Originally Posted by aussie73

l think you should only immigrate to OZ if you can satisfy these 3 criteria:

(1) You have actually been to OZ before and from your experience down there you believe you will have a much better lifestyle down there.

(2) You have researched the OZ employment market and you are confident that with your skills, experience, education and qualifications you can not only gain employment but earn a sufficient wage to live a reasonably good lifestlyle.

(3) You are sure that you are not going to suffer from serious homesickness for the friends and family you have left behind or for Britain itself.

Originally Posted by Geordie George

Hi Hevs,

All excellent points. In the three weeks that Mr GG and I have been here, we've already gone through $5,000. And there's only me and 'im! Hotel costs when you first arrive, eating out every night while you find somewhere to rent, hiring a car to explore your new surroundings and check out where you want to rent, house deposit, first month's rent, connection fees, mobile costs, buying a new fridge (rental places here don't come with them), laundry bills (whilst waiting for the shipment to arrive from Blighty that contains the washer), buying camping chairs to sit on (whilst waiting for shipment again), buying basic kitchen ware (the cheapest, nastiest crud from Ikea - how I yearn for the day I can ceremonially dump that rubbish in the bin!), time spent in t'internet cafes applying for work (currently about $25 per day on this alone), restocking the pantry and fridge (cause you're not shipping so much as a peppercorn, so everything has to be bought), cleaning materials (easy to spend a fortune here! Especially as you have no hoover and you have to buy a mop and brush!) ... The list is endless. And this is only the essential stuff! Money spent on day trips or doing touristy things, money spent on nights out meeting new people etc. The fun stuff aint cheap either!

But the financial side is easy enough. There's the emotional and social side of things to consider too. The arguments that you have about nothing and everything, because you're stressed out, frustrated and missing loved ones. They're loads of fun!

I guess the higher your expectations of a place are, the further you have to fall. Assume the worst and the good bits are all the more of a bonus then. Know that it will be hard work and decide whether you want to put yourself and your family through it. But if you're committed, you can make anything happen.

Good luck,
GG

Originally Posted by Merlot

I think this and what Hevs has said should be on the DIMA website too, it is mind blowing the money it costs for the little things hey

Originally Posted by hevs

Stamp duties on new cars and on insurance, mobile phone package (had to be PAYG cos no work)

The list is really endless...

Do you think i've covered everthing yet anyone????

Originally Posted by NJJ

And on used cars.... I though my father in law was having a laugh with me when I first got to australia and he said I'd have to pay stamp duty for a second hand car

Originally Posted by NEILL & SHARON MILLS

Hi everyone out there,
We are a family that are looking to move out to Australia, and should recieve our visa's this year sometime. I was just a little concerned of some of the threads i have read regarding Australia, stating that the standard of living is lower to that of the UK. We like many Brits are moving for a better quality of life for our family, the last thing we want is longer hours and less pay. We are not sure of which area we would like to be in at the moment, after doing some homework we feel that Melbourne or Adelaide maybe better for us, but we are hoping to visit this year to give us a clearer picture. We did notice that many of the Brits have felt very unsettled and cant wait to get home, they have stated that some Australians are difficult to get on with. Can anyone out there ferify this, or is just the small few that struggle to settle.
I am a multi skilled maintenance engineer, also will soon be an electrical inspector for domestic use, does anyone know if there is much need for any of these trades, and are the wages different to that in the uk. Again we are looking for a better life in Australia, can anyone help us to put our mind at ease or are we better staying where we are?

Originally Posted by NJJ

And on used cars.... I though my father in law was having a laugh with me when I first got to australia and he said I'd have to pay stamp duty for a second hand car

Originally Posted by Merlot

That shocked me the first time over in Oz, I did not factor that into the costs.

M

Originally Posted by NJJ

And on used cars.... I though my father in law was having a laugh with me when I first got to australia and he said I'd have to pay stamp duty for a second hand car