Maisiemoo Posted February 1, 2010 Share Posted February 1, 2010 Hi all, I am new to this site although the talk of moving to the land of Oz isn't !!! I was wondering if anyone as advice for us. Basically my oh is the one that would get us there. He is a civil engineer he has 15 years experience and that involves working for the armed forces in a number of positions and places!. I work for the council as a area sales manager however realise that I will have to re look at my career options. We have quite a lot of equity in our property even allowing for a a percentage drop in house price. The move to Oz has been our dream for a number of years (mine probably for longer) but now the situation where we live is scary and to move elsewhere would still cost a fortune either moving house getting a bigger mortage but still having the low quality of lifestyle. we are not stupid we know the risk and we are not looking at this without thinking of leaving family and friends. A lot of our friends live all over the country or world due to being in the army. We have been doing research for years and exhibtions and now is the time to start the process....any advice etc would be superb!!! xxxxxxxx Erika, Mark, Elisha Pie (6) and Maisie moo (4):spinny: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul1Perth Posted February 2, 2010 Share Posted February 2, 2010 Hi Erika, My advice would be to get on with the application as quick as possible. We moved here (Perth) in 92 and wish we had done it 20 years earlier. It's a great lifestyle. Don't even try to compare prices of things as you can't ake into account taxes, salaries, exchange rates etc. If you and your hubby like sport and the outdoor lifestyle you will love it. There should be plenty of opportunity for a Civil Engineer, there are a few big projects planned for WA with more coming on line soon. Your kids are just about the right age to come out. It's a lot better place to bring up a family. Don't hesitate, I can't say enough good things about Perth and strangely enough, you won't feel that far away from the UK as there are no language barriers. You can spend too much time doing research and come up with different answers every time. Just get the paperwork sorted and don't look back. It will be a costly and probably lenghty exercise but I'm sure you won't regret the move. There is no guarantee you will be accepted of course. Good luck, Paul. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maisiemoo Posted February 4, 2010 Author Share Posted February 4, 2010 Thanks Paul, That is true we may not get ccepted and then we will have to look at other option to get out of the place we live. Either way it's going to cost! But hopefully we will. We are of to the Expo next month so hopefully once we have been there we will start the application process. I know we will miss our family. But it's strange it's more the kids with my mum then me. My mum is used to me! But she loves the kids to pieces and at 70 her insurance to come over will he high. However the only reason I see her twice a week is because we need child care because I have to work fulltime. Mainly because we moved to a bigger house when we had the kids and to give the kids some sort of lifestyle we need the money (mainly to get on decent holidays). But what happens to us in 10 years when the girls are 16 and we are trying to force them to leave this place and go find something better. We will end up being in a rough area still waiting for them holidays. We know the kid will move on whatever and I hope they go and make there life better than ours however at least my husband and I can have a better quality of life when we are older. We never see our friends because we work so much I spend most time on facebook! It is scary but I just think someone has to break the tradition of hanging around for the sake of the older ones who have made their decision and start looking at my girls future. :chatterbox: Erika, Mark, Maisiemoo and the Pie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest The Ropey HOFF Posted February 4, 2010 Share Posted February 4, 2010 Hi maisiemoo, you sound like us about 3 years ago, only we had visited Perth and it is fantastic. There are huge sprawling new housing estates not far from the sea with fabulous houses and they are cheap compared to the uk, if you pay $450,000 dollars for an house in oz, it would be worth 450,000 pounds in the uk. There is very little crime on most of these estates and anti-social behaviour on them is almost non-exhistant. There are parks and barbecue areas all over and they are also dotted along the coast line and the beaches are fabulous. You will get someone on PIO trying to contradict what i say and that its just as bad for crime, but there are huge areas where crime is very low, but you will have to work hard to acheive your dream and if you want a good migration agent, try sarah.white@gomatilda.com she is brilliant and she sorted out our visa. Best of luck and i hope your dreams become a reality, but it is a long hard road. jim. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maisiemoo Posted February 4, 2010 Author Share Posted February 4, 2010 Hi Helen, thanks for that reply, it's good to get the positive ones!! It's a hard enough decision to make....Are you in Perth now?? If so where abouts? How long did it take and do you have kids ?? I have just come from picking my little girl up from pre school, the only time I get to do it is if my child care lets me down and now we are struggling to go anywhere but to another softplay because the weather is so bad, the parks are dirty and the facilities trashed. I need to try something different. Now it's just to see if my husband can get a job I have heard that it's quite hard to get a job for him because he has no experience in Australia Building. It's all on him mainly because he's a civil engineer and also he has 5 years youth on his side!!!! I just want to give our kids a better way of life. Plus I realise there is crime everywhere but how about a place where the bars are closing because of the number of stabbings and fight. I work for the local council and yesterday the number of drunks who came in was stupid and then to top it off we had someone threatening suicide with us for 2 hours until the police came!! Great society for my kids!! Any advice would be greatly appreciated Helen Thanks Erika Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest The Ropey HOFF Posted February 4, 2010 Share Posted February 4, 2010 Hi Erika, unfortunately we are here in the freezing uk like yourself and we were in Perth for a month in 2006 and it is fabulous for familys with young kids, very family orientated, loads of parks and play areas near the sea with adjoining barbecue areas, my favourite place was Rockingham which is a city in Australia because they have more than 120,000 people live in that borough, but it was so small with a sprinkling of nice bars and resteraunts by the sea with a few shops, it was lovely, nothing like the uk. The play areas were not vandalised and the kids all seemed nice and you didn't see any anti-social behaviour. can you imagine what would happen to a big shiny barbecue in a park in the uk, well no one would dare use it-enough said. We are validating our visas in Brisbane for a month in april and we can't wait to get some warm sun, always remember this, here in the uk we get 6 months of nasty weather, followed by winter, it has to be better in Perth, with 9 months of sun. all the best. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dawn75 Posted February 4, 2010 Share Posted February 4, 2010 Hi Maisiemoo, You sound like me 18 months ago ! We have our visas and are making the move to Perth in June. You are right to think of your girls futures, you cant live your life for your parents even if it feels selfish saying that. I havent been to Perth but have friends there and they tell me how laid back, clean, safe it is and especially good for bringing up children. My 2 are similar ages- my son is 5 and my daughter turns 4 just before we leave. I cant wait to get away from the UK ! I think if you feel so strongly about going and accept it will be a challenging time ahead you really must go for it !! If you dont you will always wonder "what if " ?! Good luck x Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maisiemoo Posted February 4, 2010 Author Share Posted February 4, 2010 Hi Helen.... Oh very exciting!!! You must be feeling like it's almost real!! I have got our flight money already saved up!! My secret fund that me and the girls have been saving for 2 years...They have popped their pennies in me all my shoe money!! (Thats quite bit lol!!) Your post has made me feel excited about a new adventure....and you know being an ex army wife I am used to travelling plus I talk for ever and to everyone!! Good luck and let me know how things are going on... x Erika Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest tracie01 Posted February 20, 2010 Share Posted February 20, 2010 Hi Erika We are in a similar situation to you - although I think your research is a little more advanced than ours! We are planning a month long trip to Oz as we have never been but we feel the same as you about the UK. We have a few more complications as well as older generations to leave behind, my husband has 2 children from his first marriage aged 15 and 19. The older one doesn't want to come but the younger one is considering it - whichever way they decide it will be a wrench for all of us. We have 2 children aged 6 and 2 and I really want them to experience a better quality of life - something which I fear is not going to happen where we live now! It was great to read your story and I will continue to follow your quest with interest. Good luck Tracie x Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest boa Posted February 20, 2010 Share Posted February 20, 2010 Well some balance would be nice I feel :wink: People really seem to be comparing apples to oranges here, anyone would think anywhere you go in the UK everything is vandalised, crime is rampant and all the kids are rude, knife carrying yobs whereas the situation in Australia is the exact opposite. The truth of the matter is there are places in both countries that I wouldn't want to live and many places where I would be happy to live. You must remember that recent or imminent immigrants tend to be only able to see one side, the UK is crap and Australia is perfect, of course neither is true. Believe it or not we do have high crime, we do have lots of vandalism, assaults, murders, robberies etc, in fact all the crimes they have in the UK. As I have said before I am a realist and not being negative. We live in a low crime area south of Brisbane but there are areas not far from us that are considered high crime and I would NEVER consider living. Being in a good area hasn't stopped the local kids playground being vandalised though. Brisbane night clubs have a huge violence problem, Police a few weeks ago literally went in mob handed and bought in reinforcements from all around to the area to try and stop the violence. Do I see that as a negative ? Well yes but it's the same negative you hate about where you are. Perth Railway Police bust youth crime gangs | Perth Now Serious crime up but overall rates down - ABC Perth - Australian Broadcasting Corporation This isn't to scare you or anything, it's just to introduce some balance into the chat, please don't go thinking that kids in WA walk the streets handing out flowers to strangers, like most places in the UK or here the streets are safe but crime is high, like it or not. I can take you to any number of places in Brisbane where the parks are vandalised, the buildings are covered in graffiti and the streets aren't safe but I can take you to more that are safe and clean. Remember compare apples to apples. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tracy123 Posted February 20, 2010 Share Posted February 20, 2010 Well some balance would be nice I feel :wink: People really seem to be comparing apples to oranges here, anyone would think anywhere you go in the UK everything is vandalised, crime is rampant and all the kids are rude, knife carrying yobs whereas the situation in Australia is the exact opposite. The truth of the matter is there are places in both countries that I wouldn't want to live and many places where I would be happy to live. You must remember that recent or imminent immigrants tend to be only able to see one side, the UK is crap and Australia is perfect, of course neither is true. Believe it or not we do have high crime, we do have lots of vandalism, assaults, murders, robberies etc, in fact all the crimes they have in the UK. As I have said before I am a realist and not being negative. We live in a low crime area south of Brisbane but there are areas not far from us that are considered high crime and I would NEVER consider living. Being in a good area hasn't stopped the local kids playground being vandalised though. Brisbane night clubs have a huge violence problem, Police a few weeks ago literally went in mob handed and bought in reinforcements from all around to the area to try and stop the violence. Do I see that as a negative ? Well yes but it's the same negative you hate about where you are. Perth Railway Police bust youth crime gangs | Perth Now Serious crime up but overall rates down - ABC Perth - Australian Broadcasting Corporation This isn't to scare you or anything, it's just to introduce some balance into the chat, please don't go thinking that kids in WA walk the streets handing out flowers to strangers, like most places in the UK or here the streets are safe but crime is high, like it or not. I can take you to any number of places in Brisbane where the parks are vandalised, the buildings are covered in graffiti and the streets aren't safe but I can take you to more that are safe and clean. Remember compare apples to apples. Apples to Apples Perth = London Hobart = London Melbourne = London Sydney = London etc etc etc and I'm sure crime rates are better in any Australian capital city compaired to London. Apples vs Apples Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest boa Posted February 20, 2010 Share Posted February 20, 2010 Yes I forgot London was the only place in the UK :laugh: I have never lived in London and never would. I don't see the relevance at all. If I returned to the UK I would live in Dorset or Devon. I wonder what the crime rate in Sydney is compared to Poole :wink: Actually Sydney is a capital city so lets say Newcastle (NSW) and Poole. You seem to have missed the point, it is perfectly possible to easily move to an area of low crime in the UK or high crime over here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
legoman Posted February 20, 2010 Share Posted February 20, 2010 Apples to Apples Perth = London Hobart = London Melbourne = London Sydney = London etc etc etc and I'm sure crime rates are better in any Australian capital city compaired to London. Apples vs Apples Best to live there first to experience it. then again, if you are mugged in London sydney auckland or poole whats the difference :eek: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tracy123 Posted February 21, 2010 Share Posted February 21, 2010 Yes I forgot London was the only place in the UK :laugh: I have never lived in London and never would. I don't see the relevance at all. If I returned to the UK I would live in Dorset or Devon. I wonder what the crime rate in Sydney is compared to Poole :wink: Actually Sydney is a capital city so lets say Newcastle (NSW) and Poole. You seem to have missed the point, it is perfectly possible to easily move to an area of low crime in the UK or high crime over here. Apples to Apples you said lets do Victoria and compare it to England Capital of England, london Capital of Victoria Melbourne Big city out of London, Manchester Big city out of Melbourne, Geelong see where I'm going...... The thing is people are moving from country England and moving into Melbourne and complain that it's expensive, crime ridden etc.... Apples to oranges (as you say) Compair country England to country Victoria Could I move from Blackburn into London, and have little to no mortgage? No don't think so, so why do I expect to be able to do it when I get to Melbourne? It's goes for crime rates and everything else, the more people around the greater the chance something will happen. You want apples to apples but compair apples to oranges :wacko: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tracy123 Posted February 21, 2010 Share Posted February 21, 2010 Best to live there first to experience it. then again, if you are mugged in London sydney auckland or poole whats the difference :eek: you could live in the safest place on earth and still get stabbed, mugged etc, same as living in a rough estate and never have anything happen. Sometimes it's just life Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
legoman Posted February 21, 2010 Share Posted February 21, 2010 totally agree, wrong place wrong time and all that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest boa Posted February 21, 2010 Share Posted February 21, 2010 Sorry Tracy, I just can't follow post 14 at all. You seem to be comparing Manchester (a huge city) with Geelong (where I grew up) which definitely isn't a huge city. That's sort of apples and pineapples :laugh: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tracy123 Posted February 21, 2010 Share Posted February 21, 2010 Sorry Tracy, I just can't follow post 14 at all. You seem to be comparing Manchester (a huge city) with Geelong (where I grew up) which definitely isn't a huge city. That's sort of apples and pineapples :laugh: At least it's not Perth for a change well done :SLEEP: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest boa Posted February 21, 2010 Share Posted February 21, 2010 :laugh: Don't start me on Perth, :SLEEP:is right. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maisiemoo Posted February 22, 2010 Author Share Posted February 22, 2010 Ok!!!! enough with the apples and oranges!!! :laugh: Although I prefer oranges to be honest. No seriously not taking the mick out of any comments posted as I know people are just offering a different opinion and you know something that is fine. Everyone as their own. I do and I am sure people seriously looking at the expense, the emotional upheavel etc are aware that where ever you go in the world their is crime, graffti etc.....I know for one that things are not perfect anywhere....believe me this isn't and never will be a light hearted, fool decision. We have travelled many places (my hubby ex army) and were based in cambridge for a while. Which was lovely clean and in the 7 years my hubby was based there he had never heard of much crime then when we left 2 small girls were killed by their caretaker.....down the road from us now someone we trusted is now a convicted peodo!!! We read news (my husband is quite obsessed with current affairs and politics YES even Australian online newspapers!!!) No where in the world is safe..We have looked at moving other places in the Uk and if we can't get into Oz this is what we will have to consider. BUT the difference is we are prepared to sell up, rent not buy and for me to spend time with my kids spend weekends outside with the girls, do sport etc etc whereas where we live this is in short supply..mainly due to our year long lovely weather but also because of the facilities for sport we have round us. we couldn't even take the kids swimming on Sunday because the only pool within 10 miles that is clean didn't have enough staff to man the small pool and it was adults only in the big and on a SUNDAY!!!!:arghh: We are not stupid to think my husband won't work as much..we are lucky that even with a massive drop in the sale of our house we have a lot of equity. I presently work for the Council and work a 45 hour week, to have the lifestyle here so we can afford to take the kids places.....good holidays for at least 2 weeks decent weather i.e rained all last thursday in kids holiday £90 to take them to a safari park and 5 rides each! We would be the ones who take them to a park on our bikes... Sorry to waffle but I do appreciate the grass is always greener! But if it all falls flat on it's face and we hate it what have we lost but money and I'm sorry but you can't take it with you! I do know quite a few people who live in Oz weather in Perth, Brisbane, Adelaide and Sydney.....they don't regret it for a minute and they are all from my home town. If I lived down South in England I would have to work 45+ hours and commute as would my husband because of the nature of our roles we would be shattered and with no outside life still because of the weather. Anyway there you go....apples, oranges, bananas :confused: we can all compare like for like but sometimes you have to hold onto a little bit of a dream or else before you know it you're left behind at 70 wondering where your chances went! Erika, Mark, E-Pie and the Moo! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tracy123 Posted February 22, 2010 Share Posted February 22, 2010 Ok!!!! enough with the apples and oranges!!! Although I prefer oranges to be honest. LOL No seriously not taking the mick out of any comments posted as I know people are just offering a different opinion and you know something that is fine. Everyone as their own. I do and I am sure people seriously looking at the expense, the emotional upheavel etc are aware that where ever you go in the world their is crime, graffti etc.....I know for one that things are not perfect anywhere....believe me this isn't and never will be a light hearted, fool decision. We have travelled many places (my hubby ex army) and were based in cambridge for a while. Which was lovely clean and in the 7 years my hubby was based there he had never heard of much crime then when we left 2 small girls were killed by their caretaker.....down the road from us now someone we trusted is now a convicted peodo!!! We read news (my husband is quite obsessed with current affairs and politics YES even Australian online newspapers!!!) No where in the world is safe..We have looked at moving other places in the Uk and if we can't get into Oz this is what we will have to consider. BUT the difference is we are prepared to sell up, rent not buy and for me to spend time with my kids spend weekends outside with the girls, do sport etc etc whereas where we live this is in short supply..mainly due to our year long lovely weather but also because of the facilities for sport we have round us. we couldn't even take the kids swimming on Sunday because the only pool within 10 miles that is clean didn't have enough staff to man the small pool and it was adults only in the big and on a SUNDAY!!!!:arghh: We are not stupid to think my husband won't work as much..we are lucky that even with a massive drop in the sale of our house we have a lot of equity. I presently work for the Council and work a 45 hour week, to have the lifestyle here so we can afford to take the kids places.....good holidays for at least 2 weeks decent weather i.e rained all last thursday in kids holiday £90 to take them to a safari park and 5 rides each! We would be the ones who take them to a park on our bikes... Sorry to waffle but I do appreciate the grass is always greener! But if it all falls flat on it's face and we hate it what have we lost but money and I'm sorry but you can't take it with you! I do know quite a few people who live in Oz weather in Perth, Brisbane, Adelaide and Sydney.....they don't regret it for a minute and they are all from my home town. If I lived down South in England I would have to work 45+ hours and commute as would my husband because of the nature of our roles we would be shattered and with no outside life still because of the weather. Anyway there you go....apples, oranges, bananas :confused: we can all compare like for like but sometimes you have to hold onto a little bit of a dream or else before you know it you're left behind at 70 wondering where your chances went! Erika, Mark, E-Pie and the Moo! Looks to me that your mind is already made up, good luck and I hope your plans work out no matter where you end up :wubclub: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul1Perth Posted February 23, 2010 Share Posted February 23, 2010 Maisiemoo, I think you have summed up the reasons why most people move pretty well. I'm sure you will love it here. We are lucky enough to live close to a great beach and spend most of our spare time down there. We are members of the local surf club and have met some great people through that. The kids have both been members since age 7 and the eldest (now 20) has maintained friendships he made from then. As you mention the cost of entertaining kids in the UK can be horrendous. I found your comments on the local swimming pool pretty funny. When I took my kids to a pool when we were on holiday a few years ago (in Stockport) the first day we rang it was closed to the general public as it was pensioners day. The day we went they didn't have on enough staff to use the waterslide and I got told off for diving in. There was no-one else in the pool at the time and I dived in the deep end (obviously), the lifeguard had to walk round the whole pool to come and tell me. To top it off another swimmer then told me I was swimming too fast as I kept swimming past him and caused a bit of a wave. It was also very expensive for me and the 2 kids to go compared to here. We have 2 leisure centres within 10 mins. of our house. Both have 25m indoor snd 50m outdoor heated pools. They are open at 5:30 in the morning till around 8:30 at night and are well used. It costs about $3.30 to get in and there are no sessions. You stay in as long as you like. There are always lanes for people who want to swim properly, it's not a free for all like the UK. I could go on but you get the general idea. Good luck, Paul. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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