considering a move to australia.

[chikadee23]

hello, my husband and I have 4 children and have been considering a move to Australia for a while now but have never actually looked into it fully.
I was wondering if anybody could tell me anything and everything that they can.
our children are aged between 1 and 11 years and my husband is a joiner so he would be the main applicant I currently work in mental health as a support worker, my qualifications aren't on the skills list.

I have a friend in perth and my husband knows somebody in Brisbane so we have been looking mainly at these 2 areas , but are open to looking elsewhere. any info on cost of living, education and especially anybody who has gone over as a joiner would be really appreciated.

we both drive aswell so vehicle costs would be helpful too.

sorry for the essay and thank you in advance for any replies.

I reckon they need you more at 18 years than at 18 months personally

Shenton, I left home at 18 & was, after that, pretty much no contact with my mum. So it doesn't always follow that our kids need us more, the older they are.

So you have no relationship with your mother .... That's hardly something to aspire to surely ?
I was left behind at 15 and I don't speak to my mother now ... And it didn't work out for her in the new country either so she could hardly say it was worth it

Individuals have to weigh these things up but believe me there's nothing in Australia that's worth sacrificing a child for at 2 or 22 yrs

Did I say it should be aspired to!? I was merely answering you & saying that grown up children can cope if their parents aren't in the next county.

It is expensive but we find bargains - use Groupon or Ouffer for days out.

Museum members (Scienceworks, Melb Museum and Immigration) 70 bucks pa for our family.
Zoo membership for 3 zoos- $150 pa.

School fees are about $280, but that includes excursions...in UK I was forever paying out. School does 2 week intensive programme for $100 (as do many primary schools here)

Accommodation is expensive but other stuff is not so bad and electronics seem far cheaper here. And you can import $1000 before paying tax on your overseas purchases

I lived in Australia 14 years ago and it was cheap as chips so I'm shocked to hear it is so expensive now. It was easy to get any job you pretty much wanted, cost of living was cheap as it was $3 to the £1. I lived in Melbourne then Sydney which I loved although I was happy to come back home. I've always toyed with the idea of moving back but this thread has put me right off. Apart from the sunshine beaches & weekend BBQs I guess there's not much that would take me back there as much as I loved it. I suggest you have a long holiday there first before any major decisions to move out there. I personally would only ever live in Sydney and it's suburbs.

We are also in Brisbane! Freshly arrived two weeks ago, yikes! I started a thread a few months ago about the pending move, and I recognise some names on here as being very helpful at the time, so thank you all, we made it.

For the record, we are south side (just!). Very keen on a meet-up if one is happening. I am already familiar with Ikea Logan, trying to survive on basics while waiting for the shipping container to turn up!

Pinot - I'm not far from ikea!

Hi Serenity! I mentioned Ikea as someone suggested it as a possible meet up location. Do you think there is enough interest to start a thread about organising a Brisbane meet up? Anyone interested?

I went to one about three years ago and there was enough.
Give it a go.