Questions for anyone in Sydney, Australia

[ShrinkingViolet]

DH might be thinking about applying for a job with a multi-national in Sydney. I'd be more than happy to relocate from SE England, but I have some queries.

1. What exactly is the Aussie work ethos like? For example, here DH is expected to work 8.30-6, plus another 4-6 hours evenings and weekends. The impression you get of Autralia is that there's a lot more "play time", but is that actually true?
2. How long do people spend commuting each day? (I know that's the same as how long is a piece of string, but anyway...) Would we need to be living soemwhere close to his office, or is it like here with up to 1.5 hours each way?
3. Are mums mostly SAH, or out at work?
4. Is there much of a home educating community? And finally, recommendations for websites which will tell me all this stuff please? DH needs to decide very soon whether to apply for the position, but it does depend a bit on what the benefits to us as a family would be.

I can't answer all your questions but I'll try with some.

My dh and I lived in Melbourne for 2 years, he is an accountant for one of the big 5.

Aussie work very hard, this was a big misconception for us I thought they all worked from 9-5 then went to the beach!
Sayin that they liked to play hard and they are very big on families and you would find his work functions may include you and your family more.

People do tend to commute quite long distances, but then so do some people in the uk so its hard to generalise, we lived 10 mins from the city ant 2 from the beach.

Can't help much with education, as we didn't have ds then, although aussie schools are supposed to be excellent, but there are alot of private schools.

It is a fantastic place to live and to bring up a family, everything is family orientated. In Melbourne they are really into Aussie rules football, which is really fun and nothing like uk football, families go and there is never any violence.
If I had more guts we would be out there, but it is a major transition and very difficult if you have no family and friends over there. However Aussies are lovely and very welcoming and if you can brave out the first six months you'll never want to come back.

Good Luck
Katyjo
xxx

Lucky you!

Work hours: probably slightly less than your DH is doing now, much less likely to work over weekend.

Commutes can be anything from walking to an hour; Sydney is very zoned and each area very unmixed so your DH could well find himself working in an area and most of his colleagues living an hour a way.

Being so unmixed means that posh harbourside areas have fantastic state schools with loads of very motivated parents. Schools also expect big input from all parents so wohm/ sahm divide much less.

I didn't come across any home educating families, but some of the reasons to HE in UK are less relevant- later start, more relaxed ethos, less them and us attitude from school- more opportunity to be involved and in a meaningful not tokenistic way. Good luck!

thanks both - I've read through some of the other threads on here, and had a look at the real estate websites mentioned - any suggestions as to which areas in and around Sydney would be nice to live in? Is there an Autralian equivalent to UpMyStreet?
This is all just provisional research really, as 1. DH might not apply and 2. might not even get the job (and 3. might not want it if they don't offer enough money ), but what else need I to be thinking about?
Also Katyjo - this job is also with a top 5 accountancy firm - what kind of visa did they sort out for wives/children with you and your DH? Was it a "can stay there permanantly" one or a "visiting for 6 months" one (I know I could look that up somewhere, but MN is much quicker )

If you do go, I suggest you find our where your husband's colleagues live; they'll be there for a reason- not horrendous commute, good schools etc. I would recommend Mosman, Northern Suburbs (Balgowlah Heights, French's Forest, Manly). Before you go find out whether the firm will help with relocation costs. Healthcare and even education will not be free for you, so you should have them underwritten- overseas fees for schools are several thousand a year.

hi ShrinkingViolet! we moved over to Oz in Nov 2005 when my husband got a job in Melbourne. we then relocated to Sydney 6 months later and have been here for just over a year now.

dh is on a long-term business visa (being sponsored by the company employing him), and my daughter and I are included on this - this allows us to stay in the country for 4 years. i presume you guys would be applying for this type of visa if your husband was successful with his job application.

1. i think the work ethos probably depends on the job, although a 40 hour week seems standard here overall. in dh's industry its about the same as it was in the UK - the big difference is he only has a 10 minute commute to work here rather than the 1+ hours round the M25 he had at home. saying this, a friend's husband has found the work hours here are far greater in his industry (engineering of some type), which has come as a huge shock to them. i have no idea what accountancy would be like - would be a good idea to check this out beforehand.

2. as previous posters have mentioned, commuting times can vary. housing can be very expensive (both to buy and rent) in Sydney, particularly close to the beaches/City, hence long commutes from the suburbs. it sounds like you've found the real estate sites, so you can get an idea of the rental costs in various areas. if your dh is working in the City then you have a lot of freedom deciding where abouts you'd like to live. we are in the Northern Beaches area (close to Manly) and its great - beautiful beaches and parks and a lovely ferry ride into the City. there is a shortage of rental properties at the moment though, which is pushing rents up - don't know if this is true everywhere in Sydney.

3. i'm not working at the moment (am currently awaiting the imminent arrival of our second child!), so have only really met SAHM. no idea what the mix is compared to the UK i'm afraid.

4. again, i don't know a lot about home ed, so can't really help here. i have been looking at an 'alternative' school in Terrey Hills though - Kinma which looks lovely and is not overly expensive compared to other private schools. it may be of interest to you?

as LambethLil mentioned, you should investigate school fees for temporary residents - we will have to pay $5000/year for our daughter to attend even state schools in NSW if we don't get permanent residency (as far as i can tell, NSW is the only state in Australia that imposes this charge). private schools can be far more expensive that this. something to think about during any salary negotiations.

good grief, i've written an essay. better stop. oh, apart from mentioning you'd be eligible for reciprical health care with Medicare as well - we don't have medical insurance (it is v. expensive for non-residents), but have found the public health system to be fine so far; have used A&E, GP and public hospital for pregnancy and have not had to pay very much at all. i guess this is because Ozzies in the UK are entitled to free health care on the NHS... hope some of this is useful and let me know if you want any more info - will do my best to help!

good luck...

sorry for the delay in posting, work on wed and thursday.

We were with KPMG, and I have to say I couldn't fault them at all.
We went over on a 457 business visa which covers you for 4 years, it allowed both myself and dh to work in Oz. The organised someone to collect us from the airport, temporary accpomodation which they paid for the first 4 weeks they also organised a relocation agent who helped us find rental accomodation in Melbourne. She picked us up from our hotel and drove us around looking at houses which was great.
They offered to sponsor residency if we wanted to stay, as did the company I was with. So I wouldn't think you wouls have a problem if you want to stay.
As far as wages are concerned, we thought things would be way cheaper over there and that is true, but houses aren't cheap (although renting isn't too bad) so try to make sure your dh gets a far package, dh was on a fairly low wage to start with but it went up really quickly once we were there, I guess they probably take off the relocation cost.
Just to give you an idea dh was on about £30,000 in the uk as an assistant manager and was paid about $57,000 (but pension payments come out of this) when we arrived before we left just under 2 years later he was earning about $100,000 as a manager and actually had to take a drop in salary to return to the uk. I know its a bit gross to talk about money but it is really difficult ot know what your worth especially on a foreign market.
I have a friend who lives in Manly and he loves it he has been out for nearly 4 years but hasn't decided weather he is staying, I think he is extending his visa.
Hope some of this helps.
xx

1. I think they work more unpaid overtime

2.Less than in the UK 3. Childcare horrifically hard to find - SAHM very often 4. Don't know

In Sydney since Jan 07

thanks everyone, Dh will be discussing things with the agency next week, so I may or may not be back with more questions

I would agree that Aussies work very hard when at work - I found there was very little "chatting" during the day in comparison with a UK company, but everyone had a drink and nibbles together in the office on Friday evening.

Aussie cities tend to cover a larger area than a UK city with similar population, so yes, commutes can be long...

i live in brissy - am an aussie married to a pom.

1. tend to have a pretty good work/life balance happening. A lot of work whilst at work but getting together for drinks after work can happen. Again no matter where you work - there are those who are slackers.

I know dh works less hours than he did in the UK - he also has something called flexi time - he can work up time and in stead of being paid overtime - he can take that time as leave - days off etc. But he is a government employee.

2. commuting - we live in the suburbs - dh catches train - 30 - 45 minute train journey with a 10 minute walk at either end.... the train journey depends on whether it is an express train or not. SOme people live at the sunshine coast and commute to brisbane for work - so can drive up to 1.5 hours but that is a lifestyle choice.

3. again - it is mixed - here we can afford for me to be a sahm to three children - but plenty of my friends are working mums - some part time, some full time.

4. don't know about home eding but here in qld our govt schools are pretty good and there is a lot of choice as to where you send your children too.

Hi Shrinkingviolet. Might be a bit late to contribute to this thread but we're currently en-route to Sydney from SE England (currently on an island in Thailand ). We are very much moving to improve our quality of life. DH worked crazy hours in the city (IT) and commuted 2 hours each way every day so it really can't be any worse. We went over in November on a reccie and the work/life balance does seem to be better. A 40 hour week is normal, but the company employing DH are stressing that you are not expected to work crazy hours on top. DH declined the offer of a transfer with the big global company he was working for in the UK as he thought it would be the same ethos in a different place, and instead of travelling contantly to the US from the UK he would be dong the same ony from Australia. He went for a medium, Australian focused company instead. Regarding visas, we've gone straight for permanent residency rather than the 457 business visa for lots of different reasons. Have a look on the Britishexpats website for a lot of details of the pros and cons of business visas. Not necessarily bad, but we do know one family who went over on a 457, business went under and they had 28 days to find another company to sponsor them of leave (they had to leave). Re. home edding - I plan to home ed my 8 and 4 year olds for a while when we arrive. Home edding is not seen as particularly odd as the long distances in Australia mean that some kids can't get to school. I am relying on the one person I know who runs the home ed group in the Upper North Shore area - will let you know how it goes if you're interested. Unlike the UK though, you do need to register as a home edder and you actually get an agreement that you can home ed for so many years, then they will review you. I am putting my 13 year old into school though as he needs mates fast!!! Sorry if I've gone on a bit. Good luck whatever you decide. CAT me if you like.

well, we've decided that logistically it's do-able, DH has an interview this lunchtime with the top tax bloke from an accountancy firm in Sydney (he's here for one day apparently - weird?) so we'll know later whether what they are prepared to offer him career- and money-wise is OK. I could be back here panicking later