harveylegg

my husband is a nurse and i am a school first aider here in the uk, we have a 1 1/2 year old son and would very much like to make a new life in Australia.
we have a property to sell and savings, we think we would like to move NSW area. we are planning a three week Holiday out there but do not want to waste the short time we have.
We need all the help and advice we can get and you all seem a very nice bunch.
airlines
accommodation
who to see/ who not to see
a true picture of how life will be in Australia, will we fit in as we have spent all are lives in rural england, and we are both 40 have we left it to late?
We have read many books but just seem to get losted, one says do this the other dont do.
Now you can see why we need help, a start-middle and end.

mark and sandy

Tiggs+Graz

hello and welcome - don't know where everyone is this evening usually you would get a welcoming committee!

sorry i can't really help you but you might get more replies if you ask for info on one or two things at a time and use a specific title.

also you can use the seach facility at the top of the page to get previously posted information on just about everything

have you looked to see if you meet the requirements for a visa? If not then this is definitely the place to start: http://www.immi.gov.au/

Tiggs

harveylegg

yes we have done an on line visa points test and passed.
thank you for replying i am also new to this type of computing

Tiggs+Graz

personally i work on one 'topic' to research at a time - otherwise i just confuse myself!!

Simba

Hi
We have just applied for a skilled visa, the first stage was to get skills recognised in Australia then make the visa application. The link below should help you get more info on how to get your husbands nursing skills recognised. Neil


http://www.immi.gov.au/skilled/medic...ers/nurses.htm

Hutch

Are you looking to live coastal or inland in NSW?

SJR

Hi Mark & Sandy

We came to Oz 7 months ago on a SIR Visa (Skilled Independent Regional). Initially we had enough points to go anywhere and we chose Perth (we have friends there) but in April 2004 the points requirements changed and we fell short by 5 points so we had to review things and the only visa we could go for was the SIR ....when we first heard about it it was referred to as the Bush Visa.......we were a bit concerned at that! Basically it meant we had to live regional...i.e. not metropolitan so that was Perth out.

Neither myself or hubby had occupations that were in demand but if your husband is a nurse I would imagine it would be easier. Look on the MODL list, it's the skills in demand. As for age, we both turned 40 this year and from memory I think the visa we went for had an age limit of 43 but that's not to say that it's the same for you. If Australia is crying out for your skills it's probably different.

We used an agent called OE Visas, the office we used was Edinburgh as it was closest (we come from the NE England) but they have offices in Manchester and London I think. My husband thinks we could have got by without an agent but I'm glad that we used one despite the fact that it cost us a bit. I know that plenty of people get through without an agent. You could perhaps ring an agent just for an initial chat as I don't think they charge anything to give you basic information. That's what we did and then we went up to Edinburgh to go into our situation in more detail. If we had no chance they would have told us on the initial phone conversation.

As for whether you'll settle....thats down to the individual. I know a lot of people don't and we've had our ups and downs but basically it's what you make of it. We hit rock bottom around Easter time (we landed on New Years Day) but we turned it round and things are going very well for us now. My husband had problems finding work and didn't actually get a job until mid May which was a bit scary financially but really he hadn't started looking very hard until early April. Now he has a full time job and we set up a consultancy business (IT - software development) and he's got quite a bit of work coming through that too. We are now in a position where we are looking for a developer to do casual work.

I'm working as a picture framer which is not what I expected to do but it just came along and I really enjoy it.

We live in Albany which is about 250 miles south of Perth, population of around 40,000 (I think!). Initially I found it hard as I'm used to living close to Newcastle upon Tyne and Albany is much smaller...more rural than what I'm used to. I miss M&S, Next etc etc but really that's not a major problem. I order a few things on-line and my mum sends it over for me....just so I can get my fix!

We have 2 daughters aged 9 and 10 and they have settled so well, it's unbelievable! They go to an independent school which is in a lovely setting about 15 minutes drive from the centre of Albany....out in the country by the river. They went to a good state school back home but I'm delighted with the school they go to here. I';m not sure we could have afforded the school fees in Perth, they are quite a bit higher.

Our life has changed dramatically...for the better. Albany is considered to be cold but compared to what we are used to it's just not! Winter so far has been lovely although I've heard that it's unusual for it to be so nice. Summer is at least around 5 degrees cooler than Perth but that suits us fine. We've spent lots of time fishing from lovely beaches at weekends; even in winter our girls have have been playing out until it gets dark....they still wear t-shirts and flip-flops!

We've made quite a few friends too; I think it's much easier when you have children and also I've met people through work. Recently we met up with some people who I stumbled across on BE, they had been in Albany about 7 weeks. They are coming around at the weekend, we get on with them quite well which is good as we've gone through similar experiences and it's good to talk about it.

I hope this helps but anything else you'd like to ask feel free. Good luck if you decide to go ahead. In my opinion it's well worth it but you have to be prepared for some difficult times early on. A positive but realistic attitude is required!

Bye for now, Sandra

harveylegg

thanks Neil that was very helpful we were able to establish that there should be no problems regarding my qualification. But the visa thing is certainly a complex mass! Particularly as we have not really established where we are heading for. We were considering Victoria or NSW, purely on the basis of climate as like you we have been hardened by years of searing heat in the typical British summers. Mark

thebears

Hi Mark

Melbourne is full of lovely friendly people i wont comment on NSW because i am personally biased but perhaps you could let us all know what you are seeking out of a life down under and we could respond with some "honest" referrals?

harveylegg

I have no idea! Initially thought Melbourne, Eden, Canberra, The truth is it is difficult to comprehend the space and distances, drive 200 miles and you can be just about most places in the uk, but in Oz this like a drive to the shops. I think that the deciding factors will be not in a big city/town outskirts is ok. Access to the coast 50 miles max. Local ammenities to work base. Needs for our young son school, friends etc. It is daunting when looking at real estate prices like in eden seem to be pricey quayside homes not cheap.
So somewhere to rent initially and then to buy, any tips ?
thanks mark

jothefw

I can't help with much of your needed info, but as others said - get more specific and I'm sure they'll narrow it down for you but on airlines ...

Definately Singapore Airlines - absolutely unbeatable in my opinion, and with little one book night flight if possible as it seems to be slightly better!

Good luck with everything!

Teliko21

Canberra is better for easy access to skiing rather than beaches in my opinion

jothefw

But we found that where as we wouldn't consider going to Newcastle (from Peterborough) in UK more than once a year due to distance - you'd think nothing of doing that in a round trip for the day.

We're heading very rural and it'll be 30 mins to anything which is comparitive to 10 mins in car to anything now I guess.

We found roads to be good, and empty!

harveylegg

Thanks for reply. We are looking for...... the dream is, something that offers a warm climate, buy a nice 3 bed house, possibly pool, nice hospital with good prospects although not to be a slave to pursue a good life. Good school and facilities so our son can grow and make the most this dynamic country has to offer. We would prefer not to live anywhere to big or remote, as being used to rural setting. We do enjoy are own company but also like to socialise with friends. Suggestions welcome , I read that immigrants are encouraged to live in less densely populated areas. Mark

Alan Collett

Have a look at Geelong ... an hour from Melbourne and 20 minutes from the Surf Coast beaches.

There have been a few posts on this forum by me and others about Geelong and good suburbs (and the not so great) ...

Best regards.