7immyboy

Sunshine Coast Queensland is beautiful and in my experience very wholesome with good family values, generally speaking...take your pick, Caloundra is perfect, only a 1.5 hour commute (i think ) to Brisbane, lots to do in any direction and feels very safe etc any further north and you`ll struggle for work and it all gets a bit competitive, everyone and their dog wishes to move from the city onto the coast so jobs and property are fiercely fought over. The schools my other halves sisters went to are very good! Don`t let the grumpy ones get you down, they mean well just want you to get to the point, I understand however that there is nothing wrong with the fantasy side of it where your mind can escape the finer details, the paperwork, the endless visa application ( am I putting you off yet? ) But at the same time dont stray too far from the reality as facts is facts you gotta get the visa first! . i cant comment on anywhere else as I haven`t been far, good luck! xx

Alfresco

Why would someone with surname like that live in Central London?

RedDragon2008

Who knows?

7immyboy

[QUOTE=pomikev;10547440]Sorry to come across so abruptly but you asked for all opinions and I'm just sharing mine, i came here in the late 1980's and have worked really hard to make it work here, I have been poor to reasonably well off at different times and lived in a major cities and regional and remote rural locations.

Life is of course what you make it wherever you are but you seem very convinced that Australia is going to be the land of milk and honey and while that may once have been true I have seen the quality of life and the opportunities for people change drastically in the last 20 years. The gap between rich and poor has grown as wide as the in UK and the USA.

I am just pointing out to you that you may be dissapointed and it's a huge move to make and then find that out.




Great post.

derab

I don't want to be too much of a wet blanket, but with the career streams, the low experience level and the expectation of walking into jobs which would support you to a reasonable level. The main place that springs to mind is Tamworth, It has a pretty major mental hospital but its a days drive to the beach. at least it's only a 20 minute walk to the edge of town from most places.
the upside is that there is a fantastic country music festival on every year and they bring in some big names from all around the world. A bit like the Calgary stampede really.

pomikev

That only leaves 51 weekends to be bored shitless, and if you don't like songs about dogs in utes or drovers who's wives left them you're going to be very disappointed.

BadgeIsBack

My view is maybe a bit drastic to be honest, I don't see why anyone would migrate now due to the risk and cost.

3000 a month...I'm reeling a bit now.
See - I'm out of the Uk for 10 years and I have no idea whether this is normal.

RedDragon2008

The problem is people in the UK often dont realise that the more popular areas of Australia have those prices per week ie $3000+

And the ideal 4 bed 2 bath house on 800 sqm with pool and double garage are now often over $1 million. That is including the recent 20% falls

haggis supper

Wow, how to endear yourself to the folks on BE. With respect, your post was incredibly vague, provided no useful information but asks folks here to provide their details, experiences etc. Nicky C has been on the forum for 10 years, with over 3,000 posts so has provided plenty of help and assistance over the years to others.

If you want valuable help then I suggest you need to decide why you want to come to Australia - what's the motivation - and have an idea as to where you want to be. Asking folks what they like about where they live will surely confuse you more - you'll get 30 folks telling you how wonderful their life is !

Why do you think this will be the best thing that ever happened ? Explain what you need, want and what you expect to find. Do you want isolation and something different (e.g. Perth, Darwin) or do you want a big city (e.g. Sydney) ? Do you want hot/warm weather all year round (Queensland) or a more UK type climate with seasonal changes (Melbourne).

I love Sydney, but only to visit. Too busy, too hard to get around but the beaches and lifestyle is very good and friends there love it.

I also love Queensland but only for holidays. Probably too hot and humid for me.

Adelaide is great, as is Tassie but I find them way too small.

Perth has more expats and easier/quicker to get back to the UK (great for family visits) but (personally) I find it too quiet, too remote and too hot.

We settled in Melbourne (as my job was here) and we love it. Hot in summer but not too cold in winter. Fabulous city, great culture and lots of concerts, sporting events etc. Beaches are not that good unless you travel about an hour outside of the CBD.

It would probably be best to head to where there is a greater chance of work for you both as this is an astonishingly expensive country. The poor exchange rate coupled with the low cost of housing in the UK means a lot of folk arrive here with very little in the way of equity and that can make it very hard. I know three families who recently returned home to the UK as they were finding it too expensive to buy/live.

What sort of lifestyle do you currently have and therefore want ? Beach or rural ? Do you want a pool ? 2 cars or 1, private schooling or public ? Foreign holidays or local ? How much equity will you bring ? What will you be able to afford - research that carefully as you'll surprised at how expensive it is here. As someone else has pointed out, it's a long way to come to find that you are struggling.

A few years ago I would have encouraged anyone to come out here, even if only for a few years to experience it but with the cost of moving from the UK and the cost of living here I'm not sure I would recommend it unless you had a job and sufficient funds.

The one thing to appreciate is that Australia is not nirvana, neither is it the UK with sunshine. This is a very very different country, with different attitudes and cultures. You'll find many very happy ex-pats but you'll also find many many unhappy ex-pats. We're very settled and happy here but it is not without its frustrations - driving, tv, distance, costs, heat, costs, school standards and did I mention costs ? We probably have a better/happier life but are certainly worse off financially, by a long way. My wife though is very homesick and misses her parents. We also long for the ability to fly to Europe and experience a different culture. I suspect that if the kids were not settled in school we would probably head back to the UK in another three or four years.

Be specific when asking for advice and you'll find folks here are terrific and helpful. You'll also find that there is a certain edge to BE. Folks like to judge and the wit/sarcasm may not be to everyone's liking.

I can understand Nicky C's comment. Why come all the way to Australia to spend time with other Brits ?? Each city has a good sprinkling of Poms and you'll find them as you go. Personally I wouldn't seek them out - just try to make friends as you go rather than find people with the same accent. Having been here 7 years I reckon that 50% of our friends are brits and 50% aussies.

Keep a positive attitude, ask as many questions as you can because being prepared helped us enormously but also be realistic as we have the same dramas, challenges and frustrations as you do in the UK.

Good luck.

pomikev

Brilliant post, spot on.

the troubadour

I suspect your mind is made up for the time being and want preferably positive posts confirming your decision.

Do take note of the cost of living it is outrageous for the most part. If you check on the salary of a Social Worker you will find it pays rather low considering the cost of living.
A lot of Welfare Workers and Councilors perform Social Worker tasks in Australia so keeps the pay down.
As in Britain planty of work in child support as they find it hard to keep staff. Often remote work ...pretty tough I'd suggest coming from Richmond.

Who knows in a few more years what the situation will be in skilled immigration? Australia changes all the time and with over 200,000+ immigrants coming in recent years there are only so many jobs.

I lived in Richmond and can't say noticed any gangs there.Actually rather nice area for kids I thought,not an area of interest for me however.

ailsacott

Thank you so much Pomikev. Some real issues their that i will now be considering. Great advice, much appreciated. x

Ill be watching out for the sausages! : )

pomikev

I could probably mail you one - seeing as they don't appear to have any bloody meat in them they would probably get through customs lol.