To emigrate or not to emigrate? Pros and Cons please!
 

We're thinking of emigrating to either Australia or New Zealand from the island of Jersey. I'd appreciate an honest appraisal of the pros and cons of emigrating to Australia.

I'm a qualified accountant and my husband is a retail manager, we have a daughter aged one. We have a good life in the UK, but fell in love with both Australia and New Zealand when we visited a few years ago.

How easy is it to apply for residency? Can anyone recommended a route?

What is the job situation like over there?

I'd love to hear about your experiences - are you happy you made the move?

Cheers

Julie

Re: To emigrate or not to emigrate? Pros and Cons please!
 

The best first step is to go onto google and do a search, then do a free online skills assessment with the numerous companies who will come up. This will give you an idea of how likely you are to be able to get residency.

It's not hard to apply, just long winded and loads of paperwork, you have to be quite patient and organised, and ready for lots of little setbacks.

We're not there yet, so can't tell you anything about the up and down-sides, but all I can say is that if you're thinking about it it's probably worth doing it.You'll probably regret the things you don't do in life a lot more than the things you do. Nothing is forever, but it's worth giving it a good go for the experience if nothing else! Thant's what I feel anyway. If you do a serch on this forum you will probably find loads of answers to your questions....

Good luck with the decision. :)

Re: To emigrate or not to emigrate? Pros and Cons please!
 

No not happy, but rather than me just repeat it all now do a search on my name for my thoughts and experiences here. Be warned mostly negative I'm afraid.
paste this into you address bar to get all my posts.

http://britishexpats.com/forum/searc...searchid=40303

Re: To emigrate or not to emigrate? Pros and Cons please!
 

If you are serious about emigrating, then contact a MARA registered Agent to see if you are eligible to get a visa. There have been many threads recommending agents if you do a search.

Or if you want to do it without an agent look at the DIMIA website.

http://www.immi.gov.au/

Also take a look at the immigration forum for any advice.

http://britishexpats.com/forum/forumdisplay.php?f=32

Good luck

Possoms :)

Re: To emigrate or not to emigrate? Pros and Cons please!
 

Hello and welcome to BE! :)

There are several possible visa routes leading to Permanent Residency in Aus based on your work skills. There is a list of jobs in demand nationally in Aus on the Migration Occupation in Demand List (MODL) which is regularly updated by DIMIA, the government department responsible for immigration. As fortune has it, accountant is on the list (though check it regularly, as I believe it has been removed from the list in the past).

This becomes important if you decide to apply for the Skilled Independent 136 visa which is points tested. To meet the basic requrements for this visa, the principal applicant would need to be under 45 (you don't mention your age) and usually have a minimum amount of work experience. Having more than 3 years work experience, a job offer and $100,000 dollars to pay as a 'bond' all get you bonus points. The pass mark is currently 120 I believe.

Take an online points test as suggested to see if you qualify, but beware that some of the tests are out of date, so be careful. Also, follow Possoms' link to the official goverment website of DIMIA whom either you, or an agent (should you choose to use one) will have to deal with to get the visa.

You are not assessed on your capital, but you will have to meet the basic requirements (of skills, age and experience) pass a skills assessment, pass the points test (as it stands on the day DIMIA receive your application for the visa) and then wait bloody ages for it to be processed and get the visa (or not, if you have a useless agent; ask about for recommendations). If you pass the points test outright, there really is no point going with any other visa, as this one gives you instant permanent residency, and enables you to live wherever you want in Aus and do whatever you want for a living.

If however (as in my case) age counts against you, and you are impatient to go, then there is a range of regional and work sponsorship visas available with differing restrictions. Many people successfully use these routes.

As an accountant, you should stand an excellent chance as the principal applicant of getting a permanent visa.

Very best of luck! :)

Re: To emigrate or not to emigrate? Pros and Cons please!
 

Hi Julie,
My out take on immigration is that you'll never know if you dont try ;)

What suit some people will not suit others

Give it a go :D

Re: To emigrate or not to emigrate? Pros and Cons please!
 

The pros and cons of Aus I think are largely personal, though there are some obvious practical differences.

I can only give you my perspective on my reasons for wanting to go based on time spent there in the past and research, thus:

Pros

Wide open spaces; lots of interesting wildlife; slower pace of life; more affordable housing (I want to live in a relatively 'cheap' part of Aus; housing can be very expensive in some of the better coastal suburbs); friendly people; and last but not least, the simple fact that I just need a change, and Aus largely 'ticks' the boxes in various ways, if you know what I mean.

Cons

There are plently of potential cons, but my main concern really is simply making friends and feeling settled, and I believe this is largely down to your own personally ability to be open-minded, adaptable, and ready to expect the unexpected.

It's a wonderful country, as I'm assuming you felt on your visits, and I believe that if you really feel that you want to give it a go, then do, otherwise you might always be asking yourself when you're old, 'if only I'd given it a go'....
:)

Re: To emigrate or not to emigrate? Pros and Cons please!
 

Hi

Myself and my other half are potentially thinking of moving to Oz and really would be very interested to hear your gripes about it. We are currently living in Toronto and wish we had listened to what people had to say as we would NOT be here now, this place is definitely not for us and we don't want to make the same mistake again. Tried your link above but it doesn't seem to work, grateful if you could maybe jst let me know what the very worst few things are about it there ?

Cheers

Karen

Re: To emigrate or not to emigrate? Pros and Cons please!
 

No disrespect intended, but I think you've actually touched on why you have probs now: you didn't listen to advice.

Most folks here are very honest with their opinions of where they live. I'm sure you'll get sound advice if you listen to enough people.

Good luck! :)

Re: To emigrate or not to emigrate? Pros and Cons please!
 

Hi Karen, I've got to go to bed now, do an advanced search on my name and select view posts. If still no luck I'll pm my gripes to you as to post them on here will just turn the thread into a flame. Definately listen to what people say we read so much positive stuff on here we still came even though a couple of negative posts almost had me thinking twice, turned out for us the very few negative Oz posts were a much truer representation. I personally think if you have a lesser set of standards and like holidaying somewhere like torremolinos then you might like it here. If you like your forign holidays, diversity and think that a british rail staff attitude is very poor then you will hate it here.

Re: To emigrate or not to emigrate? Pros and Cons please!
 

[QUOTE=arkon] if you have a lesser set of standards and like holidaying somewhere like torremolinosQUOTE]


whats wrong with torremolinos?? :confused: :confused:

Re: To emigrate or not to emigrate? Pros and Cons please!
 

I have never been to Torremolinos Arkon... I have however travelled all over the world. Don't patronise me.

Look, yours is an extreme view and is illustrative of why the OP should listen to a lot of people, not just one. I'm guessing that you were unwilling to adapt to a different way of life and I'm guessing that most Aussies (who are no fools) could see you coming a mile off.

Re: To emigrate or not to emigrate? Pros and Cons please!
 

Thanks everyone, you've given me a fair bit to think about.

I'm 31 by the way, have 5 years post qualification experience as a senior accountant and the bond would be no problem - so fingers crossed from what you've said I stand a fair chance.

If we do decide to go for it, how on earth do you go about deciding where to settle? We spent time in Perth and Sydney, and loved both. With having a young daughter, my priorities are low crime, high standard of living, good schools (eventually - she's only 1!) and an area were there's potential to find reasonable jobs.

Julie :)

Re: To emigrate or not to emigrate? Pros and Cons please!
 

Hello Julie, I don't know your background but are you CI born and bred? I should think moving from Jersey to Sydney would be rather a culture shock if so!! Surely the crime levels in Jersey are well below those of Sydney? (Of course if you have lived the big city then it probably won't be news to you!!)

As regards high standard of living, you need to look at what you expect to earn and work out what your disposable income would be, based on a few scenarios. Living in Australia is not necessarily cheap - it will depend on where you live. Sydney has probably the highest cost of living in Australia (but then again, salaries can be highly regionalised, so you could expect to earn more in Sydney than, say, Perth). You may be better off, you may not - there is no fixed formula. Many people on here will concur that cost of living is about the same. You may get a well paid job and respect for what you do; on the other hand, you may have to take a step or two back down the career ladder (and pay cut) and earn some Aussie work experience before you can get to the level you are accustomed to. You may need to re-train or take Australian qualifications in order to practice. Are you prepared to do this? You can check with the governing body of your profession whether this is a requirement. Quality of life is not, of course, all monetary - consider things like commuting times, city working hours. How would city commuting and city working hours compare with what you have now? Would you spend more or less time together as a family?

You don't have to live/work in the city but consider that Australia is the most urbanised country on earth. All that empty space and so many people living in areas more densely populated than a lot of UK towns/cities.

Emigrating is definately worth a go, if done for the right reasons. I think it's important to identify what is pulling you to Australia and then investigate if the reality can live up to your expectations. You have listed some quite specific criteria of what you would want out of your new country and you need to look into those as much as you need to look into the logistical side of getting here. If you just want to do it 'because you can', then the lower your expectations, the more accepting you will be of Australia and the reality of living here. :)

Re: To emigrate or not to emigrate? Pros and Cons please!
 

Hi

I would think that you would have enough points to satisfy the points test without having to lodge the bond money, as Accountants are on the MODL (migrants occupation in demand list ) but check this out on www.immi.gov.au to make sure.

As for the pros and cons, I think that unless you try it you will never know if it is for you or not.

We love it here, I have had my ups and down with homesickness but that is only to be expected.

It is a hard decision to make, whether to emigrate or not, but nothing ventured, nothing gained as they say.....and if you make the move and really hate it then you can always go back to Jersey.

All the best with whatever you decide.

Amanda

Re: To emigrate or not to emigrate? Pros and Cons please!
 

Hello Jerry

I've probably given a misleading impression. I'm currently torn between a demanding career and spending more time with my family. Yes Jersey is lovely, low crime and high standard of living - but it's also incredibly expensive and by moving to Oz we could be mortgage free. A good job would hopefully be a choice not a necessity.

I'm sure you're right - moving from Jersey would be a culture shock. But we've both lived and travelled abroad before - it's funny though - the older you get the bigger the decision becomes.

It's early days - I'm just dipping my toes into the water. I've got a lot of research and soul searching to do before we decide what is for us.

Julie :)

Re: To emigrate or not to emigrate? Pros and Cons please!
 

Thanks Amanda

Re: To emigrate or not to emigrate? Pros and Cons please!
 

I was half-way through writing a long response about understanding how very personal a foreign move is and to take all responses good and bad on this forum with a pinch of salt ... but you sound like intelligent people so I'll get off my soap-box. All I'd say is, use BE for practical advice - for matters of the heart (which is what an emigration ultimately is) - trust your instincts. :)

Re: To emigrate or not to emigrate? Pros and Cons please!
 

I'm not patronising you, I've never met you. But if you've neer been to Torremolinos then you won't know what I mean anyway. If you like beaches and hot weather then theres 2 things might overcome all the other bad things about the place.

Re: To emigrate or not to emigrate? Pros and Cons please!
 

Julie,

I'm ACCA and was 28 when I applied. At the time the pass mark was 115 and with the basics (work exp, english language and age) I had 120. Passmark is now 120 but you'll lose 5 marks for being 31, however from memory and I'm sure someone will correct me if I wrong Accountant is now on the MODL so you'll get another 15 points. Check it is on the DIMIA website.
If it is and you've got no criminal history or dodgy medical conditions, then you can probably do the application on your own and it'll be quite straight forward. The difficulty comes if it's taken off the MODL then you'll have to pay the $100k bond for a year, but apprently the interest rate is OK, although the current exchange rate is pants.

As for pro's and con's that's a difficult one and you'll get some extreme views on here. Take a look through and think about it all. At the worst though you give it a go, don't like it and go home. If you don't do it, you'll always have the nagging "what if" think in the back of your mind. If you decide to apply you'll hear "I nearly moved to Oz", or "I wished I'd done that when I was younger" from so many people that in the end it becomes quite funny and you just think well why didn't you?

Re you career you can still work in the fast lane if you fancy it when you get here although you won't get the pay you get back home.

Good luck with it all. PM me if you want more waffle.

Paul.

Re: To emigrate or not to emigrate? Pros and Cons please!
 

You implied nevertheless that Aus is about little more than sun, sea and sand; it isn't. Furthermore, you haven't given any details at all as to what you don't like about Aus, but instead you make sweeping statements with no detail.

I have lived and worked in Aus before and couldn't wait to leave. It took me years to realise that the problem was not Aus, it was me. I think you'll find that most problems with dealing with living abroad are endogenous and little or nothing to do with the country, which is why you need to adapt when moving abroad.

If even then Aus isn't for you then fine, but why not then use constructive criticism of specific aspects of living in Aus instead of sweeping generalisations?

Re: To emigrate or not to emigrate? Pros and Cons please!
 

Hi Julie,

You'll pass the points test easily as it currently stands, so long as Accountant remains on the MODL:

60 points for skills.
20 for English Language speaker.
at least 20 for age.
15 for being on the MODL.
at least 10 points for work experience.
=125.

Plus you could get 5 points for a job offer. :)

Re: To emigrate or not to emigrate? Pros and Cons please!
 

The reason I never wrote any details is that since coming on BE I have consitantly posted what I don't like about Australia and I think it must be about 500 posts by now. If you do an advanced search on my name you will see all that I don't like about it here. I couldn't see the point in writing them all out again now, not only because it was late and my bed was calling but because the lady wanted advice and if I gave her my pro's and con's again it would have cause another flame and ruined another good thread (just like your trying to do now). If you think its a sweeping generalisation then that doesn't bother me at all, if every experience I have had here is crap then from my veiwpoint it's not a generalization. for example EVERY piece of customer service I have had here has been friendly but poor so as far as I'm concerened ALL customer sevice is crap here and until I get a good experience then thats all I can post.

Back to the OP, who clearly one international move hasn't quite worked out and she is considering this country as an alternative and my advice is 'don't do it girl' Go back to the UK it really is much better IMO!

Re: To emigrate or not to emigrate? Pros and Cons please!
 

Just took a quick peek, Accountant is still on the May 2005 MODL so you're in luck mate ;)

Re: To emigrate or not to emigrate? Pros and Cons please!
 

I've said it before and I'll say it again - it's not Australia's fault if you fail to settle there. Some people just aren't capable of adapting to a new environment.

Re: To emigrate or not to emigrate? Pros and Cons please!
 

You're unhappy with Aus because of bad customer service?! God, there was me thinking that you'd been mugged, burgled and spat at in the streets!

Arkon don't accuse me of trying to ruin a thread OK? That's even more patronising then your original comments. People have a right to challenge your views.

I tried giving the OP practical advice, and you simply say the equivalent of 'Don't come here, everything is crap'. Hardly a balanced or fair view point is it?

Re: To emigrate or not to emigrate? Pros and Cons please!
 

Hi Julie

I just wanted to add a thought from my experience of moving to Australia. We had spent a few long holidays here researching our move & trying to cover all the bases (schools, house etc.) before we finally moved. I thought we pretty much knew what to expect but it was still very different once we moved here - not in a bad way but just different from my expectations/experiences here previously...

Ultimately, I learnt that, from my perspective, you can do all the research , planning & preparation in the world but you just won't know if it's for you until you live here & experience it directly in day to day life... Before we left the UK, we agreed that it doesn't have to be forever if we're not happy (even though we have residency & sold up in the UK!!) but a great experience either way. However, a few months in, we're very happy & glad to have given it a go rather than thinking 'what if'. One thing though is that you have to make a real effort to talk to people & issue invitations etc. to start to build a network of friends so be prepared to throw yourself into as much as possible to meet people. We also see that there are some great things about the UK which we didn't really appreciate ( we were caught up in our Aussie dream of life!) until we moved here...

A while back I saw a post on BE which talked about which is better Oz or UK. The response was ' Neither is better; they're just different' . I would wholeheartedly agree with that now I'm livng here....

Good luck with your decision!

Re: To emigrate or not to emigrate? Pros and Cons please!
 

Who said it was balanced and fair? Its just my view. The reason I'm not posting a list of what I don't like is exactly because of what you just done! because I only mentioned one thing in that post about customer service you think thats my only reason LOL. I directed you to the advanced search and its not my fault if you don't know how to use it is it?

Re: To emigrate or not to emigrate? Pros and Cons please!
 

I have read many of your posts already, and I know perfectly well how to use advanced search. You however don't know the difference between the Past Simple tense and the Past Perfect tense. Normally I never point these things out but hey, since you're still patronising me, I thought just this once I'd come down to your level.

I'm not interested in the fact you don't like Aus, you're perfectly entitled to hate it with a passion. What does bother me is your delivery. I didn't ask for your original provocative remarks aimed at me and others who happen to like Aus. They were completely uncalled for.

I hope one day you'll be happily settled somewhere and that you'll recognise that the problems you have with Aus are due in large part to your schema, and projecting blame is not always appropriate.

Re: To emigrate or not to emigrate? Pros and Cons please!
 

:rolleyes: I think you will be very happy out here and fit in just right. I've clearly upset you somehow and for that I appologise, you don't work for British rail do you? :eek:

Re: To emigrate or not to emigrate? Pros and Cons please!
 

No I'm a student psychiatric nurse.

I apologise too for losing my temper, which I rarely do on this forum. I hope you understand why I did. :cool:

Signing out...

Re: To emigrate or not to emigrate? Pros and Cons please!
 

I can also say (bringing this thread back to the topic) that I swapped my demanding life for one less demanding and more lifestyle orientated here. Its worked out great and we love it.

Australia is not for everyone (as shown in the above posts) but it is for us and many others here for exactly the reasons you have posted. I guess its all about perceptions and the individuals - we've found customer service to be very good here for example. Whatever your personal feelings - its just different from what you know..almost like a different country ;)

The older you get the harder the decision is I agree - to swap stability for the unknown adventure. Are we glad we have done it ? you bet!

Good luck in your journey no matter what you decide but just remember life's not a rehearsal :)

Re: To emigrate or not to emigrate? Pros and Cons please!
 

Just to clear this up - we haven't had a bad experience with an international move. My husband tarvelled for years with the Navy and I've worked in the States, Cyprus and studied in Holland - but all were done with the knowledge it was a temporary move and before having a baby. Now it's different, we both have established careers and all the trappings that come with that. A move is a big upheaval.

I like what someone said, life is not a rehearsal and I don't want to be sitting here in a few years wondering "what if?"

Thanks for all your replies - all opinions are appreciated.

Julie

Re: To emigrate or not to emigrate? Pros and Cons please!
 

Maybe, just maybe, if you took your head out of your arse for a few minutes and looked at the world from the other persons viewpoint instead of just your wants, needs and requirements all the time, people might treat you differently and you life would be much kinder. You come across on here as very self obsessed and i have a feeling it will stick out like a sore thumb in the real world too. This tends to get peoples backs up whether your an Aussie or a Martian! .. but as YOU said this is MY opinion. Hope i didnt offend too much :rolleyes: :D

Re: To emigrate or not to emigrate? Pros and Cons please!
 

That applies to the majority of people on this forum.

That is why there are so many rows...as soon as someone posts something someone else does not want to hear :rolleyes:

G

Re: To emigrate or not to emigrate? Pros and Cons please!
 

There is a big difference between having a differing viewpoint, than being condescending and belittling of other people and acting like some kind of superior being. To state that somehow people who like to live in Aus are somehow inferior from you, ie Torremolinos tourists or British rail workers (whats that all about?) and therefore i am better because i am not like that and dont like Aus merely accentuates HIS personality type... but then i'm doing just what he is doing i guess, but i'm past caring. :rolleyes:

Re: To emigrate or not to emigrate? Pros and Cons please!
 

but didnt you do that with your UG boot comment :confused:

Re: To emigrate or not to emigrate? Pros and Cons please!
 

LOL :D i guess so.. but that was very much tongue in cheek. I think we need a "tongue in cheek" emoticon, and anyway, i was pointing out the stupidity of wearing fur lined boots in the name of fashion in 20+ degree heat ;)

Re: To emigrate or not to emigrate? Pros and Cons please!
 

Clearly I've been misunderstood.

Torremolinos:- I make no appologies for this, All I was saying is that if you like Torremolinos then you will probably like it here. What was wrong with that?

British rail worker:- Well I think the general work ethic out here is exactly like a BR worker, at least all the ones I had the misfortune to meet. I think a beurocratic jobsworth BR worker would also like it out here. I still can't see what was wrong with saying this.

There is definately 2 camps on here and regardless of what I say or how I say it if its something against Australia then you get jumped on, and if I'm guilty of having slightly higher standards and expectations, and the weather and beaches do nothing for me, whats wrong with that?

Re: To emigrate or not to emigrate? Pros and Cons please!
 

:D only kidding ya :D though I am a northern lass and we tend to do it the other way round, go out in the middle of Winter dressed in next to nothing no tights or owt :D