Moving country with a baby

[anon990]

Has anyone travelled as a lone parent to Australia or Canada to start a new life with their child? I'm seriously considering it after a traumatic and messy breakup with my BD who doesn't live in this country now either.
Is it hard, was it worth it etc?
TIA

I do live in another country, but had a husband before we had a child. I had absolutely no support other than my DH (who worked a lot).

I think moving to a new country, far away from family and without the support of a partner would be incredibly difficult.

I think it depends massively on your personality. Are you the type to put yourself out there and make connections? A baby can be an icebreaker but also incredibly isolating. Take your time over the decision but if you think it's right, go for it - your baby will never be as portable as they are now! Best of luck x

Not with a baby, but with tweens. Moved to Australia. In my case it was returning though so I had a support network there.

I have found it easier to get back on my feet in Australia because low income is so much higher than in the UK.

But there is still a cost of living crisis here and accommodation costs are crazy right now. I wouldn't be moving to one of the big capital cities.

I moved to Canada with a 3 month old and a husband who had a new job which kept him at work for very long hours. It was very, very, very tough and I say that as someone who has moved countries a lot and consider myself very independent and quite resourceful.
Your situation sounds like it might be jumping from the frying pan into the fire tbh. Depending on the age of your child you need to look very carefully into the availability and cost of child care. Housing and childcare costs are very high in Canada atm.

Why those two countries? Are you eligible for visas? Missing the point but wouldn’t Europe be better if you can get a visa?
I‘ve done it (still abroad now) and it was hard for a while and I still get homesick on occasion. But I guess I’m at home here now and the kids are at school so I am stuck (or feel it, as they are only at home here). They are not British now really.

He's 3 months old. I wouldn't be leaving u til next year. Yes I'm eligible for PR in Australia as I have a degree on the skills list. The reason I want to go is that I've always wanted to and don't want having had a baby to stop me, I understand it would be hard & everything. I hope it would give me and my son more opportunity than here money wise

I think you’d need a fair bit of money behind you. You’d need excellent childcare plus some kind of back up childcare. And you’d need it immediately, even before starting a new job, so that you could do interviews and sort housing and things. It could work if someone like one of your child’s grandparents could come over on a visitor visor for the first month to help you look after your baby while you got set up.

I came as a trailing spouse to Australia. DH travels frequently so it's all on me. I work part time and it is challenging but possible because I have an amazing and understanding employer.

The daycares have long waitlists (I got Dd into a new centre that was opening, and DS was listed before birth) and are expensive in our area- 155-260/per day.
You need to have all the immunisations up to the Australian schedule or they can't attend.

We've made a good circle of friends but the reality is they have kids and jobs too so can't really be relied on to support unless in an emergency. DS has recently been in hospital for a mystery virus and with school holidays, DD in vacation care, follow up drs appointments, DH travelling, getting through the essentials at work etc. I've really missed having family and long term friends nearby.

See if you can find somewhere that includes family health insurance.

Sick leave can be used for dependents, long service leave varies by state.

The rental and housing market is expensive and moves fast.

There's an aus/NZ section you could ask on if you wanted to cover any specifics.

I know women who have done it very successfully (Aus), but generally with school age children. My main concern with your son’s age would be childcare and associated costs. I was talking to my DIL yesterday about how their daycare has increased their prices again, the baby room is now charging $225 a day, my granddaughter is 3 and has just moved to preschool one which is $199 a day (Sydney). There are cheaper options, her daycare provides everything, but depending on where you live waiting lists can be long. I don’t know if you would be entitled to government childcare subsidy with PR rather than citizenship, definitely something to look into as that would make a big difference but if you are a high earner it might not be as much as you would hope, the system seems to be very complicated . There is also the problem of the kids picking up every bug going and being sent home, one month this winter GD missed 1/3 days every week because she was sick, not a big deal with two sets of grandparents within 5 minutes willing to pick up and have a sick child at home, a real issue with no family support. Good luck whatever you decide to do.

When you move it's same problems different view.