Timber Floor Au

My gut reaction is, dont move somewhere you have never been !

then ... Oz now to me, isnt like the Oz i thought id moved to, I mean in sincerity its a shitload better... but we each have different rose tinted specs. Some just stay on permanently !!!

I personally think, part of the VISA process, should penalise ppl for NOT visiting Oz prior to application, and reward those that have made the effort and expense in visiting.

But that statement will probs go down like a lead baloon..

To be fair, dya have to visit weston super mare to know its a crap hole ?? NO !

Australia, though is SOOOOO MASSIVE and each state even city even suburb throws up a whole different perspective on life in Oz.

Some ppl clutch to meeting expats, which is like taking Icecubes to Iceland. I think you must do what you think is best and trust your gut instincts.

As previously said, I concur that research deters the devil you dont know !!!

We get so caught up in the " Getting There" cycle, some of us forget what our motives and desires and wants really are, I mean forget the sun and sea and lifestyle aspect, think whats best for you what climate you want, what your extracurricular activities are... then look at work situations, housing, schooling, etc etc etc...

Its far more complex, which inevitably brings me to my initial point, visiting at first prior to application seems on the face of it, the best result... but may give you false impressions.

Weird reply, so sorry, but bein honest

Steve happily settled in Brizzy , amongst hare poo, sheep shit, horse manure, and cow dung. all a dollar a bag

phoenixinoz

Taking a holiday in Aus may not give you the feel for the real country IMHO.

For a start, there are the varying seasons. How will you know what they are all like? Then there is the cash conversion. The UK pound is strong so you'll have a bloody cheap holiday for your cash, but it might not be the same once you live here and you compare like for like. Then there's which area? You'd have to spend bucketloads to see the whole of Aus. And finally the job situation, you wont know how things stand with that unless you spend time trawling through papers, recruitment agencies etc.

Now, I'm all for going if you personally think it will help and you have the spare cash, afterall we are all different. But frankly, all the info mentioned above is available from research on the net or talking to various people on sites like this one. It's not like years ago where there was very little knowledge or research available. The net opens all kinds of avenues.

For my money, you'd be better off spending your hard earned cash on the moving itself and maybe a small break cos don't forget it may take you a while to get a job too, so you need something to tide you over.

Whichever way you do it, there is no guarantee to you settling here or not.

It's all about personal choice. There's no right, there's no wrong.

It's whatever suits you best

claire edwards

Taking a holiday isn't the same as living somewhere, but if that is an option for you, IE if you can afford it, I would definately go for a holiday, just to get a feel for the place you want to live in.

I lived there (Perth) for a year in 2001 and loved it, I travelled accross to the east coast and met my parents there (They loved Australia), now they are coming to live in Perth when we do in the new year having never been before. They have done their research and I have told them as much as I can from my experiences there. I'm sure that having family with you is a lot easier (I'm hoping anyway!) than not when making such a big move. They are pretty easy going and adapt quickly to new surrounds, so I'm sure that will help too.

Good luck in deciding what you want to do.

RockHopper

Hi

We moved over here without ever visiting, although we have moved around a fair bit before being ex forces. If you know you can do without the closeness of your relatives and are flexible in your approach to change and go with the Australian way then you could give it a go. It is not however as cheap to live out here as you may think, overall the cost of living is slightly cheaper than the UK, but the standard of living we find much better and with so much scope to see and do things its great. We would not go back for anything.

Good luck on your decision

mindblower

Cant afford to visit with cash on hand , but researchuing like hell.
Absolutely confident it cant be as bad as here !! go for it.

Dave

walaj

Anyone going should accept the risk of making a mistake, being it Oz fullstop not being for you, or chosing the wrong part of Oz to settle in (job/climate/etc wise). If lack of money is your main issue for not visiting, then you need to consider what you would do if you go to the expense or emigrating and not being able to return/move if things go tits up.

Personally we would never make the move without visiting, even though we got small taster. Just as this suits us and not others, just because your friends live in Australia (and I presume like it there) does not mean Oz or that area is for you.

Assess your reasons why you want to go (try to concentrate on Oz pull factors, rather than what is 'wrong' in UK), look at the returning to UK board, read plenty of posts from those with years experience who post here, job opportunities (maybe lack of them and if that is an issue or not) and you can never do enough research.

All the best.

kirsty&al

We made the move without visiting first and have not regreted it. We decided that it was not worth doing a short trip as this could give you the wrong impression of a place (good or bad). We decided to save the money with a plan to live here for at least 2 years. If we wanted to leave after that time (or even sooner if it was really bad) we could use the money we saved to pay for the return journey.

Note we are a largish family and the cost of reccie trips and validation trips is huge. If we had gone out and come back the experience would have cost less than 2 luxury holidays to The Med.

A

SiennaRowe

We moved to Sydney on 15th August....and we had never visited before.
We did a heck of alot of research before we came....and are very pleased that we did. We have our TFN's, permanent residency, a lovely rental just an hours drive from Sydney....everything is great!
I was very homesick to begin with,but now our furniture has arrived from the UK,I am feeling better.

Life is good.....and as they say around these parts....NO WORRIES!! xx

Wigan Warrior

Thanks for all the replies.

I work in IT so we are thinking of Melborne or Sydney. Not sure which yet and would need to do more research to find which would suit.

There's Myself, My Wife and our 3 year old daughter.

kris maynard

We are going without visiting first!
We decided the cost of the visiit for us is way too expensive and would pay for us to return if we really hated it!!
We are looking forward to the adventure!!

Kris xx

oldgit

Have you considered whether it would be feasible for you to try and make a go of it alone to begin with seeing as how these are unchartered waters for you and research whilst invaluable is never as good as the real thing.
I worry that you may find getting a " suitable " job, takes longer than you think and if so would you your wife and daughter " manage" in that situation having all three of you migrated and presumably burn't your bridges by doing so.
There again a family separation can lead to problems.
On your own give yourself ,what, three months is that long enough bearing in mind you are renting in/around the big Cities and still no job.
Can you then return to the UK and pick up approx where you left off if it is no longer possible for you to be able to settle in Aus. Will your wife and daughter have the family roof still over their heads.And the money lost will be one persons expenses.Of course it is likely you will have had to pay out for all of your pre visa issue expenses for all the family That I think would be unavoidable.You have to know that you are all eligible to migrate,health skills etc.Anyway you have limited the"big" gamble with a fall back option have you?
Also consider that whilst you are away your wife's agreement to accompany you may have wained .What will you do if she says she no longer wishes to go.Or do you go and risk her disillusionment when you are in Aus as a family...?
Believe me a long journey lies ahead of you.You will have researched until you are almost blind, sweated cobs getting your visa and ensuring your wife and daughter are also eligible for visas, "I've never been before".Replace that with "why go in the first place"
I had never been before. You do need funds behind you.More importantly make sure you are both pulling together whatever you decide.I went out alone but it is tough on both of you not to mention the little girl without a daddy. I am retired so I suspect our situations differ markedly in many areas though we do have some common denominators." dear God what happens if it all goes pear shaped" is commom to us all..
I put this to you as something else for you just to think about.Go with your family if you can but if you have never been before do please try and build damage limitation into your calculations if you can.
Can I also say I think some of the previous postings in answer to your question are brilliant.You must surely have something to think about now.Its your choice none of the above need happen you all go together job housing happiness never look back.
Good luck
boring oldgit

Wigan Warrior

Plenty of mentions of research. I've got a couple of books and I've been on more websites than I could list, but do you have any good web site/book recomendations?

Cheers,
Martin

zbettyboop

Hi,i have always wanted to live in Australia and visiting it is not like living there so we are going to give it a go anyway.If i dont go i will always wish i had.My family said it would be best to go over for three weeks or so but thats not going to tell me if i like it or not.Me my partner and 2 dogs are going over.i think to go that far you have got to give it a year or so then if its not for you then go back home at least you tried. Well that what i think

Polyphemus

Morning zbb, judging by the way we both appear to be in the uk, but for the last 2 nights have both been active at this time - are you preparing for Oz time already? I spose it's one way to try out a different lifestyle G

zbettyboop

morning, I'm working in 4hrs but cant sleep .
where and when are you moving over
just joined the group.there is so much reading and information.I'm lapping it all up