Cheery Thistle Posted October 11, 2023 Share Posted October 11, 2023 So I was going to tag this on to the end of another thread, but really felt it deserved to be a stand alone. Got the call from Jenny at Down Under Centre this morning that our 189 has been granted. Timeline as follows: Secondary Teacher, 65 points First contact DUC - 6/3/2023 PTE Academic Passed Superior 2/5/2023 Skills Assessment Successful - 19/5/2023 EOI submitted 189 (and 190 for SA and NSW) - 22/5/2023 Invited to apply 189 - 25/5/2023 Medicals passed and submitted - 28/6/2023 Visa Lodged - 29/6/2023 Acro received and submitted - 9/8/2023 Visa granted - 11th Oct 2023 We fly out on 24th Feb 2024 for 3 weeks for a look around and plan to move with our 10 year old (will then be 11) and 2 dogs in October 2024. 9 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
InnerVoice Posted October 11, 2023 Share Posted October 11, 2023 Well done @Cheery Thistle - next stop, the lucky country! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RubyMonday Posted October 11, 2023 Share Posted October 11, 2023 Whooo hooray, congrats @Cheery Thistle!!! You're so lucky you got the EOI in there on the 22nd May. a couple days later and there would be no signs of an invite let alone a grant. What area are you thinking of moving to, have you decided between NSW and SA or going for somewhere different? I still haven't decided, it would almost be better to have gotten a 190 so then at least I'd be nailed down on the state. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cheery Thistle Posted October 11, 2023 Author Share Posted October 11, 2023 Hiya, yes I know, feeling very lucky but also I moved really quickly with all the paperwork and sometimes these things are meant to be! I’m really glad though as I feel due to our ages the sooner the better. Also keen to get out of here before something goes wrong or someone gets ill! We are headed to Brisbane/Sunny Coast that was always the plan. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RubyMonday Posted October 11, 2023 Share Posted October 11, 2023 7 hours ago, Cheery Thistle said: Hiya, yes I know, feeling very lucky but also I moved really quickly with all the paperwork and sometimes these things are meant to be! I’m really glad though as I feel due to our ages the sooner the better. Also keen to get out of here before something goes wrong or someone gets ill! We are headed to Brisbane/Sunny Coast that was always the plan. I was thinking QLD/Sunshine coast especially for the extra $20,000 if you can stick it out for a year but then I don't cope well with heat. I've spent just under 2 months total in Queensland but I've only been in Spring and Autumn when the weather was mild. I've never been there in summer so not sure how sticky humid it gets. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cheery Thistle Posted October 11, 2023 Author Share Posted October 11, 2023 1 hour ago, RubyMonday said: I was thinking QLD/Sunshine coast especially for the extra $20,000 if you can stick it out for a year but then I don't cope well with heat. I've spent just under 2 months total in Queensland but I've only been in Spring and Autumn when the weather was mild. I've never been there in summer so not sure how sticky humid it gets. I just don’t want to ever see winter again, after doing over 40 Scottish winters! Every area seems to have its pros and cons - Sydney too much of a big city, great job opportunities, expensive life and property. Perth, fab beaches and weather but too isolated. Adelaide slow jobs market, great food and wine. Melbourne good jobs and culture, not so great climate. We are going to QLD for the weather and the jobs. Hopefully! Just waiting on everyone from these cities jumping on me telling me the above is a load of rubbish and how dare I reduce these great cities to a one-liner Lolol. Extra $20,000 is that for nurses? Reminds me of the extra £6k you would get for going to teach in the Scottish sticks. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RubyMonday Posted October 11, 2023 Share Posted October 11, 2023 2 minutes ago, Cheery Thistle said: I just don’t want to ever see winter again, after doing over 40 Scottish winters! Every area seems to have its pros and cons - Sydney too much of a big city, great job opportunities, expensive life and property. Perth, fab beaches and weather but too isolated. Adelaide slow jobs market, great food and wine. Melbourne good jobs and culture, not so great climate. We are going to QLD for the weather and the jobs. Hopefully! Just waiting on everyone from these cities jumping on me telling me the above is a load of rubbish and how dare I reduce these great cities to a one-liner Lolol. Extra $20,000 is that for nurses? Reminds me of the extra £6k you would get for going to teach in the Scottish sticks. Yeah the $20,000 is for nurses, the highest offering of all the states. WA and SA are only offering $10,000 but may be preferable for me. I'm definitely not a big city person and never really was fussed about Melbourne or Sydney. I wouldn't mind regional but internal flights in Australia are pretty expensive, I wish they'd get an equivalent of ryanair. Have you spent much time in QLD? I was last there in Noosa in October last year. That was the first time I had been to the sunshine coast since I had skipped over it the last time I was there traveling up the coast. It seemed nice but public transport not fantastic and expensive housing unless you go right inland but that's similar to a lot of areas. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cheery Thistle Posted October 11, 2023 Author Share Posted October 11, 2023 (edited) No, never been to Australia! Going in Feb/March to Sydney, Brisbane and Sunny Coast for a holiday and a look around. I have looked online at houses so know realistically what we’d have to pay in rent/mortgage etc. I was looking for internal flights from Brisbane-Sydney and Jetstar looked reasonable? But I literally know nothing about it lol. We’ll soon have a teenager, so really feel like we need to be at least easy travelling distance to a city for decent shops, concerts, entertainment etc. Plus to be honest I am a bit of a townie, having lived half an hour from both Edinburgh and Glasgow for most of my life. My boss lives in rural Lincolnshire and she was telling me yesterday she is half an hours drive from a supermarket which kind of freaked me out haha! We have a big shopping centre here with Next, M and S, cinema etc literally a 5 minute drive. Can’t imagine being cut off or isolated. The good thing about moving as an oldie is we know what we like/don’t like! Edited October 11, 2023 by Cheery Thistle Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RubyMonday Posted October 11, 2023 Share Posted October 11, 2023 1 hour ago, Cheery Thistle said: No, never been to Australia! Going in Feb/March to Sydney, Brisbane and Sunny Coast for a holiday and a look around. I have looked online at houses so know realistically what we’d have to pay in rent/mortgage etc. I was looking for internal flights from Brisbane-Sydney and Jetstar looked reasonable? But I literally know nothing about it lol. We’ll soon have a teenager, so really feel like we need to be at least easy travelling distance to a city for decent shops, concerts, entertainment etc. Plus to be honest I am a bit of a townie, having lived half an hour from both Edinburgh and Glasgow for most of my life. My boss lives in rural Lincolnshire and she was telling me yesterday she is half an hours drive from a supermarket which kind of freaked me out haha! We have a big shopping centre here with Next, M and S, cinema etc literally a 5 minute drive. Can’t imagine being cut off or isolated. The good thing about moving as an oldie is we know what we like/don’t like! Wow that's a big risk. I would never have considered moving anywhere especially with all the time/money/effort/emotional stress that I had never even visited, hopefully you like it. Some flight prices between the main cities aren't horrendous but certainly more than between European cities. It's the flights between regional areas to the main cities that aren't as subsidised as they used to be. I'm not a fan of jetstar but then their internal flights aren't as bad as their international ones, I prefer virgin Australia generally. Maybe you want the lower end of the sunshine coast then since it's not really a city vibe more a medium town. From the main area Mooloolaba it was around a 1.5/2h drive to Brisbane. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cheery Thistle Posted October 11, 2023 Author Share Posted October 11, 2023 Everything is a risk and security is an illusion. Sometimes staying put is a risk. Luckily my husband and I are comfortable with a certain level of risk. He has been self employed for 25 years and you kinda get used to uncertainty! I have lived abroad before - age 20 I landed in Corsica not knowing a soul. It turned out Ok! Granted that is not as far as Aus, but I also didn’t have a fraction of the resources, nous or experience then that I have now. Scotland will always be here if we want to return and we are keeping our properties here for a few years at least - including the family home. Weirdly I am not that worried about it - I know I’m employable in either location so if it doesn’t work out we have an option to come back. Our plan is to stick at least 4 years to get dual citizenship and then our daughter has options - since Brexit she doesn’t have many other ones except the UK. I think if we make 4 years it’s likely we will stay longer term, but who knows? I have really been thinking about it and we are the kind of people who will do well no matter where we are - I seem to come across a lot of people on this journey who don’t have much in the UK and are really struggling, desperately looking for a way to improve their situation. I wouldn’t say we are in that bracket at all, nowhere near it, but we don’t feel comfortable with the environment or how things are going in the UK and feel it’s time to give somewhere else a go and hopefully give our daughter more options for the future. This was last chance saloon for us for Aus, as I’m 43 and he’s 51. My hubby has cousins in Sydney and an Auntie Port Stephens way who will hopefully keep us right. He has been before. Location-wise I’ve been looking at Caloundra and also a few Brisbane suburbs - Victoria Point, Ormiston, Capalaba. We intend to do a bit of driving around on our visit to see where we’re comfortable. If we come in Feb and absolutely hate it then we won’t move. Hubby is eligible for an Irish passport so at that point we’d consider Europe, but employment for him is more limited there due to the language barrier and I feel there’s less opportunity long term for our girl. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marisawright Posted October 11, 2023 Share Posted October 11, 2023 (edited) 2 hours ago, Cheery Thistle said: We’ll soon have a teenager, so really feel like we need to be at least easy travelling distance to a city for decent shops, concerts, entertainment etc. Plus to be honest I am a bit of a townie, having lived half an hour from both Edinburgh and Glasgow for most of my life. My boss lives in rural Lincolnshire and she was telling me yesterday she is half an hours drive from a supermarket which kind of freaked me out haha! We have a big shopping centre here with Next, M and S, cinema etc literally a 5 minute drive. Can’t imagine being cut off or isolated. The good thing about moving as an oldie is we know what we like/don’t like! I know we've crossed swords in the past, but I hope you won't dismiss the advice I'm about to give. I'm from Aberdeen and lived in Stirling for many years (and loved popping into Edinburgh and Glasgow regularly). If you want that lifestyle, Sydney isn't it. It's more like Manchester by the sea, far more busy and congested (unless you have several million to buy a house near the coast). Even Brisbane is FOUR TIMES the size of Edinburgh, with all the traffic that goes with that. As my work is corporate, I never had the choice to work anywhere but the capital cities in Australia. I think you're a nurse, so you have far more freedom. There are regional cities which have all the amenities you're looking for. I'd be doing the tourist thing in Sydney for a few days, then heading up the coast to check out Newcastle. Bigger than Aberdeen, smaller than Edinburgh. Plenty of shopping centres, restaurants, cafes, gorgeous beaches, good schools. Two hours from Sydney by train or car. https://newywithkids.com.au/moving-to-newcastle-a-guide-for-families/ Be warned, parts of the city centre are unattractive so it's easy to get the wrong impression when you first drive in -- but don't let that put you off. If you know anyone in Sydney, they'll try to put you off Newcastle. It's part rivalry, part outdated ideas (Newcastle was a working-class town 50 years ago, it's not now). The Sunshine Coast could be a good choice for you, too. The entire region has a lower population than Edinburgh, so it's not a city lifestyle but the amenities are there. Edited October 11, 2023 by Marisawright 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marisawright Posted October 11, 2023 Share Posted October 11, 2023 4 minutes ago, Cheery Thistle said: . If we come in Feb and absolutely hate it then we won’t move. Hubby is eligible for an Irish passport so at that point we’d consider Europe, but employment for him is more limited there due to the language barrier and I feel there’s less opportunity long term for our girl. February is a fantastic choice for a visit. You'll see the climate at its best/worst. February/March are the hottest months, so if you enjoy it, you can feel confident you'll love it the rest of the year, too. If you find it a bit too sticky/humid, remember that the further south you go, the less sticky it gets. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cheery Thistle Posted October 11, 2023 Author Share Posted October 11, 2023 14 minutes ago, Marisawright said: I know we've crossed swords in the past, but I hope you won't dismiss the advice I'm about to give. I'm from Aberdeen and lived in Stirling for many years (and loved popping into Edinburgh and Glasgow regularly). If you want that lifestyle, Sydney isn't it. It's more like Manchester by the sea, far more busy and congested (unless you have several million to buy a house near the coast). Even Brisbane is FOUR TIMES the size of Edinburgh, with all the traffic that goes with that. As my work is corporate, I never had the choice to work anywhere but the capital cities in Australia. I think you're a nurse, so you have far more freedom. There are regional cities which have all the amenities you're looking for. I'd be doing the tourist thing in Sydney for a few days, then heading up the coast to check out Newcastle. Bigger than Aberdeen, smaller than Edinburgh. Plenty of shopping centres, restaurants, cafes, gorgeous beaches, good schools. Two hours from Sydney by train or car. https://newywithkids.com.au/moving-to-newcastle-a-guide-for-families/ Be warned, parts of the city centre are unattractive so it's easy to get the wrong impression when you first drive in -- but don't let that put you off. If you know anyone in Sydney, they'll try to put you off Newcastle. It's part rivalry, part outdated ideas (Newcastle was a working-class town 50 years ago, it's not now). The Sunshine Coast could be a good choice for you, too. The entire region has a lower population than Edinburgh, so it's not a city lifestyle but the amenities are there. I fancied Newcastle but honestly the houses for our budget (around $1 million-ish maybe a bit more) seem really woeful compared to our house here! I can live with what I can get in Brisbane/Sunny Coast for that money, although in some cases it’s still not quite as good as our house here. I’m a secondary teacher to trade but have been out of the classroom 5 years working in corporate L and D in the public sector. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
InnerVoice Posted October 12, 2023 Share Posted October 12, 2023 3 hours ago, RubyMonday said: Yeah the $20,000 is for nurses, the highest offering of all the states. WA and SA are only offering $10,000 but may be preferable for me. I'm definitely not a big city person and never really was fussed about Melbourne or Sydney. I wouldn't mind regional but internal flights in Australia are pretty expensive, I wish they'd get an equivalent of ryanair. Have you spent much time in QLD? I was last there in Noosa in October last year. That was the first time I had been to the sunshine coast since I had skipped over it the last time I was there traveling up the coast. It seemed nice but public transport not fantastic and expensive housing unless you go right inland but that's similar to a lot of areas. Virgin are our equivalent of Ryanair, or Virgin Blue as they were known originally. Before that Qantas had a monopoly and airfares - even domestic - were hellishly expensive. Right the way through the early noughties, until I moved back to the UK in 2008, I used to book a return ticket from the UK as they were about half the price they were in Australia. I'd always have the return leg of a flight when I was in Australia, but this was back in the good old days when you didn't have to pay to change the date, so you could easily move it back or forth if required. JetStar are just Qantas's budget operation, who were launched to compete with Virgin. You're never going to get anything as cheap as Ryanair or EasyJet over here because we just don't have the numbers to make it viable. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
InnerVoice Posted October 12, 2023 Share Posted October 12, 2023 2 hours ago, Cheery Thistle said: I fancied Newcastle but honestly the houses for our budget (around $1 million-ish maybe a bit more) seem really woeful compared to our house here! I can live with what I can get in Brisbane/Sunny Coast for that money, although in some cases it’s still not quite as good as our house here. I’m a secondary teacher to trade but have been out of the classroom 5 years working in corporate L and D in the public sector. You can't compare UK and Australian houses - they're like chalk and cheese. Our houses are built with a completely different purpose and lifestyle in mind. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marisawright Posted October 12, 2023 Share Posted October 12, 2023 3 hours ago, Cheery Thistle said: I fancied Newcastle but honestly the houses for our budget (around $1 million-ish maybe a bit more) seem really woeful compared to our house here! I can live with what I can get in Brisbane/Sunny Coast for that money, although in some cases it’s still not quite as good as our house here. I’m a secondary teacher to trade but have been out of the classroom 5 years working in corporate L and D in the public sector. Ooh, I hadn't realised they'd gone up so much. Newcastle is still about half the price of Sydney, if you look at the equivalent quality of suburb (the median price is misleading because Sydney is so sprawling). Remember you can be right on the very edge of Newcastle and still be closer to the city centre than a mid-ring suburb in Sydney. Have you been looking at Seek to suss out where the jobs are in your field? Linkedin is also a good place to see if you can make contacts. Employment agencies are annoying and will often ignore you if you email them -- you could try phoning, or actually walking into their offices while you're there in February. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
InnerVoice Posted October 12, 2023 Share Posted October 12, 2023 3 hours ago, Marisawright said: February is a fantastic choice for a visit. You'll see the climate at its best/worst. February/March are the hottest months, so if you enjoy it, you can feel confident you'll love it the rest of the year, too. If you find it a bit too sticky/humid, remember that the further south you go, the less sticky it gets. January and February are the hottest months in Australia, followed by December, although March in Queensland is hot by comparison with your average UK summer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JZT Posted October 12, 2023 Share Posted October 12, 2023 Congratulations @Cheery Thistle we are also with the DUC and had our visa granted really quickly too. We’ve been out here in SA for 7 months now, also have family in Sydney so it’s been great for us to visit them and them to visit us. It’s exciting that you’ve got a visit planned to explore & check out areas Sunshine Coast is one of my favourite places and we really enjoyed Gold Coast when we visited recently too. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marisawright Posted October 12, 2023 Share Posted October 12, 2023 (edited) 2 hours ago, InnerVoice said: January and February are the hottest months in Australia, followed by December I always used to feel March could be as bad as February in Sydney. Maybe it was psychological: I'd be suffering through a sticky February, looking forward to March and then it wouldn't feel any better. A bit like when I lived in Aberdeen. I'd be tholing the Arctic weather in February, thinking Spring was around the corner -- then along came March and it would snow! Edited October 12, 2023 by Marisawright 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
InnerVoice Posted October 12, 2023 Share Posted October 12, 2023 5 minutes ago, Marisawright said: I always used to feel March could be as bad as February in Sydney. Maybe it was psychological: I'd be suffering through a sticky February, looking forward to March and then it wouldn't feel any better. A bit like when I lived in Aberdeen. I'd be tholing the Arctic weather in February, thinking Spring was around the corner -- then along came March and it would snow! That echoes my memories of March in the UK. You've just had 3 months of winter weather and there's this (false) expectation that there will be some nicer weather in March, but there never is. There are usually more wet days in March and April, so it's just cold, wet and miserable most of the time. At least in January you sometimes get some nice, crisp winter days when it's cold but sunny, so perfect for winter walks. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cheery Thistle Posted October 12, 2023 Author Share Posted October 12, 2023 3 hours ago, InnerVoice said: You can't compare UK and Australian houses - they're like chalk and cheese. Our houses are built with a completely different purpose and lifestyle in mind. Well, even if I’m not comparing, those Newcastle houses were what I’d call fugly and I’m not moving 10,000 miles to live in one of them! 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cheery Thistle Posted October 12, 2023 Author Share Posted October 12, 2023 1 hour ago, Marisawright said: I always used to feel March could be as bad as February in Sydney. Maybe it was psychological: I'd be suffering through a sticky February, looking forward to March and then it wouldn't feel any better. A bit like when I lived in Aberdeen. I'd be tholing the Arctic weather in February, thinking Spring was around the corner -- then along came March and it would snow! Exactly! I’m looking forward to flying out of Edinburgh around that time. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cheery Thistle Posted October 12, 2023 Author Share Posted October 12, 2023 51 minutes ago, InnerVoice said: That echoes my memories of March in the UK. You've just had 3 months of winter weather and there's this (false) expectation that there will be some nicer weather in March, but there never is. There are usually more wet days in March and April, so it's just cold, wet and miserable most of the time. At least in January you sometimes get some nice, crisp winter days when it's cold but sunny, so perfect for winter walks. Those blue sky days are few and far between nowadays. We seem to get so much more of that mild, grey weather. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cheery Thistle Posted October 12, 2023 Author Share Posted October 12, 2023 3 hours ago, Marisawright said: Ooh, I hadn't realised they'd gone up so much. Newcastle is still about half the price of Sydney, if you look at the equivalent quality of suburb (the median price is misleading because Sydney is so sprawling). Remember you can be right on the very edge of Newcastle and still be closer to the city centre than a mid-ring suburb in Sydney. Have you been looking at Seek to suss out where the jobs are in your field? Linkedin is also a good place to see if you can make contacts. Employment agencies are annoying and will often ignore you if you email them -- you could try phoning, or actually walking into their offices while you're there in February. Don’t worry, I’m on it regarding jobs. I’m actually starting to build up my own freelance clientele here so I’m hoping I might be able to continue that, alongside either teaching part time or maybe picking up an L and D contract. I’m very proactive and have already started building contacts in QLD on LinkedIn. I think if I really wanted I’d probably be able to secure a teaching job before I arrived, but I haven’t decided that’s definitely what I want to do. I’m actually sure I’ll be fine that way, just hoping hubby will be too. There are definitely more jobs Brisbane way and also slightly more affordable houses (and more choice) than in Sunshine Coast. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cheery Thistle Posted October 12, 2023 Author Share Posted October 12, 2023 2 hours ago, JZT said: Congratulations @Cheery Thistle we are also with the DUC and had our visa granted really quickly too. We’ve been out here in SA for 7 months now, also have family in Sydney so it’s been great for us to visit them and them to visit us. It’s exciting that you’ve got a visit planned to explore & check out areas Sunshine Coast is one of my favourite places and we really enjoyed Gold Coast when we visited recently too. Actually so looking forward to going over now that I know we have the visa! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.