stacybird123 Posted June 9, 2008 Share Posted June 9, 2008 hi, we have been contemplating moving to oz for a few years now, we have been out there to mandurah and gold coast , we love it and want to move so badly but with pathway d gone we are now doing aqf level3 and in the process right now. the thing is with the dollar now $1.95 to the pound and house prices out there hardly gone down much, i feel right now is not a good time and being a businessman there is no way im willing to lose out, for example when i was out there last year i got $2.40 to the pound. I have £100k to take with us and the plan was always to try and get morgage free or very close. This is no longer available in my opinion and a very bad time to go to oz right now if your british as we are not getting value for money. Part of the fantasy about oz for me was to be morgage free, people say money is not everything but i personally like to thing outside the box and no way do i want to grind out working my arse off for ever, work in my opinion is over rated, i used to be a work a holic and it got me no where............i want to work less and start going to the gym and playing gold, tennis more often, to me thats living and this was the fantasy for me to move to oz as i could of been morgage free and obviously work less because of it, now though oz in reality i feel may just be the same as here, a rat race. Is there anywhere else in the world that anyone can suggest right now for emmigrating with a wife and 2 young kids?......................florida and america is value for money right now and houses are so cheap in florida right now and obviuosly will not stay this way for long where as the same cannot be said about oz, if anything they are due for a big correction soon just like here........my father in law lives in thailand and he cannot spend £100 a week out there and has a house for like £18k and its absolutely beautiful, but the downside is of course thailand in reality is no good for a british family or though i have seen many uk families there and their children are in international schools................florida is value for money right now but i think many of the same problems we have here. anyway what does everyone think?, is it time to hold back on oz for a few years? or is there now better options like thailand , florida, france? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest earlswood Posted June 9, 2008 Share Posted June 9, 2008 hi, we have been contemplating moving to oz for a few years now, we have been out there to mandurah and gold coast , we love it and want to move so badly but with pathway d gone we are now doing aqf level3 and in the process right now. the thing is with the dollar now $1.95 to the pound and house prices out there hardly gone down much, i feel right now is not a good time and being a businessman there is no way im willing to lose out, for example when i was out there last year i got $2.40 to the pound. I have £100k to take with us and the plan was always to try and get morgage free or very close. This is no longer available in my opinion and a very bad time to go to oz right now if your british as we are not getting value for money. Part of the fantasy about oz for me was to be morgage free, people say money is not everything but i personally like to thing outside the box and no way do i want to grind out working my arse off for ever, work in my opinion is over rated, i used to be a work a holic and it got me no where............i want to work less and start going to the gym and playing gold, tennis more often, to me thats living and this was the fantasy for me to move to oz as i could of been morgage free and obviously work less because of it, now though oz in reality i feel may just be the same as here, a rat race. Is there anywhere else in the world that anyone can suggest right now for emmigrating with a wife and 2 young kids?......................florida and america is value for money right now and houses are so cheap in florida right now and obviuosly will not stay this way for long where as the same cannot be said about oz, if anything they are due for a big correction soon just like here........my father in law lives in thailand and he cannot spend £100 a week out there and has a house for like £18k and its absolutely beautiful, but the downside is of course thailand in reality is no good for a british family or though i have seen many uk families there and their children are in international schools................florida is value for money right now but i think many of the same problems we have here. anyway what does everyone think?, is it time to hold back on oz for a few years? or is there now better options like thailand , florida, france? Properties in Spain and France have taken a big hit and if you look on the internet you can get some fantastic properties for your bucks....Spain has overbuilt and prices have crashed also. Looking in France myself and properties like this for around £90,000 are plentiful. Property in France, property France, French Property, French property for sale Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stacybird123 Posted June 9, 2008 Author Share Posted June 9, 2008 thanks for the link................... are you of the same opinion about oz now not value for money? I don't dislike england its just i want to be able to get away from high morages and crap lifestyle i have in uk, after all life is way too short to be grinding it out every day Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest wardy Posted June 9, 2008 Share Posted June 9, 2008 These are the same thoughts I have been having France is not really an option for us because hubby and probably myself will still need to work and although I speak a little French my OH its a no go :no: Canada was always my preferred option but he doesn't like the cold. So we chose Australia I have thrown myself completely into the move and had 2 visits Brisbane and perth but the cost of houses and the current housing market here and exchange rate is really concerning us. Hubby is still very keen to go but I am the worrier. How easy is it to get into the US their visa system seems much more complicated than the Aus system. good luck Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest earlswood Posted June 9, 2008 Share Posted June 9, 2008 thanks for the link................... are you of the same opinion about oz now not value for money? I don't dislike england its just i want to be able to get away from high morages and crap lifestyle i have in uk, after all life is way too short to be grinding it out every day Oz is not for me and I am a very sporty bloke..I like the UK and hope to get a cheapish flat or whatever as a base in France to explore Europe and beyond. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Glynn2547 Posted June 9, 2008 Share Posted June 9, 2008 Hi Stacybird123, I agree with your comments, looking at it from a business point of view you are getting less for your house and lees from the exchange rate. it does not look like a good business move. If you have waited this long why rush things now just for the sake of moving. If you have got your heart set on Australia wait a while, things will improve. what goes down always goes back up (well mostly). The company I work for provide to the retail sector and business is pants at the moment, people are just not spending the way they did 12 months ago. My personal opinion is the market (house prices etc) will not pick up for a while yet, 18 months 2yrs. As for the Exchange rate well thats any body's guess. If you did not have your heart set totally on Aussie but just want to get out of the UK then the worlds your oyster. You can always look at it from a business point of view but its what suits you and your family the most, providing for them and what makes you happy. this is just my personal opinion, I do not have business degrees, we have a 3 bed semi and I work as a representative out on the road. what I do know is people are not spending and that affects the market place. Good luck with everything Glynn and family Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest kdal Posted June 9, 2008 Share Posted June 9, 2008 Totally understand what you are saying on this one and maybe we have missed the boat here. IF our house prices were dropping here but in Aus their house prices were say like they were a couple of years ago and the exchange rate was better, then YES it would be well worth our while. But the story is different now and it depends I suppose on what you are prepared to 'have' in the way of materialistic things and house etc.. We are going to give it ago, although I know only to well that it could be a financial disaster! I suppose it's a gamble now and not so clear cut as it could have been say a couple of years ago! Good luck with what ever you decide to do!! Regards p.s. friends of ours are now moving to California ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PommyPaul Posted June 9, 2008 Share Posted June 9, 2008 threads like this make me glad i'm poor lol, keep life simple is what i say! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AnxiousMum Posted June 9, 2008 Share Posted June 9, 2008 I agree, if you had your heart set on Oz then there is no harm in waiting a while to see what happens. We are going over to have a look next March, I am hoping things will be a bit better if and when we decide from the visit to move over there. Remember it still takes time to get everything together and get your visa, who knows what the future holds. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stacybird123 Posted June 9, 2008 Author Share Posted June 9, 2008 it seems we are running out of cheap places to retire or live in these days. It amazes me though that more people do not chose thailand, its so cheap and you can live like a king. The only problems are the language barrier and will we really fit in, its ok for my father in law he has a thai wife..........seriously i envy the way he lives. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AnxiousMum Posted June 9, 2008 Share Posted June 9, 2008 You seem to have answered your own question, why not there there then? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest kdal Posted June 9, 2008 Share Posted June 9, 2008 it seems we are running out of cheap places to retire or live in these days. It amazes me though that more people do not chose thailand, its so cheap and you can live like a king. The only problems are the language barrier and will we really fit in, its ok for my father in law he has a thai wife..........seriously i envy the way he lives. .. I've never been to Thailand but would love too, so unfortunately cannot comment but why do the Thai girls like to live here? It worries me that maybe Thailand is more of a mans world! Good thread you've started here as it is all abit worrying, will rate the thread in the hope that others read it too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stacybird123 Posted June 9, 2008 Author Share Posted June 9, 2008 threads like this make me glad i'm poor lol, keep life simple is what i say! well im poor too, 100k these days is hardly rich especially with 2 kids Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stacybird123 Posted June 9, 2008 Author Share Posted June 9, 2008 .. I've never been to Thailand but would love too, so unfortunately cannot comment but why do the Thai girls like to live here? It worries me that maybe Thailand is more of a mans world! Good thread you've started here as it is all abit worrying, will rate the thread in the hope that others read it too. this is one of the reasons im talking about, i don't think my wife and kids would really fit in, but then again i hate what this country stands for and love the culture, food, religion about thailland.........be honest though its just not the done thing unless you marry a thai girl, shame, sometimes i think though its good to be different.......what i do know is i could live on less than £200 a week and i can make that working from home with reliable internet connection Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest moonraker1961 Posted June 9, 2008 Share Posted June 9, 2008 I don't know either now to be honest.My husband has just submitted his spousal visa,but we keep changing our minds about going.I've lived mostly in Australia and some time in the UK.A work acqaintance of mind recently spent some time with his wife in Sydney visiting their daughter.They were doing a reccie about deciding whether to retire there or not.When he returned back to work,I was expecting him to be singing the praises of Australia,but instead he came back depressed.He told me they could afford a house outright there,but the cost of living was higher than expected.He also said they would'nt be able to afford to fly outside of Oz for holidays,and that after alot of thought decided to stay here afterall.My husband and I have a good life in the UK,we are only working class people,but can afford 3-4 oversea's holidays per year,going out alot socially,I love Australia also but am split 50/50.We will decide when husbands visa comes through I guess and take it from there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stacybird123 Posted June 9, 2008 Author Share Posted June 9, 2008 to be honest with you, i just love travelling...............just got back from newquay cornwall and i tell you the beaches there are as good as any in oz. if i had my way i would live in an rv and travel for a few years but realistically you need a good base for your kids, saying that though look how many places brooklyn beckham has lived in in his short life. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest beaneybunch Posted June 9, 2008 Share Posted June 9, 2008 We are brits living in the Netherlands, salaries, cost of living, and house prices are on par with what we were getting in greater London, but all Dutch employees get a 13th month of salary in May, an additional months pay in December, bonus' are variable depending on your job/industry (they are generally capped also), we get the first 30% of our salary tax free for the first ten years, as a stay home mum I get 2000euro per year, child benefit is on par with UK, but the real bonus is that you get very high levels of tax rebate on your mortgage interest, it is linked to the top end level of income tax that you pay, so if the top end of your income tax is 52% (max) then you get 52% of the interest you paid on your mortgage rebated. We have four kids in Dutch government International Schools, we pay a fee of 2500euro per year per child the remaining costs are covered by the government. The class sizes are a max 22, generally from 7 years + they tend to be around 18 kids per class, great world culture for the children. Most Dutch speak competent English, so the transition is made easy. Alas, I could go on about the benefits of NL all evening, but you'd get bored! There are far worse countries to live in, and to top it all you can pop back to the UK for a long weekend at the drop of a hat. We have had 7 great years here, but Australia was always the next destination for us 18 days and counting! Good luck with your hunt, Canada is also a fantastic place to live - but a little more challenging on the visa front...I WILL stop now! Happy hunting, Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stacybird123 Posted June 9, 2008 Author Share Posted June 9, 2008 We are brits living in the Netherlands, salaries, cost of living, and house prices are on par with what we were getting in greater London, but all Dutch employees get a 13th month of salary in May, an additional months pay in December, bonus' are variable depending on your job/industry (they are generally capped also), we get the first 30% of our salary tax free for the first ten years, as a stay home mum I get 2000euro per year, child benefit is on par with UK, but the real bonus is that you get very high levels of tax rebate on your mortgage interest, it is linked to the top end level of income tax that you pay, so if the top end of your income tax is 52% (max) then you get 52% of the interest you paid on your mortgage rebated. We have four kids in Dutch government International Schools, we pay a fee of 2500euro per year per child the remaining costs are covered by the government. The class sizes are a max 22, generally from 7 years + they tend to be around 18 kids per class, great world culture for the children. Most Dutch speak competent English, so the transition is made easy.Alas, I could go on about the benefits of NL all evening, but you'd get bored! There are far worse countries to live in, and to top it all you can pop back to the UK for a long weekend at the drop of a hat. We have had 7 great years here, but Australia was always the next destination for us 18 days and counting! Good luck with your hunt, Canada is also a fantastic place to live - but a little more challenging on the visa front...I WILL stop now! Happy hunting, holland, see would never have though of that, i love the fact you have lived there with kids and now your moving on again, i would love to do this.....i don't like to feel restricted to one place if you know what i mean.......seriously though do you think it affects the children in the long run, moving from place to place or do you feel its actually good for them to see the world and different cultures? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest moonraker1961 Posted June 9, 2008 Share Posted June 9, 2008 Think we may need to head back to India for another holiday when the hubby's visa comes through,to think things through haha (No not Goa either too touristy for us,last time we went to South India and stayed in a mud hut on the beach,paradise!!!) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Que Sera Sera Posted June 9, 2008 Share Posted June 9, 2008 My husband was offered a job in America near Lake Ontario north of New York. They were going to pay,sort out our visa's innitially but bulked when they realise it would cost them over 100,000.00 dollars for just the visa's for a family of 4. Son't know if thats still the case this was October last year. They only allow a certain amount of people into the country and I beleive without the necessary qualifications you would find it very difficult.:sad: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest moonraker1961 Posted June 9, 2008 Share Posted June 9, 2008 Dear Stacey123, Moving alot with kids?My story (cut very brief haha)Had kids in Oz,moved 4 times there in 11 years,then separated from their Dad,moved with them to the UK,then moved.......8 times in 10 years ( 2nd husband was a relief farmer so yeah have seen alot of places!!!)My kids are now 18 and 21 and say they would'nt change a thing.In amongst all that we have travelled,back to Oz,Malaysia,Paris,Spain,several greek islands,India,Turkey,Ireland the list goes on and still continueing hahaha My kids are well adjusted,intelligent,caring people,so no did'nt do them any harm at all.Hope this helps?xx Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest beaneybunch Posted June 9, 2008 Share Posted June 9, 2008 oh....definately see the world and different cultures, we offten meet up with friends back in the UK (with their kids) bright, energetic, healthy kids, but you ask them what the capital of Italy is and they look at you as if you're mad! Our kids learn first hand about different cultures and places in the world. We like to travel a lot too and the kids will go with a little bit of knowledge about somewhere because 'Joe' at school is from there, and the first thing they do is dig for more information/facts, about anything and everything relating to it! My kids have loved Holland, it's definately a family orientated country, my first experience was on a quick visit with OH prior to relocating, we were sat in the hotel bar at 11pm having a night cap, a young family arrived late wanting some supper, they all perched up at the bar with their 'nibbles' having a great time - my reaction was SO British - "they can't do that!". But why not? And so our life changed for the better! The Dutch are very amusing creatures of habit, particularly when it comes to sport, they speed skate over Christmas (sometimes the canals freeze enough to skate on), they then do 'Winter Sports' in Feb - skiing, snow boarding, etc., spring is tournament season for your hobby sport, generally soccer or hockey, in the summer the majority pack up their caravans/tents and head away for 3-4 weeks camping, and it goes on! Alas, I must feed my children now, or I will sit here all evening. Once again GOOD LUCK - the world is your oyster, Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dons Posted June 9, 2008 Share Posted June 9, 2008 Hi all I have an exchange rate gizmo on my laptop which currently shows 1.00 GBP to 2.076 AUD which I have recently seen fluctuate between 2.04 to 2.08, so it's still double the £ at the moment. I thought this wasn't bad? Hubby is in IT and has just passed the ACS assessment with MODL points and it only took a month to get the result, his skills seem to be in demand over there and seems to pay around 80-100K+ (AUD) which is triple or more what he is on over here! Would you say it was worth it for us as we are just about to go to the next stage of the visa application. Any opinions welcomed. Ta :spinny: Donnah and family x Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Helen Posted June 9, 2008 Share Posted June 9, 2008 ....seriously though do you think it affects the children in the long run, moving from place to place or do you feel its actually good for them to see the world and different cultures? Hi there, I moved around a lot as a child (spending several years in Germany as Dad was in the RAF). Mum and Dad refused to come back to UK for holidays and spent the time taking us to see the rest of Europe instead. I wouldn't change a thing. I was a very shy and quiet 13 year old when we moved back to England. It was a bit of a culture shock, I wasn't used to people being materialistic, but within a few months I had some very good friends and had settled in. If anything moving around and visiting many different places on holiday just led to me wanting to carry on doing the same. I'm onto my 3rd country and 6th town since leaving home 10 years ago. Mum and Dad have only recently changed countries again from Germany to Spain and my sister is onto her 3rd country in 10 years of marriage with 4 children. I think you can safely say that it is in the blood. I could not imagine my life without having lived in lots of different places, it has certainly gone a long way towards shaping who I am and how I live my life now. It also gives me lots of stories to tell at work (Geography Teacher).:smile: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stacybird123 Posted June 9, 2008 Author Share Posted June 9, 2008 that is great and im seriously envy you. life is so short so why not....... the trouble is though finding places that have cheaper ways of living.........holland and germany are realistically the same cost of living in general but possibly better quality of life.........i resent the fact i have a morgage, having a morgage is a big tie imo and stops me from being free, like i said i would love to find a place that i could buy something outright and be able to survive on £200 per week, this would include all school fees too , realistically i don't thing there is anywhere in the world i could do that so maybe its time to stop dreaming. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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