To take DS out of school and move to Australia

[katedan]

DH has been offered a job in OZ for two years. Both of us are tempted to take the job as we travelled round OZ about 15 years ago and loved it but DS is now in yr1 and has finally settled in (he struggles to make friends). We would obviously have to enroll him in school in Australia and I am worried it will be hard for him to adjust. Also I would be a SAHM (as I am here) with my 2 year old twins and am worried I will be very lonely.

So I am selfish to move the family abroad or selfish to DH to say no and stay in the UK.

We have to make a decsion in the next couple of weeks as it takes 8 weeks to apply for visa's and we would have to go in sept so we will be back in Sept 2011 for the twins to start school. It is a HUGE decsion and I would really like the opnions of MN's.

Go!

Can't recommend travelling enough, it is the best thing in the world.

I lived in Brisbane for 15 years (roughly age 8-23)and revisited it for three weeks a month ago.

I would say if your boy is potentially an academic high flier OR not very sporty OT very very musical it might nto be such a great move. It's a good place for sporty people who don't mind hot weather... and there's a serious bookish side to it... but it's short on depth because for three months everyone is too bloody hot to move. You may also feel you are well away fomr just about everything - news, for example. Bluntly, it's a small town atmosphere, with some cafes on top. There's not much public transport either.

On the plus side, it's cheap by EU standards.

Also, can all of you stand really prolonged hot and SULTRY weather on days when you have to work/shop/do things, not just on holiday? Most of us associate sun with summer holidays; it's totally different when you face the slog of getting the hot child home from the park. You can be as trapped indoors by heat as by cold.

How are you with really BIG insects? Such as stick insects two feet long?

This all sounds negative but these are some issues you might not have considered. If you do go, the best small-wave beach is Noosa and the best flatwater beaches around Caloundra. Buy the sunproof shirts - you'll save a fortune on sunblock. You can burn BADLY in 20 minutwes in summer. Less if you are a small child or very fair-skinned. The sun is MUCH stronger than in Europe.

Abby - When were you there? Some of the schools are great for smart kids etc... Some schools in Brisbane have produced Rhodes Scholars, scientists etc... And it has lost a lot of its small town mentality. Ok so yes it is Queensland and the ghost of Joh lives on but it is changing.

Go

My very dear neighbour has just emigrated there, to Brisbane, 2 months ago. She has 2 ds's and has started off by renting in Wellington Point. Her boys are 7 and 5 and have settled in well into their new school. She stays in touch with family and friends by skype and they really seem to be embracing life Down Under.

I miss her dreadfully though

I would go.

I was there in March 2009. Many of my friends have children whom I met. I didn't see much change since I was there in 1999. More cafes, but same old place. I revisited both my old schools - the main improvement was air-conditioning. I also met someone who had had to move back to QLD after six months in Wales because her children were so far behind UK schools educationally.

i would go in a shot.

will your ds be returning to the same school afterwards, if he will be i would keep the lines of communication between him and the school open.

get him to send emails etc over once a month and get his school to keep him updated on things as well.

that way when he comes back he will be the cool kid from oz.

REally? All the kids I know who have moved from the Uk to Oz have had to drop back a grade as they were not up to the standard. Oh well

Go Go Go

I would, like a shot.

My parents moved abroad when I was 6 and I had the time of my life. I've yet to meet someone who spent years as a child abroad who didn't like it and get loads out of it.

Your messages have really helped me. The school situation is complicated as DS presently goes to a school out of catchment and when we return we will almost certainly not get any of the 3 of them (poss DS as it is easier to get kids in later in the school) but they will not hold his place. As the school has not been as wonderful as we had thought this might not be a great loss but will mean ds attending 3 schools in 2 years. It is intersting what has been written about the schools in Brisbane. DS is the least sporty person going (apart from swimming which I am sure he will love in OZ) so he will not fit in within the sporty kids. Hopefully as he will be 8 when he retuns he will have to catch up before the all important start of senior school.

The heat in Brisbane and insects are def on my against list but I have been told it is 3 months of extreme heat and 9 months nice sunshine in comparsion with 9 months wet and cold and 3 months sun here.

I have posted on the living abroad talk so hopefuly will get some advice there.

We have always lived 10 mins from both sets of parents who have been a massive help since the kids were born and will miss them lots but maybe it is time to cut the apron strings!!!

I attended a new school every year near enough and even though it has had a bit of an effect on me, nowhere near enough for me not to do this if I had the chance.

Can you prepare the ground now re schools. I'm still a very positive GO but in some areas you need to be in your address in March to even apply for the schools. (Is this true of everywhere?)

It's hard for you to know how the schools move will affect your son but in my experience if the parents are really positive and confident about their choice then it helps enormously. (nb how do I know? because with one of mine I got it wrong and I only got it right with the younger ones)

katedan, I didn't mean to put you off - I grew up there! Just a few scattered thoughts on the downside because the upside is so obvious - cobalt-blue skies, the best beaches in the world... thoguhthe weather isn't as great as you think as there are cyclones and stomrs and also it's blazing hot for five months, not three. But if you like heat and brightly coloured everythings and you like the sun hot, then it's a dreamworld.

That said, I would really really think twice if your dcs are utterly unsporting. EVERYONE in Oz is completely sports-mad and children are under a lOT of pressure to be sporty. Uk people really have no idea how ferocious it is. Boys in particualr are often v. left out if they are unsporty sorts.