SUPERSTARDJ01 Posted July 13, 2016 Share Posted July 13, 2016 Hi, I have a dilemma, were thinking of moving to oz but going on a holiday there first but only for 1 week (mad I know) but we can only go to cairns of Canberra, my wife is a midwife and in Canberra she can get $6-8k sin relocation money and well paid job they'll sponsor her and help- with the application, how-ever the climate is n't as good as cairns. in cairns she can get a well paid job possibly relocation money but the weather is better more of what we want, the issue is we have 3 children coming with us and need to get the location right the first time as we don;t want to disrupt them too much. please give me the positives and negatives of both plus your personal opinions. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
starlight7 Posted July 13, 2016 Share Posted July 13, 2016 Cairns - Canberra's boring. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
srh82 Posted July 13, 2016 Share Posted July 13, 2016 Canberra Closer to Melbourne and Sydney Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lambethlad Posted July 13, 2016 Share Posted July 13, 2016 Temperature right now in Canberra is 3 degrees - Cairns is 23 degrees - so it's an easy choice. You just need a house with a pool to live in Cairns. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skani Posted July 13, 2016 Share Posted July 13, 2016 Have you ever lived - not just holidayed - in a tropical climate? 1 week trip to Oz = you'll barely be over the jet lag before you have to return. Cairns and Canberra are chalk and cheese. You need a reasonable time to spend in each if it's important to "get the location right the first time". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Debbs72 Posted July 13, 2016 Share Posted July 13, 2016 Hi, we live in Cairns and it's fantastic if you want wonderful scenery, temperatures and stunning places to go cairns is for you. I work for a health service and deal with the hospitals they are really good places for your wife to work. We have found cairns really friendly. Property is easy to find but you do need a pool for the kids. Any If you need any info on the beaches areas of Cairns I can probably help. Debbie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xxlornaxx Posted July 13, 2016 Share Posted July 13, 2016 I would pick cairns for the place and I love qld but the humidity puts me off...although how cold it gets in Canberra would put me off there too...I would still pick cairns as it's beautiful but both have down sides in terms of weather as cairns can be unbearable and restricts you as much as cold and rain in uk...I would probably pick where you would have more job options so if you wanted to or had to move on to another job somewhere else how easily can you do that..but wherever you decide put your all into it and you can be happy wherever you are Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skani Posted July 13, 2016 Share Posted July 13, 2016 Temperature right now in Canberra is 3 degrees - Cairns is 23 degrees - so it's an easy choice. You just need a house with a pool to live in Cairns. But Cairns in February with 31 deg, high humidity and 18 inches of rain is not a choice for some people. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quoll Posted July 13, 2016 Share Posted July 13, 2016 I would go for Canberra - much more variety of seasons, probably a bigger hospital with more experience (probably). Not nearly as oppressive as living in the tropics - if you've never done it, don't underestimate it! Closer to Sydney, Melbourne (cultural stuff) and the snow. Different cohort of people - lots of career driven folk, highly educated, upwardly mobile (probably a bit too cliquey and focussed on career). BUT, looking at your post - three kids hmm, you would want to be sure that you werent going to get charged for school fees - ACT is the most expensive at around $10k per child but there are some occupations that they dont charge for - a call to the International Students section of the ACT Department of Education would be in order just to clarify if your kids would be fee free or not because that could be a deal breaker. The other possible issue is what do you do for a crust??? ACT is full of public servants and a good number of job "vacancies" arent really vacancies at all because you have to be citizens or permanent residents so if you are into IT or anything that could potentially need a security clearance you are screwed for starters. Otherwise, Canberra is NOT boring, it is a good place to bring up kids, there is a lot to do, facilities are excellent and for half of the year the weather is pretty good in the Aussie scheme of things. Houses are likely to cost more I should think. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skani Posted July 14, 2016 Share Posted July 14, 2016 Canberra is NOT boring, it is a good place to bring up kids I'd endorse this comment of Quoll. Having had to do some defacto parenting in Canberra, I found it excellent - lots of facilities and activities and very easy to get around. Canberra has a fairly dry climate so, apart from some very hot (but not humid) summer weather, the climate is not oppressive. The cold in winter is more likely to be dry, frosty and sunny than wet, damp and miserable. I'm not sure of the age of the OP's children but another consideration is their prospects beyond school. Canberra's youth unemployment is about half that of Cairns (22%) at the moment. In addition, their options for study/training beyond school will be much more plentiful in that Canberra - Sydney - Melbourne triangle. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SUPERSTARDJ01 Posted July 14, 2016 Author Share Posted July 14, 2016 I unfortunately do work in abut I maybe able to get a job in the British Embassy, if not i'll work in McDonald's if I really have to, my children are at the moment 11/9/6 we've been to Florida many times for 3 weeks at a time, it's a similar climate to Cairns and we were all fine with it, aren't the Australian public schools free? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pommekate Posted July 14, 2016 Share Posted July 14, 2016 Cost of housing and living would be so much cheaper in Cairns and I think those on 457 visa's don't pay school fees in Queensland and NT, in Canberra it is about $9000-$13000 for each kid. Some people may get this waivered if their occupation appears on the SOL. I am one of 7 british trained midwives where I work, and we were all sponsored by different hospitals not one of us successfully got money to help with relocation. Unless your wife has been head hunted as clinical research midwife or clinical midwife consultant then it may be different. I would be fascinated to hear if any other midwives successfully got relocation costs. Good luck with the move. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quoll Posted July 14, 2016 Share Posted July 14, 2016 I unfortunately do work in abut I maybe able to get a job in the British Embassy, if not i'll work in McDonald's if I really have to, my children are at the moment 11/9/6 we've been to Florida many times for 3 weeks at a time, it's a similar climate to Cairns and we were all fine with it, aren't the Australian public schools free? Three weeks is a holiday! Living with it constantly is a whole different ball game. Australian public schools are free for Australians and permanent residents but for temporary residents (which I assume is what you will be) some states charge. At the moment temp residents pay in ACT, NSW, WA, SA but who knows how long before the other states (especially those struggling financially) decide that they are missing a little cash cow and start charging too. Call the department to confirm! If you are aiming for a job in the British High Commission BTW, not embassy! Then Canberra will be the place. You might be a tad old for Maccas, they like to pay youth wages! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SUPERSTARDJ01 Posted July 14, 2016 Author Share Posted July 14, 2016 school fees in Queensland and NT, in Canberra it is about $9000-$13000 for each kid. I take it that's private or Catholic schools? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peachy Posted July 14, 2016 Share Posted July 14, 2016 I take it that's private or Catholic schools? That is school fees for a public school if you are on a 457 work sponsored visa. In QLD you don't pay; in some of the other states you do. From what people have said, there are sometimes waivers, but until you know, I would budget on those sorts of costs for schooling in Canberra for each child. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SUPERSTARDJ01 Posted July 14, 2016 Author Share Posted July 14, 2016 That is school fees for a public school if you are on a 457 work sponsored visa. In QLD you don't pay; in some of the other states you do. From what people have said, there are sometimes waivers, but until you know, I would budget on those sorts of costs for schooling in Canberra for each child. That's almost an entire years wage, that's ridiculous, I guess Canberra is out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peach Posted July 14, 2016 Share Posted July 14, 2016 Sure i read that buildings/contents insurances is massively expensive in Cairns? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VERYSTORMY Posted July 14, 2016 Share Posted July 14, 2016 You also need to be aware that if you are still on temporary visas when your children are looking at University, they will be regarded as international students. This means that there would be no funding and very large fees - possibly in the 10's of thousands per year for some courses. At the same time, they couldn't just come back to the UK to study as unless they were resident for 3 years, they would be regarded as international students in the UK Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SUPERSTARDJ01 Posted July 14, 2016 Author Share Posted July 14, 2016 You also need to be aware that if you are still on temporary visas when your children are looking at University, they will be regarded as international students. This means that there would be no funding and very large fees - possibly in the 10's of thousands per year for some courses. At the same time, they couldn't just come back to the UK to study as unless they were resident for 3 years, they would be regarded as international students in the UK the plan would be to apply for citizenship after 2-3 yrs Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skani Posted July 14, 2016 Share Posted July 14, 2016 Sure i read that buildings/contents insurances is massively expensive in Cairns? I think The Pom Queen mentioned a figure for her building insurance: I can't remember the exact figure but it seemed astronomical. I assume it's because of cyclone risk. I read somewhere that many companies won't insure anywhere north of Rockhampton now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nemesis Posted July 14, 2016 Share Posted July 14, 2016 the plan would be to apply for citizenship after 2-3 yrs You need four years living in Australia in order to apply for citizenship, at least one of which must be as a Permanent Resident. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SUPERSTARDJ01 Posted July 14, 2016 Author Share Posted July 14, 2016 Cost of housing and living would be so much cheaper in Cairns and I think those on 457 visa's don't pay school fees in Queensland and NT, in Canberra it is about $9000-$13000 for each kid. Some people may get this waivered if their occupation appears on the SOL. I am one of 7 british trained midwives where I work, and we were all sponsored by different hospitals not one of us successfully got money to help with relocation. Unless your wife has been head hunted as clinical research midwife or clinical midwife consultant then it may be different. I would be fascinated to hear if any other midwives successfully got relocation costs. Good luck with the move. Did you get offered a job before moving? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quoll Posted July 14, 2016 Share Posted July 14, 2016 That's almost an entire years wage, that's ridiculous, I guess Canberra is out. Not necessarily - I've already suggested you need to ask International Students section and they will tell you which lay they may waive on. When I last enquired, the Catholic schools were charging domestic fees so 3-5kpa (may be more now) so probably cheaper than public schools for ACT of they won't waive Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest The Pom Queen Posted July 14, 2016 Share Posted July 14, 2016 That's almost an entire years wage, that's ridiculous, I guess Canberra is out. Lol that's cheaper than your building insurance in Cairns. I absolutely love Cairns, it is the best place I've ever lived. Unfortunately for us the lack of health facilities meant we had to move further South. Climate, people kept telling me we wouldn't cope with to be honest it isn't bad at all. February is the hottest but unless you work outdoors you have aircon. Wet season is wonderful and you find yourself looking forward to rain. Electricity is expensive as there is only Ergon so budget around $1000 a quarter. Gas there is no mains bottled gas costs around $150 a quarter. As I said insurance is the biggest cost. Look at paying between $3000 - $15,000 a year and that's if the will insure you. We got ours reduced to $3000 but had to increase our excess to $5,000 that was with Suncorp Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dekra Posted July 14, 2016 Share Posted July 14, 2016 Schooling in ACT is free for 457 visa holders (or waived), I checked this out as I was considering Canberra myself at one point. The problem is the cost of housing in ACT when it's much cheaper just a few km down the road in NSW. Cairns pay will also likely be higher as it is classed as rural and remote, depending if she is employed at a public or private hospital this might make a significant difference to the household budget. Flights to and from a state or territory capital a number of times a year for recreational leave is also paid for a state employee in Qld which again is a rather nice perk. Personally with your choices I would go for Cairns but I am not you, my own choice has been Alice Spring so I do tend to be a bit different and went knocking their door asking for a job there. Good luck with your decisions. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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