Re: UK vs Australia for childrens' futures
 

I think this is key. I have a friend here in the UK who hasn't been able to get a permanent teaching job since graduating in 2006, just contract work. She won't move for work and lives in an area of the country which attracts a lot of teachers. I have several other friends who got permanent contracts pretty much straight away. In Aus, I only know one teacher but he hasn't been able to get a permanent job either.

You don't seem to have much to lose by going to Aus, OP, but you do seem quite anxious about trying again.

Re: UK vs Australia for childrens' futures
 

Doesn't really matter - they are both first world countries with similar problems and advantages. I don't think Australia particularly advantages or disadvantages kids - there is still youth unemployment, high rates of youth suicide and other mental health problems and many young Aussies can't wait to leave, quite a few never bother to return because they find life better elsewhere (one of mine left for a post-uni gap year ..... 11 years ago, and after his last holiday back to Aus says he can't imagine ever wanting to live there again because his future in UK is so much better - on the property ladder, married, career he loves, ease of travel abroad etc.)

Moving "for the kids futures" is the last thing I'd do - if you have a better opportunity or if you fancy an adventure then go for it. Be prepared that what you demonstrate to your kids is that they may then take their best opportunity which might be on the other side of the world from where you are! (That's not a bad thing, by the way, just something to bear in mind). Bottom line is that they shouldn't be comparatively disadvantaged.

Re: UK vs Australia for childrens' futures
 

Thank you for all the responses.

I am anxious about making the move again - we have a 5 year permanent residents return visa.

However, I agree that by making the move again we would be giving our daughters to opportunity to live in UK, Australia or NZ.

I just wish that the rate of exchange from GBP to AUD was better! When we moved to WA in 2008, the rate was 2.4. We would be mortgage free in Australia if the rate got to this again (as we currently are in the UK) but I can't see this happening in the near future - sadly......

I currently work full time in the UK in a job I really enjoy - but my husband can't find work. In WA, my husband was in work and I couldn't get a job! I'm worried that I will make the move to Oz again and I won't find work - but I think Melbourne will offer me more opportunities in the freight/logistics industry, where this didn't exist in WA.

We both need to work in WA to manage financially. In the UK, my salary covers all of our costs so we are doing okay. I would hate to move to Oz, where we will need to get a mortgage, and then we end up in debt and struggling with money.

This is the dilema I'm currently facing - while trying to weigh up the pros and cons of staying or emigrating - as you can see from the many questions I'm posting on here!!

Another dilema is do we move now or do I wait for my daughter to complete her GCSE's here so we would end up moving in about 4 years? In one way, I can see she should have an Australian qualification so she can progress with her chosen career in Australia, but I worry that if we emigrate and then move back to the UK, how will a UK employer recognize her Australian qualification!!?!

As I've typed the above, I realize I sound like a manic over worrier - maybe I am.....

Re: UK vs Australia for childrens' futures
 

So Melbourne you come out and concentrate on getting a job

Re: UK vs Australia for childrens' futures
 

OK, I understand your dilemma a little more now. Without wishing to pry will you be able to support yourselves while you look for a job in Melbourne?

Re: UK vs Australia for childrens' futures
 

We would be able to support ourselves, but obviously that means eating into our savings pot, which we would want to use as a deposit on a house when we eventually buy.

I think we would arrive in Oz with around GBP250k so around AUD360,000.

I love to work and have always been employed full time - apart from my time in WA. To live comfortably and to earn enough to apply for a mortgage evenually, we both need to work.

Re: UK vs Australia for childrens' futures
 

Australia = UK = Jobs = Opportunity. By the time your kids will be at a stage in their lives to look for work things will be different. The UK MAY be stronger, Australia may have had a catastrophic collapse in its Mining and Resources sectors......who knows.
I agree that if you have a GENUINE opportunity then all good, but this 'job offer from BMW' will not be concrete until a contract is signed and you have no immediate timeframe to do so.
Finally.......your children. It is your role, responsibility to protect them, care for them and provide for them. But, do not worry for them on hypothetical scenarios years ahead. Live for now, build for now.
Manic worrier.....er...yes :)

Re: UK vs Australia for childrens' futures
 

With that kind of money to fall back on and a job offer, I think it's a no brainer. Give it a go - you don't have a lot to lose if your husband is currently unemployed in the UK.

Re: UK vs Australia for childrens' futures
 

Hi Gill. Because it's so hard to know which paths our children will want to follow, it might make your decision a bit easier to just concentrate on your husband's work prospects for now? If he can't get work in the UK but can in Oz, and you're both up for the move, then you're on a winner already.

Kids who are motivated at school and choose a career according to the employment market, as well as personal preference, seem to do well in Australia. Also, kids who are more oriented towards a trade and are prepared to work for the needed results in study and during their apprenticeship are also in a good position for their future. I only have anecdotal evidence re the UK, but one of my nieces in Liverpool is a qualified social worker, and she can't get a job in her field so is working full time at Pound Land.

Having said all that, if a young person chooses to muck around at school and isn't too bothered about their future, then they won't do well no matter what country they're in. Hence my suggestion to consider the move in terms of the here and now. Good luck, I hope things go well for you whatever your decision :fingerscrossed:

Re: UK vs Australia for childrens' futures
 

I didn't see this post before submiting mine - you might want to disregard some of what I said :) You're not a manic worrier, you're quite understandably wanting to do what's best for the whole family.

Re: UK vs Australia for childrens' futures
 

Interestingly enough a very good friend of mine has just returned to UK due to a lack of Social Care jobs in Australia and to what appears to be a buoyant market in that field. Horses for courses. Plus.....the big thing which people seem to forget...qualifications is one thing, experience is another. It may seem unfair but both sides of the fence get positives in their favour but in varying circumstances.

Re: UK vs Australia for childrens' futures
 

That is totally bang on!!!

Re: UK vs Australia for childrens' futures
 

In Perth, the Dept. for Child Protection is just about at a stage where they'd drag people off the street to work for them. Not surprising really, a shit of a job where if you get it wrong, you're crucified.

Re: UK vs Australia for childrens' futures
 

For everything that's wrong with one country, there's something wrong with the other. Same when talking about positives. It's not a contest. Each offers different things, it's up to people to decide what's important to them.

Re: UK vs Australia for childrens' futures
 

Another point that may be worth mentioning is nothing has to be permanent.

What is wrong with a 5 or 10 year stint and then a return to Europe?

We live in a very mobile world. Its just as easy to move from country to country as it is from county to county. (Ignoring visa complications).