Cgod

Hello all

I am new to the Forum. My wife and I have started to talk about a new start and Australia is cropping up, despite never having been. I would be really interested to find out more, about what it is like for families and if people have any ideas on whether it would be recommended. We are hoping to visit next year in the first instance.

We are both 34 and have two children so I would be particulary keen on hearing from similar families who have made the move. I'm happy to hear the good and the bad.

thanks

Sue

Hi Cgod,

If you haven't done so yet I would suggest a good place to start would be to read the Update Forum. Many of our members share their milestones there, and it will give you a good idea of the ups and downs of moving, settling in, and living in Australia.

Cgod

Sue

Thanks for that - I did think there might be an existing thread somewhere but I just couldn't find it. I will have a good look now.

thanks again.

Buzzy--Bee

Hi, we moved to Melbourne 4 years ago at about the same age as you with twin 2-year olds. Melbourne is great for families, there is so much for kids to do going on all the time and in the area we live there are loads of young families. The schools are also very good. Where you choose in Australia to live though will likely be decided by your employment and your budget.

BB

Cgod

Thanks BB

I actually read your update earlier today and found it really interesting. I think we need to try and get over to try it out. From the small amount of reading that I have done it looks like my wife can get 120 points but we are both 35 at the end of this year and it appears that her points will go down to 115 and under the 120 threshold. I'm not on the skilled list, I work in a profession but do not appear to be in demand in Oz. It's not likely though that we can get over before then. Maybe we will have to take a punt on the visa and if it isn't for us then write the cost off. Still, it's a lot of money to do that. I read a lot of the posts on the update section and the biggest gripes seem to be cost of living etc.. Perhaps it just takes some adjusting.

At least I won't have to worry about selling my Jag, the Focus can go at anytime.

Cheers

Bermudashorts

A reccie is nice to have but many people don't do one, it can be argued that it does not reflect real life anyway. Also not everyone complains about cost of living, some people say it is swings and roundabouts.

4500 Times

Very good point

4500 Times

We arrived in '05, although just 3 of us...never been b4, knew no one.

We did think about a reccie but the cost was substantial and we also took the view that it would not reflect the true nature of actually living here.

I understand why people do it, but it was just not for us...
We were of the opinion that if we are gonna do it, then do it wholeheartedly, so thats what we did. Did our visa's ourselves (online) which is pretty easy, packed up, sold up and shipped out.

We had loads of people offering advice, the main one being "Don't sell your house here, coz if ya don't like it you can always come back", but for us that was a no no.....if we were gonna do it then we were go for it, and we felt keeping our house in UK would give us a good excuse if the going got tough out here.
It may well work for some but not us.

Arrived in Brissie, with 4 suitcases and a place to stay for 10 days and that was it...Bloody Crazy looking back but its worked out great.

You will get some good advice on this site, its your choice what you decide to take on board and what not too...

Good Luck

Rambi

Your story sounds similar to ours. We came without reccie (or having been before). Decided that the money would be better spent getting us back to the UK if we didn't like it.

I bet you're glad you didn't follow the conventional wisdom back in 05 of hanging onto your UK house. I remember some people at that time were saying it was financial madness to sell but it has turned out to be the complete opposite.

KJCherokee

We did exactly the same, only 22 years earlier! Sold everything in the UK and flew out here with six suitcases and two daughters, 5 & 3. And we're still here (although not married to each other any more, but that's a different story) and now have Australian grandchildren.

spuddyo

Hi.

The points test is set to change in July 2011, for information just go to the Australian Government's immigration website and search 'points july 2011' for information. ( www.immi.gov.au ) You should be OK with your partners points. There are thousands of people who would like to live in Australia but can't get in, so if you get the chance you should have a go. Been here 16 years now and love it.

Cgod

Thanks everyone for the information. A really good link about the new points system. It looks like it will give us a better chance and the revised age band is 33-39 which would still give us enough points. It stops us having to make any knee-jerk reactions.

We are really keen on the idea but just need to weigh up the costs of a reccie (not cheap) and the idea of such a big move. Issues I am sure you all faced and many will in the future.

In the meantime I will enjoy reading around the Forum to get a better picture/idea.

Great work everyone - loads of really useful information.

Thanks again.

Wol

Agree - save your money.

Even a three month reccie won't prepare you for the reality. Whether that's a good reality or bad is your decision, but a reccie is only a holiday however much you try and absorb things.

I worked in Australia for 4 months at a time over three years as well as coming here several dozen times and thought I knew what was what - but it certainly didn't turn out the way I imagined!

hoofie2002

A reccie doesn't really prepare you properly - anyway it's more fun to just rock up and get on with it.

As for such a big move - look at is this way; if you worked in Birmingham and moved to London you would need to move house; jobs; schools etc. Moving to Australia is just the same - the distance is a bit further but at least its sunnier

deb68

We just got here, god it's hot
We are wife/hubby and four kids six suitcases and a desire to get on with it here, so far it looks to be what we expected. But time will tell i supose. Holiday let to get us settled for a couple of weeks, while in that we are looking around different areas trying to find a rental we all like in an area thats close to potential work/schools etc, it is hard but we are stubborn buggers.
Also using a hire car for ten days, need to buy our own vehicle, just another thing to have on your list of things to buy asap, depending on your needs obviously. Remember this place is massive, even with good road networks it takes time to get around.