Help please - emigrating to Australia

[sunnydelight]

I'm sorry if this has been done to death, but it looks like DH may be offered a job in Sydney in the next few months and I would love any advice/experience you can offer about moving to Sydney. DH and I met there 16 years ago and we lived there for a year before our immigration status got the better of us. We always vowed to go back but it never happened; we now have three children, 12, 7 and 3 so I accept I will not be living overlooking the harbour bridge and eating out five nights a week, but I really want to go. My biggest issue is schooing - DS1 is dyslexic. The one advantage I can see is that despite the fact that he is in his second year of secondary here I think he would be starting secondary there? (He's an August birthday so was always the youngest in the class and I always wanted to hold him back a year but couldn't). I would also really appreciate any input about areas to live and house prices. We see it as a way to afford a better house for less money - we currently have a horrible south-east England mortgage. I would be really grateful if anyone has time to respond.

robin, we were told that we couldn't transfere via internet banking, can't remember why tho. Think it was because the bank details here are different to UK, ie sort code here is 3 & 3, (123-456) and UK it is 2 2 2 (12-34-56) iykwim, and bank account numbers are longer here, so the transfer details were incompatable. BUT, that was Barclays, so it may well be different.

Re, buying property. When we asked at the bank we were told the only conditions were we had a visa that allowed permanent residence & dh was in his job for 6 months.

Sandcastles- that's exactly what Barclays told me too, I was just hoping that I could find an easier and cheaper way of doing the transfer as dh is paid his salary from the uk whilst we are in Australia. I bet I don't find one...

wouldn't surprise me tbh. As we transfered 5k a time (the max you can transfere) 20pounds (no pound sign on this Ozzie laptop)was nothing. I think it's alos to do with the exchange rate, iirc.

Also, I don't know if this is applicable all over Oz, but our bank charges each time you make a card purchase (called an eftpos transaction) or use the cash machine or transfer funds from one account to another via interent banking. We get 5 "free" transactions per month. We accrude $44 in these fees last month (were having to buy new stuff for house, as our stuff hasn't arrived yet). Although they don't charge a monthly fee.

Make sure you ask for an account that gives you a VISA DEBIT card. We now have one and you don't pay any EFTPOS fees.

thanks for clearing that up SueW. TBH it was dh who asked & this is how it explainesd it to me.

I guess Barclays wouldn't get 20 pounds a throw if we did it ourselves!

Sandcastles- I am that the bank doens't necessarily give you a debit card for free! charging you for such using a cashpoint is [ shock] too. Our exchange partners were a little surprised that we wanted to open an oz account rather than manage with just a credit card.. I can see why now!

we are actaully thinking of changing banks. basically we went with the one that dh mum & dad use. But their spending is alot diff to us so they h=nver go over their 5 free uses. They just take out what they need at begining of the week.

But not yet having gotten to grips on the costs of living yet, we don't know our living costs that well yet!

It was only cos dh cousin said about it, otherwie e wouldn't have known. We also pay $4 a time for a direct debit!!!

Gor Blimey, I never look at my bank charges, I really should. We're with Westpac. I just put my card in and away a I go

dh is still trying to get our accounts in order from our mas spending spree...he asked why I had spent $44 and not given him the slip, told him I hadn't! Statement came next day and it was eftpos/cashpoint charges