Diz

OH did his vetassess practical last week and the majority of people there on the day had never been to oz even though they were trying to emigrate there - is this the norm??

jad n rich

Seriously I just wouldnt emigrate without going first, well I would if I was 22 with no kids... however with kids and current economic situation in OZ I would visit, skip dreamworld and dolphins and and try and a spot of jobhunting

However that sort of reality can put people off, going blind allows it to stay a 'dream' Face reality once you arrive hmmm

Dorothy

Or, for people like us, know the realities before moving. We had never been however we are mature, responsible people who didn't chase some dream.

Hutch

I got citizenship and I'd never been to Oz. Does that count?

annkc

ABCDiamond

My daughter was the same, became a citizen about 12 months before first setting foot in Australia.


From what I have seen, many of those that do not visit first find it easier to settle. They do not have the original "holiday" ideal, to compare against, when they begin living a normal working life here.

I had holidays first, before migrating, but never settled first time around and went back to the UK.

nbn8

We have applied for our visa without visiting Oz. We have however, not taken this decision lightly it has taken over 6 years of thought and certainly prior to having children. (only wish we had made the decision before the children as we have more to consider now ).

We have considered a reccie this summer however, would it be best to save the money towards our move, what could we get done in two weeks with little ones??? Anyway having thought this through we are not going to do a reccie mad as it sounds!!!

We are giving Oz the two year trial like most so view this at the moment as long reccie - whether this is the right thing to do who knows.... ( I will of course let you know).

We fully understand and even more so having read posts on here that life will be difficult making the transition but I believe if you really want something then you have to try otherwise spend the rest of your life 'what if'!!

Are we mad???????

mohogony

A holiday downunder is all beer, beaches and BBQ's and having fun which is nothing what everyday life working 9-5 living in the suburbs would be like.

Diz

no I don't think you are mad. we started the skills assessment process before we visited Perth. We used our honeymoon as a good excuse to do a reccie and spent a lot of time visiting the different suburbs etc to give us a feel for the different areas. we have several friends who live in Perth so they were able to give us 'real life' insight whilst we were there. the trip basically reassured us we were doing the right thing and made me less worried about taking our 16 and 19 year old with us as we had left the decision up to them. our enthusiasm since the trip and firmed up their decision to come with us. All we have to do now is wait.......... Diz x

direct2dubai

We applied 2 years ago without ever been to Oz before. Once we got PR, we visited for the first time to do first entry....and loved it thankfully

Now just waiting it out for the job market to improve - still have 3 years to move so hopefully things will get better before then....

Edit to add that we don't have any kids so were willing to take the chance without visiting first!

scamp1976

We've never been to Australia, but know it will be different then Europe for two reasons : Less people and more sun. Different is what we need, so whatever happens in Australia, we'll be getting what we were looking for

M_IT_and_F_Nurse-26yrOld

How do, we done the same thing, we both packed in our jobs, had no house or kids in the uk, and we have been here 3 months now. We love it, never been before, ie this is our first time, but i guess we dont have much to lose if things dont work out. My partner is a sponsored nurse, so she is working but i am finding it VERY difficult at the min and i have worked in IT for 7 yrs, ranging from development to project management and i cant even get a job in roles that i would walk into in the uk. My point is, the grass is not always greener on the other side i would warn you to have your eyes open, WIDE.

OZ is having a real bad time at the min with job losses and ppl are worried about their jobs, so the chances of someone coming from the Uk and getting a job straight away is slim (i am using myself as an example) I have heard of ppl who have given everything up, jobs, house, kids schools, family etc and came over thinking life would be all rosey and amazing. THATS NOT how it works.

Dont get me wrong, we both love it, we are 27 and once i do get work times will great, but at the moment we are also worried. So please be cautious and careful with your plans

Dale

scottish_stu

im applying for a job in Melbourne with the same company i work for in London but ive never stepped foot in Australia. Its only me thats going though so i dont count it as a risk. If it doesnt work out i come home. Try everything once.....