Originally Posted by Alfresco

I've never understood why someone would go through all the work and expense of getting a visa and then not using it (unless it was impossible to obviously).

Originally Posted by northernbird

how on earth can you tell that someone is drink driving?

Originally Posted by seanyg

A few times (in a bar) we saw people get into their cars having drank a fair bit (and obviously over the limit) and on more than one occasion we saw someone actually SWIGGING FROM A TINNY behind the wheel! Unbelievable...

Originally Posted by Alfresco

I've never understood why someone would go through all the work and expense of getting a visa and then not using it (unless it was impossible to obviously).

Originally Posted by northernbird

Might not be drunk, might be on phone, looking at a map etc etc (all of which are unsafe I might add). Just because someone veers over the road doesn't mean they are drunk.

Originally Posted by bcworld

I can't speak for WA but in Qld it certainly seemed prevelant - how would you know - because many people didn't seem to find it that socially unacceptable. People would sometimes have a good laugh on a Monday morning about how they drove home on Friday night after getting plastered after work.

Or there was my ex's brother and his wife who would set off home down the Bruce Highway after a day spent drinking, them in the front, esky in the middle, kid in the back.

Yes, anecdotal, I know.

Originally Posted by eugene43

We have decided to leave it for 18 months for financial reasons. I think oz could implod on its self over this time ie interest rates,morgage stress,china & every likely hood of a house market crash which selfishly is ok with me. uk in the next 18 months I can see interest up (good for my savings £90,000)not a problem for my morgage as it is only £30,000.The £ will be over $2,00 + again.My house price will be up at present about £230,000. Will be abel to save anouther £60,000.If we left now we would lose thousands of $ leave later gain thousands $ of dollars so why rush it as we have the luxury of the 5 years to move.

Originally Posted by eugene43

We have decided to leave it for 18 months for financial reasons. I think oz could implod on its self over this time ie interest rates,morgage stress,china & every likely hood of a house market crash which selfishly is ok with me. uk in the next 18 months I can see interest up (good for my savings £90,000)not a problem for my morgage as it is only £30,000.The £ will be over $2,00 + again.My house price will be up at present about £230,000. Will be abel to save anouther £60,000.If we left now we would lose thousands of $ leave later gain thousands $ of dollars so why rush it as we have the luxury of the 5 years to move.

Originally Posted by Damson

Yep, we've decided to keep things on hold for a while. With the horrendous exchange rate being the way it is, our initial dream of a trip of a lifetime journey down and then a year off to go travelling and get to be as a family finally is well and truly dead, in which case, we can't justify going .... at the moment. We may well about-turn were the exchange rate to improve (we've got a good while left on our permanent residency visa); we shall have to see. We've decided in the meantime to make more changes in our lifestyle and put the kids into private school (as their state school was pretty bad), which has made a huge difference to how we feel as a family. Will we regret it if we don't go? Who knows; that's a bridge we'll have to cross. In the meantime though, we are doing well here and are happy. The political situation however may well be a bit of a clincher in the near future as it looks increasingly like things are going to rat shit. If you are 100% committed, don't have too many commitments (not sure if you have kids and therefore the whole schooling issue to contend with) and can afford to come back if things don't work out then I would say do it in a heartbeat. If you can improve things here like us and wait things out for a bit then do it - there may well be an element of the old nerves rearing their ugly heads.

I am a bit of a scaredy cat and so admire the folk on here who take such a leap of faith. You may well go and look back on this thinking "why did I even contemplate not going?" Good luck

Originally Posted by Crystaltipps

Hi Damson,

Good to see a post from you. It seems like an age since we met up last year.

Sounds like you're being v sensible. We love it here but our situation's different (no school-aged kids and no immediate need to bring money over)

A big difference in our situations is that my husband is an employee and the GFC meant that a move out of the UK was almost a necessity. His old company and the rest of his industry are slashing jobs back there.

The move to Oz has kept him employed.....for the time being

Give my love to our gorgeous home town.

x

Originally Posted by katsmajic

He paid an agent to do the lot, cost a bomb and then after the grant and in the time he had left to validate he had loads of work trips to usa and russia, and he wanted to see the gf in russia so didnt worry about the visa until suddenly he had 1mth left and then only 1 weekend free...i pestered and pestered to get him validate and he didnt.
bloody fool...hes now paying the same agent to go through the whole process again...more money than sense!
Hes said hes not bringing his son up in uk or russia - she wasnt happy about moving over but after their recent visit shes prepared to try it...and madly he has all the rights to the baby, he can move over with the baby and she has no say in the matter...he wouldnt do it to her but if she did refuse to move here he could bring the baby and she cant stop him.

Originally Posted by eugene43

We have decided to leave it for 18 months for financial reasons. I think oz could implod on its self over this time ie interest rates,morgage stress,china & every likely hood of a house market crash which selfishly is ok with me. uk in the next 18 months I can see interest up (good for my savings £90,000)not a problem for my morgage as it is only £30,000.The £ will be over $2,00 + again.My house price will be up at present about £230,000. Will be abel to save anouther £60,000.If we left now we would lose thousands of $ leave later gain thousands $ of dollars so why rush it as we have the luxury of the 5 years to move.

Originally Posted by suzyambrose

I just wondered if anybody had got the visa and then decided not to move over in the end? This time last year we were all set......now the more I read, the more I'm put off. It all sounds like doom and gloom down under; expensive housing, expensive shopping, crap wages, basically everything people didn't move over for

When we went we loved it, but they were holidays, with saved up cash for spends and it's not the same as living it.

Originally Posted by stuckinblighty

Very wise move

I got the visa,visited Melbourne and wasn't impressed with the place and STILL moved over !!!

What a muppet i was