Tough decision.....
 

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......:confused:

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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 :thumbup:
The cost of living is getting silly here with most things going up, "so better the devil you know than the one you dont"

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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.

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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....

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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.

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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.

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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? :)

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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.

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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?

Re: Tough decision.....
 

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!

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

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

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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...

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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

Re: Tough decision.....
 

Brilliant sensible advice !

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Spot on Quoll

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Mate,

Sounds like you are doing all right at home...if you can come with a family to Aus for six weeks every year. Maybe six weeks a year will do the job.

Don't get too greedy in life...count your blessings (health, happiness, friends, family, business) and stay put. Why risk everything...for more...

Re: Tough decision.....
 

Hi, Hubby has been offered a job in Perth with really good money and a relocation package but we are still going thru the YES/NO stage as the deeper we delve into finances the harder it is for us to find a reason to move.

we are 100% sure we'd love the lifestyle as its very similar to where we are originally from so lifestyle gets a "LETS MOVE" from us but when we take our hearts out of it and look at it with our heads and on paper then the move to Perth is definately a step back for us.

DH has been offered a good salary BUT the company are only offering health insurance for hubby and no other benefits, here in the uk we get a good salary and a whole lot of benefits from the company on top. Less annual leave than UK. our kids (5 and 7) are in a brilliant school here in UK and are top of their class.

We are finding it very very hard to make the final decision. Money isn't the be all and end all but honestly you do need quite a bit of the stuff to survive and have a happy life.

Coming back if it doesnt work out holds a huge amount of problems - I think people will love the lifestyle in oz and the only reason for coming back is finances so think how hard it is going to be to give it all up in oz to come back purely for affordability esp with kids as they don't understand why you're moving from a lovely lifestyle just because you want (need) more money.

A crystal ball would be lovely for times like these.

Re: Tough decision.....
 

Some do....some don't

Re: Tough decision.....
 

Listen to your head.

I'm Australian but lived overseas for many years in multiple countries before coming back home and from my experience when my head told me 'No' but I went ahead and moved anyway cos my heart was saying "It'll be fun" I didn't enjoy that country very much. I eventually learned the lesson and the last 12 or so years before coming home I only went to countries that both my heart and my head were in agreement on.

Australia does have its problems just like everywhere and its not an easy country to live in if you are struggling for money. Yes many people that are struggling, do cope, but why put yourself through that if you dont have to?

Only you can make the decision to move or not, but my advice is to make the decision with your head, not your heart.

Good luck and happiness whatever you decide.

VK

Re: Tough decision.....
 

I am in the same postion a while back didnt know what to do,but we have both decided to go ahead and move. My wife has now a great job and has moved up the ladder in her job which she would not of been able too in the UK i have no job as yet in Oz but we have good finances.

You dont have to come over here and spend your money on a house straight away will wont due to the market being over priced and not knowing which way the market will go. Even now my head is yes/no i can have a great life style over here in the UK still but i want to experience another country whilst i am still young and have a young family.

I dont think Oz if always going to be over priced in housing food ect i think i swings in roundabouts with each economy have good times bad times but if you give it 100 % and say to yourselves lets do it what have you lost ? :thumbup::thumbup::thumbup:

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interesting OP, we were in the same position, im a gas fitter too,own dwindling(if im honest) business,wife a civil servant and stuck in a rut, and reached the 'lets get on with it or forget about it' stage, we come out in april with a lot less cash than you mentioned, not ideal but cant be helped, the trouble is if not now, when? were running out of visa time and havent sold the house so just got to get on with it and do our best, if it doesnt work out i'll be happy to have tried, whereas if we didnt do it we would both never have know what it was like, and neither of us wanted that. People talk of the expense of Aussie living, but the UK is getting ridiculous as well, and its declining in terms of social conditions, plus its miserable and raining most of the time, it all depends on what you want from your life, doesnt it? Someone said if it aint broke dont fix it, but to me the uk IS broke, I cant fix it and its time to try something new and exciting.I wish you every success in your new life, we'll probably bump into each other looking for the same gas job..........:thumbsup:

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One thing for sure is migration to Australia here and now is not for the faint-hearted. It's initially hard and you're going to need lots of financial and other resources to make it work. You'll need to be prepared probably for a long period of unemployment. It's arguably more difficult to obtain your first job here than it is in the UK because of "local experiece", "non-citizen", etc constraints. Also the current exchange rate is heart breaking because prices of most everyday things are still priced around the area of 2.5 to 1 even though we are only getting 1.6 to 1 so you'll burn your UK£ a lot faster than you would back home. I'm finding that after an initial £10 000 to get ourselves started our current burn rate is around £3300 PM for a family of 4 - and we're being quite frugal. There are times when I wonder why we swapped our lives in the UK for ones that currently aren't a lot different here except for with financial disadvantage. But hopefully that'll pass and improve once one and then both of us are working :fingerscrossed:

As Quoll said, the "you can always go back" option is rarely a viable one so once here you're going to have to tough it out and make it work. But on the plus side if you can make it work the positivity over here is infectious, life has a rosier feel to it and there's lots of "wow, thank God I'm here" moments. And the icing on the cake is knowledge that here our kids have a much brighter future than their contemporaries have in the UK.

On balance if I could re-wind 6 months (before we left the UK) and I knew then what I know now I would probably prepare and do things a bit differently but I would definetely still go ahead with our adventure. :thumbup:

All the best and good luck whatever you decide :):fingerscrossed:

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You hope

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Yeah, that as well :lol::fingerscrossed:

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Absolutely. I love living here, it is my home now and I won't be returning to the UK again for a VERY long time. However, we came 6 years ago and my husband is on a good whack of a salary. Even with that salary I would not be coming now with the cost of living here and the exchange rate as it is. It would be financial suicide for us.

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Hmm, alternatively your kids may well be like many other young Aussies and go overseas to seek their future! Mine went for a post uni gap "year" (actually a return ticket for 9 months) to UK and is coming up for 10 years away this August. He has a great career, buying a house in London, getting married in September and, after his last trip back, not talking about returning any more, not even in the distant future. I think he was bored witless the last time and the weather didnt even give him a thrill as it rained almost continuously.

I look at my friends' kids in UK and they are all doing OK as well.

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To be honest, I think growing up (to about 16) here in Australia is probably marginally better (IMHO). I know that my kids would have a very different lifestyle in the UK, or even France, growing up now.

However, I fully expect them to take advantage of their EU passports at the first opportunity once they have finished school (if not before, I f****ed off to an international school in the US at 16! Couldn't wait to get away from my small French town :eek:) and to settle elsewhere if they choose to. I was given the opportunity to travel and choose how and where to spend my life, and I chose Australia. I don't necessarily expect my children to stay here though. It'll be their life (right now they do as I say and have no choice of course ;)) and they can live it how they see fit (within reason, I might put a stop to any mass-murderer tendencies early on :o)

Re: Tough decision.....
 

I'm in Perth and getting a job here would not be a problem at all.
The upside is that it is a great place to bring up your kids
When you are young with a family times moves very very fast.
If you have ambition you can make a heap of money here
The schools are good, the health care great
The houses are great
And if you decide to work on a fly in fly out basis in the resources centre there is even more money to be made.
Have met some great people here but they will never be 'mates'

Now the down side
The flies
the lack of a sense of 'Pommie' humour
the lack of the pub scene
the lack of watching a decent game of football
the adverts on TV
the TV (it's absolute rubbish)
the pollies
the insular attitude
the cost of housing
the cost of food
the lack of choice in buying anything
the lack of a Christmassy Christmas

I came here 23 years ago, divorced my wife after 18months married again to the best woman in the world. My children (I had custody) had a great childhood, good education and never got into the drug or drinking scene.

But now I have grandchildren my wife and I feel trapped and would love to return back to the UK to live (went back in 2003-2006 but all four children all came back and my wife missed them so we came back as well.) But I still want to come home, I will always want to come home and although we are Aussies...my wife was born here but grew up in Derbyshire......I will be English till the day I die.

So my advice come out to Perth for a few years.... you may love it and stay forever......but you will gain so much more than you lose

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One other thing...if you are coming to Sydney (other cities I'm not sure) with two kids of primary age. Lets say you want to keep the life style you had in UK....kids in a good school(not private...just a good state school in a decent area)...few quid in the bank (I mean not over drawn every month not serious savings)...the odd night out (once a month) ... As a family you need to be earning at least 180k AUD per annum gross. You will seriously struggle on anything less.

I am not joking...you will be forking out 50k aud per annum (62k if you want the eastern suberbs. 3-4 beds) in rent...or living miles out of the city...with a commute to match.

Coles and Wollworths (tesco and sainsburys) are having a price war...not that you'd notice.
A brown sliced loaf costs $4...thats about £2.45 stg!!!!!
Fruit and veg are sooo expensive...do not ask about bananas ($9/kg). Tomatoes are $6-$8 kg.
2 liters milk $4.
The only thing I saw cheaper were grapes

Lets say you go for a coffee after shoping.
A coffee costs $6...A slice of cheese cake $7. The kids will want a juice...$5.

Go to manly beach for a day out and have lunch...fish and chips $15, steak sandwich & chips $18, kids burger & chips 7$, diet coke $7. total for 4 of us $51.(£31)

How about a flight home to see the family...$1700 AUD each economy.

The kids school $2k per child.(catholic schools tend to be the best and they all charge 2k approx per year)
After school care for the kids, $1k/month for 2 kids.

I do not have a car but saw a saloon kia advertised for 18k...is that good...petrol seems to be cheaper...but we do not need a car...yet.

Weekly travel card $48 its good buses, trains, ferry. Kids $24.

Then you have the services, GAS, electric, internet, phone, mobile, tv, landline...not sure yet....but lets say $1k-$2k/month.

Most couples argue about cash...if you are in the UK...it will be worse down here!

Just giving the information....maybe some expats disagree would be interested know.

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A funny old place this. But we only live once, might as well live it to the full and enjoy the ride as best we can :lol:

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Hi pat i dont come on this site that much these days because if you say anything negative you get lambasted, but feel i would like to share a bit of whatever you call it.
If you are still fortunate enough to own a buisness in the uk which makes money firstly good on you. A recession on average will last for five years which should see uk coming out 2012-2013. Dont throw the towel in over there to come somewhere which is going to embark on one in the next two years.
60k at your age is not alot in money if that is all you have. Do not throw that away on a dream which will not come through. It will take you two years before you can even trade as a gas fitter.
Take a holiday over in europe or close buy where you have not been, go home and then re-evaluate.
If you are making good money with little ear ache then relax.

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Where the hell do you shop?:blink:I have never paid $6 for a coffee, unless it's a giant one in the Park Hyatt or something!:eek: I know Sydney is expensive but still...:ohmy:

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Hi,

Coffee @ $6 in the westfield shopping center at Bondi.

I was up around the rocks today...where you have all those little lanes...that was $5 for a coffee....an italian place.

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Do you think it makes seense to translate at current exchange rates then? I don't think so unless you are talking about somebody earning in GBP, living off savings or tourists.

If you want to make a proper comparison then you need to use 2.2 ~ 2.4. You can't expect people that have been selling coffee in Australia for the last 20 years to start dropping their prices because of the AUD: GBP exchange rate. Most people should be looking for and achieving a salary which is equivalent to their GBP salary x 2.2 ~2.4. And therefore you need to apply ths to prices as well.

We pay about $500 a month for gas, electric, internet, phones, Foxtel package.

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If you want to make a proper comparison then you need to use 2.2 ~ 2.4.

Who came up with that figure? Not disputing anything you say, just wondering where those numbers come from? Are they used because it then makes everything look 'reasonable'?

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I couldn't name a specific source, but would guess that it is a rather conservative average over a longer period of time? And the average salary in UK vs Australia translates to about this. And many people's equivalent salary comes out around this level.

If I were to compare prices using 1.6, then it needs to be done for income and if I do that my Australian salary GBP equivalent is about 60% higher than I was really getting in the UK. This tells me that it does not make sense to compare prices at 1.6 as there is no reason why I would deserve a 60% uplift.

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Fair point about exchange rates...you need an economics phd to work it all out!
Your 2.2 sounds good though....I'd say 2.6..maybe there is a cheaper place to shop than coles & Wollies!.

Many thanks for the info on the service charges.

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Before I moved here someone told me not to compare anything. I know its human nature. But I have trouble working it all out comparison wise. I think my wages are a bit better than UK. I do have a company vehicle which saves Us alot. but my mortgage is many times greater here. At the end of the day we can actually save money for things(flights etc). We spend more on entertainment and activities here. Though obviously there are many more activities here to be enjoyed for free. I would also add we have nothing like $180K gross income(Perhaps Sydney should be avoided), not even 2/3 of that. But a car is worth $10k to $14K a year I suppose. Things will get harder here I`m sure, But at present I do not worry about money like I did in the UK. And yes TV here is crap.

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To the original poster....What did you decide to do?
Joanne