deb t-w Posted January 11, 2010 Share Posted January 11, 2010 Hi all, we are lucky enough to have been accepted and our 175 PR is in place - lucky us!! We did a validation trip last Feb and then came back to sort out the house which is currently on the market - no news there unfortunately! Our issue is that whilst we are waiting for all to be sorted in the UK to allow us to make the move, (house sale and business wind up) we are wondering whether we have missed the boat and whether the move could be big mistake. My parents are currently on a 7 week holiday there with my sister who has been living on the Mornington Peninsula for the last 10 years and during the holiday have been looking into the possibility of moving themselves once we go. Whilst they should not have a problem qualifying (all their children and grandchildren would be in Aus and they are over 65), my dad feels that the cost of living in Aus is just too high to enable them to make the move and thinks that we will find the same thing. They are quite comfortable in the UK and although he does tend to be a bit pessimistic, we are now wondering whether we have seriously misjudged the whole thing. OH is an electrician and has been assessed as an Electrical Mechanic and I am a book keeper who would be looking for part time work and we have an 8 year old daughter. We are planning to move to Victoria to the Mount Eliza/Mornington/Mount Martha area and with the equity from the house sale would be expecting to have a mortgage in the region of 250K AUD. When we did our validation trip, we did nothing but check out cost of living, houses, went to the bank, all the right stuff we thought and came back with the opinion that it was definitely viable for us to make the move but now we have serious doubts. Were we wrong, have things changed a huge amount in the last 12 months or is dad just very pessimistic? We don't expect the streets to be paved with gold and know that the same as anywhere, we will have to work hard to get on in life. Another concern is that it appears to be almost impossible for OH to find a job from over here so will have to wait until we land to start looking (we already are aware of the electricians licensing issue)and even then electricians generally employ by word of mouth - how then do you find work if you don't know anyone. We have been assured by several people that as we are hard working and really want to make it work, we will have no problems but of course there are no guarantees. I would really appreciate it if anyone would be kind enough to share their views and advice especially if you have just recently taken the plunge and are still mentally making the comparisons. Debbie :confused: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest juliemtaylor Posted January 11, 2010 Share Posted January 11, 2010 well we know the exchange rate is terrible compared to when we started process a year ago, houses expensive, just sold for loads less... But my eldest is 13 and if we delayed it would affect her education too much. Job prospects here are rubbish, I too am a bookeeper and was made redundant from cashier job here in Nov and not many part time jobs here now.. OH into IT and there are better prospects out in Oz, even though will have to go without jobs and hope for the best.. We are going to Oz for our children's futures really, and have only this one go at it - so we are not thinking about what we could have had a year ago and just getting on with it.. Going to Mornington on 25th Feb. Julie x Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deb t-w Posted January 11, 2010 Author Share Posted January 11, 2010 Hi Julie, looks like we are in the same boat and going to be at the same place! Perhaps we should team up or meet up at the least! Looks like fate as 25th Feb is my birthday! Good luck with your move! D x Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
theonetruechris Posted January 11, 2010 Share Posted January 11, 2010 Been in Melbourne since September been job hunting since November (been trying to settle the boy in) I never thought the streets would be paved with gold either but... it does make a difference not being able to get work, I was looking at my account on seek the other day 95 jobs applied for not counting bunnings, woolies, Coles etc. You can be the most determined, hard working, want to make it work etc. etc. But if you can't get work how can you make it work. The wife’s got a job as a nurse but we keep having to dip into savings to survive. Sorry for pessimism but I definitely believe its who you know not what you know that gets you a job. Could you not test the waters work wise by taking an extended holiday & staying with family to see if oh can get work if it works out sell up and stay out here if not go back to uk - wish I had Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deb t-w Posted January 11, 2010 Author Share Posted January 11, 2010 Been in Melbourne since September been job hunting since November (been trying to settle the boy in) I never thought the streets would be paved with gold either but... it does make a difference not being able to get work, I was looking at my account on seek the other day 95 jobs applied for not counting bunnings, woolies, Coles etc. You can be the most determined, hard working, want to make it work etc. etc. But if you can't get work how can you make it work. The wife’s got a job as a nurse but we keep having to dip into savings to survive. Sorry for pessimism but I definitely believe its who you know not what you know that gets you a job. Could you not test the waters work wise by taking an extended holiday & staying with family to see if oh can get work if it works out sell up and stay out here if not go back to uk - wish I had Not that easy unfortunately as OH has a business here in the UK with a partner. Work is far from plentiful at the moment but at the moment is just about ticking over (only just though). For us to come, the business partnership has to be dissolved and the house sold, so I'm afraid it's all or nothing for us. On the other hand if work doesn't pick up here, the business will fold anyway and then the house will have to go so we will be left with nothing and might as well have a fresh start. We do have the advantage of family to stay with but as they are in education, they can't really help us find work. You didn't say whether you were in the same trade - perhaps you could let me know what sort of work you had been looking for, to give your post a bit more perspective for me - thanks Debbie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
theonetruechris Posted January 11, 2010 Share Posted January 11, 2010 design engineer mainly, but been looking at anything I'm qualified to do in broader engineering and sh**y jobs as well see coles etc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sandgrounders Posted January 13, 2010 Share Posted January 13, 2010 We're in a similar situation, it's all or nothing and we have to sell our house to fund the whole thing. Now we're thinking the same thing as you Deb. We did our validation last July and about half way through the trip got a funny feeling about the whole venture, jobs seemed scarce and the falling exchange rate seemed to just compound things. Our house was up for sale from Aug 08 until Aug 09, 25 viewings and only one offer of 30% below our already reduced price. We decided when we got back from that trip that we'd take the house off the market and leave it 12 months to see how things panned out both here and in Oz. Exchange rate is now 30% worse than when we started this back in 07 and nothing else has really improved, so I'm thinking... is it really worth it? Phil Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deb t-w Posted January 13, 2010 Author Share Posted January 13, 2010 We were the opposite Phil, in that we went on our validation trip thinking that the finances would be borderline but so long as OH could work 40 (ish) hours a week as opposed to the 70+ he works at the moment then it would be okay. As there are only 3 of us, we didn't want or need a huge house so our needs and demands were and still are fairly simple. What we found was that we could easily afford the life we want so came back and it was all systems go. It is my dad who has put the wind up us now saying that it is unaffordable although the difference is that his pension would come from the UK and be subject to the exchange rate fluctuations whereas we would be earning and spending in Aus. The main advantage we thought we would have is that we could significantly reduce our mortgage and still have a better house than we have now and this would give us the same disposable income as now but more free time together. I am now frantically comparing grocery prices online and constantly looking at house prices. I can't help wondering whether in the time it has taken to get that, oh so elusive visa, whether that advantage has now disappeared and that we have missed the boat. Also, everyone used to say that Australia was crying out for electricians but now there seem to be plenty of people on the forums saying that they just can't find work anywhere. I am trying so hard to let my head rule my heart but is the desire to live the dream too great! Perhaps if we don't try now, we always live to regret it? At least we will have had the experience but we have yet to find whether it would be a good or bad one. D x Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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