Choosing Arrival Location with Family

[Guest]

Hi Everyone, 

I'm new here... 

We are part way through our migration process to move with my husband and 2 young children, planning on leaving UK next summer 22.

We have decided on Sydney as our landing point as we have family west of Syd, work prospects and also as it is generally the most accessible from Scotland. We're aware that it comes with a hefty price tag in comparison to Scotland, so we are 90% but not 100%.

I'm really keen to know first hand experiences of those who moved with young children, where you lived at first (from day one), how you picked your first living location and how you settled on an area to live. 

My son will start school this year, but will restart in NSW next year as he wouldn't make the age cutoff this year (he is 4). I'm not worried about his learning as he attends nursery, but i don't want to move him more than i absolutely have to. 

A key criteria is to live as near to the coast as we can afford. We are both mid level professionals.

Thanks Ash 

[Ausvisitor]

So looking at housing now in Sydney, as you have two kids you will be looking at a three bed.

In Manly (which granted is a posh spot) you would be looking at $2+m for a passable three bed semi-detached. Or $1,400 per week in rent.

Manly is still at least 30 minutes from Sydney CBD so you will have a commute to "mid-level professional" work.

There are cheaper coastal areas but these would involve much longer commutes.

Sydney is a shocking high price location, we are looking to buy/rent right now.

[Guest]

Should have said looking at wider Sydney area. Longer commute for family area and coast is possible. 

The more 'famous' sydney beach areas are definitely not in our price point. 

[Ausvisitor]

One thing to bear in mind (that we were unaware of until working up this morning). Sydney transport seems to be as good at last minute walkouts as transport for London.

As a result the roads are pandemonium today, I've just watched (from out balcony) a car take 20 minutes to do half a mile on the approach to the harbour bridge. 

So longer commutes bring their own fun and games.

[Marisawright]

26 minutes ago, Ausvisitor said:

One thing to bear in mind (that we were unaware of until working up this morning). Sydney transport seems to be as good at last minute walkouts as transport for London.....

So longer commutes bring their own fun and games.

I lived there for over 30 years and it's actually pretty unusual for them to strike.  You've been unlucky!

However, it doesn't take a strike to cause pandemonium on Sydney's roads.  An ordinary rush hour will do it.  We used to live in Oatley, (lovely village atmosphere, BTW), which is south towards Cronulla.    On a quiet evening, we could drive to the city centre in about 20 minutes.   But on the rare occasions when I needed to take the car to work in the morning, it took me well over an hour.  On one celebrated occasion, I gave up, parked the car at Arncliffe and took the train - because it had taken me over 2 hours to get as far as Arncliffe.

[Marisawright]

1 hour ago, Constance said:

Should have said looking at wider Sydney area. Longer commute for family area and coast is possible. 

The more 'famous' sydney beach areas are definitely not in our price point. 

What is your price point and what are you looking for?    Coming from Scotland, I think you will find the prices are truly shocking. 

I would strongly suggest you take a look at Newcastle first.  Migrants seem to concentrate on the capital cities, but that's as crazy as saying, "I'm moving to the UK and I must live in London or Edinburgh because there are no jobs anywhere else". 

Newcastle is about the same size as Bristol in the UK.  It's only two hours from Sydney city centre on the train (and probably much less than that to your family's place out west).   If you compare equivalent houses in an equivalent suburb, houses are about half the price of Sydney.  Plus it's on the doorstep of the Hunter Vally wine region and then there's Port Stephens with its dolphins and Anna Bay with its sand dunes a short drive away. 

Your family in Sydney may be negative about the idea of Newcastle, but that's because the city used to be a real working-class, rough town, and that reputation persists.  However that was when the steelworks dominated the city and they started closing it down in 1982!  The city has been transformed since. Of course it still has its rough areas like everywhere else, but there are some lovely areas.   I used to work with two men who commuted all the way from Newcastle to Sydney every day after our Newcastle office closed down.  They were senior staff and had been offered relocation costs to move to Sydney but they refused, because they felt their children were so much better off growing up in Newcastle.  

 

Edited February 20, 2022 by Marisawright

[Bulya]

14 hours ago, Marisawright said:

I lived there for over 30 years and it's actually pretty unusual for them to strike.  You've been unlucky!

However, it doesn't take a strike to cause pandemonium on Sydney's roads.  An ordinary rush hour will do it.  We used to live in Oatley, (lovely village atmosphere, BTW), which is south towards Cronulla.    On a quiet evening, we could drive to the city centre in about 20 minutes.   But on the rare occasions when I needed to take the car to work in the morning, it took me well over an hour.  On one celebrated occasion, I gave up, parked the car at Arncliffe and took the train - because it had taken me over 2 hours to get as far as Arncliffe.

It wasn’t a strike.  You’re usually on top of things so this is a surprising comment.  

[Ausvisitor]

12 hours ago, Bulya said:

It wasn’t a strike.  You’re usually on top of things so this is a surprising comment.  

The boards in the city certainly said it was a strike as did the "broadcast" from Sydney Transport

[Bulya]

26 minutes ago, Ausvisitor said:

The boards in the city certainly said it was a strike as did the "broadcast" from Sydney Transport

The drivers turned up for the 12:48 (first train) and were told “service’s not required”..  They were then paid for a days work, which doesn’t happen if you’re on strike.  I have an advantage as I’m retired and I followed it closely all day from 6:00am.  Even the govt mouthpiece Ray Hadley on 2GB finally said it wasn’t a strike.  Govt/City Trains playing silly buggers and it’s backfired. 

Edited February 22, 2022 by Bulya
Addition

[Toots]

14 hours ago, Bulya said:

It wasn’t a strike.  You’re usually on top of things so this is a surprising comment.  

Industrial action  .........  shutdown  ..................  .these words were used so as far as I know they mean the same as strike.

[Marisawright]

4 minutes ago, Toots said:

Industrial action  .........  shutdown  ..................  .these words were used so as far as I know they mean the same as strike.

Actually it was a "Work to Rule" which meant the employees still planned to work but on a carefully planned, reduced schedule.  The government spat the dummy and decided to shut most of the network down on the premise that it was "impossible to operate the network safely".   

I was annoyed at the media because one or two broadcasts had a snippet of the union rep explaining that, and pointing out that large numbers of staff had turned up for work but hadn't been allowed entry.  However most of the coverage gave the impression everyone had walked off the job and shut down the network, which wasn't the case at all. I think the NSW govt just wanted to make the unions look as bad as possible.

[Toots]

6 minutes ago, Marisawright said:

Actually it was a "Work to Rule" which meant the employees still planned to work but on a carefully planned, reduced schedule.  The government spat the dummy and decided to shut most of the network down on the premise that it was "impossible to operate the network safely".   

I was annoyed at the media because one or two broadcasts had a snippet of the union rep explaining that, and pointing out that large numbers of staff had turned up for work but hadn't been allowed entry.  However most of the coverage gave the impression everyone had walked off the job and shut down the network, which wasn't the case at all. I think the NSW govt just wanted to make the unions look as bad as possible.

Fair enough.   Must have been absolute chaos though.  

[Marisawright]

12 minutes ago, Toots said:

Fair enough.   Must have been absolute chaos though.  

Yes, but not the union's fault.

[Bulya]

49 minutes ago, Toots said:

Industrial action  .........  shutdown  ..................  .these words were used so as far as I know they mean the same as strike.

No.  NSW Transport made a decision to close service’s at 12:43am without informing the Minister (Elliott) or the Premier.  I just listened to the press conference. Transcript below.

 

Elliott is asked why such a huge decision was made without letting him - the minister for transport - know: 

I don’t expect them to send a car around at two o’clock in the morning and wake me up. 

We pay these people to do their job, and I accept the fact that at 12:43am it was their judgement call as executives of the organisation that they needed to use their discretion and close the system. 

Did I like it? Absolutely not. Absolutely not. Am I still asking for information, details to justify a decision? Absolutely. 

Last Updated: 13:48 Tuesday, 22 February 2022

2h ago

Elliott is seeking to distance himself from the whole thing - saying it was a decision by Transport NSW and he was not consulted. 

 

[Ausvisitor]

48 minutes ago, Marisawright said:

Yes, but not the union's fault.

I find in life if an industry is unionised most things that go wrong are their fault, I also subscribe to the view that unions (whilst originally setup with good intentions), nowadays only exist to make deeply unhappy men (usually) feel important because they can inflict misery on others.

[Marisawright]

6 hours ago, Ausvisitor said:

I find in life if an industry is unionised most things that go wrong are their fault, I also subscribe to the view that unions (whilst originally setup with good intentions), nowadays only exist to make deeply unhappy men (usually) feel important because they can inflict misery on others.

So everything in hospitals and schools that goes wrong is the union's fault?  Nothing to do with underfunding or poor management?

I've worked in a lot of industries that aren't unionised and some that are.   My experience is that when things go wrong in a unionised industry, management has a built-in scapegoat in the union so it's easy to shift the blame onto them.   And of course anti-union conservative governments love to pile in on top. 

I think it's a great pity unions have been so emasculated.  i can remember when, thanks to the unions, we were able to achieve shorter work day, paid overtime and longer holidays.   Now in Australian offices,  so many people are working longer hours (9 to 5 was the norm now it's 8.30 to 5.30 and you're expected to stay longer "to get the job done""), and are pressured not to take holidays.  I have seen so many people discriminated against, unjustly sacked, and otherwise mistreated by their employers and because there is no union to stand up for them, they don't stand a chance, in spite of all the so-called employee protections.  

Edited February 22, 2022 by Marisawright

[Parley]

The unions probably have been brought into line and aren't as bad or militant as they used to be.

In the 80s and 90s it was just awful. You could be a CBD worker in the city like I was and find out all the public transport workers had walked off the job at lunchtime, and hundreds of thousands of CBD workers had to try and find a new way home. Often you would get home at 9pm.

Regular strikes by alcohol workers and other groups to coincide with things like Grand Final Day or School exams, whatever would cause maximum damage and inconvenience to everyone.

No doubt they did some good things but also had a very ugly side to them. The construction unions are still terrible though.

[bug family]

2 hours ago, Parley said:

No doubt they did some good things but also had a very ugly side to them. The construction unions are still terrible though.

Just having a nose around the forum....I rarely venture out from the 'UK chat' section   and i found this thread

I agree that some of the unions do 'good work' and help those who are members......however I have to say my own personal experience (i am no expert) whilst working fly in / fly out  some years ago was shocking, the union reps where very intimidating on the site (this was a multi billion dollar site) an example being when we used to return to the crib huts for lunch break sometimes there would be flyers left on the tables where you sat down to eat etc, these had militant messages on them some of which where borderline threatening or derogatory, i remember one talking about people who are not in a union are 'rats', not very professional and did not exactly encourage me to join.......I finally decided I had to join after a fellow worker told me i would possibly have an accident (fall from height) if i did not join the union ....so I did  

[Bulya]

This gets better by the hour.  
 

https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2022/feb/23/sydney-trains-shutdown-nsw-premier-dominic-perrottet-rebuke-transport-minister-david-elliott?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other

[beketamun]

I watched that Elliot bloke on the news last night...what a pig.  They play a video showing him accusing the Unions of "terrorist-like activity", then he immediately denies saying it despite the video just showing him saying it.   He says he was in bed and knew nothing about the shutdown, now a text message is leaked that shows he WAS briefed and still decided to go to bed anyway !

Perrotet was also weak, slamming the Unions before it was revealed that it was his own Government that shut the services down, despite a legally agreed work protest in place that was protected.

Suddenly...the whole Government caves in and decides to withdraw it's court case against the Unions and will now negotiate with them !  Is this the first case of a Union winning a battle with hamfisted politicians without having to do anything? 

[ramot]

 

Feel very sorry for the OP. who starts a thread asking for advice about where to live.

This is an awful highjack of a thread, that has descended into a political debate about unions.

Start your own thread.

 

Edited February 23, 2022 by ramot

[calNgary]

On 21/02/2022 at 08:05, Constance said:

Hi Everyone, 

I'm new here... 

We are part way through our migration process to move with my husband and 2 young children, planning on leaving UK next summer 22.

We have decided on Sydney as our landing point as we have family west of Syd, work prospects and also as it is generally the most accessible from Scotland. We're aware that it comes with a hefty price tag in comparison to Scotland, so we are 90% but not 100%.

I'm really keen to know first hand experiences of those who moved with young children, where you lived at first (from day one), how you picked your first living location and how you settled on an area to live. 

My son will start school this year, but will restart in NSW next year as he wouldn't make the age cutoff this year (he is 4). I'm not worried about his learning as he attends nursery, but i don't want to move him more than i absolutely have to. 

A key criteria is to live as near to the coast as we can afford. We are both mid level professionals.

Thanks Ash 

Just a reminder on the topic of the thread due to us receiving a few reports about it being off track. 

 Thanks

   Cal x

[Ausvisitor]

5 minutes ago, calNgary said:

Just a reminder on the topic of the thread due to us receiving a few reports about it being off track. 

 Thanks

   Cal x

Bit confused as to why my response that was perfectly polite was removed but the passive aggressive complaints have been kept! 

Are we showing favourites??

[calNgary]

1 minute ago, Ausvisitor said:

Bit confused as to why my response that was perfectly polite was removed but the passive aggressive complaints have been kept! 

Are we showing favourites??

LOL, What on earth are you talking about with the favorites comment? seriously, get a grip before you start accusing people of things and maybe read up on the forum rules you agreed to when joining. 

Although i shouldn't have to explain myself, i removed the posts AFTER Ramot posted about the thread being off track, i didnt pick and choose as you insinuate, they all went. Your post which i may add, was ''justifying'' why you should be off track ??? (the mind boggles) and then continuing to discuss the strike, was removed , along with ALL the others made after Ramot posted.

As per the forum rules if you wish to discuss further, take it off the forum boards.

 Thanks

   Cal x

[Guest]

17 hours ago, ramot said:

 

Feel very sorry for the OP. who starts a thread asking for advice about where to live.

This is an awful highjack of a thread, that has descended into a political debate about unions.

Start your own thread.

 

Thanks! 

Just to reiterate, really interested to hear from people who have done this and especially with young children. 

There are still some options, as i said we're not 100% on location yet. The balance of family life, job prospect and coastal is one I want to try to strike.