Carriganure

Hi,

Both my wife and I are hoping to move to the Sydney area with in the next twelve months with our three children. The visia we are hoping to get is the Skilled Migrant visa as we both have third level education.

Our children are 14,11 and 9 does anyone know or have a contact with children our age who have made the move and how did they get on after the move. I have a thousand other questions however I will hold back on them for the moment.

Regards,

Declan

SamG

I think it depends on your current circumstances and the temperament of your children. We moved to Sydney 6 years ago with 3 preschool aged children and one on the way. We obviously had no problems then, they were all too young.

A few months ago we moved to Seattle for a 3 year contract, we'll be going back to Sydney in late 2013. Our children are now between 10 and 5 years old. We were very happy in Sydney but my hubby was offered the job of a lifetime and the experience was too good to pass up. My oldest is a sensitive boy who misses his friends and Sydney terribly and is very homesick, my other three are either young enough not to worry or have enough resilience to ride the wave. It's been hard to see my oldest so unhappy but he's starting to turn a corner.

By contrast I have a friend here who moved from England a few months ahead of me. She has 2 children aged 8 and 11. They weren't very happy in England (hubby working lots of hours and bullying issues at their school) and her children haven't looked back since moving here. They all love it.

I don't know if that helps you. In terms of your children I think it helps to prepare them as much as possible for what they can expect once you move. Keep talking and try and make it a fun and exciting move - even if it's frustrating and stressful for you guys at times

spuddyo

So long as you live near a beach and stay away from the endless miles of new housing estates out West you should be OK. Kids love the beach and the outdoor life, if you're going to live in Suburbia they may as well stay in the UK. Head for the Northern Beaches near Manly or Curl Curl, or maybe South of Sydney in the Bondi / Coogee area.

We know lots of people who have moved to Australia with kids, and all of them love it here and quickly make new friends. The schools are generally very good and there's plenty for them to do.

Good luck, I'm sure you will love it.

Bermudashorts

Level of education can be important in the skilled migrant visa process, but it certainly doses not mean that one will qualify for the skilled migrant visa. Have you looked to see if your particular occupations are in demand? Might as well establish this before worrying about the rest.