Emigrating : Buying a business
Apr 1st 2005, 7:53 am
#16
BE Forum Addict
Joined: Jun 2004
Location: Mountain Creek, Sunshine Coast
Posts: 1,643
Re: Emigrating : Buying a business
let me know how it goes for you, agree this forum is great
Apr 1st 2005, 8:42 am
#17
patrickgoldsmith
Joined: Mar 2005
Location: lytham st annes, U.K
Posts: 75
Re: Emigrating : Buying a business
Originally Posted by tunnyx
What? smelly?
I know what you mean. I aint that money driven myself, but doesn't it get you down when you work bloody hard, and never seem to get anywhere? I earn decent money in the UK, but doesn't seem to matter, coz I still live in a fairly small, 3 bed semi near Preston, Lancashire and cant realistically go any bigger without crippling ourselves financially!!!!
Main reason for wanting to go is that we can't see anything in the UK that makes us think we can better ourselves or provide proper lives for our kids. Our local schools are a joke (seriously crap, the only 1 good one you can only get into if you live in the posh area, where houses start at £200k...that leaves me with a mortgage of nearly £130k (if i could get it) and thats for sommat similarly sized to what we already have....... GAH
Anyway, enough of my rant! Thanks for the advice. My wife is gonna hunt our her C&G (and NVQ's and her ECDL), and i'm gonna keep researching areas that might tempt us!!!
Cheers for the advice peeps...what a great forum!
I know what you mean. I aint that money driven myself, but doesn't it get you down when you work bloody hard, and never seem to get anywhere? I earn decent money in the UK, but doesn't seem to matter, coz I still live in a fairly small, 3 bed semi near Preston, Lancashire and cant realistically go any bigger without crippling ourselves financially!!!!
Main reason for wanting to go is that we can't see anything in the UK that makes us think we can better ourselves or provide proper lives for our kids. Our local schools are a joke (seriously crap, the only 1 good one you can only get into if you live in the posh area, where houses start at £200k...that leaves me with a mortgage of nearly £130k (if i could get it) and thats for sommat similarly sized to what we already have....... GAH
Anyway, enough of my rant! Thanks for the advice. My wife is gonna hunt our her C&G (and NVQ's and her ECDL), and i'm gonna keep researching areas that might tempt us!!!
Cheers for the advice peeps...what a great forum!
I would love to be able to set up my own jewellery business up out there but i guess i am afraid of losing what i have built up in my house. I have all the skills and most of the tools to go it alone as a jewellery repairer and maker maybe this is what i should be aiming toward instead of looking for a job. Its just that in this country retail is where the money is and i assume its the same over there massive set up costs and a lot fail trying.
Apr 1st 2005, 9:07 am
#18
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Thread Starter
Joined: Mar 2005
Posts: 19
Re: Emigrating : Buying a business
I can see your point Patrick. We are both 29 and started living together at 18, me on approx £5k a year and Sue on £4k. I have worked since i was 16 and sue since 18, and we now bring in around £45k a year, which is a pretty good amount 'up north'.
We started off in a crappy 2 bed terrace that had subsidence, and we moved 7 years ago to our 3 bed semi, which we have done up nicely, got a great conservatory and 2 decent cars (not new tho). You would think this would be more than enough to buy sommat like a 3/4 bed detatched, but not a f***in chance!!!!
I have now got a fairly good life style, and I don't particularly want to lose it, but I know that in 10 years i'll still be in the same situation, my kids will be wanting cars that they cant afford to run let alone insure, and as for their chances of buying a house......ch'yea!!!
The way i see it, is that we can stay in the UK, and pray that things change (oops, there goes some more of my pension, thanks Gordon), knowing that our kids are gonna end up living in rented flats above shops, or we can take a chance.
It is a chance, and I understand that. Im a pretty conservative kinda guy. Dont gamble much (£2 is as much as I would ever bet on a footy game), and dont like the idea of setting up in business in the UK simply coz of the decent lifestyle I have as an employee.
But.................
When I get to 50, thats it..... no more choice to take a chance, and if it hasnt worked out here, then tough s**t, thats it, like it AND lump it.
With us giving Australia a go, I think we can at least look back and say 'at least we tried to give it a go' and no matter what happens, I will enjoy and learn from the experience.
Hope my own opinions help, but at the end of the day, its your choice bud!
We started off in a crappy 2 bed terrace that had subsidence, and we moved 7 years ago to our 3 bed semi, which we have done up nicely, got a great conservatory and 2 decent cars (not new tho). You would think this would be more than enough to buy sommat like a 3/4 bed detatched, but not a f***in chance!!!!
I have now got a fairly good life style, and I don't particularly want to lose it, but I know that in 10 years i'll still be in the same situation, my kids will be wanting cars that they cant afford to run let alone insure, and as for their chances of buying a house......ch'yea!!!
The way i see it, is that we can stay in the UK, and pray that things change (oops, there goes some more of my pension, thanks Gordon), knowing that our kids are gonna end up living in rented flats above shops, or we can take a chance.
It is a chance, and I understand that. Im a pretty conservative kinda guy. Dont gamble much (£2 is as much as I would ever bet on a footy game), and dont like the idea of setting up in business in the UK simply coz of the decent lifestyle I have as an employee.
But.................
When I get to 50, thats it..... no more choice to take a chance, and if it hasnt worked out here, then tough s**t, thats it, like it AND lump it.
With us giving Australia a go, I think we can at least look back and say 'at least we tried to give it a go' and no matter what happens, I will enjoy and learn from the experience.
Hope my own opinions help, but at the end of the day, its your choice bud!
Apr 1st 2005, 10:56 am
#19
Banned
Joined: Apr 2003
Location: Angle vale Sth Australia
Posts: 5,353
Re: Emigrating : Buying a business
Originally Posted by tunnyx
Hi all. My first post and early days in our potential emigration!
My family and I have decided that a move to Oz is the way to go. Were tired of working to pay the bills, having no opportunity to improve our quality of life coz of the stupid UK housing market and never actually seeming to get anywhere at all!
I'm an AAT qualified accountant, with strong IT skills, and my wife is a chef. As we are both undecided about our careers so far, we thought that buying a business over in Oz would be a great way to have a fresh start.
Does anyone have any practical advice on buying a business within Oz. We havent made our minds up on the type of business, but being in the accountancy industry allows me to spot a potentially good business and what to ignore.
We want something that suits both of us, and we are tempted by retail or wholesale, although not yet sure which particular market would be good to get into.
Basically, my questions are:
1) How 'easy' is it to buy a business in Oz when you are migrating?
2) Is business finance fairly straightforward or can this be difficult to get?
3) Are there any reputable companies out there who deal with business sales?
4) Are there particular banks that are better to deal with from a business point of view?
Thanks for any answers in advance
My family and I have decided that a move to Oz is the way to go. Were tired of working to pay the bills, having no opportunity to improve our quality of life coz of the stupid UK housing market and never actually seeming to get anywhere at all!
I'm an AAT qualified accountant, with strong IT skills, and my wife is a chef. As we are both undecided about our careers so far, we thought that buying a business over in Oz would be a great way to have a fresh start.
Does anyone have any practical advice on buying a business within Oz. We havent made our minds up on the type of business, but being in the accountancy industry allows me to spot a potentially good business and what to ignore.
We want something that suits both of us, and we are tempted by retail or wholesale, although not yet sure which particular market would be good to get into.
Basically, my questions are:
1) How 'easy' is it to buy a business in Oz when you are migrating?
2) Is business finance fairly straightforward or can this be difficult to get?
3) Are there any reputable companies out there who deal with business sales?
4) Are there particular banks that are better to deal with from a business point of view?
Thanks for any answers in advance
mm
Apr 1st 2005, 10:56 am
#20
BE Enthusiast
Joined: May 2004
Location: Sunshine Coast
Posts: 535
Re: Emigrating : Buying a business
Tunnyx
Before I start, I'm not whinging - I love it here. But, be careful if you are moving to oz to improve your financial situation. Have a read of Jwinch's thread 'paradise at what cost'. I reckon that by the time we have settled here ie. bought a house we will be no better off financially. We have effectively moved our financial situation in the uk over to oz. We were very lucky and bought a house in a crap area of Newcastle which then became a good area and the house became 5x what we paid. House-wise we will end up in the equivalent here - nice area, same size house for slightly less money with the same size mortgage. Income-wise
Neither of us earned big salaries in the uk. I'm a midwife and my husband was a graphic designer in a uni. Here, I will earn less by a few thousand pounds a year (about 20k pounds), and he will earn about the same (about 16k pounds). This will offset the slightly cheaper house cost. So bascially we will be in exactly the same position - comfortable but not loaded. However, we are richer in most other aspects of life. The weather, the lifestyle, the scenery and space. So I feel that we are better off. As for the kids - they will face exactly the same problems here as the uk in terms of breaking into the housing market (if they want to). But they will be in the same situation as their peers. Good luck with your plans
Rachel
Before I start, I'm not whinging - I love it here. But, be careful if you are moving to oz to improve your financial situation. Have a read of Jwinch's thread 'paradise at what cost'. I reckon that by the time we have settled here ie. bought a house we will be no better off financially. We have effectively moved our financial situation in the uk over to oz. We were very lucky and bought a house in a crap area of Newcastle which then became a good area and the house became 5x what we paid. House-wise we will end up in the equivalent here - nice area, same size house for slightly less money with the same size mortgage. Income-wise
Neither of us earned big salaries in the uk. I'm a midwife and my husband was a graphic designer in a uni. Here, I will earn less by a few thousand pounds a year (about 20k pounds), and he will earn about the same (about 16k pounds). This will offset the slightly cheaper house cost. So bascially we will be in exactly the same position - comfortable but not loaded. However, we are richer in most other aspects of life. The weather, the lifestyle, the scenery and space. So I feel that we are better off. As for the kids - they will face exactly the same problems here as the uk in terms of breaking into the housing market (if they want to). But they will be in the same situation as their peers. Good luck with your plans
Rachel
Apr 1st 2005, 8:40 pm
#21
I am not the Messiah!
Joined: Aug 2004
Location: Cairns
Posts: 1,273
Re: Emigrating : Buying a business
Originally Posted by tunnyx
Might have a look at that. We got 135 points sponsored, so would get 120 points with my wife applying as a chef. Does it make much difference if you apply with 120 or 135? Would prefer to go down the non-sponsored route, and from what you say, if 120 points is enough, we should be ok as we are both 29 (turn 30 in July).
I believe if you apply for your visa before you are 30 then onced turned 30 it should not matter for that application. Someone else should be able to confirm that though.
R.
Apr 1st 2005, 8:48 pm
#22
Guest
Posts: n/a
Re: Emigrating : Buying a business
Originally Posted by RReed
Tunnyx
Before I start, I'm not whinging - I love it here. But, be careful if you are moving to oz to improve your financial situation. Have a read of Jwinch's thread 'paradise at what cost'. I reckon that by the time we have settled here ie. bought a house we will be no better off financially. We have effectively moved our financial situation in the uk over to oz. We were very lucky and bought a house in a crap area of Newcastle which then became a good area and the house became 5x what we paid. House-wise we will end up in the equivalent here - nice area, same size house for slightly less money with the same size mortgage. Income-wise
Neither of us earned big salaries in the uk. I'm a midwife and my husband was a graphic designer in a uni. Here, I will earn less by a few thousand pounds a year (about 20k pounds), and he will earn about the same (about 16k pounds). This will offset the slightly cheaper house cost. So bascially we will be in exactly the same position - comfortable but not loaded. However, we are richer in most other aspects of life. The weather, the lifestyle, the scenery and space. So I feel that we are better off. As for the kids - they will face exactly the same problems here as the uk in terms of breaking into the housing market (if they want to). But they will be in the same situation as their peers. Good luck with your plans
Rachel
Before I start, I'm not whinging - I love it here. But, be careful if you are moving to oz to improve your financial situation. Have a read of Jwinch's thread 'paradise at what cost'. I reckon that by the time we have settled here ie. bought a house we will be no better off financially. We have effectively moved our financial situation in the uk over to oz. We were very lucky and bought a house in a crap area of Newcastle which then became a good area and the house became 5x what we paid. House-wise we will end up in the equivalent here - nice area, same size house for slightly less money with the same size mortgage. Income-wise
Neither of us earned big salaries in the uk. I'm a midwife and my husband was a graphic designer in a uni. Here, I will earn less by a few thousand pounds a year (about 20k pounds), and he will earn about the same (about 16k pounds). This will offset the slightly cheaper house cost. So bascially we will be in exactly the same position - comfortable but not loaded. However, we are richer in most other aspects of life. The weather, the lifestyle, the scenery and space. So I feel that we are better off. As for the kids - they will face exactly the same problems here as the uk in terms of breaking into the housing market (if they want to). But they will be in the same situation as their peers. Good luck with your plans
Rachel
But reading the last few threads on cost of living and having lived there for 7 years, I can only agree, the place is almost on par with the UK in many ways.
As long as your motives are right for you, go for it but moeny don't buy happiness!!
M
Apr 1st 2005, 9:09 pm
#23
Just Joined
Thread Starter
Joined: Mar 2005
Posts: 19
Re: Emigrating : Buying a business
Thanks for the replies guys. They are all points I appreciate and I need to check on that 'turning 30' rule a bit more!
I can see that overall, living costs will be on par with the UK, but it certainly gets you more in terms of:
House size/style
Weather
Countryside
Obviously this all depends on the area but I generally feel that our quality of life should be better in Oz.
Also, i read that costs such as council tax, car insurances, gas/electric and other such costs seem to be much lower in Oz. I pay over £1k a year on Council tax, yet never ever see any improvements in the local area. In fact, the only addition I've seen in Leyland all year is a set of speed bumps on what was probably the nicest road we have! Good way to spend public funds eh? </RANT>
I can see that overall, living costs will be on par with the UK, but it certainly gets you more in terms of:
House size/style
Weather
Countryside
Obviously this all depends on the area but I generally feel that our quality of life should be better in Oz.
Also, i read that costs such as council tax, car insurances, gas/electric and other such costs seem to be much lower in Oz. I pay over £1k a year on Council tax, yet never ever see any improvements in the local area. In fact, the only addition I've seen in Leyland all year is a set of speed bumps on what was probably the nicest road we have! Good way to spend public funds eh? </RANT>
Apr 1st 2005, 9:21 pm
#24
Just Joined
Joined: Mar 2005
Posts: 2
Re: Emigrating : Buying a business
Having visited various places in Oz recently, here's my 2p's worth....
Buying a business: I was advised to get to Oz and learn the tricks of the trade/contacts (whatever new field you choose) before 'throwing' my money into a business & market I know not much about....see if you can locate a yellow pages type website for the various cities to see how many businesses are offering the same thing you may be interested in - for every business type there are many one-man shows who can offer the same thing so competition could be rife. And as someone already mentioned, who would want to sell a profitable business unless they are retiring (what are the chances that u r the lucky fella to buy over such a concern???)?
Perth: with a population of aound 1M supply for services outweighs demand of these services from joe public! But that is not to say business cannot be done in Perth..just a point worth bearing in mind though
Ok so whilst all this might sound pessimistic, here's the upside...everyone we spoke to told us that come over to Oz to enjoy a better quality of life and a better future for our children....making money was not mentioned once. Also by buying a business are you sure you are going to enjoy a stress-free life? The 9-5pm 5-day week in a job sounds very appealing from that perspective.
The opportunity is there - but it comes at a price...perhaps one that kind of defeats the whole purpose of moving there in the first place...one to ponder over further....
Good luck in your quest
Buying a business: I was advised to get to Oz and learn the tricks of the trade/contacts (whatever new field you choose) before 'throwing' my money into a business & market I know not much about....see if you can locate a yellow pages type website for the various cities to see how many businesses are offering the same thing you may be interested in - for every business type there are many one-man shows who can offer the same thing so competition could be rife. And as someone already mentioned, who would want to sell a profitable business unless they are retiring (what are the chances that u r the lucky fella to buy over such a concern???)?
Perth: with a population of aound 1M supply for services outweighs demand of these services from joe public! But that is not to say business cannot be done in Perth..just a point worth bearing in mind though
Ok so whilst all this might sound pessimistic, here's the upside...everyone we spoke to told us that come over to Oz to enjoy a better quality of life and a better future for our children....making money was not mentioned once. Also by buying a business are you sure you are going to enjoy a stress-free life? The 9-5pm 5-day week in a job sounds very appealing from that perspective.
The opportunity is there - but it comes at a price...perhaps one that kind of defeats the whole purpose of moving there in the first place...one to ponder over further....
Good luck in your quest
