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Reccie or not before moving


Jamie Kerr

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Hi there I know everyone's completely different. And that goes for circumstances and the individuals.

I keep saying to my wife about possible recce once and if we get the all clear but she says she does not want to waste the money going on a recce.

She would like to just go for it even though this is all going on my trade. Would you say a recce helps you ALOT or can confuse the matter. So far I've move from different cities/states to decide on probably queensland /Brisbane area.

Who's done a recce and are glad they did or who went for it and moved around as they never did. Silly questions I suppose but every little helps

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Well Jamie, I was exactly the same, I didn't want to waste ALOT of money going on a Reccie...but in the end we had no choice as we had a deadline to validate our visas and our business hadn't sold.

In hindsight I am actually really glad we did it, because research on the internet is totally different to being there in person seeing it and feeling it for yourself. I had my heart set on one area (which I was convinced would be perfect for us) but when we visited it really was a case of whooa!! dont like it here one bit.

 

Also, I don't think it will be as daunting when we go for good.

 

Infact you never know, we could have gone and absolutely hated it, I suppose it is better knowing this before you sell up your life.

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Hi Jamie. I've moved your post and the reply to it out of the thread you had posted it in as it will be lost there. If you want to ask the forum in general, best thing is to start a new thread posting and asking your Q's, not post in someone elses thread as they tend to get missed or not as many eyes read them.

 

FWIW, I didn't do a reccie as it were as I'd already visited Aus before. However, when I visited Aus previously I hadn't been planning or thinking I would move here so didn't view it as anything more than a holiday or extended trip. However, I've lived overseas lots before so knew how it goes and to not set my bar too high or have unreasonable expectations etc of what life would be like once actually living here. In all honesty, its life and it goes on wherever you live. Just here we have a lot more sun, heat and sun and heat here. O and flies and mozzies and other things that can bite you. But we are very happy with our move, life here and more. I've felt settled since very early on and just embraced things and gotten on with living life here and not kept looking back over my shoulder comparing with what we moved from and why. Homesickness hasn't happened and I cope fine being away from family and friends.

 

I've moved to 3 other countries without having a reccie (I don't think it was needed or the thing back then). TBH its not the sort of thing I do. I settled fine in 2 countries, the third I wasn't smitten with but then it wasn't somewhere I had my heart set on or anything either and so I stayed for a while, worked, got the experience, enjoyed the time I was there, saw the sights and then made my next move.

 

Unless you are dead set on where you are moving to, it may or may not be helpful. For example, if you visit Brisbane but end up moving to somewhere hours away in NSW or Vic say, you'll be in a totally different world in terms of climate, feel and so many other things. I'd only do a reccie if I was dead set on moving to the place (and then the odds of me doing said reccie would still be very small as I'd be in the group to just make the move) I was visiting and if I made sure I didn't treat it as a holiday but really got to explore suburbs, places to live, sit in a car on a morning commute in 37C, check out facilities (ie we are members of a number of sports clubs for cricket, footy and more and also husband is a cyclist so wanted decent cycling and club options) and so many more things that fill in the big picture of migrating.

 

And then of course, visiting the place you are wanting to move to may or may not meet your expectations and you may love it or not. If you don't, you are then back to the drawing board in terms of where do you go and do you do a reccie there or just make the move and if it isn't the city or town/area for you when you move there, you make plans to find somewhere that does suit you both/all for the long term.

 

Also, doing a reccie and liking it is great but it still won't IMHO be any true indicator as to if you are going to be able to settle there in the long term or if you'll struggle with homesickness or missing loved ones or any of that. So many things can change or happen once you actually make the move, all the unknowns. The big one is finding work, which if people struggle often seems to be the catalyst to them starting to feel unhappy or struggle and then the whole doubt about making the right move can hit and so much more.

 

All I can say is go into it with your eyes wide open and don't rule anything out. If it means compromise between you and your wife as to where you settle or why, then be prepared for that. Happiness for both of you is important (as it is for kids if you have them). So often I read of one half of the couple settling and loving their new life in Aus, the other not for some reason. It can open a big can of worms and its not always easy to overcome.

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Hi there I know everyone's completely different. And that goes for circumstances and the individuals.

I keep saying to my wife about possible recce once and if we get the all clear but she says she does not want to waste the money going on a recce.

She would like to just go for it even though this is all going on my trade. Would you say a recce helps you ALOT or can confuse the matter. So far I've move from different cities/states to decide on probably queensland /Brisbane area.

Who's done a recce and are glad they did or who went for it and moved around as they never did. Silly questions I suppose but every little helps

 

I dont get why you would do a reccie after already shelling out thousands on a visa, surely the time to do a reccie would be before you apply (if at all). As it is, I would agree with your wife. You would spent thousands more on a reccie that might be better used in getting set up and a holiday will not give you any real sense of what it is like to live in a place anyway.

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It could pay to do a reccie, if only to discover if the area chosen is the right place for individual needs. Far easier to do so why still have an income coming in than after arriving with less option perhaps.

 

While I have certainly lived in countries without visiting first, none were of the nature of a permanent setting. All could have been but that was not the nature of the original move.

 

In the case of Australia, I certainly checked it out again, over almost three months in an attempt to gauge if it was a good idea to return here or not. Not one in favour of giving up everything on a speculative impression myself.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Cheers for replies guys. .

It was one of those questions I put out there as I often think would I take a holiday to activate visas and then save some more pennies after more info gathered.

I've visited Aus a number of times. Drove around much of it especially east coast many years ago. (1998) . Been out to see my bro a couple of times in Melbourne too. I absolutely loved my time out there but I also know a wife and 2 boys is totally different ball game.

I'm not going in blind as I've seen parts of the country that I Really liked. It's more of . How do you make a decision of Brisbane, Adelaide or Perth etc.

I firstly ruled out places because of work. I know Perth and South Australia are struggling at the mo.

Queensland has ticked many boxes for me as I'm not a massive fan of Melbourne or Sydney mainly due to cost and also not a BIG city person. I lived in sydney(Coogee) as a backpacker way back when and loved it. This time I'm thinking of life with my family.

Queensland is a massive state. How do you choose area. Harvey bay I know you would struggle to find a job. Or Rockhampton is this the place?????. Or is it better to be safer and be within 30 ~45 mins of Brisbane and 1stly secure work and then maybe branch out.

 

Or do you decide on 1 area and go all out and make it work in that place. It's a question that I'll never get the answer but all your comments do help

 

PROS and CONS all the way.Kindest regards JAMIE

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We went where the job offer came from. However I had been on holiday before and the DH is Aussie. I think if I had never been before then a recce would have been a sensible option. Had your wife been before? If not, then perhaps she should go and have a look - I think I would be mighty miffed if I was enticed off to the other side of the world on a promise which didn't match my reality. So in your shoes I would be encouraging her to go and have a look and you stay back and look after the kids.

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Queensland is a massive state. How do you choose area. Harvey bay I know you would struggle to find a job. Or Rockhampton is this the place?????. Or is it better to be safer and be within 30 ~45 mins of Brisbane and 1stly secure work and then maybe branch out.

 

 

If your wife hasn't been to Australia before then I'd start with an urban area like Brisbane. Rural Australia - especially such a large state as Queensland - is nothing like rural UK and the distances and isolation can be a real shock....and impossible for many people to imagine before they've actually experienced it. Also, I'd be sticking to the coast initially. At least there's a coastal breeze and sea paddling to mitigate the heat.

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We did a reccie in Adelaide, sorted everything out in our own minds, booked flights and removals then......received a very good job offer in Brisbane. Had never been here previously but learned the ropes quickly.

 

Regarding Brisbane, don't limit yourself to coastal but do avoid too far inland as Ipswich etc can get hot. I love the rural parts of Australia I have seen thus far and also love the people although attitudes can be very different/traditional and certainly different to European ways. As mentioned, do not forget how vast Australia/QLD is, I am just finishing a project in Weipa, still in QLD and takes 3.5 hours to fly not including stops.

 

You have 2 basic options if you can afford, reccie and pre book schools etc if you require, alternatively arrive cold and take a few weeks unpayed to discover the city before starting work.

 

Best of luck and Brisbane is a great choice of city, expecting another 2,000,000 people by 2030 so definitely growing. I'm sure you will receive plenty of advice from lots of different people.

 

S

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