nurselindsey

Hi there just wanted to pick your brains. We have had our visa since May and as of 2 weeks ago we think we have sold our house (hubby says its not sold until it's signed - and I'm usually the pessimistic one). The decision we have to make is do we go once house sale is completed or wait until first week in january and have last christmas here with family. We have two children aged 5 and 2 - our eldest will start in year one after the summer hols.

We are headed to Adelaide and I believe house prices are rising there (hopefully not on the Perth scale of things). So waiting for a few months (we can probably save £2-3k) or will the house prices have risen by that amount so making us no better off?

Will the children acclimatise to the weather better if we don't arrive in the middle of Summer?

Should we have christmas here (we are both nurses so the chances of us both having christmas off is slim - ever again!). New Year mew start and so on and so forth - Feel really stressed - need advice and karma

Lindsey

Olias

Personally, once my house is sold I don't want to hang around. I know what you're saying, but think of the hassle with temp accommodation or staying with family, storage of stuff, etc etc. I just want to be out there and getting stuck in - but that's just me

Olias

jules29

The way I see it is there will always be something - the last xmas, last birthday etc. Personally if your that lucky to have sold your house I would just go for it. Just my opinion.

Jules x

FlOSSANDJO

Hi Lindsey
We are in a similar position, both nurses, going in Jan to Brisbane with our 5 yr old. Our thinking on the matter was for our daughter to start at the beginning of the school year which may make it easier for her to settle in. We plan to have xmas & new year off spending it with family as we may never have the time off together again, to leave the UK in winter, what a better time, and to start our new life in the new year.
We are renting our house out until we are 100% about the move. I suppose by the time you move out it will be august and you have 4 months left. Will you be ready by then? Where will you live? where will you store your stuff? You could send it 3 months before and then it will be there when you get there. Maybe spend your time with friends / family.
We are planning to send our stuff in Nov so it will be there 1 month after we arrive, giving us time to find somewhere to rent. We think we are better camping in our old home borrowing from family & friends rather than when we arrive and know nobody who could help us.
We are officially leaving work end Jan, but taking the last 6 wks as annual leave, starting xmas eve. This gives us more time with family / friends before we go and when we get there before starting work. We both have sorted out jobs and will start the end of jan, so we will not have any time without money coming in, a big consideration when we will be spending a lot of money.
I hope that this is helpful to you. I suppose you have to decide what is the most important to you. We are talking 5 months and it freaks me out being ready for then, the time will go quickly. Good luck, let me know how you get on.
Flossandjo

Scott

jack in yer jobs before xmas have xmas here or stuff xmas n go

nurselindsey

The plan was to finish in Nov (end of) and have a month off before we went - probably spend some of our hard earned mony . I just dont know whether I will spend Christmas roaring!

Lindsey

Shaun&Dee

Why stay here? If you have a last x-mas here you might enjoy it so much that you start having second thoughts. Why not have a nice one in Oz.

valerie71andrew

i would go before the little one makes good friends.

dave7370

We are in exactly the same position (bar the house not yet sold), and although we feel a little guilty for taking our son far away from his grandparents before even his first birthday, it is our life and staying in the UK any longer than than we have to is just another waste of more time.

We've waited the best part of 2 and half years to get this far so the sooner the house goes the happier we'll be. Waiting around for till Xmas just for one day seems pointless. We want a new life in Oz so whats the point in waiting any longer than we have to. Granted, the house may not sell and we could very well be here till then, but if it does sell then we're off.

Everybody's idea's and lives are different and if spending Xmas with your family is of the utmost importance to you then stay until then and enjoy it if that what makes you happy. At the end of the day, it's your life, lead it as you see fit and don't be swayed by other people.

Funky Monkey

Hi Lindsey.

As Jules said there will always be a last birthday e.t.c to stay for. If the house was sold in the early part of the year then sure don't hang around, I think that 6 more months is nothing.I would have 1 last Christmas here as you sure are going to miss the family when you are in Australia.
I waited over 2 years for a visa so what's another few months .

Rachel69

Hi,

We have been here a year and a half nearly, and we waited to have one last Xmas with friends and family, and then a leaving party the end of December, and my husband came out here on the 3rd of January (he had to start his new job then, they wanted him to start long before but he explained about a last xmas etc and they agreed to him starting his new job in their London office for a couple of months) and I came out to Oz with the kids at the end of February giving my husband some time to find a house and school etc before we got there so the kids would settle in quicker) Although this wasnt the case, but thats another story!

Our house in UK wasnt sold still so there is a difference, you will be spending some time being put up by others, which can be very stressful after a while.

The last xmas i must say wasnt as good as i expected, it was tinged with sadness, the kids were fine and enjoyed it, but for the grandparents and other family members and me it was also sad as we knew it was the last time we would see each other for a long time and especially that they wouldnt see the kids and also we would be leaving soon after. It was a very emotional time!

But you have to make your own decision, and as for the kids, although its great for them to start a new school at the very beginning of the school year, i dont think it makes a big difference from if they start part way through the year, because the education is slightly different any way, and kids are so good at fitting in and making new friends. My friend from UK has just moved over here and her kids started school about 3 weeks before the end of term and already its like they've been there for ages.


Good luck with your decision making and for the future!

AndyR1976

I think that hanging around after the house is sold would be just plain silly

I think its more hassle than anything and you would have to arrange temp accommodation, stay with friends or whatever.

I am moving back to Australia in a few weeks - our plan is pretty tight.

Move out of house on 23rd, last day at work 24th, fly on 25th! No reason to hang around!

Issie

We decided to wait until after christmas ( not because it being the last with family ) but our friends went before christmas a few years ago and the kids didn't make many friends before they broke for the christmas holidays therefore they moped around for 6 weeks looking very sad.....also childcare issues may be a problem during th holidays if you both work, which is what we will be doing....so we will go in January and have a couple weeks with the kids and then it will be straight into school for the start of the new term

mand8002

We waited till after Christmas but wish we hadn't. We felt like we were in limbo and no one particularly enjoyed it. If I had that time again we would have come before Christmas.

breezeboylan

I was just about to say come now until I noticed you were a nurse (like me), now I would say stay and have your last Christmas and new year off. As you are both nurses you know that one of you will most likely have to work one or the other and that will be very hard as new aarrivals, Christmas can be a time when homesickness really kicks in and imagine being at home with 2 kids on Christmas day with no friends or family around and OH in work, not ideal if you can avoid it. Good luck whatever you decide.
Tracie