Moving to Australia is now looking unlikely. Help me look on the bright side?

[Heatherbell1978]

It’s now looking highly unlikely that DH will get invited to apply for a visa (Skilled 189) before he turns 40, at which point he doesn’t have enough points and we’re out of the game. There aren’t any other visas we could apply for. In hindsight we left it too late to apply but we stupidly wanted to wait until DD was born incase we got an invite too soon and before we were ready to leave. DD is now 7 months and DS is 3. We assumed we’d migrate next year. Our plan was Perth where we have friends and we’ve visited a few times.
In one way we’re slightly relieved as there are numerous reasons to stay here (we have quite a comfortable life) but we’ve been daydreaming about this for 5 years and always said we’d go after we got married and kids were born in the UK. Now we have to prepare not to go and especially coming into winter in Scotland it’s going to play on my mind when the days are cold and dark.

I guess I’m just looking for some light hearted banter on why this is a good thing that we probably can’t go?!

I should add that we’ve been in the queue for a year now with 65 points and they’re only really processing people with 70+ points in DHs profession...and we’re on a ticking clock until his 40th...

Well I disagree Sincey. Brexit would never have happened if your daily rags hadn't been able to get away with saying shit about immigrants. And 52% of the voters agreed.

Not mainstream eh?

It wasn’t my intention to create an Aussie bashing thread hip - I genuinely love Australia else I wouldn’t have planned to move. In an ideal world I’d live 6 months here and 6 months there!!
The house price thing is a biggie though. We can probably have our mortgage repaid in 10 years if we stay and we’re in a nice house in a nice suburb. Not as sure that would happen in Australia.
Plus the holidays to Europe for some sun was always something on my con list for moving; agree it’s nice to be able to nip on a plane and be in the sunshine only a few hours away. Technically that’s possible all year round

Some states (SA for example) will give you extra points if you move there. Do you have a relatives in Australia who could give you a visa? What do you do for a living? You could get a work visa first then move.

I know Heather and I'm happy to provide you with more cons to living in Australia! The TV is shite, the channels run to their own timings, sometimes it's too bastard hot to even enjoy the heat, it's news can be very insular, it can be very isolated - big country to visit but really in the middle of no where!

But sincey's racist comment rattles my grill because it's something that is trotted out on MN without people acknowledging it's a big issue in their own backyard. And some words are categorically not racist when said in Australia. It is here because it's been used as a slur and so rightly so it's not used.

I'm genuinely sorry you may not get your visa. But I'd try other routes in if possible, as Ttbb has suggested.

We intend to ping pong but at the moment I'm loving being on this side of the world

There are calls for free movement to be opened up between the UK and Oz, post - Brexit.... I remain skeptical, but would love not to have to pay the exorbitant spouse visa fees for English DH 😑

What people so often seem to lose sight of when moving to any other foreign country, is the fact that many people tend to move because they think that life will be better there. E.g. Better weather, better lifestyle, better access to work/education/the outdoors take your pick. And often people make these decisions based on people they know there who love it/after they've been there on holiday etc. And what happens then is that they lose sight of the fact that most of the things they hate about the country they're leaving are still issues in the new country, added to which there are issues you didn't foresee at the time.

So for instance, if you move abroad your relationship with family and friends will change. Yes people will make promises to visit, but in truth they never will, because it's expensive to travel/will take two days out of their annual leave just to get there and back and that's before you take the jetlag into account, plus life will carry on as it's always been for them while you're building your own new life, and within a year you'll have very little in common with friends any more.

And if the kids have a strong relationship with e.g. Grandparents that will change because they'll no longer see each other, and skype is not a substitute.

If family are taken ill you'll be too far away to be there for them.

The kids will become local citizens and will likely not want to come home when they're older, so if you decide to move back here for health/retirement reasons you'll likely have to leave the kids and grandchildren behind, in fact it could be months before you get to meet your grandchildren if you're living on opposite sides of the world.

PS: I grew up abroad (not in Australia but in a country twelve hours from here) and wouldn't change my experiences for anything. But there are definitely reasons why I wouldn't move back abroad now.

Hi, sorry to jump in but saw you mentioned your dp does not get points for his degree as it's not related to his profession. I know that for the skills assessment that is true but thought it was different for the visa application. Remember they are two different things with different requirements and rules. Eg: in the visa application you get points for a degree. I came over to oz as an accountant and have a degree is Russian and Soviet studies but could claim points for the degree in the visa application.

Jud something to look into.

Well if you don't go you'll not waste €€€€€€€ shipping/flying out. Then decide it's not for you for many of the reasons already mentioned and head back. I spent best part of 20 grand doing just that.
I fecking hated the Brits out there slating the UK for all sorts but happily living in a country which keeps immigrants on islands away from public view. ...
Loved the fact that for 9 months I could hang my washing out and it would be dry in 30 mins.

Love love love Byron Bay ⛱⛱⛱

It’s very expensive re living day to day, groceries seem to be very very high.

Also for a country that has very very good human standards (safety standards and so forth), animal welfare standards are astoundingly low (if you’re concerned by that sort of thing - I am).

Oh and of course bloody spiders!

Yesterday I drove through snow. Australia is mental. I love it but its mental. It’s hard and weird and dangerous. I’ve had an family friend be killed by a shark. It’s crazy.

The islands with the asylum seekers (can't remember the name )

Subtle (or not so subtle) rudeness about British people/culture.

Very telling insights showing much ignorance about Australia Thanks for the heartwarming insight into your attitudes towards Australia.

Groceries and general living is more expensive (can be compensated by a higher salary in some professions but wouldn't be for us.)

Absolutely miles and miles / flight to the next town. Not a ton of different national trust places/variety of coast/ towns and villages within an hour or twos drive but an actual flight to get out of your city.

Don't need to worry about anything eating you/ Huntsman jumping out your sun visor etc...

(Obviously I think theres tons of positives too but you've asked for negatives to cheer you up! So of course the thread is squewed).

Midsumma I think there is a huge romantic notion of Australia from both inside and out side it.

I’m aussie. I love living here. But in holidays a few weeks ago I had to ask the people in the tent next to us to time the anti Muslim jokes down in ground of my Muslim kids. People are openly racist towards aboriginal people, we have poor human rights track record and Medicare is pretty fucking shut compared to NHS. But the food is good, the parks, the night sky, the horizon.

National Trust.
Scones.
Custard.
Proper curry.
Proper Chinese.
Costa coffee.
Cafe Nero.
Green countryside
Old buildings.
Pubs.
Proper cakes.
Sunday roasts.
History.
Country walks across fields.

Can you tell I live abroad and miss home?!

Medicare is a joke, a farce and an insult. Even with the highest possible private health fund you are out of pockets for hundreds of $$$$$ if you have to do a specialist visit (neurologist, neuro surgeon..... ) Medicare covers 70$ for a $300 fee, MRI you have to pay $300 out of rebate , .... so the hundreds become very quickly thousands even before you set foot in the theater. and don't get me started on dentist!

What I miss immensely is culture. Being able to fly to Greece, Rome , Paris, Venice, Berlin and show my kids art at its finest both in the streets or museums. Holidays are very short. so you have the dilemma to seeing family members who desperately miss you or showing them Europe.

The anti gay marriage movement is vile and ridiculous and having lived in Italy and Spain, I was shocked on how religious the Northern Beaches in Syadney are. We are at a state school and a mum greeted me at the gate with a "have you felt the love of Jesus today?" !!!! or the first question when I moved was "Where do you go to Church?"

Life is sweet for the kids. Schoolwork is so low, they enjoy sports, or afternoons on the sofa reading books. Despite being in the "Gifted" (ridiculous name) classes and presumably given extended work, they have so little to do. Curriculum at school makes no sense, history is theme based not chronologic, so you go straight from Greeks to Middle Ages skipping the Romans, but How can you explain the Middles Ages and the rise of the Church without the Romans. Then they went from Slavery to POWs, then French revolution and now Armenian genocide??????? Books at school must NOT have sensitive topics such as suicide (goodbye Madame Bovary, Anna Karenina), and other topics which might affect mental health. YEs so how do you find out about life!
University cost are sky high, you could easily buy a beach house in Italy or Spain instead of sending both to Uni.

And the hypocrisy on Aboriginals and refugees is sickening.
The prices of renting or buying a house is crazy.

Yes, there is sunshine, but far less than we had at our previous posting in Barcelona. And we could go skiing every weekend.

There are nice things in Australia. Definitely, but don't lose sleep, OP if you don't manage to come here. Many places in the world have nice things, closer to home and certainly cheaper. Why on earth do we have to pay a double car insurance with insurance + green slip????

We have just moved to Australia. I miss my family (due to time difference not really location)

The school education is shit

It's too hot to do anything

You are completely detached from the rest of the world.

They don't support gay marriage

Moving IS hard work, especially overseas. It seems fun at first but the real life kicks in and it's not always so great. You save yourself that at least.

I'm really sorry OP. It's hard realising that you can't do something you had your heart set on.

But the Aussie bashing does my head in!
I was back in the UK 2 years ago and was outright asked if we were bothered by the Muslims in Australia like they are in the U.K.? So it appears the casual racism is alive and kicking in the Midlands suburbs.
Schools are pretty good actually, well my kids school is amazing.
I wasn't aware Christian values were such a bad thing? There's a separation of church and state, so what is the problem?

I usually find that the Brits who hate it here are living with the fact that they made a huge mistake moving over but are stuck with it.

I don't think there is a big separation church/state. Every session of Senate or House of representative opens with the prayer Our Lord who art in heaven, school assembly (again state, not private or religious), is full of 'We honour our god, " , we share our love of God.
When you come from France, it is really odd to see these things.
The Anglican church donated 1 Million $ for the No campaign for the same sex marriage referendum. You know how many families you can help with 1 million dollars? So church interfering with every day life or trying to influence legislation means there is no separation.

I am not stuck here. It is one destination among many I have done and will do following my DH. I am just comparing countries and school systems.
Don't get me wrong, Australia is nice, but as any country has strong and weak points.

How pale is your skin? My cousins were born in Oz but we have lots of Irish and Scottish ancestry so are quite pale.

One cousin, in her 30s has just, 'had some cancer cut out of her face' as my other cousin charmingly put it. She was the one who would get sunburned.

You never need to worry if your child finds a spider in the garden, you don't need to teach your kids to bang their shoes / slippers before putting them on in case there is a scorpion in it.

Imagine cooking a huge Xmas roast in 40 degrees heat? And it won't feel like Xmas without it.

Summer evenings, those long summer evenings where it is still light at 10PM - you would never see them again.

Your children will grow up knowing their grandparents and cousins.

BTW I love Australia, and Perth - been 3 times. Love the 'no worries' attitude and will hopefully get to visit again.

The flies in Australia drive me to the point of absolute insanity. Reason enough not to move here!

Also gas and electricity costs are the highest in the world.

midsummabreak

The op is asking for bad things about Oz, and that is what people are doing, giving her reasons to stay. I could post a long list of things I love about Oz, but that won't help the OP.

I don't understand the comments saying Australia is "more racist" than the UK...

I met a hairdresser the other day who's originally from Birmingham. Told me she won't go back to the UK now because "there are too many Arabs".

We all have anecdotes. I certainly don't think one racist person from the UK is representative of everyone, nor do I think the UK is "more racist" than any other country. All countries have racist people.

My mum lived there for 15 years after she retired, I really didn’t like it enough to want to stay and was always pleased to return home. I remember the fashion being awful, cars dreadfully expensive, insects intolerable, heat awful, pubs being very bloke orientated
Does that help?