Originally Posted by Tanja87 (Post 12191614)

Thank you :)
That's good to know about the skill assessment, I'm not sure he's aware of that...
I very much have my heart set on Texas, and had for a while, so I'm finding it hard letting go of it as it's my perfect place! But I think by now it's pretty much out of the question for hubby... We're relying on him to support the family so I kind of feel like he gets to decide. His problem is that, whilst we're waiting for PR in Texas (anywhere from 18 months to 8 years!) we'd be at the mercy of his employer whereas with Oz he could get us PR without relying on anyone else... And I get that! It's a huge factor! However, from looking at a few options lifestyle wise, in comparison, I've been a bit underwhelmed by Oz so far. The housing is very disappointing (at least compared to TX) and I don't think we'd be financially better off there, whereas we definitely would in TX! But I don't think hubby wants to take the risk of moving to the states and possibly getting sent back if things go pear shaped at work.
Anyway, long story short, I'm trying to get excited about Oz :) I'm sure if we'd gone with him to visit, we'd love it just as much but my heart is set on TX which may no longer be an option. So I'm turning to you lovely people to tell me what it's really like. Thank you xx

Originally Posted by Beoz (Post 12191626)

How have you figured out what "financially better off" is?

Originally Posted by xizzles (Post 12191629)

Yeah, I'd like to know a bit about that as well ... as I'm still struggling with my inner demons, while the clock is ticking down to the weeks/days I have left before I have to make my third "First/Validation Entry" visit Down Under...

But, it's simply not true that 189 (Skilled Independent) Visas are now taking 12 months. I got mine approved from application to grant in 3 months, with 70 points scored. My previous 175 was approved in 2 months (I had higher points given I was younger then) - so, I guess it's still very much depends on how much demand there is for the particular skillset.

All the best of luck to the OP (and hubby)!

Originally Posted by Tanja87 (Post 12191677)

It just looks as though the cost of living is so much higher out in Oz... I do appreciate that wages tend to be higher, too, but I do think the numbers work out more in our favour in the US. It's not all about the money though, so maybe I shouldn't focus so much on that... The housing I do find disappointing though, but again, maybe I should focus on having less to clean and more time to enjoy the weather and the outdoors... lol xx

Originally Posted by Pollyana (Post 12191714)

The timeline varies tremendously, depending on what checks need to be done, and also on whether you are including the skills assessment in the timeline - that alone can be 3-4 months.

Originally Posted by Tanja87 (Post 12191844)

I'm actually just watching Wanted Down Under lol :rofl: You're right, so far everyone was financially better off in Oz which I found very surprising! But yeah, money isn't the main objective... In his current role hubby has to travel a lot, which he'd still have to do in TX but would not be the case at all anymore in his Oz role. His current U.K. commute is 2h each way! Whereas in both Oz and US we'd be able to afford living much closer to his work! Also the weather and outdoorsy lifestyle is a big pull! So it's mainly about having the ability to spend quality family time together (whilst still being able to afford the odd luxuries here and there).

Originally Posted by Tanja87 (Post 12192182)

Yeah, haha! It's like "ever heard of Skype?!" Lol :rofl:
Cool, so if they are quite similar, yes! No brainer I guess :) Hubby pretty much told me that TX is no longer an option for him so that's that... fair enough! And he's meeting with the guy about the job offer tomorrow so that's exciting!
Now then, what's it like like being out there? What do you guys do for fun, hobbies, family time? Where do you go on holidays? Is the work-life balance generally better for you out there than it was back home? What's the food like? Just tell me everything :) I'm eager to find out! Thanks in advance xx

Originally Posted by Tanja87 (Post 12191754)

From what I gather we'd be looking at a 10k a month net salary in both places, which I think looking at property prices, cars, fuel, taxes, insurances etc would stretch much further in the US than in Oz... please correct me if I'm wrong! I'd love to be wrong on this one as it means my main worry wouldn't be a worry anymore lol xx

Originally Posted by quoll (Post 12192244)

Australia has fewer days rec leave than UK if you are comparing - just 20 days. The commute can be a couple of hours if you want the big house/block thing or you will need to take a lot of money with you. Living in the burbs can be mind numbingly boring. Our work/life balance was pathetic and it rather depends on your employer as to how much you are expected to do. In his working life, my DH (public servant) always racked up 50-60 hours a week and in some occupations if you want to get ahead that's what you will do. I worked less in education but always edging towards the 50hpw, not the 38 that was demanded.

As the non working parent you might find yourself somewhat isolated - most young families are dual income these days to make ends meet so finding other young mums can be a challenge. You will probably need to be a two car family but that rather depends on proximity to transport etc. Hobbies, you do what you have always been interested in, there is usually something to meet your demands. Friendships are interesting - personally, after 32 years I don't really have any Aussie friends. Plenty of acquaintances but none of those "call at 3am friends" - friendships were very transient and dependent on work/kids activities/interest groups. I've been away 5 years now and have only one who has stuck with me and she is a long term expat like myself and she would kill to be back in UK but is stuck because of a mixed marriage.

Holidays - well, we went back to UK regularly when the kids were young because we wanted to maintain family ties and for a long time we were the ones doing the travelling, other people say they will come then don't. Internally our holidays were geared very much to state level swimming carnivals but I don't expect everyone has sporty kids and NSW is a big state!

You mentioned that you would have a monthly income of $10k - is that before super and tax or after? If it's before super and tax then you aren't going to be rolling in luxury by any means. If super has already been taken from that then you're on a better wicket. But $120k these days is comfortable rather than luxurious and when you figure that you are going to be spending around $30-35k on rent alone that begins to take out quite a chunk of your income. All depending on your visa, you may or may not get any support with child care - if temporary then you won't get anything and you will be up for school fees of $5k pa per child into the bargain.

Bottom line, it's just another first world country. Some people like the weather, some of us don't (the heat kills me), the "outside lifestyle" is a reality for some but not for others (I'm a stay indoors away from the flies and mozzies with windows and doors closed to keep the heat out kinda gal). Some mums are quite paranoid about letting their kids outside because of the risk of sunburn and the kids are covered and slathered with sun screen before they set foot outside. If you fancy an adventure go for it by all means but if you are the kind of family who rely on extended family members then you will probably struggle. It's not magically better, just different, and you will still have to clean the loo and do the washing.

Originally Posted by Tanja87 (Post 12191754)

From what I gather we'd be looking at a 10k a month net salary in both places, which I think looking at property prices, cars, fuel, taxes, insurances etc would stretch much further in the US than in Oz... please correct me if I'm wrong! I'd love to be wrong on this one as it means my main worry wouldn't be a worry anymore lol xx

Originally Posted by Tanja87 (Post 12192438)

I think eventually I'd be looking at finding some work too. But probably not until the kids are in school... I gather childcare costs are quite high (at least they are over here, I'd literally have gone back to work for the sake of £30 a month and not seeing as much of my kids!) The thing is i also don't have any qualifications apart from an NVQ2 in beauty therapy (and I haven't been practising for years now) My last job here was in retail, which I guess I could do anywhere? Or are Aussies quite strict in terms of needing an appropriate education for any job? In Germany (where I'm from) you can't sweep the floor without having a piece of paper to say you're qualified to do so..... :huh:

Originally Posted by Tanja87 (Post 12192438)

I think eventually I'd be looking at finding some work too. But probably not until the kids are in school... I gather childcare costs are quite high (at least they are over here, I'd literally have gone back to work for the sake of £30 a month and not seeing as much of my kids!) The thing is i also don't have any qualifications apart from an NVQ2 in beauty therapy (and I haven't been practising for years now) My last job here was in retail, which I guess I could do anywhere? Or are Aussies quite strict in terms of needing an appropriate education for any job? In Germany (where I'm from) you can't sweep the floor without having a piece of paper to say you're qualified to do so..... :huh:

Originally Posted by xizzles (Post 12192513)

Nothing beats Singapore (where I've been based/living for the past 25 years). You need a piece of paper to say you're qualified to buy a car..... :rofl:

Originally Posted by Tanja87 (Post 12192182)

Yeah, haha! It's like "ever heard of Skype?!" Lol :rofl:
Cool, so if they are quite similar, yes! No brainer I guess :) Hubby pretty much told me that TX is no longer an option for him so that's that... fair enough! And he's meeting with the guy about the job offer tomorrow so that's exciting!
Now then, what's it like like being out there? What do you guys do for fun, hobbies, family time? Where do you go on holidays? Is the work-life balance generally better for you out there than it was back home? What's the food like? Just tell me everything :) I'm eager to find out! Thanks in advance xx

Originally Posted by Geordie George (Post 12192698)

I get that it's all different and exciting (we've all been there at least once!), but the reality is much more humdrum than the anticipation. Life, in all likelyhood, will be just like it is now - except 10,000 miles from everything that's familiar and everyone you love. Same shit, shinier bucket as the expression goes. :)

For fun, we kayak as a family (we have a couple of double kayaks, so our children - 8 and 6 - can hop in, too). We have annual passes to just about every museum in Sydney. We have zoo passes, too. Our corner of Sydney is a little shy of 30km from the CBD - it's perfect for work, but a PITA for weekend entertainment (Sydney traffic is bad). My husband and I don't head out too much as a couple - the going rate for a babysitter here is $20 per hour - it makes a dinner or movie night pretty expensive. Many an evening is spent doing committee stuff for school/Guides/Scouts/netball. Everything is run by volunteers - you will do your bit. I hate committees, so have managed to limit myself to just 3 this year (band, out of school hour care and Guides). :D Family time?! :rofl: I drop my children off at OOSH (out of school hours care) between 7.30-8.00am and collect them between 5-6pm - that's four days per week, as I only work part time. Like Quoll said, you work hard in Aus - you'll likely do long hours. Work life balance? The scales tip towards work for lots of families. Part time jobs are like gold dust and it's often a case of who you know. Holidays are expensive - Aus is a long way from anywhere! Family in the UK might well expect you to use all your holidays to visit them. :sneaky: Last year we went to Vanuatu, this year we went to west NSW (Dubbo - how exotic! :rofl:). We're planning a trip back to the UK in September - that's at least $12K we'll need to budget for the four of us. It's enough to make you miss Europe and Easyjet. Food aint cheap, but there's a good variety. Particularly lots of Chinese and Japanese ingredients and restaurants. As for outdoors lifestyle - do not underestimate the weather out here. For example, my children are kept inside by school when the temps hit about 38c. The UV levels can be scary.

I love Aus and it's a beautiful place to live. But it's just another first world country with all the usual first world problems. Imagine your day today and imagine doing that here - the washing needs doing, dinner needs making, groceries need buying. It's just the same tedious stuff, just somewhere else. :)

Originally Posted by Beoz (Post 12193386)

Just picked up some flights on Cathay for the family to visit the UK in June. Total. $3403. Bargain. The sale says it ended last night but worth checking out.

Originally Posted by moneypenny20 (Post 12194004)

Whatever you do, do not move over without seeing the place for yourself.

Just because your husband will be the one earning the money does not give him the vote where, if any where, you go. (Whether that was in jest or not). He'll be working long hours whilst you'll be trying to live the life you live currently but in a very different country knowing no one and finding that the simplest things are done completely differently from the UK. It can be very very hard and a minor blip can become a major nightmare.

If he wants to come, you have to be 100% behind the move, not be a bit 'yeah it'll be fine'. From 13 years experience on BE, that can be the recipe for disaster.

However you may love it, have a great life and not regret a thing so good luck with it.

Originally Posted by Tanja87 (Post 12194115)

Yeah, I guess that's very true! Bit risky going without having visited before...
We've just had a bit of a spanner thrown in the works as well so everything's a bit uncertain now... Turns out, as hubby doesn't have a degree, we might not be eligible for PR outright after all so, in Oz, our options now seem to be either a work sponsored visa or a family sponsored visa (he has a cousin in Oz). So there would really be no more security as it'd still only be a temp visa to start with.... So many things to consider! Xx

Originally Posted by Tanja87 (Post 12194394)

That's what I was thinking - surely his work experience should be enough...?! And the fact that he'd have a job waiting for him?! He's waiting to speak to a migration agent about it but he thinks his lack of a degree might be a problem in terms of applying for PR. Like I mentioned earlier - he's the one doing the research, so I can just go by what he tells me. And even if it is a problem we do still have options for temp visas, it's just deciding where, when and how we're gonna do this I guess but I know he's a bit worried about moving us (anywhere) on a temp visa due to the risk of being sent back to the UK with nothing if things went wrong somewhere down the line. He's on his way back to the UK now so I think he'll want to get on it asap...! I guess we'll just have to go with whatever happens and hope for the best lol xx

Originally Posted by Tanja87 (Post 12194394)

That's what I was thinking - surely his work experience should be enough...?! And the fact that he'd have a job waiting for him?! He's waiting to speak to a migration agent about it but he thinks his lack of a degree might be a problem in terms of applying for PR. Like I mentioned earlier - he's the one doing the research, so I can just go by what he tells me. And even if it is a problem we do still have options for temp visas, it's just deciding where, when and how we're gonna do this I guess but I know he's a bit worried about moving us (anywhere) on a temp visa due to the risk of being sent back to the UK with nothing if things went wrong somewhere down the line. He's on his way back to the UK now so I think he'll want to get on it asap...! I guess we'll just have to go with whatever happens and hope for the best lol xx

Originally Posted by Beoz (Post 12194344)

A degree? Why is that important? He's had years and years of experience. Shouldn't that take precedence over a degree, something that may or may not have been a stepping stone 20 years earlier?

Last thing I look at when hiring is a degree, unless the candidate is in their 20's. Most come through with a degree completely unrelated to the job.