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Original poster

migrating to australia

34 replies

debswad · 14/01/2006 22:52

dh wants to migrate has done for 2 years.. blues are here and i have agreed to look into it!
have dd age 3 and dd age 10weeks.
not looking at doing this straight the way.
it does look like a wonderful life for my family, but am i robbing my children of growing up with grand parents and uncles etc

OP posts:
israel · 14/01/2006 23:02

Hi debswad...we migrated in 2004 ...to australia....Its a wonderful life for the kids...and I have no regrets there...but they are missing out on my family in the uk...uncles aunts etc...I too am missing them....so its swings and roundabouts...some things you gain...others you miss.

eidsvold · 15/01/2006 10:54

moved to Aus June 2004 - I am an aussie, dh english. We now have 2 dds and I worry about the other grandparents missing out but as we have all my family here it is great for them - large extended family. Dd1 has a great great aunt that she visits, grandparents, great aunts and cousins etc.

The quality of life that we have here - especially in terms of accessing resources for our dd1 who has down syndrome far outweigh anything that we could be concerned about.

For us it is the people we miss rather than the place -iyswim BUT you will build a network here that hopefully will contain the equivalent and whilst not blood able to offer support and friendship.

We have not looked back - we love it here.

Original poster
debswad · 16/01/2006 12:16

wow it does sound too good to miss .. does any body have advise on how we can make the process simpler

OP posts:
suzywong · 16/01/2006 12:18

ditto ditto
it's great! although ds1 was bitten by a spider tonight

Original poster
debswad · 16/01/2006 12:20

dont talk to me about spiders... im talking myself into this

OP posts:
suzywong · 16/01/2006 12:23

where are you going to move to?

There are only spiders in 10% of Australia, the rest is populated with fauna from a Care Bear's movie

Original poster
debswad · 16/01/2006 12:25

looking into western, but not totally sure..only just made the decision..have now a mass of paperwork to sort

OP posts:
suzywong · 16/01/2006 12:34

oh hurrah!
me and Israel are in Perth, do feel free to CAT me

I suppose you've seen this WA tourism website just to get your juices really flowing

suzywong · 16/01/2006 12:34

plus you get in to WA far quicker than the common old Eastern States too

AlmostAnAngel · 16/01/2006 12:45

oh hum me miss queensland!

Original poster
debswad · 16/01/2006 22:37

hi guys.. sorry had to go baby woke... dont get alot of time to myself since she was born and the other has been off school..
so you can answer me all the questions then cant you..
we are looking into this just on hear say and really arent risk takers but there is a first time for everything.
i would love to contact you and will when time allows me

OP posts:
eidsvold · 16/01/2006 23:38

pah - who said eastern states were common [adopts fighting stance ]

but Perth does look good and it is that bit closer as the crow flies to the UK

Original poster
debswad · 16/01/2006 23:46

is it true that the children do not legally start school until their 6th year of age

OP posts:
suzywong · 16/01/2006 23:50

yes
it is
until then they are sent in to the Bush to herd echidnas

suzywong · 16/01/2006 23:51

but here in WA there is a kindergarten and pre-preimary place available for each child. Those children born on July 1st are the eldest in the year, so for example my ds1 born in April started Kindergarten in February, the start of the academic year, when he was 3 going to be 4.

Original poster
debswad · 17/01/2006 00:03

the same as here then . my daughter is at pre school at 3 the in september she will be full time at school at the age of 4. only problem with my area is they do one intake in september. iknow some one has to be the youngest bit you dont want it to be yours.
hoping that when we do decide to go it may give childen a chance.

OP posts:
Original poster
debswad · 17/01/2006 00:04

hope the aussie wine is cheap

OP posts:
eidsvold · 17/01/2006 01:51

echidna is quite a delicacy [puking emoticon]

they have jsut changed the schooling intake here in QLD - they have abolished pre schools starting next year and changed it to a play based BUT schoolbased PREP year. the dates for enrolement now go from Jul - Jun - like the financial year...

So despite my dd and dn being 2 months apart - they are now in different years.

Dd1 starts mainstream kindy this year - she is already three, then does a pre pre year next year and then prep in 2008 - so she is technically starting at school the year she turns 6.

veuveclicquot · 17/01/2006 02:07

hi Eidsvold. I'm glad you bought this up, because it's baffling me. DD is 3, will be 4 next Dec.

She's in kindy 2 days a week at the moment, all play based. Should I be putting her down on the waiting lists for prep schools now? Do the prep schools have kindies attached for the 3-5 year olds? Is this how it works here or should I just forget all about it and enrol her in a school the year she turns 6?

Welcome Debswad - I moved to Sydney last summer with my DD(then 2.5), feel free to ask any questions. We're staying for another 6 months and then making a decsion about whether to sell up in the UK.

dejags · 17/01/2006 06:36

Hi debswad,

My DH and I are currently applying for our permanent residence visa for Australia.

We are in the initial phase (lodged the first round of paperwork in December) and expect to know either way in Sept this year. We hope to move to Melbourne but will be visiting Australia for a month in August this year to make our final decision.

If I can help with recommending a good migration agent or any other visa advice, I have bookmarked loads of web resources.

Dejags

GandT · 17/01/2006 06:47

Hi, we moved to Oz a couple of years ago and it turns out that we should have put our names down for childcare the second we entered the country despite child not being born until last Nov. Childcare places are at a premium in Sydney so that has been a problem. I worry as well about dd missing out on having lots of family around but when I think of the lifestyle we can give her here I feel a lot better.

And the wine... I love the Hunter Valley!

suzywong · 17/01/2006 07:09

oh so you are doing it dejags! Fantastic.
Don't forget to drop in on Little SA in August will you?

dejags · 17/01/2006 07:40

Hi Suzy - we will definitely be making our way to Sunny Perth (mostly to escape the dismal Melbourne weather).

It's stressful and bloody expensive to go through this visa malarkey though. Nearly A$6000 all up for permanent residence - and if we are refused none of it's refundable [gulp].

Some days I think we have truly bitten off more than we can chew for this year - currently having extensive renovations to the house, planning a round the world trip, applying for migration as well has working full time. Not much time for me these days .

How are you?

eidsvold · 17/01/2006 09:25

sorry veuveclicquot it is a state by state basis - if you want to find out you could try the nsw education website.

you might also see if there is a creche and kindergarten association in NSW. That is the organisation who runs the mainstream kindy that dd1 is attending. They were so helpful with any information we needed.

It also depends where you live as to the demand for places.

sorry I can't be more help.

lewislewis · 17/01/2006 13:33

Veuveclicquot, we are also moving to Sydney by the end of the year. How do you like the city? Did you find it easy to settle there? Is it true that Australians only talk about sport?