! End. We did all of these things and still came back as you just have to try it for yourself to know. You can debate it till the cows come home, but I reckon in a nutshell this is the bottom line. Good luck with whatever you decide. You have to do whats right for you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Andy Posted April 28, 2012 Share Posted April 28, 2012 I must admit that although we were only in Oz for 5 short weeks i loved the early mornings where me and the kids would go down to the beach wherever we were sometimes at 5 oclock in the morning to fish and swim, i guess it depends what sort of people you are but for us we love the early mornings and are not to bothered about the early evenings. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skani Posted April 28, 2012 Share Posted April 28, 2012 Come on, everyone I met would ave liked longer daylight, I reckon the votes have all been rigged. That was West Australia - if you'd lived in most of the other Australian states you would have had daylight saving. Where I live it doesn't get dark til after 9.30 pm in midsummer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michelle LC Posted April 28, 2012 Share Posted April 28, 2012 Hi Vikkey Just to give you some help on you're decision my hubby myself and our two girls (teenagers) came to Brisbane a year ago, we still have our home in the UK and rent it out, we pay a lot more in rent here, in our opinion if you are going to earn less than $170,000 then its not worth it, its an expensive country to live in and you won't get that 'lifestyle' change that everyone talks about, yes you get decent weather and yes the mangoes are juicy but I fail to see the attraction. No matter what anyone tells you, you will have to do it for yourself, fortunately our youngest daughter is in an I.B. school doing recognised qualifications so we have not lost out with this move, so even if we do go back when she finishes then we have not lost out education wise. Our eldest already did 'A' levels before we came, yes she walked into a job within weeks and has had the benefit of earning a decent wage in her gap year before she returns to Uni. I cannot see myself retiring out here, I moved at 45 so its harder when you're an 'oldie' but hey even if we go back in a few years we can say we did it, and if we get PR in the process then we can return if we made a mistake. Australians are straight talking people, you will come over being all polite and British, lol. Yes I have met some lovely folk and some funny folk but then again that happens everywhere. We also bought our dog over and in some ways I feel it was a bad decision cos you have to have them on a lead unless in a fenced dog park, some beaches you can go on but its all limited, Australians love their rules !! I hope this helps you, you have 4 children, we only have the 2, you need plenty of cash in this country. Also you will miss the pub, pubs are not the same here, you will miss light nights, Brisbane has no daylight saving so I don't know if you have it, you will miss British humour, get UK tv if you come here. I could go on, sorry, I am just trying to help. If I could rewind the clock I would not have come, but we did, so am going to make the best of the time here, I may change my mind, but I doubt it. Take care Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Guest66881 Posted April 28, 2012 Share Posted April 28, 2012 Things are changing in oz. been here seven years. Crime is on increase......two shootings on gold coast today! More kids hanging around than used to be, hearing about more break Ins in some areas now.More and more people are finding the ifestyle here expensive. It's not all about the weather now like it used to be!!! Modern times and a world phenomenon called integration. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vikkeytymo Posted April 28, 2012 Author Share Posted April 28, 2012 Hi Vikkey Just to give you some help on you're decision my hubby myself and our two girls (teenagers) came to Brisbane a year ago, we still have our home in the UK and rent it out, we pay a lot more in rent here, in our opinion if you are going to earn less than $170,000 then its not worth it, its an expensive country to live in and you won't get that 'lifestyle' change that everyone talks about, yes you get decent weather and yes the mangoes are juicy but I fail to see the attraction. No matter what anyone tells you, you will have to do it for yourself, fortunately our youngest daughter is in an I.B. school doing recognised qualifications so we have not lost out with this move, so even if we do go back when she finishes then we have not lost out education wise. Our eldest already did 'A' levels before we came, yes she walked into a job within weeks and has had the benefit of earning a decent wage in her gap year before she returns to Uni. I cannot see myself retiring out here, I moved at 45 so its harder when you're an 'oldie' but hey even if we go back in a few years we can say we did it, and if we get PR in the process then we can return if we made a mistake. Australians are straight talking people, you will come over being all polite and British, lol. Yes I have met some lovely folk and some funny folk but then again that happens everywhere. We also bought our dog over and in some ways I feel it was a bad decision cos you have to have them on a lead unless in a fenced dog park, some beaches you can go on but its all limited, Australians love their rules !! I hope this helps you, you have 4 children, we only have the 2, you need plenty of cash in this country. Also you will miss the pub, pubs are not the same here, you will miss light nights, Brisbane has no daylight saving so I don't know if you have it, you will miss British humour, get UK tv if you come here. I could go on, sorry, I am just trying to help. If I could rewind the clock I would not have come, but we did, so am going to make the best of the time here, I may change my mind, but I doubt it. Take care Hiya Mchelle LC. $170,000 what type of lifestyle would that give you? We are looking at a 3 bed house in Joondalup, a car and just to be able to take the kids on days out now and again in the holidays. We are not looking at an unrealistic lifestyle which I guess people would class as a "permanent holiday". My husband is a chef and me a hairdresser so combined our annual wage will be approx $60,000-$70,000. x Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vikkeytymo Posted April 28, 2012 Author Share Posted April 28, 2012 Thank You everyone for your comments. As far as I can see it really comes down to you as a family whether it is going to work or not. I think we are going to go for it. Both me and my husband are prepared and our children, well my boys aged 5 & 7 are just made up they get to go on a plane and my girls aged 11 & 13 have only 1 stipulation............a pool! Thats fine with me :biggrin: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skani Posted April 29, 2012 Share Posted April 29, 2012 Hiya Mchelle LC. $170,000 what type of lifestyle would that give you? Unimagineable for most Australians. The average annual household income is about $78,000 in Queensland and $84,000 in W.A. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Johndoe Posted April 29, 2012 Share Posted April 29, 2012 Hi Vikkey Just to give you some help on you're decision my hubby myself and our two girls (teenagers) came to Brisbane a year ago, we still have our home in the UK and rent it out, we pay a lot more in rent here, in our opinion if you are going to earn less than $170,000 then its not worth it, Our annual income is $95k.................obviously less previous years and has only risen due to increments and promotion. We have put our kids through private school, run 3 cars, and paid off our mortgage....................I'd give my right arm to have 170k coming in...........I sometimes wonder what folk spend their money on? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jackinabox Posted April 29, 2012 Share Posted April 29, 2012 Our annual income is $95k.................obviously less previous years and has only risen due to increments and promotion. We have put our kids through private school, run 3 cars, and paid off our mortgage....................I'd give my right arm to have 170k coming in...........I sometimes wonder what folk spend their money on? Me too. ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VERYSTORMY Posted April 29, 2012 Share Posted April 29, 2012 Hiya Mchelle LC. $170,000 what type of lifestyle would that give you? We are looking at a 3 bed house in Joondalup, a car and just to be able to take the kids on days out now and again in the holidays. We are not looking at an unrealistic lifestyle which I guess people would class as a "permanent holiday". My husband is a chef and me a hairdresser so combined our annual wage will be approx $60,000-$70,000. x While I don't agree you need $170k, a combined income of $60-70k will be a difficult lifestyle. You can survive on that, but would be all. You would be counting every cent. If your research shows that really is what you will be earning then I wouldn't even consider it. Sunshine is nice, but is it worth living in a crap house in a rough area and wondering if you can afford a coffee. As for having a pool. Lol. You wouldn't be able to afford the heating and chemicals on that income let alone a house with a pool! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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