patwhitehouse2007

I am a 43 year old Plumber/Gas fitter from the UK and I have a Full Independant Visa to live in Australia. We have had the visa for two and half years but have never really felt ready to move. I have always thought we would get to Australia and a 5 year visa seemed a long way from expiring. We feel that we are now at the 'now or never' stage and have just paid a deposit for Flights in October to move to Brisbane, and I need to pay the balance in two weeks!
Problem is that in all honesty the doubts have already started to set in. We have been to QLD and have spent 6 weeks in the Sunshine Coast in the last few years. We all loved it and my children would have stayed if they could!
It's the money side of things that worry me. I have my own business in the UK and I know I will never be rich but do enjoy a pretty good lifestyle. I would hopefully bring £60,000 with me, but is it enough with the poor exchange rate and the price of Realestate in Australia.
I must add that i really do want to do this but I suppose the fear of getting there and not being able to get the 4 bed house on the Coast is a worry.

I love to hear from anyone who can offer advice as I have to make my decision soon......

Trevski

It is getting more expensive to live here and its the same here in OZ as in UK, if you have a job allready then stay in it, if you dont then join the long que to apply for jobs and dont expect to get one very quick.
A friend of ours has just been laid off from a Charted surveyer and he is not getting any where with getting another job, he is supprised that he cant get a job.
If i was in your shoes i would stay in UK
The cost of living is getting silly here with most things going up, "so better the devil you know than the one you dont"

TiddlyPom

Why does the house have to be on the coast? There are plenty of cheaper inland houses which are just as beautiful and will take your cost of living to 'reasonable'.

All you have to ask yourself is 'If I don't do this thing, will I have regrets?'

Life's an adventure. Live it.

RachH

If you are thinking of settling on the sunshine coast, its one of the most expensive places to buy property. Also, there is less work there than alot of other places (OH is a carpenter). i don't know what the work would be like for your trade.

We moved over from the UK about 2 1/2 years ago and were on the sunshine coast until 2 months ago. Its a stunning place to live and we really wanted to stay and bring our family up there but moved down to south of melbourne 2 months ago as we realised that we were never going to get ahead there.

We hope to make our money in Victoria and maybe move back up to the sunshine coast one day.

Good luck with making your decision....

verystormy

If you were a single guy or a couple with no children and not much to lose i would say go for it. But in your position with a buisness to lose i think i would say no.

As for living on the coast, i completley agree. I have never understood the point of living here if your not on the coast. A sprawling burb here is not much differnt to living in a sprawling burb any where else in the world.

jad n rich

You could easily buy a house for $300,000 on the sunshine coast if your prepared to live 25 mins from the beach, given few people go to the beach every day, a 25 min drive on the weekend is nothing by OZ standards.

If you want a macmansion by the beach yep you will pay heaps, frankly I would prefer something more rural with a bit of space anyway.

Janna and Nick

I know a couple who are in their fifties who had a business in the UK and had a good lifestyle. I think they have/had considerably more money than you to bring over but with the poor exchange rate have been reluctant to do so.

In the UK they became accustomed to a certain way of life, certain type of house, certain area to live in etc. etc. and I know that they have found it very difficult to settle. They have had to downsize all of their dreams because of the exchange rate and affordability. I think they feel like they have taken a step backwards.

For me personally, I am still in my 20's so really do have my whole life ahead of me to make a go of it. For the more "mature" person, think carefully about taking that step backwards and whether this bothers you. It's all about your perspective on things. Only you know what you will be happy with. Some people come here and are happy to settle for less because they get to live in Australia as a trade off. Others come here wanting to have all the best things and swap like for like which almost never happens.

Like others have said though, you do only live once and if you are the type of person who makes things work then you will find your feet here. Don't let fear hold you back. The last thing you want is to wake up one day and regret your decision. Anyone got a crystal ball?

skinnygeorge

We got here 2 years ago(Gold Coast). I`m now 45. I had a good job,fairly good pay and a relatively small mortgage. Wife and 2 boys now 12 and 9. It was a scary step to make. As I was coming with no job in sight. We had a little less than you do to come here with and I appreciate the exchange rate is quite different($2.24 in `08). It took 6 months to find a job and rent was $1400 a month for a 4 bed. Now have a good job( best I`ve had for more reasons than just wages) which are probably on a par with what I earned in the UK. But you can not compare as things are just different. Life is getting more expensive here, But I found it the same in the Uk. We moved in to our own house-4 bed in a new suburb, Well quickly expanding old sub. Its 15 mins from the Broadwater and 20 mins from the nice beaches. I have never been happier, the wife and sons I think have mixed feelings, S`pose I do at times. But I have no regrets. And am alot healthier to boot. As many friends said as I contemplated back in the Uk, If you don`t do it you will never know and will look back and wonder. I was I think lucky, But you make you`re own luck. And this is the lucky country!. So good luck whatever you do.

Vegemite Kids

Do you currently live in a 4 bedroom house on the coast?

If you dont, wouldnt it be more realistic to move over here and live in a equivalent type house to what you have at the moment, and then once you are settled and the job is going well, think about upgrading to something more aspirational?.

Sorry, I dont mean to be cheeky by asking that but if you currently have a decent type house in UK (and obviously you do or you wouldnt have bought it) why make the move harder by adding extra complications in the initial stages with the desire for a bigger / more expensive house?

MrsE

Just had to say - I LOVE your end thingameejig about the choc in one hand and the wine in the other etc!! fan-bloody-tastic! You only live once - so LIVE it!

lancastrian48

With that money ,stay put.
Plus you need local gas exams when here too ?

TiddlyPom

Ignore everyone and do what you want. You know you'll do that anyway.

gemsticks

I'd do it, but I wouldn't move the money yet. There's a company called moneycorp who we've dealt with and basically you watch the exchange rate let them know you want to move money and they'll do the best rate they can. If you only move over a little at a time ten you can rent and try to find somewhere you like, if you don't like it you could always go home.

We moved here thinking what's the worst that can happen? We go back to the UK with our tails between our legs. No harm done but experience a new life. Give it a go, you may well wonder why you didn't do it two and a half years ago...

quoll

I think I would be worried about the money situation too. First of all, that really isnt much money in today's market and moving and settling in a new country is going to take quite a sizeable chunk of that - unless you have a settlement budget in addition to it.

Secondly, your age is getting to the higher end of where you would be wanting to start all over again - getting jobs gets harder the older you get and from all accounts the Sunshine Coast isnt the best of places to be looking for work at the moment. Starting afresh with a mortgage of $300k - $400k plus over a 25 year period probably doesnt sound that attractive either especially when you will also be thinking of getting your super set up for a reasonably comfortable retirement in 20 years time (Australia isnt good with age benefits).

I despair of the "if you dont like it you can always go home" mantra that is oft trotted out. For many folk that is not an option unless you have been very canny and taken a career break and have rented out your house or have a cast iron prospect for a job on your return or you are a young single/couple with few ties. Also, depending on the age of your kids, taking them out of the UK education system just as they are getting their feet on the GCSE merry go round is tantamount to taking them out of the system until they have completely finished their education - so you could be talking 6 or 7 years of educational commitment - and that is a long time to put up with something you dont really want if it doesnt float your boat. Getting kids back into UK education beyond GCSE is tricky and potentially extraordinarily expensive.

Unless you have an absolutely brilliant opportunity not to be missed, I would tend to try and avoid trying to fix something that aint broke

mark wool

Brilliant sensible advice !