Simone

My opinion:
If there's any chance you can, go there first (and follow Dotty's advice).
I agree it may not help much, but it's better than not going at all.
Of course you can also succeed if you don't but for a lot of you (with house, good job, kids) the risk is quite big. You may think you have nothing to lose......

There was actually someone on this forum who was all decided on Perth, went for a reccie, and decided that it definetly wasn't for her/them. After that I think they even decided to stay in the UK. (I've forgotten the posters name, sorry)

If you do go without a visit: make sure you have a backup plan (ie. enough money to come back).
But I think: if you don't have enough money for a visit, are you sure you have enough for coming back if everything goes bad?

worried mum

Hi J
We are having the same dilemma! After lots of lets go, lets holiday, lets rent the house out and play at it, we have decided the answer for us is: That in order to sell up and go totally dedicated to the new life then we have to visit first and get a feeling for it. It might be different if it were just us as a couple but with kids I think you have to be more cautious than perhaps your nature encourages! Good luck with whatever you decide.

j hamilton

Thanks for all the advice. The problem really is the money. With five of us to pay out for I would have to get a bank loan. I have no parents here (lost dad last year) and rest of my family live away. Husband works away a lot anyway so is used to it. Our lifestyle here cannot get any worse the way we live. I work too and we have no social life because of the long hours of working. We were thinking of maybe remortgaging our house which has £45,000 left on it, paying the house off and going over with the rest. That way we still have the house to come back to if it doesnt work out, maybe rent it out. If we are happy then we sell the house and stay. This is a tough one and we will have to sit down and look and the pros and cons before time runs out. Thanks anyway your replies have been useful.

Grayling

J
If you are going to rent your house out and then sell it later you need to get advice on the tax implications.
You will pay tax on the rent income and then CGT on the increase in value of your house if you sell it later on.

Good luck

G

bondipom

Some of what I say about the West is a bit of Eastern Burbs parochialism but it is hotter there, often by 5C. A lot of areas will smarten up as us Easties are priced out there and the ferals are priced out towards penrith.

The reason for a prior trip is twofold, to find out if you like it and to find the city for you. Come in Feb when the heat is on and flights and accomodation are a bit cheaper. Hire a car, tip your toes in the job market and drive around the suburbs.

peppi

I think anyone is bananas to move all the way over there with out having visited first but thats just my opinion and I'll prob get slagged for it...
Having said that brother went 12 years ago and hadnt been first still there and loves it...

j hamilton

You are right it would be bananas, just wondering how to raise the cash. I have just emailed for a quote with bon voyage. I do have a cousin who lives in new south wales and uncle and awaiting a letter from them. I would gladly get a loan, hubby is adamant we dont need to go on holiday, a holiday is totally different to actually living there. thanks.

Bella

I came without a visit first & have to say that even if I'd visited first & done all the things that Dotty rightfully suggests, I still wouldn't have had half a clue about what it's really like to live here.
No amount of research whether visiting or on the web, on this forum, talking to friends, reading etc. could have prepared me for the immense change migration is & I knew before I came that i would be in for a big shock!
I really think it's horses for courses. If I could have afforded a visit I would have but my prespective would still have been very on a short trip from the one I have now.

Banksia

If he's cool about the decision and money is tight, why not come on your own for research as long as you can resist being influenced by your cousin and uncle. I presume you will miss him, in which case you will be seeing OZ at its comparative worst.

It is comparatively easy to compare prices, wages and accommodation differences but there are cultural issues as well. I think OZ is good for certain personality types and hopeless for others. "She'll be right" is more than a cliche. Sand in your crevices is a bit more of an exaggeration but it will figure somewhere particularly if you have kids: they'll insist.

Some might pine for that view of life; it might drive others to distraction. I sometime think there is a role for pre-decision personality-based counselling before embarking on such a major life change with a not inconsiderable downside.

It was easier for the convicts, the decision was made for them.

For every case of those who research, migrate, return and regret it, there are many more who migrate without visiting first and regret it.

In the meantime, spend at least as much time reading the OZ press on the net and www.abc.net as you do on this forum. And avoid the TV migrant rubbish: they belong on the Comedy/Fantasy Channel.

Putting your life on hold for the duration of the immigration process can be no fun unless you can be as sure as you can be (based on personal experience) it is the way to go.

Banksia

Bella, go on, further and better particulars...

Kiwipaul

OP If you suddenly got offered a job in London, and had never been their before would you take it without going and having a look, I doubt it.
It's the same principle moving to the other side of the world but 10 times more expensive and a much bigger lifestyle change than moving internally in the UK.

If money is tight, just the one with the most doubts ought to come on their own if neccessary. I agree a 2 week look see is not the same as living here but it will give you an indication of what it's like especially if you treat it as a research effort rather than a holiday.

You may hate the place or love it as soon as you arrive, but at least you will have first hand experience to go with the rest of your research.

podgypossum

In my opinion, it should be hte woman in hte family who goes on the reccie mission.
I often read that it is the man going to do it, and i believe that is the wrong move.

All too often it is the woman who is more likely to suffer from the extreme changes and is far more likely to have homesickness. It is also usually the woman who picks where the family lives.

Remember the Dr Phil saying... If mumma aint happy.....NOBODY happy!!

glhall

Ive decided that a job with a wage/salary is not going to cut it for us so when I go over to Aus I will rent and look around for a month or two with the intention of buying a small business which will pay more than a wage hence pay rent without too much of a struggle. Ill use the money I get from my house in NZ and buy a business and have no mortgage. Theres risk in buying a business I know but the whole shift over there is a risk in my mind. I know the logical thing to do is put money into real estate but I dont intend to go over there, buy a house get a nortgage then just subsist and hate it.

I admire you britz for the tenacity it takes just to be able to get through the red tape to get over thre plus its alot harder for you to just pack up and go back home again.

We are going for a look round brissie for 10 days in July but only to get a feel for the place and try and make some contacts.

Thought about renting the house over here but it would make it so much harder for us over there if we did not have that money at our disposal. Someone told me also that if you go to aus with very little money you get taxed at a higher rate because it looks as though youre not staying permanently.

Graham

Don

Don't believe everything you hear down the pub.

podgypossum

OK..so its all men here at the moment and they wont agree as it means they wont get a holiday away from the missus!!