tomhann187

Hello all!

This is my first post here, so please do re-redirect me if this is in the wrong section. This seems like a really friendly forum!

My husband and I are in our late twenties, and have an 18 month old son. I am currently doing my PhD in Psychology. From initial searching, it appears that University Lecturer is on the skilled worker list, which is the career route I'm hoping to take upon graduation.

We are getting more and more dismayed with the family life the UK is providing us. We are both very outdoors-y people, who like to socialise. We do not feel that the UK is allowing us to spend the quality family time outside that we want, and we feel people are generally very insular here. Academia is at an all-time-low here too, whereas Psychology academia in Australia is booming. There is exciting research being conducted at Macquarie University near Sydney, which I have some links to already.

We are considering moving to Australia in Jan 2015 - near Macquarie University provided I can secure a job there. We're in the very early stages of research at the minute - does anyone have any advice / tips / useful things to read? We are especially concerned about schooling, general cost of living, rental market (we'd be renting initially as we rent here) and maternity policy (we are hoping to have another baby, but not sure if it'd be better to get a job in the UK and move during maternity leave, or to just bite the bullet and go on Maternity in Aus).

My husband is a stay-at-home Dad, and so would be coming over on my visa (provided I get a job of course).

Any advice from you lovely people?

roaringmouse

Why is it that you feel the UK isn't allowing you to spend quality family time outside? What makes you think people in Australia are less insular than what you experience now in the UK?

tomhann187

The short daylight hours in the winter and the generally colder weather really. We feel that we'll be able to play in the garden more, take more day trips to the coast, eat outside, spend more time in parks etc than we can (warm and comfortably at least) do in the UK. Sure we'll have to spend time indoors too, but significantly less than in the UK.

We've both been on holiday to Australia and generally found the people much more open and friendly than in the UK. Perhaps because we were tourists I don't know.

abi31

have you checked out the experience requirements for the visa? If you're not yet working as a lecturer and aren't starting till you finish your Phd 2015 sounds pretty close. Can't you work as a lecturer with an Msc? I'd suggest you get started asap to get the experience requirements. Though maybe if it's on the MODL it's only 2 years?

Good luck with it anyway - sounds like you have the right kind of positive attitude

Bermudashorts

It rains more in Sydney than in London. Rain on a greater number of days and there is more rainfall mm over the year as well. I have definitely had plans rained off more here than in UK. It was torrential yesterday in Sydney all day, it is pretty yuck now too and I said the same thing last weekend too.

Daylight hours, well actually I really miss the long light evenings in UK, it is never light for much more than an hour here after I finish work. In winter, well I don't really care that it goes dark a bit later here, as 5 times out of 7 I am in the office when it goes dark no matter which country I am in.

People? Yes we have only experienced friendliness here, both warmly welcomed at work and can have no complaints whatsoever about any people we have met. Still I hesitate to make sweeping statements about an entire nation being insular and another not so..

Regarding the rest of your questions, it is probably too early to think about some things, even the rental maarket could look very different by then. A few in my place have gone on maternity leave recently and it is quite common to take a year off, however the pay would only be for three months and that is only after 12 months service.