Dh has come home tonight and said he wants us to seriously consider a move to australia!!!!

[Nemo2007]

now it is something we played around with before we had dc and we looked into moving to NZ or OZ. However this has come out of the blue as we havent discussed it in a couple of years with having the dc etc. So what is life in oz really like??? Is it better than uk for the children? Are we likely to find jobs??

My dp and I moved out here 16 mths ago but our children are all grown up and stayed behind in the UK. I would advise you to get an immigration comapany to do the work for you... costs a lot but well worth it as the forms are forever changing. We kept up to date with everything online via email. Go for a permanent visa, you can still go home again if you don't like it. Some states in Australia will offer a permanent visa as long as you live and work in that state for 2 years. We are living in Victoria for that reason. Once we have been here 2 years we can move elsewhere in Australia if we want too. Its a wonderful place to live.... so friendly and with no "i'm better than you" wars going on. We live in Torquay on the surfcoast and the kids here spend most of their free time on the beach or at the surfclub (a good place to make friends when you have littlies with you). I work with littlies and they all seem so much healthier and more active because they can get outdoors playing so much.

Hi

We have just done this, been in Adelaide for 8 weeks. Yes the paperwork takes forever - we started our application April 2006!

BUT So far so good

Our 4 year old goes to kindy and does things that you aren't allowed to do in the UK like woodwork! Our social life revolves around meeting with other families and includes the kids so is about 500% better!

Downsides, it is really stressful, you need a strong marriage/partnership and a sense of humour to deal with the 'no worries and she'll be right mate' attitude. It takes a long time and if you don't have a job before you come out its a big worry.

But we decided to go for it and rent our UK house out for 2 years to give it a good go.

'Better to have tried and failed than never to try at all'

Enough waffle for a first post in ages!

We're planning to move out in July. We had hoped to go last September but had problems selling houses etc. We've been on several recce visits and loved everywhere we've been to. House prices were more than we had expected, but the cost of living (i.e. eating out) seems much lower.

Friends over there love the lifestyle, but do comment that the schools don't see to push the kids as much academically, however sports provision seems a thousand times better. However I've worked with lots of Aussies in the UK and can honestly say that even if the kids aren't pushed as hard when they are younger, the quality of the graduates at the end seems higher than in the UK.

I can't wait to go. I wish you all the best. we used an agency but to be honest the original agent was rubbish - wrong forms and bad advice etc. But the process takes ages - why do they need to know the exact syllabus and grades I got for ancient history and latin when I plan to work as an accountant.

Some of the bureaucracy and organisational laziness over there wound me up a bit (as it does over here!) and I know I'll have to chill out a bit and lose my whinging pom attitude. But the people I met were warm and funny and really put lifestyle and family first. The country is amazingly beautiful and the lifestyle is better than I could possibly get over here.

I have no ties remaining in the UK ( except some wonderful friends who are all planning on moving out as well) and so I can't see anything to stop me.

I'll let you know how it goes. There are some good web sites for people thinking of moving, I'll find them and post the details. They have been invaluable to us in looking at where to live etc.

There are loads of sites depending on where you want to go.

www.britishexpats.com, www.pomsinoz.com are two I can think of. Oh also www.thinkingaustralia.com have a forum - they were the agents we used.

HTH

Hi. We are planning on moving to Perth. Dh has been offered a job and they are just sorting out the terms of the contract. They will sponsor us and i think we will be going over on a 4 year 457 visa.

Am a bit shocked from reading this whole thread that it could take as little as 6 weeks to sort out the visa. I am still coming to terms with the move and just assumed it would take about 6 months! Will be leaving behind some geat friends and family and i am more than a little frightened.

looks like I am in a similar situation Nemo2007, dh has always wanted to move to oz but I have always thought it would be too difficult having to find jobs, visas etc BUT now dh has told me that the company he works for are expanding in oz and opening a new office in Melbourne so there is a definate chance he could move with his current employer taking away the worries over finding a job!

So I now have to give this some serious thought, I know it will be a better life for our dd over there (only 17 mths so would also adapt quite easily) but I have a couple of concerns 1. leaving family behind and 2. insects/spiders over there.

If any of you could help with my concerns it would be greatly appreciated!!!!

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Are the Aborigines treated as well as the new immigrants?

Hi, I arrived just a week ago in Brisbane, we have come on a 457 visa having been lucky enough to get a job before coming out here. Seemed to me to be the easy option. I got the job offer mid July and with a minor delay due to a request for extra medical info for one of kids that has repeated ear infections got the visa mid Oct so three months in all, but at the time seemed longer. I start work tomorrow. Don't expect the cost of living to be massively different to the UK, property prices in Brisbane are similar to the North of England but the rooms are bigger,unless you want to be right out in the sticks. Some things are cheaper, some more expensive (mobile phone costs for one) and most are about the same. The advantage is the weather,although it has rained since we got here although the locals seem pleased since they were having water restrictions.