RNB31 Posted April 6, 2014 Share Posted April 6, 2014 Hi, I am looking for some advice, I know the decision is going to be down to me and my wife but we are at the end and torn now on what too do. We have been dreaming of making the move to oz for about 8 years since we came home form travelling, we by no means have the rose tinted glasses on that many seem to have about oz i.e your going to earn mega bucks, have a massive house with pool for peanuts and the one that annoys me the most more family time. Does Australia have more hours in the day than the UK? Does house work not exist, do kids not go to school, you dont need to work 36/37 hrs a week for full time roles, you dont need to commute to work. It cracks me up when I hear both parents on TV shows saying we will both work full time, I just think to myself how, how can you both work full time if you have kids in school...what about for one those 12 weeks school holidays a year, and the fact school hours for young children are about 0845-1445. Sorry about my rant above but this is the dilemma we are in. We both have good jobs in the UK but not good enough for one of us to work solely as the main bread winner. We are both looking at about $60k maybe $65k in oz at a push a year each but we can not both work full time due to school. Our workings have allowed my wife to work locally 2 days a week but only in school hrs so 10-12 hrs a week, and we have allowed to 2 days care on school hols so she can work these 2 days a week all the time. That alone should keep us a float plus some money we have from the uk on a monthly income but would mean no money for extras, hols and savings etc so she would need to work another 10 hrs a week during term time to cover this stuff. I have also calculated our entitlement from benefits etc. Most of all she has to find an employer willing to only employ for these hrs at about $25 p/h. We would be looking at Brisbane but our budget for rent really only covers being further out i.e north lakes distance. Another big factor is that we want a second child but we can not see how this would be possible on the income, I think we would turn into one of the many that return home if we had a second child. This decision for us is massive, we would need to sell our home and cars, use half our total money to make the move and visa about £32k thats inc buying 2 second hand cars and living for 3 months without work, visas, flights and shipping etc. Returning home with less than half the money we had and looking for 2 new jobs in the uk is not really an option for us. I am one for following your dreams and if you dont go you'll never know but with a child involved and simply the figures do not lie, things will be on the line, it wouldn't take much to send us in the red. If I could see jobs for $70-75k then this changes things but I cant, it is what it is. We both stay in a nice part of the UK, have a nice house and can move to a nice house after this one we are in, the area is nice with good schools...the move is not for a better life for our child as he will get great education where we are and we will provide the path he needs do what he wants to do in life, and we can have a brother or sister for him, the move is just for a different life with more sun. However we have waited for this opportunity to come now for sometime and it has arrived, it was a dream for me and my wife we didnt expect it too take 8 years but it has for various reasons, now its not just me and my wife and we have to make the right choice on this one. I dont think in another few years down the line I'd be in a similar role to my occupation as if I stay in the UK I need to move on, so its really now or never, I know you cant say never but its very unlikely I am really just after any advice from another who is kind enough to share. Some things that play on my mind is that others that do this must just simply bring in more money, or send their kids full time to before and after school care (something I am not keen on at all). How do others juggle the work and kid school balance. Is it just simply if we cant afford to live in the uk with one working full time and the other 2days a week then how on earth can we expect to do it in Oz. I don't know what I am looking for from this post maybe just some good info from people in a similar position. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jac2011 Posted April 6, 2014 Share Posted April 6, 2014 Sorry, just another thought - many parents do both work FT? I have 3 young children, 10, 8 and 3 and my husband and I both work full time and study and we have no family or friends to help. We manage it fine, the children are happy. They very much enjoy after school club as their friends are there and they do activities they wouldn't do at home. They have plenty of time with us afterwards/weekends and holidays. They are very happy children. With one child, what is the reason you cant both work full time? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest30085 Posted April 6, 2014 Share Posted April 6, 2014 Hi I can't help with some of your queries as my child is grown now so no child care needed upon moving to Oz, but can you not access before/after school care and holiday clubs. I know it's a very individual thing and some prefer to stay at home and care for their own children, but it never did my child any harm and actually made her more sociable as she is an only child and only grandchild. I haven't faced this in Oz, but I have worked full time in the UK since she was a baby and did many years as a single parent and we still had a reasonable standard of living. I just had to use child care. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jac2011 Posted April 6, 2014 Share Posted April 6, 2014 When I had some time off last September, I took my children out of breakfast/after school club and they spent the whole month complaining that they had no time to play with their friends. Surely it depends on the quality of the school and the holiday club. After all, what would they do every single night at home when they return from school? Would they be crafting, model building, building peg boards, playing out doors, board games etc... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rupert Posted April 6, 2014 Share Posted April 6, 2014 You sound like you have thought everything through very carefully. Your stumbling block seems to be your reluctance to use childcare, I don't have children, but I have colleagues and I am aware that many couples both work full time, so I have to presume if they manage it that it must be possible. Presumably in UK you use grandparents? You have concluded yourself that if you don't think you can manage without two full time incomes in UK, why would you be able to manage in Australia and that seems like a fair conclusion. Also finding a job that will accommodate those very limiting hours you want is surely not something you can bank on finding. Out of interest you talk of an opportunity recently presenting itself, does that mean a temporary 457 visa? Overall, personally I cannot see the point in moving to the other side of the world to struggle, especially not when you believe you have a good life as you are. My dream was always the USA, we got one chance, but only one of us would have been able to work (due to visa) and we decided it wasn't right for us. Do I regret that? No, it was the right decision, blindly following a dream might not be the right thing to do. Some dreams aren't meant to happen and it really isn't the end of the world. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RNB31 Posted April 6, 2014 Author Share Posted April 6, 2014 Thanks for replies. This is the info I am after, how others deal with it. Personally for us we just dont want to put our kid into care before and after school 5 days a week and during the school hols, I understand this is what most people have to do to work full time but its just a personally thing for us, each to there own, if people are happy as you are with that set up then great...I wish I could come round to the idea. Its like nursery I couldnt put my kid in 5 days a week full time. I understand it has benefits but could not do it more than 2 maybe at a push 3 times a week, and I am really not keen on the before school care. Out of interset jac2011 what do you do with school hols? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RNB31 Posted April 6, 2014 Author Share Posted April 6, 2014 Hi Rupert, yes I have been going round in circles now for a while, I am happy to use childcare just not full time, but I was never in full time childcare, neither my wife, we both would have hated the idea which is where this stems from. Yes we use grandparents here as well as childcare. Its just a personal option regarding before and after care. The opportunity is the state sponsor visa PR for queensland. I finally have all the ticks in the box, now its decision time before the costs. I loved Australia when we were there, was there again 2 years ago for a trip and noticed the jump in prices, it will be a struggle on the income. The option may be that I have to come around too child care full time Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rupert Posted April 6, 2014 Share Posted April 6, 2014 Hi Rupert, yes I have been going round in circles now for a while, I am happy to use childcare just not full time, but I was never in full time childcare, neither my wife, we both would have hated the idea which is where this stems from. Yes we use grandparents here as well as childcare. Its just a personal option regarding before and after care. The opportunity is the state sponsor visa PR for queensland. I finally have all the ticks in the box, now its decision time before the costs. I loved Australia when we were there, was there again 2 years ago for a trip and noticed the jump in prices, it will be a struggle on the income. The option may be that I have to come around too child care full time There is nothing wrong with your decision not to use childcare, this is your choice. It does seem though, that in this case you need to either rule out Australia or move but have a much lower standard of living that that which you are accustomed to. And you know your Australian dream might wear thin very quickly in this scenario. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RNB31 Posted April 6, 2014 Author Share Posted April 6, 2014 That is the dilemma Rupert, the move to oz will not be the dream we once had, it will be getting by and surviving but one the plus I do see more opportunities in Australia but they is more competition of course. its so difficult because its been a dream, we have always want 2 kids, we have always want to move to oz, we have always wanted to be above the water in terms of money and have savings, end of the day you can only spend when you bring home. On this though we cant always get what we want, but if we move to oz I cant see us another another kid. I dont know how we will come to a decision but its nice to hear how others do it, to see if we are missing something Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jac2011 Posted April 6, 2014 Share Posted April 6, 2014 I am a student nurse so currently have Christmas and Easter off. I get 2 weeks of summer off and my husband takes a few weeks off with them too. We end up with childcare around 4 weeks a year in holidays but that is spread out and not every day depending on when I work. If I work Sat-Wednesday and my husband Mon-Friday then they only go in Mon-Wed. But again, holiday clubs were not what they were when we were younger. They have to plan activities all the time. It's not sitting around being bored like I remember. Even my 3 year old loves nursery and is so advanced compared to my other two who didn't go in to nursery full time. He can say his full alphabet, count to 30, read some books and sing every nursery rhyme going. I went to a birthday party the other day for one of the children and they sat eating talking to each other as if they were 6/7. I have to admit I live in a nice village and the school and nursery are very nice and the cost of the childcare isn't cheap. Again, its your personal preference, but I think there are positives once you overcome the fear of putting your children in. Breakfast club isn't too long before school and it gives them chance to wake up and have fun before lessons. The children in the breakfast club get to make their own breakfast, pancakes and waffles some times, they have fresh fruit readily available in both morning and afternoon sessions. Like I said earlier, my children moan when they don't go. It allows us to both develop our careers and save, in order to give the children opportunities in the future. Such as holidays, uni funds, emigrating... Without us both working it wouldn't be possible. Would it be worth staying in the UK to have your 2nd child and then aiming to migrate once the second child was say 3 and more of a nursery age? I would presume the choice between having a 2nd child would become more and more important as you get older and you wouldn't want to feel trapped in Australia. I had my 3rd because I just didn't know whether I wanted another, I knew I would regret it if I didn't and I was aware the age difference between the children was getting greater. Like you I didn't want to wait to Australia and then it affect a successful move, because I knew to have a good quality of life we would both have to work. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RNB31 Posted April 6, 2014 Author Share Posted April 6, 2014 The chances are if we worked both full time it would be mon-fri, so when it came to the school hols we would have a big problem. The before and after care is something I could look more into, I would need to redo the sums but full time school hol care is something I can't see myself coming round too. Yeah we could use some hols, but think 4 weeks is the allowance in oz (we both have 6 weeks in uk plus public) so even using 2 weeks each is leaving not a lot left, and to go on a holiday we would have to use leave at same time or staggered buy a week, either way it knocks off 4 weeks from 12 and I cant come round too 8 weeks hols care. As for holding off and having a 2nd here, I dont think I will be in a closely related job down the line which is a visa/state sponsor requirement 12 months of the last 24 before applying. We will also be faced with the same financial issues unless my careers takes some good turns in the next 3 years or we come into some money. I suppose what it boils down too is that I don't personally think $60k and the part time hrs my wife can fit in will be enough, but I am open to hear new ideas Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MovingtoTasmania Posted April 6, 2014 Share Posted April 6, 2014 I read your dilemma with interest. It seems that you can just about manage on yours and your wife's salary in the UK; you don't mention whether or not you are entitled to any UK benefits. You also don't mention your standard of living - do you lurch from month to month, or do you have savings, go on holidays 2 -3 times per year, each have a car, etc., etc.? If you are happy to budget carefully, you could, at a push, live on $65k per year, but you would be budgeting and probably only having one car. If you feel that you don't mind this, then try it and see. Would you be able to access benefits in Australia on the Visa you are being offered? For me, I am aware that if I don't wish to work in Australia, my life is going to drastically change as, although in the UK, we aren't entitled to any benefits, such as Tax Credits, we both work very hard and therefore have a nice lifestyle (although Mr MtT is always telling me that we need to cut back now but I'm enjoying it whilst I can!). In Australia, if only Mr MtT works, then we will be entitled to benefits and as long as we are careful, I can take my time to decide what I wish to do next (although long term unemployment isn't for me as I've always worked). I understand your wish not to use childcare, but I've brought up 7 children and used various types of childcare due to work commitments and they are all fine as adults. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RNB31 Posted April 6, 2014 Author Share Posted April 6, 2014 In the UK I work full time my wife works 30 hrs has every friday off, I currently do shift but dont count my shift money that is tucked away for a rainy day, wise words from someone I once worked with, never to rely on shift money as you wont work shift forever if you can help it. We have form our basic pay a good standard, we save, we go on a hol every 2nd year abroad, we run 2 cars. We have no benefits other than I think its £80 most people get a month for child support but that goes too a bank account for our kid in the future, nursery fees come off wages so this is slightly reduced. Thats it though I have included Oz benefits into our workings, I will share our oz budget in a min Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RNB31 Posted April 6, 2014 Author Share Posted April 6, 2014 budget I think we will spend, this is buying renting would be $400 per week, below figures are monthly. Dont really want this to turn into a cost forum. 2 days hol club for 12 weeks I think about $65 a month after rebate etc [TABLE=width: 485] [TR] [TD]Mortgage[/TD] [TD=align: right] $2,000 $320k mortgage over 23 years aim to buy at $400k[/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD]Water[/TD] [TD=align: right]$70[/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD]Elec[/TD] [TD=align: right]$92[/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD]Gas[/TD] [TD=align: right]$50[/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD][/TD] [TD][/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD]Broadband/phone[/TD] [TD=align: right]$60[/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD]Food & Toiletries, holdhouse cleaning items[/TD] [TD=align: right]$1,000[/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD]Rates[/TD] [TD=align: right]$100[/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD]Life Insurance[/TD] [TD=align: right]$75[/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD]Mobile x 2[/TD] [TD=align: right]$120[/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD][/TD] [TD][/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD][/TD] [TD][/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD=align: right][/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD]Contacts[/TD] [TD=align: right]$10[/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD][/TD] [TD][/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD]Home Insurance[/TD] [TD=align: right]$60[/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD]Health Insurance[/TD] [TD=align: right]$300[/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD]School Fee's, Uniforms and Trips[/TD] [TD=align: right]$125[/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD]Day Ticket local 2 days a week[/TD] [TD=align: right]$79[/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD]Day Ticket north lakes - city[/TD] [TD=align: right]$248[/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD][/TD] [TD=align: right][/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD]Car Maintence/INS/Road Tax x2[/TD] [TD=align: right]$400[/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD]Work Money or overflow cash[/TD] [TD=align: right]$100[/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD]Fuel[/TD] [TD=align: right]$200[/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD]Cash (clothes, going out, kids hobbies,all the rest,) [/TD] [TD=align: right]$800[/TD] [/TR] [/TABLE] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quoll Posted April 6, 2014 Share Posted April 6, 2014 I'm firmly in the "if it ain't broke don't fix it camp" I must admit - one first world country is much like any other. I'd be hesitant given the figures you have quoted - most families I know are two income just to make ends meet - and that's two full time jobs. The salaries you mentioned are just around or below average and on one income alone with kids in a major city would be baked beans on toast territory rather than cushy! I certainly wouldn't be moving without a cast iron guaranteed job either - there are any number of posts on here and other boards from folk who are slightly gobsmacked that it is taking months rather than weeks to get jobs and they see their savings dwindle rapidly. They reckon 6 months without work is a realistic buffer although 3 months would be a reasonable average but some find work immediately because they have an in demand skill set. My kids were in childcare when they were little but I worked in schools so holidays generally weren't a problem. The chance of your wife getting a part time position with school conditions would be very slim I would think. It cost us less to send the kids to a private school when they grew out of childcare!!! Times have changed thank heavens. Dont discount the sense of isolation - if you're used to having on tap fall back baby sitters in case of illness or other out of character event you will struggle - you have to be very self sufficient and although employers pay lip service to the demands of parenting it goes down like a lead balloon if you abuse the system. Selling up everything on a whim is a huge risk IMHO and far better to test the water with a career break and renting out your home - getting back on a property ladder is always hard. Dreams are lovely but life is reality so keep your feet firmly on the ground. Good luck with your decision making! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gbye grey sky Posted April 6, 2014 Share Posted April 6, 2014 The childcare dilemma is never easy. We have always worked full time in the UK with no family support. Our daughter went to nursery from her first birthday. Have used after school clubs and holiday clubs. She gets 19 weeks school holidays per year and we get 9 between us so holiday clubs have been a must. Guilt goes with the territory but it has provided us with a comfortable life and our daughter knows no different and loves the clubs etc and she makes friends easily which may not have been the case otherwise as an only child and one parent always home. Part time working for us has never really been a realistic option because of the demands of our jobs. There is no right or wrong but if moving to Oz means sacrificing those principles and what you have now works for you I don't think you should do it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
caramac Posted April 6, 2014 Share Posted April 6, 2014 We went when our lot were almost 5, 3 and 13 months. I wasn't working which in some ways made it easier, in others harder. We were lucky in that my oh earned enough, just, to let me stay at home with the girls until I found a job which allowed me to work around his work - I'm a nurse, so I found a job working from 6pm to 11pm. Oh would come home and take over the childcare while I went to work. Does your wife have the kind of job where she could work as flexibly as that? It was fine, but did mean we had little time together on those evenings, but like you I would rather have had this than use childcare which is quite costly, especially for three! One went to school after the first summer holidays and the middle one was in kindergarten, so they didn't miss out on the social aspects of being with other children, but I'm certain I would not have agreed to move if it'd been necessary for me to work full time - that would have been a step backwards from our life in the UK and I always knew even before having kids that I wanted to be at home for them and work has always had to fit around that. That doesn't mean I'm against child care - I was a nanny for years and have worked in nurseries and have looked after friends' children while they worked and know that good care can be very beneficial, it just wasn't right for us. I think I would have resented it if I'd had to work more and have someone else look after them. I'm not sure I'd risk what you have now to be honest. You seem happy and content with what you have and where you are. I'm all for regretting what you've done rather than what you haven't, but emigrating is stressful enough without the added pressure of possible financial problems and not being able to have another child. I've never had child care help from anyone, so don't know how valuable grandparents helping out is to you, but it's tough moving with little ones when you don't know anyone and all the care falls to you. That said, if it's an opportunity you don't want to miss, go for it - you will find a way around all obstacles if it's something you really want. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keefo Posted April 6, 2014 Share Posted April 6, 2014 Hi,I am looking for some advice, I know the decision is going to be down to me and my wife but we are at the end and torn now on what too do. We have been dreaming of making the move to oz for about 8 years since we came home form travelling, we by no means have the rose tinted glasses on that many seem to have about oz i.e your going to earn mega bucks, have a massive house with pool for peanuts and the one that annoys me the most more family time. Does Australia have more hours in the day than the UK? Does house work not exist, do kids not go to school, you dont need to work 36/37 hrs a week for full time roles, you dont need to commute to work. It cracks me up when I hear both parents on TV shows saying we will both work full time, I just think to myself how, how can you both work full time if you have kids in school...what about for one those 12 weeks school holidays a year, and the fact school hours for young children are about 0845-1445. Sorry about my rant above but this is the dilemma we are in. We both have good jobs in the UK but not good enough for one of us to work solely as the main bread winner. We are both looking at about $60k maybe $65k in oz at a push a year each but we can not both work full time due to school. Our workings have allowed my wife to work locally 2 days a week but only in school hrs so 10-12 hrs a week, and we have allowed to 2 days care on school hols so she can work these 2 days a week all the time. That alone should keep us a float plus some money we have from the uk on a monthly income but would mean no money for extras, hols and savings etc so she would need to work another 10 hrs a week during term time to cover this stuff. I have also calculated our entitlement from benefits etc. Most of all she has to find an employer willing to only employ for these hrs at about $25 p/h. We would be looking at Brisbane but our budget for rent really only covers being further out i.e north lakes distance. Another big factor is that we want a second child but we can not see how this would be possible on the income, I think we would turn into one of the many that return home if we had a second child. This decision for us is massive, we would need to sell our home and cars, use half our total money to make the move and visa about £32k thats inc buying 2 second hand cars and living for 3 months without work, visas, flights and shipping etc. Returning home with less than half the money we had and looking for 2 new jobs in the uk is not really an option for us. I am one for following your dreams and if you dont go you'll never know but with a child involved and simply the figures do not lie, things will be on the line, it wouldn't take much to send us in the red. If I could see jobs for $70-75k then this changes things but I cant, it is what it is. We both stay in a nice part of the UK, have a nice house and can move to a nice house after this one we are in, the area is nice with good schools...the move is not for a better life for our child as he will get great education where we are and we will provide the path he needs do what he wants to do in life, and we can have a brother or sister for him, the move is just for a different life with more sun. However we have waited for this opportunity to come now for sometime and it has arrived, it was a dream for me and my wife we didnt expect it too take 8 years but it has for various reasons, now its not just me and my wife and we have to make the right choice on this one. I dont think in another few years down the line I'd be in a similar role to my occupation as if I stay in the UK I need to move on, so its really now or never, I know you cant say never but its very unlikely I am really just after any advice from another who is kind enough to share. Some things that play on my mind is that others that do this must just simply bring in more money, or send their kids full time to before and after school care (something I am not keen on at all). How do others juggle the work and kid school balance. Is it just simply if we cant afford to live in the uk with one working full time and the other 2days a week then how on earth can we expect to do it in Oz. I don't know what I am looking for from this post maybe just some good info from people in a similar position. My wife and I have just applied for a skilled visa and hopefully we will be in Perth in March/April next year. We have a 7 month old daughter and we are also doing the move for her future. We will be using around $30-35k to make the move / get first car and budget for few months of no work. We know people in Perth who have given us breakdowns of costs from rent/utilities/mobiles/internet/landline etc and they roughly come to the same monthly total figure (these people don't know each other either). My wife is the main applicant and hopes to earn around $75k and with the figures people have given us we would have around $700-900 left at the end of the month. Those figures are just for all the necessities and not for things like meals out and alcohol which we are not bothered about. Once my wife settles into work then I will start and look for work but our main concern was that our bills etc are covered on one wage which they would be. The different families we know have said it's been the best thing for their children and that is the biggest thing for us. You have to way up having another child and staying in the UK to which you may regret in later life or still have the child and still make the move and then you will know. I always keep looking back to bad things such as illnesses that have happened to young people I know and think.....yeah you only get one shot at this gig. Keith Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MovingtoTasmania Posted April 6, 2014 Share Posted April 6, 2014 budget I think we will spend, this is buying renting would be $400 per week, below figures are monthly. Dont really want this to turn into a cost forum. 2 days hol club for 12 weeks I think about $65 a month after rebate etc [TABLE=width: 485] [TR] [TD]Mortgage[/TD] [TD=align: right] $2,000 $320k mortgage over 23 years aim to buy at $400k[/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD]Water[/TD] [TD=align: right]$70[/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD]Elec[/TD] [TD=align: right]$92[/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD]Gas[/TD] [TD=align: right]$50[/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD][/TD] [TD][/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD]Broadband/phone[/TD] [TD=align: right]$60[/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD]Food & Toiletries, holdhouse cleaning items[/TD] [TD=align: right]$1,000[/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD]Rates[/TD] [TD=align: right]$100[/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD]Life Insurance[/TD] [TD=align: right]$75[/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD]Mobile x 2[/TD] [TD=align: right]$120[/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD][/TD] [TD][/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD][/TD] [TD][/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD=align: right][/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD]Contacts[/TD] [TD=align: right]$10[/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD][/TD] [TD][/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD]Home Insurance[/TD] [TD=align: right]$60[/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD]Health Insurance[/TD] [TD=align: right]$300[/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD]School Fee's, Uniforms and Trips[/TD] [TD=align: right]$125[/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD]Day Ticket local 2 days a week[/TD] [TD=align: right]$79[/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD]Day Ticket north lakes - city[/TD] [TD=align: right]$248[/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD][/TD] [TD=align: right][/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD]Car Maintence/INS/Road Tax x2[/TD] [TD=align: right]$400[/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD]Work Money or overflow cash[/TD] [TD=align: right]$100[/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD]Fuel[/TD] [TD=align: right]$200[/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD]Cash (clothes, going out, kids hobbies,all the rest,)[/TD] [TD=align: right]$800[/TD] [/TR] [/TABLE] Those figures seem okay except for the $800 per month for clothes, going out etc., as I feel that you may have underestimated the other costs. Have you looked at potential areas where you would like to live and what you can afford in those areas? It's hard on the internet to determine but surely decent schools must figure highly and usually you pay the price of living in the catchment area (unless you are planning on a private education?). Also, how do you feel about not having a second child? Perhaps some of that $800 could be budgeted for expanding your family? I would expand a little on Quoll's comment. That wage won't get you a champagne lifestyle, or even a beer lifestyle. Are you happy to live an orange squash lifestyle? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jac2011 Posted April 6, 2014 Share Posted April 6, 2014 Could your wife consider starting a new business eventually in Oz or changing career? What is more important to you both? I will be going over on around $60k initially and I have my husband and 3 children to support. He wont start work for perhaps 5 months until the children are settled into their new lives. We know we wont be flush but I think we can survive. Saying that, I don't drive so I am prepared to go with public transport and aim to live near my place of work initially. Also my husband who does drive knows that in order to stay at home and be a stay at home dad for 5 months he would sacrifice a car till he was working. Then he is considering agency so he can have holidays off. Any extra income would be a bonus. I have tried to calculate using the benefits page and I think on $60k we would be entitled to around $700 per fortnight. This includes larger family allowance though (top of my head about $50). We aren't planning on a city lifestyle though, we are looking at Townsville, where housing seems relatively cheap and plenty of good schools near to the place I would like to work. Again, its about making sacrifices for the long run. One thing, I always considered was offering to take turns with other pom families if you met any with childcare/babysitters. This is not something you can plan though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quoll Posted April 6, 2014 Share Posted April 6, 2014 I think your budget is a bit low on food etc - and I'm not sure that you'd get very much for $400k in a major metropolis these days (don't forget to budget in stamp duty on mortgage and purchase of cars etc). Before we left, our monthly credit card spend (everything on the card and paid off) for a couple, no kids, running two cars, occasional dinners out and the odd night away and some DIY on our home (no rent or rates) was around the $5k mark (and we had solar hot water and scavenged wood for fuel stove). We weren't profligate but didn't stint ourselves either. I can't imagine that prices have gone down since then. You might need to budget for medical and dental fees plus prescriptions over and above your health insurances Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Petals Posted April 6, 2014 Share Posted April 6, 2014 If you have so many worries then I would not be doing it, I am with Quoll if it aint broke. None of us can give you certainties that you will get jobs straight away, that you will find the right house to live in, that you will manage on the wages. Presently the job market is not the best in some places and will depend on your experience and the shortages in your occupation. You are competing with Australians and a lot of them are losing their jobs presently. Australian experience is the bench mark for a lot of employers. Child care does not come cheap, before and after school care, child care centres have waiting lists for the good ones. etc etc. Migrating is like going camping when you are not keen on it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RNB31 Posted April 6, 2014 Author Share Posted April 6, 2014 Thanks for the replies and comments. I will try to answer all questions tomorrow but I'll post a quick update just now. My budget figures are tight but it is what it is. If I was to earn $75k then I dont think I'd be in my dilemma as that would add about $750 a month, this would cover us and what my wife was to earn would be savings and hols fund, my figure tho is $60k plus what ever my wife earns 10-12 hrs a week and maybe extra 10 hrs during term time. My house buying budget is tight and I am looking at the likes of northlakes, springfield lakes, i.e new builds a bit further out. Could I cut my $800 cash for clothes, going out, hobbies etc I doubt it, for 2 adults and 1 kid I think that would see us ok, I am not after a wild lifestyle, but in a month maybe a trip to cinema or day out, 1 date night, out for some lunch, in the UK we prob have about £500 left over for this and its not often there is much left...kids activities in oz is not cheap, and neither are kids clothes and its a yearly expense for now and for years to come, if there is any left over then great it would be added to the saving and hols fund. another $10-20k a year on my salary and the decision would be made and it would allow a 2nd. It would also allow my wife to stay at home a little longer until our kid is settled as waiting lists I guess will be long just like the UK. Not having a 2nd tears us up inside, we have always wanted two, always wanted our kid to group up with a brother or sister, but we also have a dream, we loved the life in oz both times. I used to say I would go to oz for a better life for my kid, my view changed on this as I grew older, in the uk he will be open to attend a great local school, some of the best private schools in the country should that be a choice down the line, and great uni's to attend whether this is in uk or oz we will make sure he has the choice and options to do what he wishes to do in life, by going to oz will not change this, it just means he wont have to suffer playing sports on a cold, wet and windy winter morning in shorts and T's, but then again that has character. I said before I dont know how I'll come to a decision and I still dont, this is a massive life changing decison for us follow one dream of going to oz with a lot of risk, stay put in the uk and have another one and although I wouldnt regret my decision as it was for another life into our family I would always wonder. On the plus our family will have Canadian citizenship through my wife (she has it by decent) that will open doors for them, for us its oz and not canada but its always going to be there for us either way. I will have another read over a see if I missed anything and post tomorrow Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quoll Posted April 6, 2014 Share Posted April 6, 2014 If another child is part of your "dream" and you could afford one here but not there then stay. One first world country is going to be much like any other - similar opportunities, similar problems. People before places I reckon. The problem with budgets is that things pop up to muck them up (you haven't factored in trips back to UK to see the family for example) and living on a tight budget is very uncomfortable! If your budget now allows you the occasional trip to Aus (more generous holidays in UK) then that's a bonus which you probably wouldn't get in reverse. Remember that living somewhere is quite different to a holiday. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rupert Posted April 6, 2014 Share Posted April 6, 2014 I am coming round to the thinking that you should put this dream to bed. For numerous reasons but mainly because I think that in the long run you would be happier with two children in UK than one child in Australia. You seem to have got things ticking along for you really well in UK, in Australia on the one salary, you will just be surviving. You may get people come along and say how they live very well on that, but this isn't about them, it is about you and your standard of living and you are clearly more than capable of assessing that. So yes, I think you should let go. As I mentioned earlier in the thread, I always dreamt of moving to USA, I saw myself with high flying career living in Manhattan for quite a few years and then into a nice house in the suburbs in due course. I am not damaged because that dream did not come off though and I wasn't prepared to do it at any cost. When we did get the chance it was through my husband but I wouldn't have been able to work and as we have no kids I would feel like a bum if I didn't work, I would also have damaged my career by not working for 5 or 6 years until we could get green cards, too big a risk for me at age 40. So we didn't do it, but Australia came along, it was never a dream but has worked out just fine. What I am saying is don't follow a dream at any price. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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