Any Sydney mums around?

[thatsnotmymonster]

I am getting pretty excited as it is looking increasingly likely that dh is about to be offered a job in Sydney (should know by next week). However, whether we are able to accept or not all depends on the salary package, particularly with th school fee issue- has anyone else moved and had the company pay the school fees?

We live in Scotland and so ds is in P1 but he will be 6 in March and dd1 is due to start school after the summer as she will be 5 in July. I don't know whether they should go into Yr 1 and 2 in Oz from when we move or whether they shoud go into Yr 1 and kindergarten. Do most people wait until the year the dc turns 6 or send them the year they turn 5?

The office is in Pyrmont and we are hoping to rent in a nearby suburb- I have been looking at Lilyfield, Five Dock, Drummoyne...can anyone recommend any other nice suburbs in that area or tell me if there are any to avoid?

Anything else I should know? If this happens we will be moving around April.

Thanks!

Coping with the heat is relatively simple for us - we stay indoors with the air con on.

Today was the hottest Australia Day in 20 years, apparently (round our way, anyway) - we were outdoors until 10:30, which was long enough, then indoors until 4:30, when we finally got to the swimming pool. DS needed suncream on him for fishing this morning but was ok for swimming as most of the pool is in the shade by that time. The pool water was actually hotter than the air, on the top anyway - we had to swim in it to mix it up and it still only cooled down a bit .

Seriously though - the heat isn't anything like British heat - you really can NOT be out in full sun, you can feel it burning holes in you, no matter how much sun cream you have on. (Well, me anyway - but I am quite fair skinned, and so is DS)

Most houses here do come fitted with air con though - and newer ones probably have it throughout. The newer systems also double as heating systems in the winter (which are necessary in this area, believe me!)

Just to clarify - most peoplle don't have a pool, so don't feel its absolutely nessesary if you can't afford/find one.

We spent yesterday inside with the air con on too. DH and the other men braved the heat to go and BBQ the meat, and the kids played out in the paddling pool in the shade.

Mostly we go out a bit in the morning as thumb says, ans then stay in until about 5pm when our whole garden is shaded and there is usually a breeze coming through.

Its usually only like this for a month or so, and usually not all at once. We might get a week of really hot weather in Dec, then another week or two in Jan, then a few days here and there in Feb... etc The rest of summer is hot, but not as rediculously hot.

We also have no pool, but have found the aircon to be a life saver this year - we looked at a few rentals that didn't have it, but I'm so grateful that we chose one that did! We also tend to stay in the house when it's super hot (or do the whole house-airconned car-airconned building thing!) And we have lots of cool showers (you don't have to be in there long to feel a lot better). We came out here thinking that a pool would be great, but the hassle of looking after one coupled with the increase in rent to have a house with one put us off (and I think I would be too worried about safety with one in the garden too - it's easier just going to the aquatic centre)

(Thumb - if you are ever down this way it would be lovely to meet up in Lane Cove!)

We had our pool covered for safety (even tho it is fenced) and also cos birds kept drowning in it on at least a weekly basis. We are on the edge of a bush & kookaburras come in to try to drink or catch lizards, snakes or frogs that have already fallen in then get waterlogged & can't get out. This is ok for our retired neighbours who are at home & can hear the things flapping when in their pool so can rescue them but not for me coming home after taking DS out in the day to find perished birds, & once an adult & a baby together. I felt so guilty.

Even if you have a fence this obviously does not prevent accidents. The most tragic one last year was twins at the grandparents who managed to crawl out of the house into the pool after the grandad left the pool gate open cos he was going to & fro doing some maintenance. Everyone should also be aware of the silent drowning phenomen - can't remember if it has a proper name - sometimes people in trouble in the water are unable to signal or shout due to some kind of reflex action so they appear ok but could actually be drowning, & another condition that causes drowning later when out of the water seemingly fine but due to water taken into the lungs the person can effectively drown anyway... grim. Sorry to be all doom & gloom, as you were...

I appreciate the pool stories as grim as they are, they are also the reality of pools. Obviously a pool can be a lot of fun too and even help kids learn to swim well from an early age but you do have to be extremely vigilant when it comes to kids and water...anyway I would be happy if I had actually got to the stage of weighing up the pros and cons of a pool.

We are pretty skint atm and I am fed up. If we don't go to Australia I am going to have to try and get a job...easier said than done in the midst of a double dip recession with 3 small dc's to juggle and no relatives to help with child care. Was nasty to dh on the phone earlier just because I am feeling overwhelmed with house work, chores and stuff that needs fixing that we can't afford, lol. Better phone and apologise. Time to get ds from school...

tnmm, deep breaths and a few pina coladas might help.
I fully expect to be meeting up with you out there. Have you investigated getting a visa on your qualifications? It would mean that you have to be the one working full time but salaries are strangely much better out there. Also Sydney is very expensive so maybe think of a cheaper place etc.
I think the difficulty at the moment is that you are waiting for news on your future and it is constantly on your mind. I find that when I am like that I snap at everybody!!

Good advice lulu! Esp the pina colada bit - will you join me?

DH has an interview for the Newcastle office on Monday night

I would try but really a psychology degree is crap and pretty useless on its own and I'm not really qualifies to do anything without doing further training Doesn't help that the really good job I did have was with a really unique charity and unlike anything else anywhere!!

Snap TNMM - I too have a psychology degree (and a law degree plus other useless qualifications!) and have worked for the voluntary sector for years but there's nothing quite like it here.... Can I find a job here, can I hell. I also don't want to be the voice of doom, but salaries here are definitely not higher than the UK unfortunately (obviously depends on sector but the last job I looked at wanted heaps of qualifications etc. and offered the grand sum of $25 an hour. I hadn't worked for less than 50 pounds an hour in the UK for a long time. DH's salary dropped by 1/3 on arrival and Sydney is eye wateringly expensive). However, life is just lots nicer here, despite the niggling financial issues, so I would say to anyone who might be able to make a go of it that it really is worth a try.

I think Dh and my professions, nurse and electrical engineer come out of the lucky pot. My salery goes up by about £15k and Dh's by the same probably so we are very lucky. Back to the pina's tnmm. only fresh from the fields of costa rica will do .

yes, it does make a remarkable difference which field you are in as to whether your pay goes up or down. Minimum wage here is higher than the UK at $15/h, so even shop wages are better than UK. But high end jobs - well, sunnydelight is better placed than I am to talk about those.

DH's salary definitely will go up but then how do you calculate it? If you do a straight currency conversion or a cost of living conversion. On the currency conversion dh's salary will be about £30-40k more than here but looks like we will need that for cost of living, though I think we will def have a better quality of life too!

I think it's partly because he will basically be getting a promotion because they need people with his experience over there more than they do here.

I probably won't need a job over there but would be nice at some point in the future. I am thinking I may need a job if we stay here though! Oh well 2 interviews for Australia this week so fingers crossed...

Sunnyd- it's a PITA isn't it. Wish I had been better informed aged 17 when I opted for psychology...I enjoyed it but well it's pretty useless now!! Would have been much better off doing something like physiotherapy or speech therapy which is probably what I'll end up re-training in!

Lulu- mmmm definitely, with that lovely fresh pineapple!! Brings back memories of white water rafting, lol. How long till you'll be back in Melbourne?

I take back everything I said about Lane Cove (or at least the bit we live in) - we've had 2 bush fires burning very (within about 200m) close to our hosue for the last day and it's all a bit stressful. (Fortunately they are saying they are under control and no threat at the moment, but standing on our doorstep and seeing the flames in the trees not far away was a bit much). We have lots of charred leaves and ash and crap in our garden this morning, and everything smells of smoke. The fire helicopters are still circling around very low in the area, so they are clearly still worried about it kicking off again when the temperature goes up again this afternoon. Having to get our documents together last night just in case and trying to work out what we really needed to take with us on top of that is not something I want to repeat any time soon. How the people up in Queensland are coping, I don't know.

Oh, and power cuts are crappy when you are relying on air-con to keep you cool!

I do like it here, but am going off it a bit today - give me snow and ice over bush fires any time!

ooooh Eralc, that's extremely unamusing! I have phoned my friend in Cairns this morning to find out whether or not they are evacuating; but no, they're sitting tight. They are 18m above sea level though so hoping to avoid the water rush. Not sure about the winds though!

What with my friend in Brisbane nearly being inundated by the flood, this friend in Cairns about to be blown away, I can't help but wonder if it's my turn soon... and bushfire is the most likely for us as well. We back on to a large amount of bush, if it catches AND there is a strong wind in our direction we'll be screwed.

Yes, we had a powercut last night too - started around 9:30pm and went for about 4h, then a shorter one a bit later - made sleep next to impossible (it was 41 deg here yesterday!)

God, I might have to make fire-contingency plans as well - gather all the important stuff together in one bag to pick up and run with :(. It would break my heart to lose some stuff though (obviously not as much as losing people but still) so EVERYTHING is crossed againt that contingency.

I hope you are ok there and that they keep the damn things under control.

Oh that sounds scary Eralc, we're near Ku-ring-gai chase national park and the smell of smoke makes me nervous!

I can't believe the heatwave has coincided with back to school. I got three very hot grumpy children off the school bus this afternoon. We don't have aircon so I let the kids swim until 8.30 last night despite it being a school night. They all have fans in their bedrooms but it was still stinking hot.

A friend of mine is going back to the UK next week so I promised her her favourite cake for lunch today - I waited until 9 to turn the oven on but it was still 40 in the kitchen.

Wow- sounds like you are all having a hard time- especially with the bush fires. Very scary.

The storm heading for cairns looks pretty scary too Not been a great start to the year over there, weather wise.

Today is 5C (quite warm) but very windy and pouring rain. Did not make for a nice trip to school this morning.

DH is progressing with his interviews. 3rd chat for job in Newcastle on the cards and chat tomorrow for job in Chatham, Sydney.

I mean Chatswood

Chatswood would give you lots of options for nice places to live. Keep us posted.

Thanks Sunny.

Are all you guys ok? Been worried about the bush fires. Hope it's all settled down and no damage done.

I'm feeling really despondent today. DH keeps talking to companies who seem really keen 1st and 2nd interviews and then it just seems to tail off. We've had no feedback this week from the company in Newcastle even though they said they would def be in touch later in the week.

Just feeling like it's not going to happen now and we SO want to go!

Doesn't help that it's lashing rain and freezing here and dd1 was sick all last night and then projectile vomited in the car after dropping ds at school this morning. Also means the girls have to miss a birthday party this afternoon and I'm not looking forward to the school pick up trip at lunch time :-(

sorry you're feeling down TNMM, I really hope something comes through for you guys soon, it must be very frustrating.

Don't envy us too much with the weather, we are in the middle of a serious heat wave - has been since Monday (when the kids went back to school, poor loves) and not meant to break until Sunday night. 36 degrees is predicted for tomorrow. At our school the kids have not been let out to play all week, and we have camped in the lounge room by the air conditioner. We have 5 loads of washing on the line - I keep putting it out at night, but not bringing it in as its too hot to stay out there!

These temps are rare I must say, but I wouldn't mind a little ice and coolness for a change!

Hope DS is well again soon.

Thanks for the support Astrophe. It is very frustrating.

No I don't envy you the extreme hot weather either. It must be horrible. We just feel that right now a move to Australia would get us out of a rut. DH hates his job and commute here but there are not many other jobs out there due to the recession. Even if we did move elsewhere in the uk we could not afford to rent anywhere and we can't sell our house cos it's not worth what we paid for it etc etc. If no jobs materialise we will just have to ride out the storm here though.

I am sure others will back me up, but the australian way of life including work and mostly communication is very laid back. I wouldn't read too much into the lack of communication. It took DH a long time to get used to how laid back everybody was and found the lack of timely response from colleagues very infuriating.
Weather wise, Yorkshire must be one of the windiest places on Earth today but not cold thank god!!!

Thanks Lula :-) We will try and bare that in mind. It is a good thing after all!!

sorry TNMM, I wasn't trying to put you off :) Just having a whinge. Its rarely this hot. (Got to 41.5 today! ) . Cool change is due tomorrow arvo.

lol I know you weren't!! It's important to know about the extreme heat though so I do appreciate it. We all have to live with some sort of extreme weather from time to time and it's always miserable.

I hope it cools down for you soon. I don't like that kind of heat!!

It's due to break today, thank God - I've been up since 4am and had to put the aircon on because the living room was still too hot!

If your DH gets the Newcastle job, don't consider anywhere too much further inland to live - it gets even hotter in places like Singleton. :)