Seriously thinking of emigrating to Oz, anyone here already done it?

[NottsMum]

I am currently in Perth, Western Australia, visiting my in-laws. This is our 4th visit over (in 12 years) and DH really wants to move out here.

Before this holiday, I always said no but this time I can really see the benefits of doing it. Great weather, very relaxed lifestyle, lots of outdoor activities, be near to DH's parents who are great and bonus, we'd probably be mortgage free.

We have 2 DDs, one 4.5, the other 1, so the transition for them will be easy. DH is really, really keen to do this, I feel v.positive about it BUT of course I'll be leaving my family in the UK. I don't see them v. often anyway as we live 150 miles from them but emotionally it'll be hard. My sister and her family won't be able to come over as they're a low income family and she's scared of flying (claustrophic - flown once and swore never to do it again). There's six of them so we couldn't afford to pay for them to come over.

My parents are retired and we would be happy to pay for their flights but I'm not sure how often they'd be prepared to come and visit. It would be a BIG deal for them as they are approaching seventy and it's only in the last 8 years that they've taken European holidays abroad.

DH and I are still chatting about the pros and cons, although he accepts that for us to do this we need to consider financially flying my parents over and for us to go visit them and my sister too.

Right now I'm feeling very positive about this but I know I'll find it much harder once I'm back in the UK (in 5 days )

I am fully aware that being on holiday is not the same as living somewhere, so I am taking that into consideration. The Ozzies are a really friendly bunch, although we seem to have met more English people this holiday, who have emigrated and love it!

DH is an engineer and should have absolutely no trouble whatsover in getting a visa to emigrate (they're crying out for them in Perth)

So I'd really love to hear from anyone who emigrated (even to another country) and what advice they can give me.

Sorry for this long thread but as soon as we started having serious discussions about this I thought MN would be bound to have some useful advice.

hello!

I am now in Perth, Applecross - where are you?
My Perth Dh and I lived in London for 10 years and then came back as soon as we could which was last year in August and the kids were 3.4 and 1yr.

Yes it is hard at first, wating for your stuff to arrive, getting to know people, getting used to actually living here, the empty streets the driving to the shops etc etc but it is the best thing we have ever done and I love our lives here.

Do it. You won't regret it, you will just pinch yourself everyday that you actually live here now and you don't have to get back on the plane and go anywhere else.

You know that it's only 24 hours virtually door to door to get back to the UK,

If you would like to contact me through MN and discuss it in more detail go ahead.

PS great thunderstorm we're having isn't it? Hope it clears up in the morning as we are all off to Adventure World.

oh Blimey, Nottsmum, just realised it's you! How is it going? Did you go to Rotto?

Hiya SW! Yes it's me

DH are currently up on the balcony watching the storm and he's been clicking away with the digital camera and I'm on MN (can't bear to be apart for too long ) and drinking some v. nice Ozzy vino.

Have really enjoyed the storm, in fact it's quite refreshing to get rain (obviously to get me used to being back in the UK!)

We haven't actually been to Rottnest as we realized that our 2 DD's would not appreciate the scenery and Quokkas for more than one hour, so decided it would be best to do it when they're older.

Have had a fab time though and spent 6 days in Margaret River area ( can recommend Abbey beach resort - we stayed there for 2 nights as a special treat)

DH's parents bought a book called "kidding around Perth" which is brilliant, so go and buy a copy if you don't already have it.

Thanks for the offer, I'll CAT you when I get back home as we want to find out about good areas to live with regards to kids and how the schooling / kindergarten system works.

Thank you for the pos vibes. DH is happy

No worries, mate

It's soooooooooo nice here isn't it?

Anyway I'll leave this thread open for someone else who may give a less favourable side to the story ( doubt it). You're up near Scarborough aren't you IIRC?

you should know that the school year goes from 1st July to 30 June, so the July kids are always the oldest, if your oldest dd is going to be five before July 1st then she will be ready for pre-primary in February 2006 and if she's younger than that she can go in to Kindergarten

I am in Brisbane Queensland and I have made friends with 3 lovely english ladies at my dd's school. They have emigrated (1 1/2 yras ago) and two really like it and are happy and the other one is unhappy and wanting to go back. She can go back to visit 4 times a year but she said it is not the same as she desperately misses her family (they are very close) and she can't handle the heat. Problem is her dh loves it here and so does her dd. It looks like she may take her dd back and her dh will stay behind . All of these ladies tell me that there a huge differences between oz and uk and that it is taking them time to adjust but the reason they came was because they wanted something different. Apparently most differences are re: schooling, healthcare, govt benefits, childcare etc etc.

suzywong - the school year goes from January to December!!! The prepatory age criteria of turning 5 before 30 June in the year they attend does not officially come in until 2007. If the school Nottsmum chooses does not have prepatory yet then the preschool program will still be in place and the age criteria is turning 5 before 31 December in the year she attends.

yes that's right it does my mama, but in terms of the birthdays of the kids it goes from the dates I specified in Perth which is where she is thinking of settiling

if you do a search I am sure there are a nuber of threads about emigrating and especially to Aus. I can't comment in a way as I am an aussie who spent 4 years living and working in the UK. Then returned to australia with my dh and dd1 BUT we love it here and whilst I enjoyed living in the UK - nothing beats Aus. My English dh has no intentions of going back to the UK - he just loves living here.

We settled back in my home town of brissy....Dh has a great job and loves his work but loves the fact that he can work family friendly hours and still have so much time over to enjoy being with our dds.

You will experience bouts of homesickness and it will take you a while to get used to things ALTHOUGH dh swears he will never get used to Christmas in summer .

Hi All

Thanks for all the info. I did do a quick web search this morning for emigration info and found a useful site with personal stories on it. When I'm back home we intend to do a great deal more searching.

My DH and DD went sailing today on the foreshore of the Swan River, this was a typical Sunday with scores of groups having picnics and using the bbq's, playing cricket and football and generally having a great time. This really showed me how different life is over here and I really want to be a part of it.

Yep, I know there's different ways over here and the main message I read from the various stories (so far) was that the benefits are great but it takes time to get used to being away from your loved ones and starting a whole new social circle again (gulp). Anyway, I'll post back here and tell you how I get on with the research.