Anyone moved from the UK to Australia with little ones?

[IlanaK]

My husband has got the possibility of a job in Sydney that pays much more than he earns here. I am unsure about the move to somewhere so far away. Has anyone else done this? I have been to Australia recently as my in-laws moved to the sunshine coast, but I have not been to sydney. What is it like? We currently live in central (very central) london and I would like to be right in the heart of the city if we move. What are property prices like in comparrison to here? Is it an expensive place to live compared to London? How child friendly is it? I have a 3.5 year old and a baby.

What is everyone else's experience of this?

Can't speak from personal experience but I do have friends who have done just this. They moved out to Sydney in September last year when their dd was 18 months old. We have been in regular contact with them since and I have to say, they absolutely love it out there and have settled really well. Standard of living appears to be cheaper - even in Sydney - although that is compensated by lower wages to an extent. They did have some family (2 brothers who had also emigrated) out there but despite this, they have made lots of new friends (I think this is where children are sometimes invaluable!!).

They both work in central Sydney and their dd goes to a nursery in the city which apparently works really well for them as the commute is so much reduced.

Hopefully someone else can offer so real life experience of this, but I hope this positive story helps!!

Moved to aus with family - dh and dd (english) who was almost 2 mid 2004 - I was also pregnant with dd2. We moved back to Brisbane - made a little easier by the fact that I had a house and all my family here.

Sydney is one of the most expensive cities to live in here in Aus but in terms of the rest of the world it is cheaper than London ( survey jsut printed recently) Wages are lower but then so is the cost of living - so it is all relative.

The lifestyle and way of life is soo much more relaxed - even in city life. Sydney has soo much to offer in terms of entertainment, places to see and visit in Sydney and beyond.

Property is expensive but not in comparison with the UK. Again it depends where you intend to live etc. THe best thing to do when you first get here is to rent an apartment etc - they have fully furnished apartments available on short/long term let until you decide where you want to settle - gives you a chance to explore and check places out.

Dh found when comparing economically - rather than jsut converting to UK pounds he would do it as a % of our income - much easier then to see if we were paying too much or not.

In terms of lifestyle - we know we made the best decision for our dd's.

Hope that is a help - what a fabulous opportunity for your family.

We have been to Oz lots of times, have 2 children 2 1/2 and 1 and are about a 1/4 way through the visa process. We would look to move to Sydney, we have quite a few family and friends around the Sydney area. My dh is in the computer industry and I dont think we would go to make money, he would earn a good wage but when taking into account the cost of living/exchange rate etc he would not be earning as much in Oz as he does here. I think Australia is a great place to bring up kids, very child friendly, miles and miles of beach and wonderful weather. Saying that, I think there are things I would miss, food shops dont seem to be so good is one tiny thing that springs to mind.

Hi IlanaK,

Suzywong is the woman you want.