If you were us, would you emigrate to Oz?
 

Hello everybody, this is my first post, and so I apologise if a similar question has been asked before.:o

This is our current situation; My fiance is a qualified social worker, and has a good job earning £43k at a managerial level in the uk. I am a serving police officer in the uk, and have been in the job for 7 years. Her job is in demand in aus so I read and the chances of her getting a job offer on a ENS path are better than me, mine is not open to international applications which would require PRS prior to an application.:unsure:

We own our own home with a little equity to spare, which is currently on the market. We are getting married in may 2011. We love the outdoors, and enjoy getting out with our dogs, and I enjoy cycling and mountain biking.

We have booked to go to the birmingham expo on 25ths sept, we hope this may help us make an informed decision on wether to continue persuing emigrating to australia. :confused:

I have read many threads on this website with balanced feedback both negative and positive from people saying they wouldnt bother migrating now given the cost of living comparisons with the uk, and others who say they wouldnt change it for the world.:confused:

I am sure that this is what everybody goes through when considering the move. We have many friends who have already made the move and love it, but not everybody is the same.

My question in summary is simple; If you were us, would you emigrate to Oz?

cheers.:D;)

Re: If you were us, would you emigrate to Oz?
 

What are your reasons for wanting to move to Australia? How emotionally and physically close are you to family?

Re: If you were us, would you emigrate to Oz?
 

And what are your reasons for wanting to leave the UK?

Re: If you were us, would you emigrate to Oz?
 

el diablo

it is SUCH a hard decision, isn't it - i totally sympathise! we earn good money by UK standards here in blighty, live in a beautiful part of the country near glorious wales, spend loads of time outdoors or on pembrokeshire beaches, have lots of friends, see our family a lot even though they aren't close by, go to europe often. our kids are happy at the local village school.we are very, very lucky, in short - and as i work in a deprived area of the local market town, i am reminded of this every single day.

and yet we wonder the same thing as you do, often.

we have lived in australia twice (brisbane, perth) and NZ for a year (dunedin). we got back 4 years ago.

THE PROS:
i just love the beaches, the outdoor living, the SUNSHINE, the amazing natural wonders on offer, the BBQs and picnics, NOT BEING COLD!!! (i hate winter!) also the more 'can do' approach and the less social class-conscious approach to life - the societal inequality here in the uk i find constantly shocking and depressing.

THE CONS:
oh god the distance!!! that's the main one! i have an army of friends i depend on here to get me through the tough days. my parents see a lot of the kids (though we are lucky that they would support us in another move). i missed everyone so much when i am down under.
the other thing i missed is the UK landscape- i just went hill-walking up in the brecons this morning and was blown away by how stunning it was, wild ponies studded the hillside and the sun was shining, and i was totally alone in this pristine wilderness *sigh of happiness*. i also missed europe - i love being able to whisk the kids off to paris at half-term for a few days, or take them to spain, say, for a week in the summer.

i should add that if and when you have kids, it's a very challeging time to be away from your networks. BUT you do form new ones, and it certainly can be done!

i will stop rabbiting on, this is just a very personal view of how bloody hard it is to make up one's mind! my kids are older now and i have visions of my son surfing after school, both of them growing up healthy and strong with loads more sport on offer, and all of us going on amazing camping trips together, teaching the kids to dive up in queensland etc etc. and i do feel it would be wonderful to give them residency as a gift for the future...


good luck with whatever you decide. there is definitely no right answer and i have great affection for both countries (hence our difficult in making the decision!)

Re: If you were us, would you emigrate to Oz?
 

Her husband is Australian.

Re: If you were us, would you emigrate to Oz?
 

That's not necessarily the reason why the OP would want to leave the UK. Wasn't my reason (my wife being Australian).

Re: If you were us, would you emigrate to Oz?
 

My motto is/was fekk it I only live once so why not - but that's me and I'm not you...but if you were me then yes you'd give it a go. :D

Seriously, for some it's a hard choice for others it's not. For some it's a good move and for others it's not. There's only you that really knows what you want, so don't worry what other people think/say about the place just go with your gut instinct :)

Re: If you were us, would you emigrate to Oz?
 

I think he was adding a question to mine, not asking me :lol:

Re: If you were us, would you emigrate to Oz?
 

It wouldnt really bother me as I dont really see my family that often, and mostly talk on the phone and via e-mails, the good lady however, is quite close to her mum and walks the dogs with her every morning. It would no doubt be more of a pull for her than me. However, I wouldnt make the move if she decided her heart wasnt in it.

We want to go because we believe that it would provide a better standard of life for us, and not withstanding the fact that this country is on its knees, and is the dustbin of europe. It might just be the line of work im in, but I only ever get to see whats wrong with the uk than what is right, and there is an awful lot wrong with it and society in general.

Re: If you were us, would you emigrate to Oz?
 

I believe they are the most common, worst reasons to emigrate. Best advice I read on here was that you have to be pulled by Australia NOT pushed from UK.

There is no evidence what so ever that you would end up with a better standard of living here - you may be shocked with what you think is a better society of people in Australia.

Sorry to be negative but they aren't really good reasons in my opinion.

Re: If you were us, would you emigrate to Oz?
 

Yes I'd emigate. No I wouldn't bother with the expo.

Whilst directed at Canada, you might like to read this article.

Re: If you were us, would you emigrate to Oz?
 

I don't want this message to come over as harsh in anyway as it is not intended to be so. You start you message with 'If you were us' stating the obvious of course but we aren't you.

Moving overseas creates a lot of self doubt, so many processes enforced on you. Maybe if you are having to post something like this maybe moving overseas isn't for you?

When / if you do actually make the decision to start the moving process then you will find this site a fantastic source of support and a great resource. But I would be unable to make a comment on emigrating to Oz based on putting myself in someone elses shoes.

It's a big decision and people do it from many different back grounds and for many different reasons. You need to looks for your own pro's and con's. As you mention in your own post 'not everyone is the same'.

GOOD LUCK :fingerscrossed:

Re: If you were us, would you emigrate to Oz?
 

My OH and I had considered moving to Australia for about 3 years but never made a decision either way. Then we did and then the SOL's changed, his job wasn't (initially) on the new SOL and we were absolutely gutted. Have you asked yourself what if for some reason the possibility of moving was taken away? When the SOL changed and his job title wasn't on the list we knew then how much we'd actually wanted to go so badly but didn't realise it- and this only hit home with the SOL changes.

Have you asked what it is exactly that you're moving for? We're not running away from anything, we love our life here, we just think we would love it even more in Australia. We are now in the process of applying for a skills assessment and then the visa after Christmas :fingerscrossed:

I hope you find the answers you want.

Re: If you were us, would you emigrate to Oz?
 

Its a hard thing to do, its expensive.... but life is out there to live, go for it if you are interested and eligable, just don't burn your bridges..... you can always go back.. albeit maybe a little poorer financially but with a great experience... and who knows it maybe the best decision you ever make...

But there is really only the two of you who can decide....

although its quite interesting reading the differing views and opinions of a bunch of strange people on the internets.....:D

Re: If you were us, would you emigrate to Oz?
 

Interesting question. I actually totally see where you're coming from. Some people will say its too difficult to say without knowing you but you've asked so i'll say.

Pro's

Weather
Bringing up kids - if you're thinking of having kids this is a big one. We wouldn't have come otherwise. Yes grandfolks help back home but overall Oz is the place to bring kids up
Oz is no dustbin
Standard of living is higher


Cons

Oz is expensive now - everything other than petrol. If your partner is on 43k and your on say 35 (guessing) both of you can live very well in the uk. can do what you want, go on holidays every 2 months (we did on similar wages) etc etc. You've obv done well paying off your mortgage so financially you're set. Get on seek.com.au and check what you would earn here. It would need to be 3 times what you get in the uk to be as well off. So your other half would need to be on $120k here. Its all rough but we moved 4 months ago and I'm not far off. As long as you earn as much here on that x3 scale then you'll be fine

Also check domain.com.au for house prices. depends where you go but a decent house in sydney in good area your looking at nearly $1 mill. I am sure their are bargains etc but this is all rough estimates. See what you can get here

I am sure there are lots of other factors but thats the basics. Last thing - I'm sure you're not this naive but don't think everything bad in the uk isn't over here. There's good and bad points about both.