smartiees

Hi all, newbie here.

First post so please be kind.

We are a family of 4 who are thinking of moving to Melbourne. We have lived in Aus before (Perth) and have citizenship. We returned to the UK back in 2008 and while we do not regret the decision, in many ways it has proved to us the things we thought we missed and the things that bugged us about Aus (Perth) are not that important in day to day life.

The thoughts of being here forever have got us thinking about the lifestyle we had in there. Reverse rose coloured specs maybe?? We did love living in Aus for the most part but felt the kids deserved the chance to get to know their family and homeland. Family has been very hit and miss unfortunately and while we love the UK and Europe the quality of life we have here is not as good as it was in Perth.

We would not return to Perth though as we found it too small and isolated but OH loved Melbourne and wanted to move there instead of returning to the UK. I have visited Melbourne and liked it a lot but only really saw the CBD and Southbank. It does seem on paper to offer the best of both worlds, lifestyle but with the facilities of a large city on our doorstep. We are not overly beach people so don’t mind that the Melbourne city ones are not as stunning as Perth. We do not have the funds for a reccie.

We have followed things over the years and kept in contact with friends so know the cost of living has increased tremendously, but feel we would still be better off on balance in Australia for the long term. We lived very comfortably before on one wage and while we are not struggling here by any means there is not much left over even on 2 full time wages.

The dilemma is our eldest who is in year 10 and studying the first year of GCSE’s. We are not sure whether to let our to let them finish GCSE’s here and head over in 18 months time or bite the bullet and go sometime this year and start the VCE fresh. From my research it seems the VCE starts in Year 10 but the important years are 11 and 12. Can anyone who has teenagers of this age verify this at all? If anyone has moved with similar age children we would also love to hear how they coped.
Youngest is still in primary so not so much of a concern but good school is important.

Any opinions on areas most welcome too, we like the look of Point Cook and surrounds, as it is close to the city with nice affordable housing (probably a reason for this) but open to suggestions.

Thanks for reading if you got this far!

smiling4

Hi smartiees.....

What does your eldest think about moving? We have a son in the same year group. He is desperate to go (which we are hoping to do sooner than later) - our thoughts were that potentially even if he did finish his education here, he will need to go back when he gets over there, would be slightly different if we were coming back this way.
But either way, think they could have an input into it. Also thinking about career wise for them and future plans for after school, may be easier if settled into the edu over there.

Good luck with your decisions
Ems x

smartiees

Hi Ems,

Thanks for your reply, we have casually broached the subject and been given a negative response. This maybe a knee jerk reaction as we had this when we announced we were returning to the UK. Wanted to get an idea how others have dealt with this before sitting down and having a proper discussion so we were armed with some ammunition. (Sneaky I know)

I too believe that older kids should have a say, but I'm not sure we would keep the whole family in the UK on the say so of a 14 year old. I don't mean that to sound as harsh as it sounds.......we would obviously take our eldest’s' feelings into account but we need to make a decision on the long term future for all of us. Like you we feel the sooner they get into the education system (again for ours) the better. I suppose we are hoping that they will be as adaptable as they were when we returned.

I should add that we still both have professional contacts (OH especially has in demand skills) so we don’t feel finding jobs would pose a problem.

The hardest thing is uprooting them again for a 3rd time, thankfully they were very young the 1st time. Guilt is my middle name at the moment.

The Gold Gang

I let the negative feelings of my 16 year old stop me from going to Aus in 2008 - she hasn't changed her mind even now at 18, and we are still here, she is at Uni here in UK.
My next child, who was keen to go in 2008. is now 15 and guess what, he does not want to go now! The next one is 11, no problem, keen to go.

Something happens when they are right in the middle of their teenage years, they don't like change and cannot bear to be without their friends. We know as adults, that they will make new friends and in the long run, be totally fine.
So I don't think you should delay for the sake of the GCSE's as I very much doubt the negativity will change but what will change is that your son will become less malleable by 16 and you will have a battle on your hands....

hevs

VCE doesnt start untill year 11 here in Vic. It is possible to do a year 10 unit, but certainly by no means the norm or necessary

I dont live over the side of the city that you are suggesting, and loathe new estates/ burbs so cant help you there.

We have been in Mellie for 7 years and this last year has been hard financially, something has changed, its like everything has gone up and making ends meet is becoming harder. Just be prepared for it.

Good luck with the move, and, fwiw, I feel that you are right, Its ultimately your decision about your whole family. I too wouldnt be swayed by a 14 year old