Gill73

I know this is a big open question, but do you think that Australia offers our children a better future - ie in terms of employment and following the career path of their choice - in comparison to the UK?

My current opinion, based on the difficulties that I see my friends having with their 18-20 year old children, is that there are limited opportunities in UK and getting a start via a job or apprenticeship in their chosen field is impossible right now, which leaves them feeling dissapointed and demotivated. A friend who lives in the North East of UK has a daughter who is a qualified teacher. Her daughter has had to move to the outskirts of London to get a job and it's only a years temporary contract.

Does the future look brighter in Australia - particularly Melbourne where we hope to be heading?

roaringmouse

Not sure how many on here will know your children and therefore what their prospects may be anywhere. Are they even of working age?

Gill73

My daughters are still young - only 12 and 5 years old. We want to do what we can to give our girls the best opportunities we can so they have more chance of doing what they want to in their futures. I'm struggling to see how the UK can provide this but I appreciate we have a few years before we really have to worry. I fear that if we don't emigrate and our 5 year visa expires which closes the door to a move to Oz, I would then hate to see my daughters struggling in the UK.

My husband can't find work in the UK - despite being a time served, qualified mechanic. He has already been offered a role at BMW Melbourne even though we haven't set a date for leaving the UK.

Are other people concerned with what the UK has to offer for their children's future? Do people in Australia have these concerns?

carolinephillips

If your OH has been offered a job, and can't get one in the UK, then I'd move. Your children are young enough to cope- DD was 12 when we came out, and is now in Y12. She is doing the IB, which gives her a better chance of getting into a uni in another country as it is an internationally recognised qualification, although she intends to do her undergrad at an Aussie uni, but sees herself later moving to Europe. Make the most of your visa. If it doesn't work out, and things in the UK improve, you can go back, but if you don't come out, then you are stuck with your OH being unemployed and all the austerity measures.

Australia is not a paradise, but atm it is doing better than the UK as far as the GFC is concerned- though with Labor in charge things are getting worse! Job opportunities for the young are also not that easy - most are employed on a casual basis, and permanent contracts are getting increasingly scarce.

RedDragon2008

you've stated it, your hubby has no job and has the chance to come over. What visa will he be on? If it's a 457, it's only a temporary one so you need to figure out what it is you're coming on, etc. In terms of your children's needs, if you settle in a good area, you'll find good schools and this will allow your children to hopefully get decent jobs. The way the world is evolving at the moment, who knows what's going to happen next..... There are a lot of Brits in Aus with kids in the education system, so it must be okay. You can't think of everything and ensure everything is going to okay. Sometimes you just need to take the jump. At least you are lucky in having this website to come on to "chat" & find answers. There were many who came without ever finding similar websites.

ozzieeagle

Currently my youngest daughter has just left school at 18.... she was born and bred here as were her siblings. All of them, and most importantly all of their peers that I saw at least, have all without fail left school with limitless horzions as far as belief in themselves were concerned.

So I think, Optimism for a bright future comes as standard amongst kids at least. Possibly a by product of the personal development that primary schools dwell on in the early years of schooling here as opposed to academic acheivement.

Not sure what happens in the UK.

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Chortlepuss

I'd second this, although personally not sure that opportunities in Australia much better than UK for everyone - Your friend was lucky to get a temporary teaching role - Many experienced teachers struggle to get anything here. My daughter is training to be a nurse in Brisbane - graduate vacancies are being scaled back enormously and I do fear for her future. I'm sure there are some areas where the opportunities seem much greater (I'd have thought that engineers do much better in Oz than Uk). So depends what you do.....

Amazulu

Australia

renth

Australia, especially if you get citizenship then when they are older they can choose the whole of the EU, Aus and NZ as places to work and live.

Swerv-o

This is the key point in this thread - Maximising your options, not limiting them.

Adding Australia and NZ to your potential work environments on top of the UK and EU will never hurt.

That said - i would make sure that they also learn a European language. This will extend their opportunities even more.


S

Dreamy

This was certainly our thinking - maximising opportunities as much as we could.

paulry

Without a doubt, our kids have loads more opportunities for a very good life here in Aus.

paulry

...And the kids grow up better here too

Swerv-o

A lot will also depend on what careers they want to follow. I used to work in emerging and high technology, but there are simply no jobs here in this sector. If they want to follow fine engineering, science or R&D, then I would recommend staying in the UK or trying to get to the US.

I'm transitioning into change and project management roles now because of the abject lack of opportunities.

Australia doesn't have a terribly diverse economy - some things are well supported - Civil Engineering, Mining, Accountancy and Dentistry, but there is very little representation for high technology and biological science/pharmaceuticals.


S

DBinLondon

I agree with some of the posts thus far and would like to give my perspective as an Aussie (married to a English girl) with a young daughter, who has lived in Sydney for almost three years.

We decided to leave the UK in 2010 and give Sydney a try. We were both in jobs we didn't like and the economy in the UK then (as unfortunately now) was not doing very well. Pay freezes, no bonuses etc. We had also thought about moving to the country (Hampshire) rather than live in London, but chose against that option.

To be honest the last three years have been a bit of a rollercoaster ride. The initial excitement of moving, the challenges and stress of finding work and somewhere to live, then settling in to your new life and trying to make new friends.

My wife in particular struggled for the first two years. She took on a very stressful job (which unfortunately she came to hate!) and refused to accept that she was in Australia. She kept complaining about things and comparing it to the UK and felt really homesick at times as she missed a couple of close friends and her family. It has only been over the last six months that she has really calmed down and accepted that we are here, however long that may be.

Living in Australia certainly has its pros. The economy is doing much better, and we are better off as a Family, in part due some generous middle class welfare that you don't get in the UK (in the form of the Childcare Rebate). We also have well paid professional jobs earning twice what we do in the UK. The weather obviously is warm and sunny and we have a relatively easy commute to work (45 minutes compared to an hour and a half in London).

But Oz also has its downsides...

Despite warmer and sunnier climes, the heat in Summer can become oppressive and in winter you really can freeze your t*ts off, as most houses here are not insulated to the degree they are in the UK.

As has been mentioned many times, because people earn more here, you pay more for many things that are much cheaper in the UK. It really does boil down to price gouging by international supppliers in many cases. Aussies have only really cottoned on to being ripped off over the last 3-4 years due to the rise of internet shopping here!

However, a more fundamental issue I think is being ignored is because things are doing OK, and have been for almost 20 years, I think there is a real sense of complacency in Australia, which reinforces the 'Oz is the greatest country in the world and nothing overseas could be better (particularly any comparison to the UK!). Despite the hardships that the UK is enduring, some of the changes that have been and are going to be made, should make the UK a better place in the future.

Many Brits are inadvertantly branded as being 'Whingeing Poms' by some Aussies here, but expats are really are pointing out things that can be done better here. You could talk for hours comparing public transport infrastructure, politics, grocery shopping, mobile phone contracts...the list is a long one.

As far as my family are concerned we are committed to Oz for another couple of years and will re-assess whether to return to the UK then. For now, we are making the most of it and doing a bit of travelling during holidays. One place my wife has grown to love is the Sunshine Coast, an hour north of Brisbane. She loves going up there for holidays at the beach, and it has really helped to change her perspective on some things about Oz.