Family of 4, do we take the plunge?

[starlight7]

I think if you have got this urge to come here then nothing anyone says will change it. You just have to come and suck it and see as they say. Personally I think it is heaps better here for young ones but maybe not so much when they get into late teens- depending which city you choose. I would be a little concerned that there are not that many jobs here for aircraft engineers as a lot seem to have gone offshore to Asian countries ( who have lower wages than us)

[Quoll]

Your kids are young enough that you can suck it and see - however don't quit your jobs, take a career break, and rent out your house as a safety net. If it works you win and if it doesn't then you move on.

 

At the end of the day it's just another first world country (same ****, shiny shovel!) and you could probably make a difference to your life by moving elsewhere in UK rather than to the other side of the world. However, if you want the adventure check out the job opportunities - WA isn't that flash at the moment and I would be concerned that you won't be finding anything in education like you currently have - there are too many local teachers aiming for too few positions and experience is expensive for self managing schools.

 

With respect to taking kids away from extended family you have to be very selfish (not in a pejorative sense, just that you have to do it and not give a toss what anyone else thinks) and very self sufficient (Because you will be on your tod managing day to day and in crises). The kids probably won't notice when they are little but both my now adult sons have voiced their regrets at not having a more cohesive extended family (like both their partners have). You'll probably cop flak from grandparents but expect that, they will grieve the loss of an integral part of their lives and if you have the only grandkids that will be multiplied by 10 (or you might get lucky and you could get grandparents like us who didn't give a thought to taking grandkids away from our parents and who cope with a sort of out of sight, out of mind perception. If you have siblings it's a whole lot easier to manage.)

 

Don't burn any bridges and you will be OK

[NicoleWalt]

Hello,

as I work in a school I get 13 weeks leave pro-rata across the year.

 

My husband gets 6 weeks paid plus bank holidays.

 

How much paid annual leave do you get in the UK ?

 

Large employers here are often more flexible now which is good.

With my employer you can take twice as long at half pay or half as long at double pay. I never did but some did for things like long service leave.

[NicF]

A lot of people don't know that even if you are casual (i.e. no paid holidays and sick leave) you are still entitled to long service leave after working for the same employer for 7 years+ - it is worked out on an average of the number of hours you've worked over the previous three years I think. It does vary from state to state. Here's the SA rules http://www.safework.sa.gov.au/show_page.jsp?id=2477#.V7_JG5h9600

 

There are a few anomolies about the Australian holiday system - you usually have to accrue holiday before you can take it (so no starting in August then taking your four weeks off over Christmas for example), although some firms will let you go into negative holiday, most don't. Also if you get paid holiday, there is something called Holiday Leave Loading, which means you actually get paid MORE when you are on holiday then when you are working.

 

You also tend to get a fixed amount of sick - or carer's, or personal - leave - probably 10 days a year. Untaken sick leave is not paid out at the end of employment like holiday leave is, hence the Australian habit of 'taking a sickie' to use up any unused sick leave - although you will usually be asked to produce a doctor's note for anything more than about a day. If you take more than your allotted amount of sick leave in the year, you will have to take it as unpaid.

 

Where I work we can trade in our holiday leave loading for an extra 4 days leave a year. If we don't do this then it gets paid out in December not when you take leave. We also get 4 days off at Christmas in exchange for working 7 hours 30 minutes a day instead of 7 hours 21 minutes, so we can have 28 days leave a year. Plus we get family responsibility leave as well as sick leave, and sick leave is 12 days a year (it's a wonder there is ever anyone actually at work thinking about it).

 

There are a few comments on here about the evenings being dark but this depends on where you are in Australia. Here in Adelaide we have daylight saving and it's still light at 9pm on the longest days of the year. Which sounds great but is a bit of a bummer at Christmas when you don't really get that much chance to put the Christmas lights on in the dark. The kids go off to bed at about 8pm so they almost never get to see Christmas lights here.

 

We definitely spend more time outdoors here than we did in the UK but that is partly due to the fact that there are more places close by for us to do things outdoors where we live here than where we lived in the UK. We could have achieved a similar result moving within the UK (and we did consider this option but my OH's family is here which is why we moved to Australia). On the really hot days rather than being stuck inside all the time we will go off to the outdoor pool.

 

Crime varies depending on location just as it does in the UK and the health system is much of a muchness except private health cover seems more accessible here, probably due to the government rebates. The quality of schools varies from location to location just like the UK although private schooling is more common here, especially in high school.

[NicoleWalt]

Thank you for your reply.

 

With regards to the mindset, we already have one where we want to be enjoying life and live in a nice area etc. The weather stops us doing lots of the things we would like to do and again in winter here we are coming to and from work in the dark and then stuck indoors or paying a fortune to do a family day out, away from the weather.

[NicoleWalt]

Both myself and my husband were closest to our grandma's, my husbands grandma passed away a year ago and my grandma isn't very well at the moment. We would never leave the UK while they are still with us.

I have no contact with my mum or sister and my husbands mum is in agreement with our reasons to emigrate although she would miss our sons dearly. My husband then has 2 brothers but isn't very close to them.

 

A lot of our life over the past few years has been family drama from my side which has made us want to move away all the more and start a fresh.

 

I would be much more inclined for people to visit us rather than keep returning to the UK.

 

I appreciate everyone's honesty and some of it does seem slightly off putting- annual leave, commuting, working hours, family time.

 

Perth may not be the right place for us if we can't have the outdoors lifestyle so maybe as some of the commenters have said I need to look at other areas of Australia that aren't quite as hot where we can be outside more.

 

I would definitely be working, and the comparable wages of what my husband does here/what he is also qualified to do seem pretty good in Oz. A friend of his has recently built his own house in Perth- so can't be too bad.

 

Healthcare and education sound straightforward so they definitely seem like positives.

 

What is the retirement age in Oz and how do pensions work?

 

thanks!

 

Nicole

[NicoleWalt]

Thank you for your reply.

 

your response sounds much more what I was thinking of with regards to our expectations

and what we want.

[NicoleWalt]

Thank you for your reply.

 

your response sounds much more what I was thinking of with regards to our expectations

and what we want.

[NicoleWalt]

Where I work we can trade in our holiday leave loading for an extra 4 days leave a year. If we don't do this then it gets paid out in December not when you take leave. We also get 4 days off at Christmas in exchange for working 7 hours 30 minutes a day instead of 7 hours 21 minutes, so we can have 28 days leave a year. Plus we get family responsibility leave as well as sick leave, and sick leave is 12 days a year (it's a wonder there is ever anyone actually at work thinking about it).

 

There are a few comments on here about the evenings being dark but this depends on where you are in Australia. Here in Adelaide we have daylight saving and it's still light at 9pm on the longest days of the year. Which sounds great but is a bit of a bummer at Christmas when you don't really get that much chance to put the Christmas lights on in the dark. The kids go off to bed at about 8pm so they almost never get to see Christmas lights here.

 

We definitely spend more time outdoors here than we did in the UK but that is partly due to the fact that there are more places close by for us to do things outdoors where we live here than where we lived in the UK. We could have achieved a similar result moving within the UK (and we did consider this option but my OH's family is here which is why we moved to Australia). On the really hot days rather than being stuck inside all the time we will go off to the outdoor pool.

 

Crime varies depending on location just as it does in the UK and the health system is much of a muchness except private health cover seems more accessible here, probably due to the government rebates. The quality of schools varies from location to location just like the UK although private schooling is more common here, especially in high school.

 

Thank you for your reply.

 

your response sounds much more what I was thinking of with regards to our expectations

and what we want.

[Parley]

Perth is very popular with Brits and I think they have a good lifestyle.

 

The advantage of Perth is that Housing there is in a down cycle so you would get a lot more for your money there than in an Eastern city like Sydney or Melbourne.

[NicoleWalt]

My husband works for British Aerospace so they have locations in Perth, Garbutt,

Adelaide and NSW.

[Perthbum]

Hi All,

I am new to this forum so apologise if I am repeating lots of things you must have already read.

 

Myself and my husband are in our early 30s. We have two sons aged 2 and 4. My husband is an aerospace engineer and I am a non teaching head of year in a secondary school and have a Higher Education Diploma in Childhood and Adolescent Studies.

 

We have no family in Australia but have friends in a similar industry to my husband in Perth.

 

We have always had a desire to emigrate to Australia but

have always had close relationships with our families and felt too guilty to leave. As time goes

on and our sons get older we just aren't satisfied with life in the UK particularly for them.

 

We live in the north of England so dreary weather and have very energetic outdoors boys. We all love a healthy, outdoors lifestyle (with wine, beer and nice food!) and can think of nothing worse than our boys being stuck inside on computers etc.

 

Questions I have:

- how long does the process from now to living in Oz

take- on average:

- what is the education system like

- how does the health system work

- people say the cost of living is higher, if we are going out less, spending less on days out and enjoying the weather in our garden more, is this still true?

- is the work/life balance better?

- what sort of holiday entitlement do employees get?

- should we visit before we make a decision (worried about cost of this if saving to emigrate)

- are crime rates lower? I worry about my sons growing up in the U.K. with drugs, violence etc.

 

if any or all of this sounds silly, sorry but these are the things I'm thinking about, and if I have missed anything obvious please fill in the gaps for me too.

 

thanks,

 

Nicole

believe it or not kids in Oz are exactly the same as the kids in the UK they are stuck inside on their computers and I dought that will change. If you want an outside life you can have it in either country and the weather is not that bad especially in the South so this "raining all the " time just aint true. As for a better life "it aint" its just different, give it a go though as you only live once and if you dont like it you can always come back.

[Perthbum]

How much paid annual leave do you get in the UK ?

 

Large employers here are often more flexible now which is good.

With my employer you can take twice as long at half pay or half as long at double pay. I never did but some did for things like long service leave.

Britain benefit from being entitled to 28 days of paid leave” this does not include bank holidays

[Perthbum]

Dont know where some posters get the idea the cost of living is cheaper in Oz? dont you watch "wanted down under" its far more expensive in Oz

[NicoleWalt]

believe it or not kids in Oz are exactly the same as the kids in the UK they are stuck inside on their computers and I dought that will change. If you want an outside life you can have it in either country and the weather is not that bad especially in the South so this "raining all the " time just aint true. As for a better life "it aint" its just different, give it a go though as you only live once and if you dont like it you can always come back.

 

 

I don't doubt that kids aren't the same.

I just hoped their mindsets could be different with improved weather conditions and a more get up and go attitude.

 

We holidayed in the South of England this year and did see better weather yes, but it didn't tempt me into wanting to move our family down there.

 

We have no desire to live in the city with all the hustle and bustle and currently have a 4 bedroom detached property with a good sized garden.... We would not be able to afford what we have down south and the wages wouldn't be increased either.

 

I want a good future with prospects for our boys and im not sure the UK can offer them

that. I hoped that Australia might?

[Perthbum]

I don't doubt that kids aren't the same.

I just hoped their mindsets could be different with improved weather conditions and a more get up and go attitude.

 

We holidayed in the South of England this year and did see better weather yes, but it didn't tempt me into wanting to move our family down there.

 

We have no desire to live in the city with all the hustle and bustle and currently have a 4 bedroom detached property with a good sized garden.... We would not be able to afford what we have down south and the wages wouldn't be increased either.

 

I want a good future with prospects for our boys and im not sure the UK can offer them

that. I hoped that Australia might?

Give it a go as I say or it might be a thorn in your side for the rest of your life if you dont. As for kids futures why do you think Oz can offer your kids a better future? unemployment is higher in Oz, I honestly dont get this "better future" If your kids are bright they will do well in either country.

p.s I lived and grew up in the most beautiful part of the world you can imagine, Kwa Zulu Natal and then Cape Town, I could live therte now but I prefer the UK for lots of reasons and the weather is one of them.

Edited August 26, 2016 by Perthbum

[LKC]

Both myself and my husband were closest to our grandma's, my husbands grandma passed away a year ago and my grandma isn't very well at the moment. We would never leave the UK while they are still with us.

I have no contact with my mum or sister and my husbands mum is in agreement with our reasons to emigrate although she would miss our sons dearly. My husband then has 2 brothers but isn't very close to them.

 

A lot of our life over the past few years has been family drama from my side which has made us want to move away all the more and start a fresh.

 

I would be much more inclined for people to visit us rather than keep returning to the UK.

 

I appreciate everyone's honesty and some of it does seem slightly off putting- annual leave, commuting, working hours, family time.

 

Perth may not be the right place for us if we can't have the outdoors lifestyle so maybe as some of the commenters have said I need to look at other areas of Australia that aren't quite as hot where we can be outside more.

 

I would definitely be working, and the comparable wages of what my husband does here/what he is also qualified to do seem pretty good in Oz. A friend of his has recently built his own house in Perth- so can't be too bad.

 

Healthcare and education sound straightforward so they definitely seem like positives.

 

What is the retirement age in Oz and how do pensions work?

 

thanks!

 

Nicole

 

I don't think that people are trying to be off-putting, but rather point out the potential pitfalls so that you can expect them and plan for them if need be. We often see people who've come over thinking that life is suddenly going to be wonderful, but that isn't usually the reality. It is incredibly stressful, hard work, costs money and can put a strain on even the strongest marriage. I don't say those things to put you off, I love Australia and we have been extremely happy here, but it helped us to think about these potential difficulties/pitfalls/things we weren't expecting, and ultimately helped us be successful migrants.

 

I would always advise people who are thinking of coming to do a whole load of research. When OH was offered his relocation, we were offered three areas (all in Sydney). I printed out a map, worked out where train lines and driving routes would get us from his workplace to potential home suburbs. I worked out where we could afford to live by looking at domain.com.au and realestate.com.au, I looked at shopping prices, petrol prices, all sorts of things, and narrowed it all down. I made a MASSIVE spreadsheet with all sorts of information on.

[NicoleWalt]

Give it a go as I say or it might be a thorn in your side for the rest of your life if you dont. As for kids futures why do you think Oz can offer your kids a better future? unemployment is higher in Oz, I honestly dont get this "better future" If your kids are bright they will do well in either country.

p.s I lived and grew up in the most beautiful part of the world you can imagine, Kwa Zulu Natal and then Cape Town, I could live therte now but I prefer the UK for lots of reasons and the weather is one of them.

I don't like how the UK is governed and fear about our retirement ages never mind our sons. I have worked in the Voluntary Sector for years and seen cuts to services for families and children with awful consequences and for no reason other than to save money.

 

I just feel we give an awful lot and work very hard without much reward.

 

We feel we would be much happier 'in the sunshine' and knowing that on a weekend we can jump in the car, walk or simply sit in our garden enjoy each other's company and relax.

 

Our children are both very active and happy boys. I work in a secondary school and see issues every day with Social Media caused by children stuck in their homes bored and being unkind to others as a way of lashing out. I would hope in Oz there would be much more opportunity for sports and face to face communications like there was when myself and my husband grew up.

[NicoleWalt]

I don't think that people are trying to be off-putting, but rather point out the potential pitfalls so that you can expect them and plan for them if need be. We often see people who've come over thinking that life is suddenly going to be wonderful, but that isn't usually the reality. It is incredibly stressful, hard work, costs money and can put a strain on even the strongest marriage. I don't say those things to put you off, I love Australia and we have been extremely happy here, but it helped us to think about these potential difficulties/pitfalls/things we weren't expecting, and ultimately helped us be successful migrants.

 

I would always advise people who are thinking of coming to do a whole load of research. When OH was offered his relocation, we were offered three areas (all in Sydney). I printed out a map, worked out where train lines and driving routes would get us from his workplace to potential home suburbs. I worked out where we could afford to live by looking at domain.com.au and realestate.com.au, I looked at shopping prices, petrol prices, all sorts of things, and narrowed it all down. I made a MASSIVE spreadsheet with all sorts of information on.

 

Yes this is definitely something we would do as we are quite methodical and like to be organised.

 

We would need to see if my husband could get a relocation through BAE and then do the research as you say, this would be more did difficult if he had to find a job when applying for the Visas.

 

He also gets regular job emails from a company called BHP who he would be interested in working for.

Edited August 26, 2016 by NicoleWalt

[E2306]

Hi there,

 

I'm afraid I can't comment on your questions as we are about to make the move but our situations are very similar. We are moving to Perth at the beginning of October with three young children. Both myself (teacher) and husband (joiner) have been very fortunate to secure jobs. We went through the same roller coaster ride deciding if it was the right thing to do and feeling incredibly guilty about the grandparents. But in the end up we had to be 'selfish' and focus on what we felt was right for us and more importantly the kids. We were granted a 189 Skilled Independent Visa based on me as a teacher which came through relatively quickly after a few hiccups along the way. I've taken a career break and we are renting our home to have that safety net to fall back on. But we are fortunate in that my brother in law and fiance are already there so we can stay with them until we get on our feet. We are also quite an independent family and don't have grandparents close by for help which I think is good preparation for the move. However our kids are very close to them and it will be difficult to say goodbye. The only advice I can give you from our perspective is that life is short and we want to give this a shot for a long number of reasons but mainly for the kids. No regrets! Hope this helps

[Nemesis]

I don't like how the UK is governed and fear about our retirement ages never mind our sons. I have worked in the Voluntary Sector for years and seen cuts to services for families and children with awful consequences and for no reason other than to save money.

 

I just feel we give an awful lot and work very hard without much reward.

 

We feel we would be much happier 'in the sunshine' and knowing that on a weekend we can jump in the car, walk or simply sit in our garden enjoy each other's company and relax.

 

Our children are both very active and happy boys. I work in a secondary school and see issues every day with Social Media caused by children stuck in their homes bored and being unkind to others as a way of lashing out. I would hope in Oz there would be much more opportunity for sports and face to face communications like there was when myself and my husband grew up.

 

Many people in Oz keep working long after their UK retirement age because they cannot afford to stop work. Much less of a safety net here -even the old age pension is means tested.

 

School issues are the same here as in the UK, bullying is rife, children are hooked on computer games (partly because its cooler to stay indoors).

 

As many people have said in the past, same sh&te, different bucket.

[NicoleWalt]

Hi there,

 

I'm afraid I can't comment on your questions as we are about to make the move but our situations are very similar. We are moving to Perth at the beginning of October with three young children. Both myself (teacher) and husband (joiner) have been very fortunate to secure jobs. We went through the same roller coaster ride deciding if it was the right thing to do and feeling incredibly guilty about the grandparents. But in the end up we had to be 'selfish' and focus on what we felt was right for us and more importantly the kids. We were granted a 189 Skilled Independent Visa based on me as a teacher which came through relatively quickly after a few hiccups along the way. I've taken a career break and we are renting our home to have that safety net to fall back on. But we are fortunate in that my brother in law and fiance are already there so we can stay with them until we get on our feet. We are also quite an independent family and don't have grandparents close by for help which I think is good preparation for the move. However our kids are very close to them and it will be difficult to say goodbye. The only advice I can give you from our perspective is that life is short and we want to give this a shot for a long number of reasons but mainly for the kids. No regrets! Hope this helps

 

Did you have a lot of savings then If you aren't using money from your home? I think we would need to use our equity to get on our feet and would need to be in a rented property straight away.

 

I have applied for an application form from The Emigration Group but already see there is a fee, I don't want to fill it out and start the process as we won't emigrate until my grandma is no longer with us and so don't want to go through all the process and her still be here unwell (can't seem to word this without it sounding bad?!?).

 

I wouldn't be able to have a career break and it would depend if my husband could get work on a transfer through BAE.

[NicoleWalt]

Many people in Oz keep working long after their UK retirement age because they cannot afford to stop work. Much less of a safety net here -even the old age pension is means tested.

 

School issues are the same here as in the UK, bullying is rife, children are hooked on computer games (partly because its cooler to stay indoors).

 

As many people have said in the past, same sh&te, different bucket.

 

 

This is is disappointing to hear but I would also like to think we have an element of control in all of this too so yes it may be the same somewhere else, as I keep saying I would hope our mentality would be different and more positive to counteract some of this stuff.

[Guest]

Britain benefit from being entitled to 28 days of paid leave” this does not include bank holidays

 

Actually it does include bank holidays if an employer wants. So I actually get more in Oz than my last employer in London

[VERYSTORMY]

You seem to be very centred on the weather. I do wonder if you realise that most of Australia gets a winter as well? That it will rain, be cold and grey. The exception being areas such as Darwin which is tropical so gets a dry and wet season.

 

In my personal experience, people who are outdoors in the UK will be outdoors in Oz, but people who are not outdoors in the UK very rarely become outdoors people in Oz. It doesn't give some magic transformation. Hence why Oz kids are some of the least outdoors / most sedentary in the world.

 

Most importantly though, you need to concentrate on visas and job opportunities for you both. For example, you mention you have a diploma, but, do you have other qualifications as to register as a teacher you will need 4 years of university education. I would also look at your husbands occupation carefully. We have had members of the Perth forum who are in the same occupation that have had to return to the UK due to lack of work.