JHSOLS Posted June 19, 2010 Share Posted June 19, 2010 Out of interest would you ever (or did anyone) start the process and emigrate to Aus without every visiting the country??? We want to emigrate there and I would be happy to go with no pre-vist due to just a hell of alot of research and seeing the life of a few friends I know who have moved out there, hubby says because we have never visited he would be worried to do so....the thing is, to save up for a visit would take us a good 18 months, and then that money would be what should be savinging for either a) house deposit here or b) money to live off for if we went to Aus so to me it seems alot to waste (Im estimating it would be £5-£6 k for 3 weeks for the 3 of us on a skinny spending budget) where as I'm not sure he will commit to going unless he goes to the place and decide he loves it!! Im just wondering really what peoples experiences were of just emigrating there without ever visiting first! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest chris955 Posted June 19, 2010 Share Posted June 19, 2010 I would never recommend deciding to live in a country without at least visiting once, it has worked for some people but is far from ideal. You have to bear in mind that even people who have visited haven't been able to settle once the reality of living somewhere hits home. It is a huge step to take and one I couldn't imagine doing without having visited first. I realise it is a lot of money but it would cost more to come here and find you don't like it and have to return. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest30085 Posted June 19, 2010 Share Posted June 19, 2010 Hi there I dont have my visa yet (Im working on it :biggrin:) but I am about to visit Oz in a week or so. Im lucky to have been three times before so I suppose I know what I am letting myself in for so to speak. I know some on PIO had never visited before emigrating and it does and can work out. In all honesty I would be very cautious about emigrating without ever visiting the country first. In the same way - would I buy a house without ever looking around it first?? - and the answer would be no. Its a very brave move and all the research in the world may not give you a true picture of what actually living there is like, but some would argue that a 'reccie' doesnt either as you are in 'holiday mode'. Its a tough choice but I wish you luck with your decision making :hug: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest siamsusie Posted June 19, 2010 Share Posted June 19, 2010 Out of interest would you ever (or did anyone) start the process and emigrate to Aus without every visiting the country??? We want to emigrate there and I would be happy to go with no pre-vist due to just a hell of alot of research and seeing the life of a few friends I know who have moved out there, hubby says because we have never visited he would be worried to do so....the thing is, to save up for a visit would take us a good 18 months, and then that money would be what should be savinging for either a) house deposit here or b) money to live off for if we went to Aus so to me it seems alot to waste (Im estimating it would be £5-£6 k for 3 weeks for the 3 of us on a skinny spending budget) where as I'm not sure he will commit to going unless he goes to the place and decide he loves it!! Im just wondering really what peoples experiences were of just emigrating there without ever visiting first! I would say both are more than possible, many have come over here without ever having paid a visit. Some love the adventure of the unknown, others are cautious! Firstly maybe establish your visa possibilities , then which state would offer you employment opportunities. The rest pretty much falls into place.Emigration is a joint venture and it does help when you are both in agreement. PIO is a great source of information. Research would be the key word. All the best Susie:wubclub: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
calNgary Posted June 20, 2010 Share Posted June 20, 2010 I think it can all depend on you as a family. We started the visa process before i had ever visited the country, we knew that regradless of what awaited us we would stick it out for 2 years (at the time you only needed 2 yrs to get citizenship). Luckily for us and thanks to the BBC we got a sneak peak at Aussie life a few months before we left the UK for good, it was everything we expected and more. We made the final move in Nov 06 and we are settled and loving life. So i guess my answer to your question is YES it is possible to move prior to visiting and YES you could make your life new lives a success. Good Luck with everything Cal x Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest36187 Posted June 20, 2010 Share Posted June 20, 2010 I came here having never been before and having done no research. My OH had never been and had done some research. Worked like a dream for us. We arrived Feb 05 and knew within 2 weeks that we were here for the duration. We have no intention of moving back. I came straight into a job. Started 2 days after landing. Mark got a job three weeks later. Moved into rented 2 weeks after landing and into own house 18 months later. Both still in same jobs. Both still loving it! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ratchet Posted June 20, 2010 Share Posted June 20, 2010 We did, we landed sept 09 without having ever been here. Crazy i know, but so far so good. The only time i got close to see what aus was like, was when i looked on google street view and spoke to the local aussie at the walkabout bar. Gotta take a risk at some point in your life, why not when you move across the other side of the world! hehehehe Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest proud2beaussie Posted June 20, 2010 Share Posted June 20, 2010 The visa application process is sometimes long,always expensive,and I think it is vital to be absolutely sure that Australia (or any country for that matter) is where you want to be and I would deffo advise people to visit first,but having said that living somewhere is totally different to visiting on holiday and you can't really get a good feel for a place on a 3 week reccie (imo)but at least a visit will give you some idea of how friendly people are,what it's like weather wise at the time of year,what the food is like etc. But you only really know what a country is like when you live there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LKC Posted June 20, 2010 Share Posted June 20, 2010 We would have emigrated without a visit first, but as hubbys company wanted him to come over before they would commit to offering a job, we took the opportunity and borrowed the money off his parents/credit card. In actual fact, our minds were made up before we visited, the visit just cemented it all in place. It gave us the opportunity to look around the three business opportunities that he was offered, to see which area would suit us best. It also meant that when we arrived for good, things weren't so much of a shock because we had seen it all before. The visit worked in our favour, one of the suburbs that we drove round on our visit (and loved) is where we now live. Coming here allowed us to more easily make that decision, although I am fairly sure that we would have made the same decision had we not visited just by doing extensive research, it just would have been a bigger risk to take, if that makes sense. I reckon it can work both ways, although as Nigel said the visa application process is long-winded and expensive, so maybe the few thousand for a visit would be cheaper than making an extremely costly mistake. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deb8181 Posted June 20, 2010 Share Posted June 20, 2010 We came over in February this year without ever visiting the country. We did research on the computer at areas, weather, lifestyle, houses etc. We thought more or less the same as you, for the cost of coming over on hoiday we could ship all our worldy goods over which we wanted to do. We also spent a lot of money shipping our four siamese cats over but leaving them wasnt an option. We are in no doubt that we want to stay here. Spent the first month sorting everything out, vehicle, long term rental, tax file number, medicare cards etc, etc, then both ironically got a job the same day after being here just over a month. Still in the same jobs 3 months later and thinking of buying a house between December this year and March next year. The only thing i will say is i suppose how close you are to your family at home. My mum died in 2001 and my dad lives in Thailand so i have no family like that. My brother and sister both live in the UK but you dont live your life around your siblings. My husbands family wanted the best for us and we keep in touch regularly on Skype which as you probably know is like them being in the same room as you. The only thing wrong with our life is that our 21 year old daughter decided to stay in the UK and finish off her nursing at Uni but we are hoping that she will join us next year. She has already said how much she is missing us and she is coming over in August this year on a nursing placement from uni for 6 weeks. Managed to get her a placement at Rockingham hospital which is just up the road from us as part of her studies. I wouldnt go back to the UK now. Just love waking up to the lovely weather every morning. Its winter here now and the sun is shining and its about 20 degrees. Just been to a car boot sale with my sandals on and no coat. Could you do that in the UK? Dont think so. At the end of the day you must do what you feel is right. I felt that we could make it work without a visit first and the thing is once you have made your move to Oz, the only thing you have got to go back for is family as you generally have no house or job to go to, weather is crap etc. The other thing i wil say is have you ever been to Florida, USA? When i got here it was so much like Florida, i couldnt believe it and i love Florida. The houses are the same, the shops are the same, petrols cheaper, even the road signs look the same and when you are driving round, it looks the same i thought. It is very americanised if that gives you some idea what it may be like for you. Hope this helps towards making your decision. :chatterbox: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest juliemtaylor Posted June 20, 2010 Share Posted June 20, 2010 we moved here 4 months ago without ever having been to Australia, despite being bombarded with info from the in laws and family.. We decided that we would have spent loads of money on a reccie, probably had a lovely holiday but not found out about day to day things that you really find when you go for it in a new place. I have moved around the UK several times and managed to settle, it was just the country itself that let us down in the end. It depends if you are in the money, need to know where you are going? My fiends went to Perth on a reccie, then ended up here in Melbourne! Good Luck whatever you decide! Julie x Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JHSOLS Posted June 20, 2010 Author Share Posted June 20, 2010 wow thanks for all your replies!! See looks like everyone has different opinions as the 2 flip sides of the coin in replies there!!! I guess its something we will have to continue to "discuss" but if he is determined to only go there IF he gets to go on a trip first I guess we will have to suck up the cost at some point and do it, but yeah Im just worried its more like a "holiday" and we won't really see what its like anyway. Either way I wouldnt give up my job here, I would take a year unpaid leave (which they always grant & you are guranteed your job back) and then if after the year if we didnt like it and came back at least one of us would have a good jub to come back to (hubby doesnt think his company will allow him that), we dont have a house anyway so we wouldnt be loosing anything by having to get back on the renting wagon, like others have said, I know id rather look back and say "did it, hated it, but tried it" then "didnt do it, what if I loved it". I regret imensley now that I never went travelling years ago, its my biggest regret infact, I dont want another one to add to the list!! Oh well it will be a while before we have save up enough to come yet in the mean time, we will keep saving, and ill keep chipping away :biglaugh: ETA : Lol its like Florida....nah don't belive that...seriously?? where abouts are you? We love florida, we have friends who live there, and DH did get offered a job their from our friends dads company, he was going to pay for Visas and the lot but we had only been together 2 years think he was scared we would break up, were married now 8 years later, i always say "I wish you'd of taken that bloody job" haha Were off again in Nov Actually! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Que Sera Sera Posted June 20, 2010 Share Posted June 20, 2010 I am sure there was a survey done on here going back a few years and more people were coming out without ever visiting than had. We are one of the loons coming out without ever visiting in 10 days. We werent going to waste thousands of pounds on a reccie because we knew that a few weeks holiday wouldnt be enough anyway. Good luck with whatever you decide :wubclub: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deb8181 Posted June 20, 2010 Share Posted June 20, 2010 wow thanks for all your replies!! See looks like everyone has different opinions as the 2 flip sides of the coin in replies there!!! I guess its something we will have to continue to "discuss" but if he is determined to only go there IF he gets to go on a trip first I guess we will have to suck up the cost at some point and do it, but yeah Im just worried its more like a "holiday" and we won't really see what its like anyway. Either way I wouldnt give up my job here, I would take a year unpaid leave (which they always grant & you are guranteed your job back) and then if after the year if we didnt like it and came back at least one of us would have a good jub to come back to (hubby doesnt think his company will allow him that), we dont have a house anyway so we wouldnt be loosing anything by having to get back on the renting wagon, like others have said, I know id rather look back and say "did it, hated it, but tried it" then "didnt do it, what if I loved it". I regret imensley now that I never went travelling years ago, its my biggest regret infact, I dont want another one to add to the list!! Oh well it will be a while before we have save up enough to come yet in the mean time, we will keep saving, and ill keep chipping away :biglaugh: ETA : Lol its like Florida....nah don't belive that...seriously?? where abouts are you? We love florida, we have friends who live there, and DH did get offered a job their from our friends dads company, he was going to pay for Visas and the lot but we had only been together 2 years think he was scared we would break up, were married now 8 years later, i always say "I wish you'd of taken that bloody job" haha Were off again in Nov Actually! We are in South Perth. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted June 20, 2010 Share Posted June 20, 2010 I moved here 2 years ago without ever having visited. To be honest I do not think a visit would have made any difference as it was only after settling down into "life" we came out of holiday mode Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Ironduke Posted June 20, 2010 Share Posted June 20, 2010 I can afford to do a recce but can't see the point. Its not a 3rd world country, they speak english and even drive on the correct side of the road! With the resources available these days you can find out anything about the country and agree totally that the holiday mode would skew your impression of the place. To me its going to be a bit of an adventure, admittedly low risk but still life changing. Any nervousness must be due to giving up what you know and are comfortable with in the UK than anything Oz may or may not be like. Cheers Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
clanstewarts Posted June 20, 2010 Share Posted June 20, 2010 Me and my hubby are currently at the beginning of the process. Neither of us has ever been to Oz but it is somewhere we both would like to live. We currently live in Germany as my hubby is in the army and love living here despite not being fluent in German. We have moved quite a bit and have enjoyed living every where we have been posted. As a family we try and adapt to out new surroundings trying to fit in as locals would live. :smile: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Alexxxxx Posted June 20, 2010 Share Posted June 20, 2010 We're doing the same. But for me personally, that's what makes it more exciting. Both me and my partner have not visited Aus before but I got family members living in Perth that have been there for 20 years, more family are moving to Adelaide next week and can't wait. Many friends that have travelled and one of my closest friends lives in Melbourne and she has no intention on coming back. she done it spontaneously moving to Melbourne with no research. We are looking to go to Melbourne and look for jobs before we go. We've done loads of research and renting out our apartment here so IF(!!!) we decide we want to come back, we got our own home to come back to. I think your doing the right thing in keeping your job open to you for while you give it a try because you don't know how it's going to work out. If it doesnt work out, at least you can say you've tried it :-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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