Jibbah24 Posted August 18, 2011 Share Posted August 18, 2011 Evening all…. We’ve been back in Oz since April 11 and I thought it about time that I post a quick update to put my thoughts down on our experiences so far. Always useful for those still debating about the move!! As a bit of background I grew up in Oz but have spent the past 19 years in the UK and this is the first time my wife and kids have been here except for a couple of holidays. We moved from a beautiful part of North Wales and are now living in Lilydale which is a lovely part of the world located at the bottom of the Dandenong Ranges in Melbourne. We have kept our UK properties and let them all out which provides us with enough money to cover our rental in Oz. So far I can honestly say that I am loving it!!! I had spent a lot of time reading some of the posts on the site and have even read a few more tonight that have been complaining about the high cost of living in OZ. I honestly don’t see it?????? Wages are higher and the price of foods in the shops is pretty much the same with many items (including meat) much cheaper. So far we have had both a water bill and our electric bill and both are cheaper than we had in the UK. Fuel is laughably cheap which is great as it is something you top up with constantly and in the UK it depressed me everytime I pulled into a petrol station! I think I will list some of the other items so you can scan over them…. Parking charges Am yet to have to pay for parking anywhere including the train station. Public transport Very cheap, clean and efficient. Libraries Well stocked and no charges for CD’s and videos Weather Bloody great (yes, even in Melbourne!!) Cars Bloody expensive to buy (am importing two from the UK) Schools Great so far. Much bigger and very modern facilities. TV Just the same as UK. Foxtel shows pretty much the same as Sky in the UK. Kids Clubs Plentiful and well supported by volunteers. Jobs Plenty to choose from. Medicare Bulked billed everything so far. Very thorough and had scans and x-rays same day!!!!!!! Traffic Heaven!! Lots of traffic lights though? Speed cameras Bloody nightmare. Speeding fines much higher although not points on licence. They hide the cameras though!!! People Very friendly and generally positive outlook on life! Food Fruit & veg is much better as it tastes great and looks like ‘real’ fruit and not the homogenised stuff from Tesco! Graffitti Can be pretty bad is some areas which is something we never really saw much of in North Wales. Houses Rental market is crazy as so many people renting. Standard of houses is pretty poor and can be expensive! I hope the above will give some of you some food for thought and would be happy add to the list with anything you may think of. My wife is obviously missing her family (mine are all now back in Oz) but phone calls are pretty cheap and Skype and FB are great. I love the UK and would never run it down to anyone, however, I really can’t compare the two if I’m being honest. There are some real issues in the UK at present with the financial crisis and the effect this has on society as a whole. I feel that the life on offer for my family and I in Australia is far superior and we are determined to enjoy it. Back to watching the cricket now…..! ;-) Cheers Spencer Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest The Pom Queen Posted August 18, 2011 Share Posted August 18, 2011 A great update Spencer, sounds like you have settled in well. Thanks for sharing, it definitely helps the ones who are still waiting to remain positive. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
young2682 Posted August 23, 2011 Share Posted August 23, 2011 Hi, Its nice to hear some positivity! So many people (especially here in the UK) say - i've heard Aus is really expensive'!! I think they are forgetting that the UK is one of the most expensive places you can live! We know a few people in Upwey, Traraglon and Glen Waverly who all say that it is swings and roundabouts but cheaper overall and above all is a better way of life to include being able to do more with kids and not having to pay through the nose. Today for example, wet, grey, cloudy, 14deg (at its best) so not warm at all.... its August and yet we are stuck indoors with kids and are bored stiff as if we went out it would cost a fortune! We are waiting for our 457 visa (due any day) and we plan to come over asap. I wondered if you might be able to help me with a couple of things? We too are renting our property out here in the UK and plan to rent in Aus. We have 4 weeks accomm sorted for when we arrive which my husbands new company are providing. We are struggling to figure out how we can buy a car (without financing it) as I guess most places wouldnt give us credit straight away.... all our money is tied up in our property so we are coming out on a shoestring budget and would not have enough to buy a car for cash..... Without a car I know that I will feel isolated with two children under 5 and also we wouldnt be able to view rentals properties! Also, do you know what you need in the way of paperwork to be able to rent a property in Aus? I am being told we need references but we have never rented, we've always had mortgages! Any advice on this would be gratefully received! Thanks, Alexandra Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sibella Posted August 23, 2011 Share Posted August 23, 2011 We just recently moved to Melbourne (beginning July) so I thought I'd try and answer. If you have a job and a deposit you should be able to get car finance - wasn't a problem for us. Although I'm not sure if it's the same on a 457 as they did check our visas (we are on PR). We secured the second property we applied for and it's amazing - the best house we've ever lived in. We only filled in the form, and scanned and emailed copies of our passports and I wrote a letter telling a bit more about ourselves, they rang my husband's company to get a reference - that was it! We also have always owned our property so I emailed them our mortgage statement, but the agent didn't ask for it. Don't know if we were lucky - but it's not as manic as they say. For the first house there were apparently seven other applicants, for the one we got (which was a bit more expensive) there were only two of us. Hi, Its nice to hear some positivity! So many people (especially here in the UK) say - i've heard Aus is really expensive'!! I think they are forgetting that the UK is one of the most expensive places you can live! We know a few people in Upwey, Traraglon and Glen Waverly who all say that it is swings and roundabouts but cheaper overall and above all is a better way of life to include being able to do more with kids and not having to pay through the nose. Today for example, wet, grey, cloudy, 14deg (at its best) so not warm at all.... its August and yet we are stuck indoors with kids and are bored stiff as if we went out it would cost a fortune! We are waiting for our 457 visa (due any day) and we plan to come over asap. I wondered if you might be able to help me with a couple of things? We too are renting our property out here in the UK and plan to rent in Aus. We have 4 weeks accomm sorted for when we arrive which my husbands new company are providing. We are struggling to figure out how we can buy a car (without financing it) as I guess most places wouldnt give us credit straight away.... all our money is tied up in our property so we are coming out on a shoestring budget and would not have enough to buy a car for cash..... Without a car I know that I will feel isolated with two children under 5 and also we wouldnt be able to view rentals properties! Also, do you know what you need in the way of paperwork to be able to rent a property in Aus? I am being told we need references but we have never rented, we've always had mortgages! Any advice on this would be gratefully received! Thanks, Alexandra Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest MontyClaude Posted August 23, 2011 Share Posted August 23, 2011 Great posts all, thanks for putting my mind at ease that I won't be destitute!! We're coming from Ireland which is more expensive than the UK anyway so we figure our biggest expense by a longshot would be rent considering we're bringing 4 pets. We both have good careers though so should earn a fair bit. That's great news about car financing, new cars are well overdue for us and squeezing 2 big dogs into a hatchback is not fun...... Thanks again, you guys have made my afternoon Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
supa Posted August 23, 2011 Share Posted August 23, 2011 Fab post - thanks for that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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