Family of 4, do we take the plunge?

[Guest]

Find it much more outdoorsy Brisbane compared to Midlands. That doesn't mean it's necessarily directly in the sun. Coffee shops mostly outdoor seating, walking in winter is fantastic. Golf and Tennis all year round as GGS says. Walked along water yesterday in redcliffe and had lunch outdoors (there wasn't any indoor seating). In summer tend to be more water based activity. Many play areas are shaded so you get to be outside but not directly in the sun. I go outside most of every weekend, was swimming in ocean couple of weeks ago despite being winter. Go to the sunny or gold coast in summer and tell me people are stuck inside in summer :laugh:

[Skani]

 

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.

 

 

 

This is a good place to start for finding facts about weather/climate in Australia:

 

http://www.bom.gov.au/jsp/ncc/climate_averages/temperature/index.jsp

[Skani]

Southern Norway? I don't think so:

 

 

 

I meant the distance in the range of latitudes - from southernmost tip to northernmost tip - not that they were on comparable latitudes.

[starlight7]

Mind you, having just been to Norway, this June was bloody hot!

[rammygirl]

I see you are originally from Bury, we are in sunny Burnley, I don't think people even in the UK can understand how dreary the weather is unless they have lived here! Ha.

 

I am from Burnley and lived in Ramsbottom before our move to Adelaide. I loved Rammy but it was too grey and damp. We are currently visiting the UK and spent time with our son in Essex ( where they get less rain than Adelaide ) the weather was starkly different.

 

Point is you do not need to move to Australia to get a better climate.

 

Although I actually find 35 degree heat in Adelaide much more bearable than the 30 degrees in Essex recently as it isn't as humid in Adelaide. UK houses seem stiflingly hot to me now as well.

 

we will probably move back to the UK in a few years but NOT to the North West, I refuse to live in a damp mill town ever again!

 

Dont expect people to visit you either, promises for us have not been kept and we have returned to UK to see new babies and older relatives.

Edited August 27, 2016 by rammygirl

[Bristol Chris]

Hi and welcome have only been in perth since May and although very early days Marisa is spot on!

We are a family of four age 36-40 with two children 12 and 14 and we love it! Wish I had made the move when the children were small however our finacial situation is much better now!

It took us 9 months to gain a 189 vis and we emigrated 6 months after receiving it once all our lose ends were tied up,selling house etc!

 

No visit prior for us we just thought the cost of a holiday would be a good start to a house deposit and what in reality was a 4 week holiday going to show us!

 

We have done so much more as a family here and we are in winter and find we dont spend so much time warching tv ( mainly because its rubbish lol)

 

In my experience cost of living is less than UK. Iam a nurse and I earn much more here however we are renting for a while to ensure we are all happy before we committ to buying but houses do seem expensive howevet you get much more for your money than uk!

 

Not sure about education at the minute its early days but there does seem to be a lot of disruption in classes in the public school my two attend however they are both happy there and doing ok academically so will monitor this!

 

Crime is much the same , research the areas you want to live and maybe yor friends can guide you! We have no family in perth but a few friends which really helped us settle!

 

Overall we miss the family tremedously but our lives are so much better and in reality we will spend more quality time with them on visits than we do in the UK as its taken for granted! The inlaws have visited already for a four week period and even in winter they can see why we have made the move they return in jan for 5 weeks!

 

I have come to the conclusion that i will never be 100% settled here in perth without our family as something will always be missing however the life we have here is so much better ( so far) and this is what i want for our kids and their kids abd so on, someobe has to make the move to build up a family connection here right haha.

 

I say do it life is to short for regrets we talked about it for 15 years prior and knew if we didnt try we would regret it! Our thoughts were we will try if it doesnt work out we will go back and start again a bit tricky with my two due to their ages and education but they both agreed to the move and to the fact if we returned a year later they would go back a year in the UK! We ensured we had enough in the bank as emergency for flight home and i also got a 1 year career break in Uk so for me this would be relatively easy!

 

One bit of advice is to save, save and save it takes so much pressure off knowing you have money in the bank and things can take a while for eg job interview 17 th july start sate 12 sept i have agency work so not a problem.

 

Good luck to you and if i can help let me know! Lifes to short for regrets! Xx

 

 

what a lovely balanced positive post. I really enjoyed reading this and glad things are really working out.

[LKC]

I am from Burnley and lived in Ramsbottom before our move to Adelaide. I loved Rammy but it was too grey and damp. We are currently visiting the UK and spent time with our son in Essex ( where they get less rain than Adelaide ) the weather was starkly different.

 

Point is you do not need to move to Australia to get a better climate.

 

Although I actually find 35 degree heat in Adelaide much more bearable than the 30 degrees in Essex recently as it isn't as humid in Adelaide. UK houses seem stiflingly hot to me now as well.

 

we will probably move back to the UK in a few years but NOT to the North West, I refuse to live in a damp mill town ever again!

 

Dont expect people to visit you either, promises for us have not been kept and we have returned to UK to see new babies and older relatives.

Same here. My grandma came the first year we were here and OH's parents come over if we don't go to them, but other than a couple of friends who used us as a stopover, no one else is interested in visiting.

[NicoleWalt]

I was debating not coming back to this thread after yesterday, but thought I would give it one last look.

 

I received a really nice message from someone who commented on the negativity of some people and put it into perspective, I also appreciate some of the more balanced posts today.

 

I couldn't understand why so many people emigrated given how people portrayed Oz and my opinions of life and expectations.

 

Today having read through the recent comments we still have the itch and will always wonder 'what if' I think.

 

I think if we can afford it I would like to visit first and allow that to put some things into real perspective and then make a set decision.

 

In the mean time we will continue to gather info and accept Oz isn't for everyone but could possibly be for us!

 

Thanks Everyone!

[Beaty]

I am from Burnley and lived in Ramsbottom before our move to Adelaide. I loved Rammy but it was too grey and damp. We are currently visiting the UK and spent time with our son in Essex ( where they get less rain than Adelaide ) the weather was starkly different.

 

Point is you do not need to move to Australia to get a better climate.

 

Although I actually find 35 degree heat in Adelaide much more bearable than the 30 degrees in Essex recently as it isn't as humid in Adelaide. UK houses seem stiflingly hot to me now as well.

 

we will probably move back to the UK in a few years but NOT to the North West, I refuse to live in a damp mill town ever again!

 

Dont expect people to visit you either, promises for us have not been kept and we have returned to UK to see new babies and older relatives.

 

Well said. Nope. People won't be visiting you!

 

B

[NicoleWalt]

Sorry if we've given you the idea that Perth is hotter than elsewhere. Australia gets hotter the further North you go, so if you look at the map, most of Australia is hotter than Perth! If you like the sun, then I think Perth and Adelaide have the nicest climates in Australia, actually - although it's hot, it doesn't get humid and sticky like the East coast.

 

You sound like family ties won't be an issue which is good news. However if you're not able to move while your grandmother is still with you, then it probably isn't worth even applying for a visa at this stage: once it's granted, you only have a few years to make the move or you lose it again. Although she's poorly, she may still soldier on for many years (let's hope so!).

 

You mention that you don't like living in a city - in that case, do research carefully. The great majority of Australians do live in cities, and our cities have vast sprawling suburbs - so if you want to live out in the country, you can be faced with an extremely long commute.

 

I suggest you ask your friend in Perth how much a house like yours would cost in a nice area with good primary schools. You can look on domain.com.au or realestate.com.au but because you don't know the suburbs to avoid, you''ll end up with a rosy view of what you can afford.

 

Thank you for all this.

 

I wasn't clear about what I meant by city life. For me I define that as not having much green space so parks, a garden, local shops and bars.

 

Where we live now we can walk 10 mins into countryside, we have a local pub and shops and a night out can be a local restaurant not having to go into a major city with hustle and bustle.

 

Would a suburb give us something similar?

[NicoleWalt]

Find it much more outdoorsy Brisbane compared to Midlands. That doesn't mean it's necessarily directly in the sun. Coffee shops mostly outdoor seating, walking in winter is fantastic. Golf and Tennis all year round as GGS says. Walked along water yesterday in redcliffe and had lunch outdoors (there wasn't any indoor seating). In summer tend to be more water based activity. Many play areas are shaded so you get to be outside but not directly in the sun. I go outside most of every weekend, was swimming in ocean couple of weeks ago despite being winter. Go to the sunny or gold coast in summer and tell me people are stuck inside in summer :laugh:

 

and these are the things that appeal to us for our family.

[Beaty]

Thank you for all this.

 

I wasn't clear about what I meant by city life. For me I define that as not having much green space so parks, a garden, local shops and bars.

 

Where we live now we can walk 10 mins into countryside, we have a local pub and shops and a night out can be a local restaurant not having to go into a major city with hustle and bustle.

 

Would a suburb give us something similar?

 

Yes, most suburbs would give you that.

 

Bear in mind the pubs are a-la-British but there are places one can have a nice drink.

 

B

[NicoleWalt]

Yes, most suburbs would give you that.

 

Bear in mind the pubs are a-la-British but there are places one can have a nice drink.

 

B

 

 

A wine/gin bar would do nicely

[Beaty]

A wine/gin bar would do nicely

 

...oh there's loads of Wine Bars!

 

B

[Melbpom]

Dont expect people to visit you either, promises for us have not been kept and we have returned to UK to see new babies and older relatives.

 

Or they do visit and as in my PIL case stay for 3 months at a time and you get to be b&b host, tourist guide and taxi.

[ramot]

Yes a lot of saffas have moved to Oz Canada and the UK after Mandela and the ANC got in, nothing really changed under Mandela and crime greatly increased and the blacks lot did not improve. Oz is not as good a quality life as South Africa and many of the saffas I met in Oz agreed, met lots of them in the UK and almost all of them love it, even the weather after the sometimes overwhelming heat of Africa. I know many on here will slag me off for these comments but I afraid its true.

 

No one from SA. Zambia, Zimbabwe and Kenya, all settled and love the freedom from fear in some cases, and definitely a better future for the next generations.

[Skani]

 

In the mean time we will continue to gather info and accept Oz isn't for everyone but could possibly be for us!

 

 

 

This is a thread you might find interesting:

 

http://www.pomsinoz.com/forum/news-chat-dilemmas/193833-positive-emigrating-australia-true-life-stories.html

 

Some of the posters made the move many years ago, so bear in mind that some conditions have changed, but informative nevertheless.

[Perthbum]

No one from SA. Zambia, Zimbabwe and Kenya, all settled and love the freedom from fear in some cases, and definitely a better future for the next generations.

Next generation maybe but Oz could never offer what Africa did ...never.

[ramot]

Next generation maybe but Oz could never offer what Africa did ...never.

 

A part of your heart always stays in Africa, but I think I am a lot older than you as are my cousins, so perhaps life was a bit harder.

Travelling long long distances to go to school in Zim from Zambia, or boarding school in UK, going home only once a year, so sadly in some ways not actually spending much time in Africa once in their teens. Kenya and Zimbabwe. seemed to have better schools back then, but many still sent their children overseas.

 

apologies op taken the thread off topic.

Edited August 27, 2016 by ramot

[Guest]

:mask: I think this thread has been taken far enough off topic and away from being any help to the OP.

 

Please consider when arguing amongst each other that there is an original point to many of these threads asking for help and info on migrating. Going off topic in such a way is not helpful in the least to the OP and is pretty rude and inconsiderate IMHO. This is not a CTF thread where you can debate and argue and try to inflame things, its in News, Chat and Dilemmas and had specific questions in the first post and the OP has also posted again elsewhere in the thread. This was a person asking for info and help regarding migrating. Some did address those questions and try to help but of course, others just had to try to take it elsewhere and turn it into something else.

 

Those posting and taking the thread off topic here can move on elsewhere and stop their nonsense in this thread.

 

snifter

[Guest]

A part of your heart always stays in Africa, but I think I am a lot older than you as are my cousins, so perhaps life was a bit harder.

Travelling long long distances to go to school in Zim from Zambia, or boarding school in UK, going home only once a year, so sadly in some ways not actually spending much time in Africa once in their teens. Kenya and Zimbabwe. seemed to have better schools back then, but many still sent their children overseas.

 

apologies op taken the thread off topic.

 

Apologies accepted

 

As a side note, my post may seem rather strong but I have removed one or two posts from this thread that gave me cause for concern content wise. Some were being decent while still going way off topic but others could not help themselves it seems and had to go overboard.

 

Now lets get back to the topic and try to help the OP

[LKC]

Thank you for all this.

 

I wasn't clear about what I meant by city life. For me I define that as not having much green space so parks, a garden, local shops and bars.

 

Where we live now we can walk 10 mins into countryside, we have a local pub and shops and a night out can be a local restaurant not having to go into a major city with hustle and bustle.

 

Would a suburb give us something similar?

 

Yes I think many suburbs would, certainly in most of the parts of Sydney I've seen. Some areas are a bit of an urban sprawl, with one suburb just running into the next, but there are usually plenty of green spaces, parks etc. Other areas (like where we live) have more of a villagey feel. Our suburb is mostly residential and is a bit out of the way (it's on a dead end, just one road in and out) so it is nice and quiet and surrounded by national park. The next suburb over is larger and is where the schools, supermarkets, post office etc are. That has a very large village/small town-like atmosphere with a town square where there is a market once a month and a big street festival each year, lots of coffee shops, and a couple of small high-street-type areas with lots of independent shops (butchers, greengrocers, bakeries, shoe shops, clothing, homeware, pet shop, pharmacies and so on). I know of quite a few areas which are similar to this and would imagine that other places would have the same/similar. Obviously the closer to a CBD you are, the more that space is at a premium so there are fewer green spaces and houses/apartment blocks are more squashed together.

 

Of course we are out on the edge of Sydney, because it is convenient for OH's work which is slightly further into the city, so we can afford in terms of commute time to be out here, but it would really depend on where your husband/you were working. I would think you'd find something which suited in most places.

[Guest]

 

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

 

Education will vary depending on the area and schools, same as in the UK. You will have a budget that will dictate the area you live in and this could impact the quality of the schools available to you. Some areas may have cheaper housing but you could find this doesn't leave you with great options school wise (unless going private). Of course, some less affluent areas have lovely schools but others do not. I can think areas in the city we live in that are less desirable because of the school zones but across the other side of the main road house prices rocket as they are zoned for a much higher ranked school zone.

 

Curriculum wise, I really like the Aus system at present but it is changing and becoming more like the UK and elsewhere with targets and so on driving things. I think in 10 plus years or so it will be unrecognisable to the system we started off in. This is, IMHO a great shame. You can read more here http://www.australiancurriculum.edu.au/ Its wording like 'judged' on that homepage that bothers me. I know quite a lot of teachers here and many of them are deeply unhappy with the direction the education system is going.

 

Medicare is what you need to read up on. We use a bulk billing GP (and have a regular GP at the practice who knows us all now) and also get bulk billing for scans, ultrasounds and other things via them. So generally don't pay for those things on the day. We pay full price for prescriptions which can be hefty sometimes. There is no subsidy to make prescriptions the same price as you will be used to under the NHS. I shop around a bit if I can and always get the generic brand if there is one, over the name brand.

 

Dental is on a par with private practice prices in the UK. If you are used to using an NHS dentist then seeing an Aus one may come as a shock. Get familiar with private practice in the UK and its the same approach here. No NHS to bring the price you pay down. A check up for me cost $70, I used to pay £15 on the NHS. For my son I use a practice that only charges the standard $44 fee regardless of what treatment is done (he had 2 x rays last time he went in). This is a great price and am happy to travel the extra 10 minutes to the practice for his dentist.

 

I don't find the cost of living higher here. If anything its less for us. But we moved from an expensive part of England to Adelaide. I'd say its on a par in many areas, less or more in some others. Fuel is much cheaper, cars are more expensive. We didn't spend crazy money on a car to get us around the city and surrounding area and so its fine for us. If I had to pay UK prices for fuel it'd be a real hit, but thankfully that is not the case. Food can be a bit more for some things, others less. Our weekly shop is about on par with what we spent in the UK. I'm not a cheap bargin bin shopper and so our budget may be a bit more than those who do shop for all own brand or cheapest product. I buy what we like rather than what is cheapest.

 

I find eating out can be pricey depending on where you go but we love sushi and Thai and find these very reasonably priced. I love that good sushi is pretty much everywhere here and was shocked at home much it cost back in England when I went to a sushi place in a south west city. I tend to take packed lunches to events and days out so we don't spend that way. I also take an esky to things like the cricket or footy games so we take our own food. Honestly, we didn't eat out much in the UK and we don't here, but when we do, we don't sit and boggle at the prices or compare to what we paid in UK. We moved to Aus, we live in Aus, we are happy in Aus, we gave up comparing as it doesn't help anything and tbh I feel if we were unhappy and wanted to look for ways out, yes we may well compare, but as we are not, we don't and its fine for us

 

Work/life. It can be worse for some. For us its better. Mainly as mu husband works from home and so his commute is to his study and his desk each morning. Saves on his 45 minute bike ride or hour on the bus to work each day in England. He finishes at 5pm and is home straight away We love the warmer evenings to go out for a walk along the trails, kick a ball or play tennis at our local free tennis courts in the park around the corner. I work part time in school hours which is lovely for me and we make use of the OSHC care after school and in the holidays which is fab.

 

Holidays have been explained well. It does get frustrating if you are the ones taking trips back to the UK to visit family and you'd like to go on holiday elsewhere. We budget for me and my son to go back to visit every 2 years but honestly, if it were not for my parents I'd not go at all unless I really felt the need. I'd rather go see NZ and other parts of the world for my holidays. This year we are going elsewhere, not the UK. As has been said, don't expect or plan for people from the UK to visit you. The reality for many is this does not happen.

 

Reccie - If you don't have one expect it to be a real culture shock when you do arrive. Australia can be very jarring in and around the cities. Its more US like than UK in many respects and I compared Aus suburbia to Stepford Wives land when I first saw it. I've mellowed a bit now towards it but do find certain areas to still feel that way and its not a pleasant feeling.

 

Crime rates will vary depending on where you live. Certain drugs are an issue here (as are other drugs elsewhere in the world) and lets be honest here, no kid is immune from trying a drug or drink, no matter what they know or have been told. Some will, some won't, as to if that is your kid here in Aus or there in the UK, who can say. I've seen families torn apart by drug use and/or violence in the UK and here. And these are families with hard working parents, kids in decent schools and so on. It can happen anywhere, don't underestimate that.

 

Many Aus kids are more indoors kids than you might think. The heat (it gets hot and the UV is harsh) and the advent of indoor entertainment, how houses are now built (ie, large block of land, huge floorplan for house, tiny entertaining area out back and no actual garden to play in) has changed the Aus landscape. We bought a house in an area as far removed from that as possible as that sort of house did not appeal to us. We also have a choice of parks and open spaces within 2 minutes of our front door, tennis courts, walking trails and so on all close by within walking distance. We also have access to a number of cricket/footy ovals and our son has joined a number of sports clubs. We also have a large block with garden on all sides of our house. And we can be at the beach within 10-15 minutes or in a national park hiking in the same travel time in the car. And in the actual city itself within 30 minutes (outside of rush hour).

[NicoleWalt]

Education will vary depending on the area and schools, same as in the UK. You will have a budget that will dictate the area you live in and this could impact the quality of the schools available to you. Some areas may have cheaper housing but you could find this doesn't leave you with great options school wise (unless going private). Of course, some less affluent areas have lovely schools but others do not. I can think areas in the city we live in that are less desirable because of the school zones but across the other side of the main road house prices rocket as they are zoned for a much higher ranked school zone.

 

Curriculum wise, I really like the Aus system at present but it is changing and becoming more like the UK and elsewhere with targets and so on driving things. I think in 10 plus years or so it will be unrecognisable to the system we started off in. This is, IMHO a great shame. You can read more here http://www.australiancurriculum.edu.au/ Its wording like 'judged' on that homepage that bothers me. I know quite a lot of teachers here and many of them are deeply unhappy with the direction the education system is going.

 

Medicare is what you need to read up on. We use a bulk billing GP (and have a regular GP at the practice who knows us all now) and also get bulk billing for scans, ultrasounds and other things via them. So generally don't pay for those things on the day. We pay full price for prescriptions which can be hefty sometimes. There is no subsidy to make prescriptions the same price as you will be used to under the NHS. I shop around a bit if I can and always get the generic brand if there is one, over the name brand.

 

Dental is on a par with private practice prices in the UK. If you are used to using an NHS dentist then seeing an Aus one may come as a shock. Get familiar with private practice in the UK and its the same approach here. No NHS to bring the price you pay down. A check up for me cost $70, I used to pay £15 on the NHS. For my son I use a practice that only charges the standard $44 fee regardless of what treatment is done (he had 2 x rays last time he went in). This is a great price and am happy to travel the extra 10 minutes to the practice for his dentist.

 

I don't find the cost of living higher here. If anything its less for us. But we moved from an expensive part of England to Adelaide. I'd say its on a par in many areas, less or more in some others. Fuel is much cheaper, cars are more expensive. We didn't spend crazy money on a car to get us around the city and surrounding area and so its fine for us. If I had to pay UK prices for fuel it'd be a real hit, but thankfully that is not the case. Food can be a bit more for some things, others less. Our weekly shop is about on par with what we spent in the UK. I'm not a cheap bargin bin shopper and so our budget may be a bit more than those who do shop for all own brand or cheapest product. I buy what we like rather than what is cheapest.

 

I find eating out can be pricey depending on where you go but we love sushi and Thai and find these very reasonably priced. I love that good sushi is pretty much everywhere here and was shocked at home much it cost back in England when I went to a sushi place in a south west city. I tend to take packed lunches to events and days out so we don't spend that way. I also take an esky to things like the cricket or footy games so we take our own food. Honestly, we didn't eat out much in the UK and we don't here, but when we do, we don't sit and boggle at the prices or compare to what we paid in UK. We moved to Aus, we live in Aus, we are happy in Aus, we gave up comparing as it doesn't help anything and tbh I feel if we were unhappy and wanted to look for ways out, yes we may well compare, but as we are not, we don't and its fine for us

 

Work/life. It can be worse for some. For us its better. Mainly as mu husband works from home and so his commute is to his study and his desk each morning. Saves on his 45 minute bike ride or hour on the bus to work each day in England. He finishes at 5pm and is home straight away We love the warmer evenings to go out for a walk along the trails, kick a ball or play tennis at our local free tennis courts in the park around the corner. I work part time in school hours which is lovely for me and we make use of the OSHC care after school and in the holidays which is fab.

 

Holidays have been explained well. It does get frustrating if you are the ones taking trips back to the UK to visit family and you'd like to go on holiday elsewhere. We budget for me and my son to go back to visit every 2 years but honestly, if it were not for my parents I'd not go at all unless I really felt the need. I'd rather go see NZ and other parts of the world for my holidays. This year we are going elsewhere, not the UK. As has been said, don't expect or plan for people from the UK to visit you. The reality for many is this does not happen.

 

Reccie - If you don't have one expect it to be a real culture shock when you do arrive. Australia can be very jarring in and around the cities. Its more US like than UK in many respects and I compared Aus suburbia to Stepford Wives land when I first saw it. I've mellowed a bit now towards it but do find certain areas to still feel that way and its not a pleasant feeling.

 

Crime rates will vary depending on where you live. Certain drugs are an issue here (as are other drugs elsewhere in the world) and lets be honest here, no kid is immune from trying a drug or drink, no matter what they know or have been told. Some will, some won't, as to if that is your kid here in Aus or there in the UK, who can say. I've seen families torn apart by drug use and/or violence in the UK and here. And these are families with hard working parents, kids in decent schools and so on. It can happen anywhere, don't underestimate that.

 

Many Aus kids are more indoors kids than you might think. The heat (it gets hot and the UV is harsh) and the advent of indoor entertainment, how houses are now built (ie, large block of land, huge floorplan for house, tiny entertaining area out back and no actual garden to play in) has changed the Aus landscape. We bought a house in an area as far removed from that as possible as that sort of house did not appeal to us. We also have a choice of parks and open spaces within 2 minutes of our front door, tennis courts, walking trails and so on all close by within walking distance. We also have access to a number of cricket/footy ovals and our son has joined a number of sports clubs. We also have a large block with garden on all sides of our house. And we can be at the beach within 10-15 minutes or in a national park hiking in the same travel time in the car. And in the actual city itself within 30 minutes (outside of rush hour).

 

thank you for your detailed response and also addressing the irrelevant posts.

 

Where abouts in Aus do you live?

 

I am going to look into the Education system more as this is something really important to us.

 

The suburbs sound like exactly what we would want but it sounds daunting finding the right one in the right area with good schools.

[Gbye grey sky]

thank you for your detailed response and also addressing the irrelevant posts.

 

Where abouts in Aus do you live?

 

I am going to look into the Education system more as this is something really important to us.

 

The suburbs sound like exactly what we would want but it sounds daunting finding the right one in the right area with good schools.

 

Snifter is near Adelaide I believe. We are south east of Brisbane and could have written that post for here almost word for word. So though there are going to be differences across the country there are similarities also and similar choices to be made.

 

It is tricky finding the right suburbs. We did a recce, chose the school and then built our search around that, but obviously you need to consider commutes too. We had 10 days here and only spent one day (at Australia Zoo) doing anything touristy. It makes for a dull trip if you are towing kids around but essential if, like us, you have made the decision to come but need to recce the areas fully. Plenty of time for the touristy stuff later when you are living here.