Because it worked for you guys doesn't make it the right choice. I'm sure there are others that have done it the same as well. But anyone moving to a place the other side of the world that they have never been to would be one hell of a gamble, and one which would fail more times than succeed.

I would advise against it to anyone. These forums are full of unhappy people who did the same.

To recci or not to recci that is the question....

Well, I've known people who did and didn't, some have settled okay others haven't - depends on you really! Although a couple of couples we know one half had done the travelling thing before coming out which maybe has helped.

We had loads of holidays here before moving partly because we have friends here so it started off by visiting them. That gave us a view more than the average tourist would get of day to day life - shopping, suburbs etc. We therefore thought we were well prepared but still found it quite hard at times once we'd moved over.

I think my (not OH's) problem is that my intro to Oz was the Northern Beaches of Sydney where our friends live.....well in my book it doesn't get much better than that and therefore I built my daydreams on that. When it came to getting visas they changed the points and we could only go for an STNI and VIC was the only place doing it at the time. At that stage I wouldn't have thought of visiting Mellie even for a holiday!

We came to Mellie on a recci/holiday as we'd made friends in the UK with a couple from Mellie and they showed us the city, Gt Ocean Rd etc, we loved St Kilda as it reminded us of Brighton where we are from. When we got here the rental market had gone crazy and couldn't find anything in St Kilda but ended up in Brighton which amused everyone! We are now in Mornington and feel more settled here for the time being but unfortunately those Northern Beaches still beckon.....

I think you should do a recci if possible BUT to the place where you feel you want to live...unless you are undecided and have ample opportunity to work wherever in which case find a city that suits you. As pointed out both Perth and Brisbane the CBD areas aren't where it happens...you need to go to the burbs to see how the locals live.

I would agree with Gail if you could put Mellie CBD into Sydney you'd have the ideal city!

If you have been offered a job out here then just come, if you don't like it as said look upon it as an experience and then once you are here either move to a different city or go home. It also depends on what stage you are in your life, whether you have kids or not whether you still have a lot of working life ahead or you are looking to wind down a bit.

You have to take your own situation into consideration....yes, people on here can give advice but the advice is given from their circumstances not yours.

All I would say is come with an open mind! You'll find somewhere where you click with.

KK

I moved to Sydney with no job, nowhere to live and some cash in the bank. Spent 4 weeks in a hostel which sometimes I hated sometimes I enjoyed... mostly hated though. I was a 30 year old that once owned a house in the UK and had a car, friends, a job... now I was the other side of the world in a hostel with a just a suitcase and some cash. Many a time I lost motivation to get out there and see things and meet people. I was thinking maybe what I had before wasn't so bad. Met a few mates while in Sydney but most were backpackers and younger than me so didn't meet anyone that was looking to stay for a long time.

I found a job in Melbourne after 4 weeks, spent 2 weeks in melbourne and the job then left back for Sydney. Hated the job, hated Melbourne.

Went back to Sydney litered about again in a hostel again.. was on the verge of flying back to the UK as I missed EVERYTHING!! Then got my arse in gear started applying for jobs and got a job in 2 weeks.

Again job wasn't the best but it was better than the Melbourne one and now I had money coming in which gave me options.
Moved out of the hostel into a shared flat... after 2 weeks had enough with him, he was just so messy and dirty. Found a new place with an english lad and we got on great. Had a grat time there for 6 months, before he disappeared to thailand for 3 months!!

Anyway I had saved some more cash by then so it was time to find my own place. Got myself a great apartment just north of Sydney harbour bridge, spent 10 grand on furnishing it which was great. Never been into a shop before and bought everything you need in one go. Then I bought a car found a new job (which I've been in for 2 years now).

So things are going great now. Still miss home a bit but my yearly visit seems to sort that out. Obvioulsy much better for shopping than Oz. Theres just so much choice compared to here. So I went with an empty suitcase and stocked up for the year :-D

Oz is the better country in terms of beauty, climate, environment. Then there are also the negatives which you can't get away from. The size of the place making travelling a pain. The cost of travelling overseas is ridiculous compared to europe. Lots of things they are behind the times in, such as technology, marketplace competition. It's a shame oz is so protective of their own brands and are reluctant to allow foreign competition in. Look a the choice of supermarkets!! Coles or Woolies... come on..

Then it is a small population so I guess its expected. Maybe when the population is 50 million it might have all the good stuff UK has plus the beauty of the country and climate. But then it will probably have all the bad things the UK has due to the size of population.

And finally what was Captain Cook thinking sending all the law breakers to a beautiful country in the sun?? Mr convict your choice is to spent 10 years locked up in a grotty cell or spend 10 years digging fields in the sunshine by the sea and we'll give you somewhere to live and feed you well. I know what I would choose.

It's a shame Mr Cook didn't leave convicts in the UK and sent all the law abiding citizens to Oz. Jeez we were thick in those days.

Great post

I felt the same when we moved out here as we spent a several weeks in the spare room of a friend of a friend! It was hard at times but did help us out financially.

Great to hear it's all working out for you!

I know what you mean about the population here...the amount of times I've heard "well it's only a small market". If and when the population hits 50 million I don't know where they are going to put everyone unless they start to build some new cities! By that stage Alice Springs will be a suburb of Melbourne

Good luck!

KK

Totally agree

The part of Melbourne where we live also has incredible sunsets into the sea. Fairly rare on the East coast of Australia.

One of the reasons we chose Melbourne over Brisbane.



FWIW we did a reccie and could easily not have bothered, would have saved 5000 pounds....

Buzzy

I'd be interested to see if the assumption that a reccie increases migration success actually holds water. I reckon it makes little difference. Most of the people I've come across who want to go home did a reccie.

I didn't think of coming straight as a gamble. It's a modern country which is socially closer to the UK than Ireland (IMHO). If it didn't work out then I could use the money saved from not doing the reccie to get me back to the UK. We decided that we would try and stay for at least 2 years but if we really hated it we could go back when we wanted. If we did return after (say) a year then it would have still been cheaper than an all expenses 3-week holiday to the Caribbean.

I came out last October for an interview/reccie on my own. The interview was swift the remainder of the week was spent driving round looking at burbs and schools oh and getting to know the local pubs in Williamstown.

My wife and kids had never set foot in Australia until March and they love it!

Reccie's help to pin-point areas quickly but they don't really give you a proper feel for what life is like here.....by the way life is great down under.

I would have made the move without the reccie but I'm quite laid back about that sort of stuff.

Here’s a short quiz.

Please take into account I have a day off work. I am bored and this is all tongue in cheek! I don’t care where anyone lives or whether or not they should do a reccie. Life is for living not worrying about what could have been.

Have you ever left the UK?
a) No, never
b) Does Ireland count?
c) Only for summer holidays in France or Spain
d) Yes, I’m a globe trotter

How long is the maximum time you have spent abroad in one holiday?
a) 0-1 week
b) 2 week summer holiday
c) 1 month dossing with friends
d) 1 month +

Have you ever lived abroad?
a) Yikes, the though scares me
b) Yes, on a student exchange program
c) Yes I’ve done the work experience thing
d) Yes for many years

How do you see the world?
a) Through my TV set
b) Has to be my way or the highway!
c) Who care as long as it is fun
d) One big adventure

What would you miss most about the UK?
a) My family & friends, we live in each other pockets
b) PG Tips & Coronation St
c) A proper curry
d) Miss????

Where would you most see yourself living in Australia
a) Perth
b) Brisbane
c) Sydney
d) Melbourne

Your results

Mostly As
Don’t even think about it! You are already planning your journey back to the UK

Mostly Bs
Australia isn’t the same as the UK and I find it confusing.

Mostly Cs
Who cares, If you don’t like it here, you’ll keep looking

Mostly Ds
Yes you are perfect and have found the best place to live!

Must find something better to do with my time

I passed - phew though did have two 'c's (curry and only worked in Switzerland for 6 months)

I think we should play this game on Christmas Day at Fraser's

Pretty sure Cook died in Hawaii 10 years before the first convicts arrived in Australia

You'll be way too drunk

D, D, on and off D, D, D and D... yah! I guess I made the right choice being an Aussie.

Bring it on mate! Just none of those chilled Morton Bug we had last Christmas at the Cuckoo

Al

All Ds!

Just found this post while looking for something else - I reckon a few more prospective emigrants should do Weird Fish's quiz.

BB

I'm getting worried you believe this stuff