IndieG

Hi everyone,

I've been lurking around this great group for a while and finally became a member today!
I've read all your posts and although I am not a BE (I am an Indian, settled in Bangalore....and no we're not from the IT industry!), find that we pretty much share the same concerns while contemplating on making the the big move. We too have similar doubts........ whether we are making the right decision by migrating to Oz....lots of questions on the increasing cost of living, education,jobs,racism etc.

We have our PR Visas and the validity expires in Aug of this year. Due to some unforseen circumstances we cannot go there now, but plan to apply again (skilled designated - 139) and hopefully be able to make the move within 2 years.


Cheers
IndieGirl

binbird

Hi and welcome to the forum

You're right - there's loads of information and opinions available right here. If you have any of your own questions, ask away.

Good luck with getting your visas this time around and hope things work out for you.

Binbird

pandya_m

Welcome to the British(now not so British)expats forum
People have joined here from Norway, Ireland, UK, and from all continents.

Any questions doubt sure to get feedback.
All the best.

IndieG

Thanks BinBird!. Am still sifting through all the posts and yes I might have lots of questions, if I don't find what I am looking for.

We plan to live in Melbourne. Are there a lot of people looking to move there/living there, from this forum?

IG

Pootle

Hello!
Yes there are lots from Melbourne! We moved here from uk in Jan 05 and are loving it! Good luck with your plans!

pandya_m

I am planning this June or July or ....yes by August sure...else all efforts gone with the wind...

IndieG

Thanks Pandya and Pootle........you guys are a friendly bunch!

Will write later, I have an active 2 yo on my lap grabbing the keybarrd...she has already managed to pull out some alphabets from my laptop!


IG

68MEVY

Welcome Indiegirl, and good luck.
Marie

fireeater

Hi there, we've recently moved to Melbourne and are thoroughly loving it. We live in Williamstown in the South West and have been amazed by the friendliness and openness of the locals compared to what we experienced in England. Unfortunately, racism is an issue everywhere, but Melbourne is an excellent multicultural hotch-potch with large ethnic communities here.

Which areas have you thought about moving to? Jobs are hard fought for, but with permanent residence you'll have more chance of finding a decent full-time job. My wife is here on a temp sponsored visa and I'm having great difficulties finding decent work. PR should come soon though Cost of living and education I can't speak about as I don't know the situation in India. But it is generally a bit cheaper than England, depending on what your interests are.

Good luck and hope to see you here at some stage

Carl

IndieG

Thanks...Marie and Carl. We are looking at moving to one of the suburbs ....Glen Waverly. I heard Malvern is also a nice area....but renting would be cheaper in GW.

Carl, where were you living before moving to Melbourne?

The main reason for moving for us would be for my childrens education (in terms of college education, more choice of subjects, far less pressure, compared to India).

In India, the pressure on kids is just ridiculous and I do not want my kids to go through that. Apart from this, we have no real reason to move. Life for us is very comfortable here.


IG

Stormz

Hi Indiegirl and welcome.

We`re from Aus originally, and are moving back for our kids really (11 month old girl and one on the way) and the family is in Perth.

I can`t speak for the rest of Aus, but if it`s anything like Perth then racism isn`t too much of an issue, and it`s much better than the UK. There aren`t a huge amount of Indians there but I`ve never seen or heard of any trouble against Indians. I think most of the Indians in Perth came from Mauritius (like a friend of mine).

Basically people tend to treat you as you treat them. So as you`re a friendly person people will be friendly with you. As the devout Muslims tend to keep themselves all covered up (fair enough... part of what they believe in for women) and are pretty secular people tend to view them with suspicion as they don`t have the opportunity to get to know them.

pandya_m

Stormz, exactly.....you said the best...
Very sesible and mollified comment

IndieG

Hi Stormz,
You're right. People tend to treat you as you treat them.
I've heard Oz being 'multicultural' but don't know what it actually means. Does it only mean that people of different cultures live and work there, and tolerate/respect each other...but each forming their own liitle group?

At least this is what I found with the Indians in Melbourne, who pretty much had their own social group with zero non Indians. Again on several occasions, at a food court in a mall, I found a group of school kids (I think Chinese) sitting together (can't draw conclusions, but just made me wonder).


IG

Stormz

I suppose that`s generally the case and quite natural wherever in the world you go... people tend to stick with `their own` more often than not. I`m sure British (and Brit heritage) people in India tend to stick with themselves.... do they? At the school I went to most races/cultures mingled (except for some of the muslims, and the croatians/slavs never mixed together).

Nah, I wouldn`t worry if I were you about Racism... you`ll get just as much hassle from the same idiots that `hate` the english/scottish/welsh/irish as well.... so they`re quite fair in their prejudice and hate everyone equally.

fireeater

I live in Williamstown just to the South West of Melbourne. It is a quiet bayside area with a nice cafe scene and only 15 minutes from the CBD. Don't have kids so that is not an area I can really comment on. Before moving to Aus we were living in Cheshire, England about 30 miles south of Manchester. We were also comfortable in our own way, but not in the way we felt about how our lives were going. We needed a challenge and we needed desperately to get away from England and it's culture which has been getting myself and my wife down for some time. That's just us, and everyone's different, but that's the main reason we took the plunge and emigrated.

Glen Waverley and Malvern are both on the other side of the bay and I don't know enough about the areas to comment. There are quite a few posters on BE from the SE suburbs, though and if you search the Aus forum using SE suburbs, or perhaps even Glen Waverley or Malvern you may come up with stuff. I know there have been threads about suburbs before.

Good luck with whatever you decide

Carl