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Advice needed please for teacher considering move to Australia from UK

Advice needed please for teacher considering move to Australia from UK

Old Mar 26th 2016, 4:36 am
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Default Re: Advice needed please for teacher considering move to Australia from UK

Originally Posted by Moogle87
Lol, sorry. I just assumed that you were from Aus. I should have checked because it is very clearly states that you are living in the UK!
Rookie mistake I reckon, lol.

I do 100% agree that it is worth looking into the actual difference in teaching in the UK & Aus (& anywhere really) because it will always appear that the grass is greener at first.

All I can say is that at times I do love my job, but if anybody asks me if I would recommend teaching to their niece (or whoever) I always say no. It isn't until you do it that you realise what it really is like. But that could be the same in Aus for all I know.

I'll try starting some new threads aimed at teachers & also at living in Tas.

Thanks so much for all the advice.
The vast majority of us on here are either in or from the UK

I can't recall any active posters in Tassie at present, but I have spent a lot of time there over the years and can give you some snippets of info.

It IS more like the UK in that the cities are a lot smaller, half an hour from Hobart's CBD and you are definitely out in the countryside. Only two main cities, Hobart and Launceston, the rest of the state is much smaller towns and villages. It is a stunningly beautiful place to live, but on the job front, being so much smaller, people do tend to struggle.

Tasmanian Government Jobs is the link for Tassie government jobs (including public - state - schools)

The climate is probably the closest you will get to the UK. Fair amount of rainfall (though nowhere near enough) - snow in many places, even down to the harbour in Hobart at times. There are also periods of heat in the summer, generally shorter iived than the mainland, you rarely get over 30 for more than 2 days in a row but the ozone layer is thinner and the sun is much harsher - sunscreen is an absolute must Even I catch the sun there just in a few minutes and that's the only place in Aus where that happens!!

Its also pricier in many ways than the mainland as everything has to be flown in or brought on the Spirit (large ferry from Victoria)

I'd move there in a heartbeat, but the issue is employment. If you can score a job there, go for it!
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Old Mar 26th 2016, 4:42 am
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Default Re: Advice needed please for teacher considering move to Australia from UK

Originally Posted by Pollyana
The vast majority of us on here are either in or from the UK

I can't recall any active posters in Tassie at present, but I have spent a lot of time there over the years and can give you some snippets of info.

It IS more like the UK in that the cities are a lot smaller, half an hour from Hobart's CBD and you are definitely out in the countryside. Only two main cities, Hobart and Launceston, the rest of the state is much smaller towns and villages. It is a stunningly beautiful place to live, but on the job front, being so much smaller, people do tend to struggle.

Tasmanian Government Jobs is the link for Tassie government jobs (including public - state - schools)

The climate is probably the closest you will get to the UK. Fair amount of rainfall (though nowhere near enough) - snow in many places, even down to the harbour in Hobart at times. There are also periods of heat in the summer, generally shorter iived than the mainland, you rarely get over 30 for more than 2 days in a row but the ozone layer is thinner and the sun is much harsher - sunscreen is an absolute must Even I catch the sun there just in a few minutes and that's the only place in Aus where that happens!!

Its also pricier in many ways than the mainland as everything has to be flown in or brought on the Spirit (large ferry from Victoria)

I'd move there in a heartbeat, but the issue is employment. If you can score a job there, go for it!
It sounds similar to NZ really then.

Although my hubby could cope, I just don't think I could deal with the heat in mainland Aus. We went to Thailand in August when it is the coldest weather & I still felt like I was melting, lol.

I have to use suntan lotion in the UK, so that will be no different, lol
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Old Mar 26th 2016, 4:49 am
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Default Re: Advice needed please for teacher considering move to Australia from UK

Originally Posted by Moogle87
It sounds similar to NZ really then.

Although my hubby could cope, I just don't think I could deal with the heat in mainland Aus. We went to Thailand in August when it is the coldest weather & I still felt like I was melting, lol.

I have to use suntan lotion in the UK, so that will be no different, lol
It is similar to NZ in many ways, the scenery in a lot of places is like the South Island, and Tassie tends to view itself as separate from the mainland so there is more of the feel of a smaller country, more like NZ then the mainland of Australia.

You would definitely feel the heat on the occasions the temperature rises - the sun is harsher and brighter, hard to explain, but I'm always amazed at how much harsher it seems than the sun in Brisbane, which just creates heat and humidity! But if you are a heat-hater like me it probably is the best place to head for.
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Old Mar 26th 2016, 4:49 am
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Default Re: Advice needed please for teacher considering move to Australia from UK

Originally Posted by Moogle87
It sounds similar to NZ really then.

Although my hubby could cope, I just don't think I could deal with the heat in mainland Aus. We went to Thailand in August when it is the coldest weather & I still felt like I was melting, lol.

I have to use suntan lotion in the UK, so that will be no different, lol
You get used to the heat, but only to an extent. After moving back to the UK last year, I have spent so much more time outdoors and have concluded that UK has a much more liveable climate. Strangely though, I do prefer the Australian climate, because I like short and comparatively warmer winters.

But it is easier to do stuff in the UK! I go on long walks in the UK on a regular basis now and not only can I walk a lot further, but I don't have to jump into a cold shower for twenty minutes upon my return!

Tasmania sounds lovely. My next Aussie holiday (after the one I have coming up) will be a couple of weeks driving round.
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Old Mar 26th 2016, 4:54 am
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Default Re: Advice needed please for teacher considering move to Australia from UK

Originally Posted by Bermudashorts
You get used to the heat, but only to an extent. After moving back to the UK last year, I have spent so much more time outdoors and have concluded that UK has a much more liveable climate. Strangely though, I do prefer the Australian climate, because I like short and comparatively warmer winters.

But it is easier to do stuff in the UK! I go on long walks in the UK on a regular basis now and not only can I walk a lot further, but I don't have to jump into a cold shower for twenty minutes upon my return!

Tasmania sounds lovely. My next Aussie holiday (after the one I have coming up) will be a couple of weeks driving round.
I don't think you'll be disappointed
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Old Mar 26th 2016, 5:00 am
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Default Re: Advice needed please for teacher considering move to Australia from UK

I don't know, I'm not a teacher but I can't imagine that teachers here have a shorter working week than UK teachers. They are still marking, planning, training etc etc etc outside the normal 'school hours'. And if they're not then they're probably not the best teachers. If you don't like it hot I can't imagine you'd want to live anywhere other than Tassie. Anywhere else, excluding a small area of SEQLD/NNSW gets loads of days of 30+ and a few days of 40+.
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Old Mar 26th 2016, 5:23 am
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Default Re: Advice needed please for teacher considering move to Australia from UK

Originally Posted by moneypenny20
I don't know, I'm not a teacher but I can't imagine that teachers here have a shorter working week than UK teachers. They are still marking, planning, training etc etc etc outside the normal 'school hours'. And if they're not then they're probably not the best teachers. If you don't like it hot I can't imagine you'd want to live anywhere other than Tassie. Anywhere else, excluding a small area of SEQLD/NNSW gets loads of days of 30+ and a few days of 40+.
It isn't the working week as such, its all the rubbish that goes with it where I am ticking boxes & spending hours doing things that have no benefit to the children.
My contracted & paid 37.5 hours actually include time outside of the 8:30 - 3:30 teaching day by the way.
But I have meetings on a Monday & then usually have to do coursework catch up twice a week after school for an hour. I then have Yr 11 revision for an hour at least once per week.
Because I teach ICT I also have to open up my room during dinner time every day (which means that I am basically stuffing a sandwich down my gob as quick as I can whilst trying to help pupils with work, not just mine, but for other subjects as well.) I also usually do coursework catch up 4 lunch times a week as well.

I teach KS4 ICT, where it is 75% coursework, this means that I have to mark work at least twice for each pupil. I currently teach 48 year 11's (I have a bottom set this year, which means that I have less. Last year I had 60). I then have 50 year 10's & 55 year 9's.
I then also have 128 year 7's, 94 year 8's & 20 year 11 Business pupils (28 last year, this was an unusually small group.)
EVERY piece of work has to be marked & commented on. Even if it is just a brain storm in books which will then be fed back & discussed as a group.

What I'm trying to say with this, is that I'm not afraid of marking. Most marking has value for the children. But out of the 50 lessons per fortnight that we have timetabled, I get 6 hours to do my planning & marking, so there is no way that I can get it all done in this time.

What I do not like is spending my entire lesson (I get 1 a week) with my bottom set year 7 class because we need to fill in a sheet where they are copying what I've written because it 'needs' to be in the front of books, where I have to check that comments have been written in reply & have been written in the correct colour pen & where we have to stick in sheets in the right way.
It takes so long because they are bottom set & need a lot of help. This isn't their fault.

This is for a subject where 95% of the time they are on the computer!

I really could go on, but I won't because I'll bore you all to tears!
Sorry if I have already!

Last edited by Moogle87; Mar 26th 2016 at 5:27 am.
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Old Mar 26th 2016, 5:38 am
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Default Re: Advice needed please for teacher considering move to Australia from UK

Sorry, totally went on a rant there.
I'm tired & really need some sleep.

Going to bed now. Hopefully I'm not such a moody cow when I get up!
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Old Mar 26th 2016, 7:24 am
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Default Re: Advice needed please for teacher considering move to Australia from UK

LOL, I splurted coffee all over my iPad when I read your opening sentence - no, teaching in Australia is no more family friendly than teaching anywhere else in the world - and only 55 hours a week? I am long retired (thank heavens) and not a classroom teacher but what with out of hours meetings and appointments, special projects and my core work I'd say 55 was a good average for me and I can't imagine things have got any better since I left. Having a sick kid to care for and no extended family support elicited absolutely zero sympathy (not should it!) so, no, leave provisions and flexibility aren't exactly key features of an educational setting (it was much easier for my public servant husband with flex time). Increasingly, too, teachers are finding that their "12 weeks holiday" (ha!) is very much a thing of the past with the 4 weeks rec leave over Christmas being essentially sacrosanct but the "stand down" periods are now being used more and more for various school related activities - especially if you have any sort of ambition.

Getting a job is the challenge which is why so many new young teachers are unemployed or using their skills in other careers - it's definitely not a career I would be steering my kids towards in Australia at all. The general rule of thumb is that there are teaching vacancies sure - in places that no teachers want to live (and from your comments on the weather you would die a thousand deaths within the first couple of weeks - some of those places can be harsh. However there are usually hundreds of applicants vying for positions in the nice coastal "family friendly" places and those positions are often short term contracts with the cheaper applicants getting preference so the schools get more bang for their buck.

Rather than focusing on exchange rates when considering your income, look at how your income compares with the national average age - in Australia the national average is around $80k compared with £26k - so you are quite a bit above average in UK but would be quite a bit below average in Aus.

$250k isn't going to get you much of a house anywhere (not one that you'd want to live in and certainly not a nice modern townhouse in a place where you might scrape by with a job) - Australian small towns with supermarkets bear little resemblance to English small towns with supermarkets - most Aussies live in the cities but from one side of the major cities to the other is many many miles!

In not saying don't do it if you have a yearning for adventure but I would suggest that if you are comfortable where you are, have stable jobs and a nice home it would be a huge gamble - you said you had no savings yet - its going to cost you many thousands to make a move so effectively you could be seeing your £25k house equity all gone just to move and set up again (you won't be driving a nice Alfa at the end of it , that's for sure!). You're both young enough to take a career break (don't quit your current jobs whatever you do!) and try a working holiday for a year before you have kids - you probably wouldn't get any teaching jobs but it'd give you a chance to see what the country is really like and whether you could cope with the weather, the isolation etc.
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Old Mar 26th 2016, 8:30 am
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Default Re: Advice needed please for teacher considering move to Australia from UK

Originally Posted by Moogle87

It isn't the working week as such, its all the rubbish that goes with it where I am ticking boxes & spending hours doing things that have no benefit......


Now if you had said you wanted red tape and box ticking, life in OZ would be right up your alley . Inside and out of work in any field.

But isnt that the same anywhere these days ?

What lifestyle do you want, what climate do you want? You have to be careful with ' less crowded ', most of aus population lives in a handful of cities which end up just as crowded as anywhere.


Life anywhere can be pretty ordinary, all the same crap applies. Doing it in severe heat makes it no easier, the opposite I feel. I too am outside far more in a cooler climate.

Its good you have done so much financial research, but try more to define, what exactly you are looking for, because stuff like red tape, work hours, house prices, even space, could be very similar to what you have now.
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Old Mar 26th 2016, 9:46 pm
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Default Re: Advice needed please for teacher considering move to Australia from UK

I am currently teaching in Qld, and am in my fifth year teaching here, it is not as driven as the UK but it is heading that way. I get paid for 25hours a week and probably do around 50/55hours a week between planning, marking and lesson preparation, meetings before and after school, time spent in holidays working and like you having to do lunchtime clubs, catch up sessions with children, again in lunchtime. I feel these hours translate to any professional career over here as my husband works in the private sector in construction and some of his colleagues put in 100 hours plus a week so I think it kind of goes with any career. Possibly world wide rather than just a particular country.
I like my school and my job and am quite happy, I feel very pressured at times but able to cope, do you think perhaps you may need a break rather than a migration?
I hear the same complaints from some colleagues who eventually leave teaching, have children, change careers, what ever but often return to teaching in a happier place or find a different career path that suits them better? Just a thought?
If you are not happy with a hot climate and teaching is pretty much the same here as any where else in the world could you be swapping the frying pan and fire?
I don't want to sound negative or disheartening but I doubt you will find teaching any different here, we still get observed, filming teachers for observations and reflecting on your film is becoming a big thing now, NAPLAN (equiv. to SATS) is becoming bigger, we have to justify the scores are children achieve in assessments and the curriculum is so full we have very little time for any of those fun lessons such as art or technology. I'm in primary and in a state school but private schools are much more results driven than we are. I cannot speak much for secondary but two friends have made the move into secondary and say it is just as busy but in different ways.
On a practical note though you will have to register your quals, with the teacher registration board for your chosen state and then begin on relief. Relief work is very hit and miss but the more you make yourself available to schools and they know they can rely on you then the more chance you have of picking up short term contracts then hopefully getting a semester contract and into the school that way. That was how I began and how most teachers begin unless they are desirable graduates who get snapped up from uni. Relief money is good though just not reliable and obviously doesn't pay through the hols so you would have to factor some financial support into your initial arrival time while you get contracts. I also am unsure how long the process take s to register, I am in QLD but I gather it varies from state to state but took me around 8 weeks before I could begin relief teaching.
Hope this helps and good luck with what ever you decide. Like I say I love my job but it is no easier than UK, just in the sunshine which means a lot to me, ha, ha
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Old Mar 26th 2016, 9:56 pm
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Default Re: Advice needed please for teacher considering move to Australia from UK

Just reading your post on heat, Qld won't be any good for you. My friend is expecting a baby and has been taken off her extra curricular sports position that she takes. I was asked to take it over (you are expected to do these things) and Friday saw me taking two teams of girls soccer/football in 32' for an hour and a half. That was hard work but it is an example of school life here so maybe don't consider Qld as a option for living, especially as this is now autumn,lol.
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Old Mar 26th 2016, 11:24 pm
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Default Re: Advice needed please for teacher considering move to Australia from UK

Originally Posted by Babsw
I am currently teaching in Qld, and am in my fifth year teaching here, it is not as driven as the UK but it is heading that way. I get paid for 25hours a week and probably do around 50/55hours a week between planning, marking and lesson preparation, meetings before and after school, time spent in holidays working and like you having to do lunchtime clubs, catch up sessions with children, again in lunchtime. I feel these hours translate to any professional career over here as my husband works in the private sector in construction and some of his colleagues put in 100 hours plus a week so I think it kind of goes with any career. Possibly world wide rather than just a particular country.
I like my school and my job and am quite happy, I feel very pressured at times but able to cope, do you think perhaps you may need a break rather than a migration?
I hear the same complaints from some colleagues who eventually leave teaching, have children, change careers, what ever but often return to teaching in a happier place or find a different career path that suits them better? Just a thought?
If you are not happy with a hot climate and teaching is pretty much the same here as any where else in the world could you be swapping the frying pan and fire?
I don't want to sound negative or disheartening but I doubt you will find teaching any different here, we still get observed, filming teachers for observations and reflecting on your film is becoming a big thing now, NAPLAN (equiv. to SATS) is becoming bigger, we have to justify the scores are children achieve in assessments and the curriculum is so full we have very little time for any of those fun lessons such as art or technology. I'm in primary and in a state school but private schools are much more results driven than we are. I cannot speak much for secondary but two friends have made the move into secondary and say it is just as busy but in different ways.
On a practical note though you will have to register your quals, with the teacher registration board for your chosen state and then begin on relief. Relief work is very hit and miss but the more you make yourself available to schools and they know they can rely on you then the more chance you have of picking up short term contracts then hopefully getting a semester contract and into the school that way. That was how I began and how most teachers begin unless they are desirable graduates who get snapped up from uni. Relief money is good though just not reliable and obviously doesn't pay through the hols so you would have to factor some financial support into your initial arrival time while you get contracts. I also am unsure how long the process take s to register, I am in QLD but I gather it varies from state to state but took me around 8 weeks before I could begin relief teaching.
Hope this helps and good luck with what ever you decide. Like I say I love my job but it is no easier than UK, just in the sunshine which means a lot to me, ha, ha
Hi Babsw, thank you so much for your advice.
That was actually really very helpful.

I have genuinely considered leaving teaching, but I do actually love the part of the job where I work with the kids. Don't get me wrong, I realise that there is of course always going to be some accountability & actually believe that this is the correct thing to do... to a degree. I 100% agree that it shoudn't be allowed that teachers can have poor results & yet still get a pay rise & nothing is really said about it. At the end of the day, we are partly responsible in setting children up for the rest of their lives & we have a duty to help them to do as well as they can.

I say partly because obviously we can't actually do it for them. Some of it has to come from them.
This is partly what I don't like about how teaching is going in the UK. Our pay is now down to EVERY pupil achieving at least target grade. & if they don't we have to have a bank of evidence to say why they didn't.
For the vast amount of kids who don't achieve target, this isn't an issue because you will have evidence to say why they didn't achieve target. Test results, you flagged it in data, parents evenings etc. You have a bank of evidence for what you did about it eg. catch up sessions, phone calls etc.

The problem I think in UK schools now is that there is very much a culture from both the children & parents of "Its your fault, not mine." 13 years ago when I was doing my GCSE's this was not the culture. I didn't very well in a few of my GCSE's & everybody knew that it was 100% my own fault for not putting the effort in. There is also a culture of spoon feeding. We need them to get the grades, so it is a case of spoon feeding it.

However, there will always be an odd child who was maybe having a bad day, was tired, didn't revise & tried to wing it or prioritised another subject other than yours & the test was on the same day or maybe had a relative/pet die. The list can go on. For that child you may not have a reason for why they didn't hit target. They may have been doing really well in class. Everybody has an off day.
But in that case we have been told that it isn't good enough. That you HAVE to have evidence or say goodbye to your pay rise.
I'm not saying that it is acceptable to say this for lots of different children, if you do then clearly they aren't the problem.
But it is putting ALL the blame on to the teachers & that just isn't fair in some cases.
Plus school budgets are being cut so there is very much a feeling that actually some schools will do everything that they can to try & get out of giving pay rises.
I'm not saying this is my school because so far I haven't seen any evidence of this, but that is the experience for some.
Also, I achieved good results last year & got my pay rise. I fully expect the same this year. This isn't coming from somebody who is annoyed at the system because my groups didn't achieve.

There have also been new reforms within the last month to turn all schools into academies even though there is no evidence to prove (infact the opposite has been found) that this increases results. Also to extend the school day.

In the UK we are far too focused on results. Everything comes down to results & often at the detriment of the child.

The targets we are now being set are also in some cases ridiculous & very damaging to the children because they "know" that they will never get those grades. So why bother trying? (what they think, not me).

As I said before, its also all the data & box ticking that has no real advantage other than the fact that the box has been ticked.

I haven't been teaching long, but in the time I have I have very much noticed that morale has very much gone into decline. & the workload has gone up.

But, I do enjoy working with the kids. Even though they are teenagers, lol. People are often shocked when I say that I actually prefer working with the Year 11's rather than the younger kids.

The thing is, like I have said, I have considered leaving teaching & doing something else (what I would do, I really don't know) but I don't know what teaching is like in other countries because I only know here. So that is partly what I am trying to find out.

But this isn't just about my job. My husband & I are generally unhappy with quite a few aspects of life in the UK.
But we do have a comfortable life & we need to consider very carefully what we would be giving up if we did leave.

Last edited by Moogle87; Mar 27th 2016 at 12:18 am.
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Old Mar 26th 2016, 11:31 pm
  #29  
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Default Re: Advice needed please for teacher considering move to Australia from UK

One more point as the 55 hours comment seems to have caused a lot of comments.

I was using that purely because that was what came from an NUT survey where 1000's of teachers commented & the average was taken.
It also came out as nearly 60 (I think) for primary.

I could write about my own working hours - sometimes less than 55, especially when year 11 leave I would say it is much less, but sometimes more, especially when deadlines are due for coursework or in prep for Year 11 exams. However, that doesn't necessarily reflect the average.

I have to say though, that I would also be interested to know how much people who are being paid for 37.5 hours, but who are working 55+ actually earn & if they get overtime for doing so.
My husbands dad does, but then he earns more than triple what I do.
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Old Mar 26th 2016, 11:36 pm
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Default Re: Advice needed please for teacher considering move to Australia from UK

Looking at you household bills, they look comparative to Oz, my electricity per month is higher than you gas & electricity combined ! I pay $600 per quarter. Rates are about $700 per quarter (inc water) for a detached 4 bed bungalow.
Also dont forget that many Australians have private health cover as medicare isnt very good for things like elective surgery, we as a couple pay $450 a month for this.
Going to the dentist is expensive (usually costs me $250+ for a check up and clean, more if you need xrays), food seems a bit dearer here.

Tassie is lovely and very much like England, hedgerows, sparrows, bumble bee's in summer. One of the 2 cities would be best imo both are nice. Unemployment is high though due to lack of industry, but being a teacher (which are needed everywhere like nurses) you may just find a good position.
Also I worry about your lack of money/savings, dont forget you are leaving behind lifelong friends and family, when you have kids you WILL miss them and a tight budget will mean it will be hard to go back to the UK regularly, two tickets to the UK is about $4000 then you need to hire cars, stay somewhere etc etc, this gets more expensive when you have kids !!
Think carefully, you may be better off moving to Scotland, my BIL and his wife moved to Aberdeen and love it, very cheap houses apparently.
As for housing in Oz you can go to realestate.com.au or domain.com.au and do searches to get current prices.
Hope the above helps.
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