Grayling

Hi all
Want to pick your brains.

We will be going to Australia soon.
Trouble is we don't know where to go

Also I am not sure whether it would be better to simply retire or to work for a while.

I think working may help us settle in better but not sure about starting a new job in a new country.However as we are in our early 50s we are not ready to do nothing.I am also afraid we would soon get bored.

Working would also mean having to live nearer a city.
My son is in Adelaide but may move through work.

What would you do and where would you go?

I am not sure there is an easy answer but would appreciate your views.

BTW my only real hobby is fishing and I would like a boat.
So the fishing must be good.

G

Go Banana's !!

Hi G,

Not really quallified to answer as I would think its only those over in Oz can help but I wish you all the best as it would be nice to have that choice in life at your age....Good on you !!

Good luck

Warren

Grayling

Thanks Warren

It's having the choice that creates the problem

I suppose I'm asking where would people go if they could choose anywhere.

Best wishes

G

TraceyW

What a fabulous dilema to have..you're in a wonderful position there!

You can basically stick a pin in a map and go for it. You only have yourselves to think about, you haven't got to worry about kids, schooling, full time jobs...how fantastic!

If I was in your shoes I would start off at one place I'd always fancied visiting...Melbourne lets say...treat it like a vacation...spend a few weeks/months however long to get the 'feel' for the place, if the shoe doesn't fit..move on and try another place. You may find you find your 'place' in the first destination you choose, it make take a while and a few places, you may not like any of them. If that's the case, what a fabulous holiday you've had eh?!!!

You've come to the stage in your lives where you can let the days happen as they happen surely? You've done the hard work bringing up a family and working for a living, time for you time eh? If you settle somewhere you might decide to get a job, you might not, damn lovely choice to make there I'd say!

As for the fishing, I don't think you'll have much of a worry anywhere in Oz...although I doubt you'll be baiting for Chub out there!!!

Good luck in whatever you choose to do.

HiddenPaw

Hi G

I moved to Melbourne from Cheshire. Great city, but where are all my lovely fields, quiet roads and clean air??!! Lack of countryside was the biggest thing I had to adapt to and probably fair to say, I never did!! So, knowing (I think) that you are in the Peak District, consider what environment you actually want to live in. Do you want to be rural, or are you happy to be in an urban sprawl? I guess this will determine whtehr you head for a city of not, if you do, which one, and of how far out of the city you would choose to live.

Good luck

lesleys

Hi Grayling,

We're just about to set off for SE Qld on retirement visas. We both worked in oil exploration until we were 50 then took early retirement. Five years on neither of us have missed work one bit! There is so much else going on in the world. We plan to have a house built if we can and set up home all over again.

I think if you can afford not to work, then give it a try. If you really feel underused then you could always work again after a break, but nothing in the world would drag us back to the same work environment.

Go for it.

Lesley

Go Banana's !!

Can I but in please (Jill).

Hubby gone off to tinker with something.........anyway.

I would go near where your son is, which would help you settle in and take a part time job. You seem to have alot of transferable skills and experience which I'm sure would be valuable.

I've decided that I'd really like to work once we are settled purely to meet people. I'm very chatty but still find the prospect daunting !

I would reccommend Perth though, because we thought it was beautiful, but it doesn't light everyones candle! One poster described it as 'a huge retirement home' so it may suit you !! (only joking). However, we also really like the look of Melbourne - but have never been.

We are toying with the idea of buying our outward plane ticket with stops off in Melbourne, Adelaide etc ..for 6 week travel fest, while we wait for our furniture - is that an option for you ?

Warren is a bit nervous of that because he wants to start job hunting as soon as we hit the ground, but agrees a recky would be sensible before we finally decide our place to settle. But job prospects are better on the East coast !!

The big pull is the family being in Perth - which will proove invaluable in the first stages of settling and I personally think that is a point that really needs considering.

As Warren said , best of luck

Jill

Bix

One of the chief considerations in our decision to (hopefully) head to Victoria is the weather.

Seasonal and overall superior to that of the UK but not the wall to wall summer in many areas of OZ.

I think a lot of people head for Perth or Brissie for the sunshine but don't realise how different it will be living in a continually warm/hot climate.

So bare in mind the weather !

Grayling

Thanks all for the replies.

Most of what has been said has been running round in my head for a while.
Sometimes I think it would be easier to have to go to one place for work or because of family etc.

I suppose I am looking for the 'Perfect Place' but that only can exist in your own mind.

I would like to take a little bit of a lot of places and put them together but that will never happen

I will keep on looking for now

Best wishes

G

Megalania

Is locum work a possibility - recognition of qualifications? That could get you out and about without the daily grind.

sjn2003

Tricky decision but a nice one to have to make.

Try listing all the things that are important to you eg countryside, work,weather, family near etc etc.

Then put them in some sort of order of importance getting rid of those that are really not key.

With that list in mind you should be able to come up with a shortlist that you can check out when you get there. I reckon you will get a good/bad feeling of a place pretty quickly.

I suppose if you don't work for a while it will not tie you to a place so you can move on if you need to try somewhere else.

Hope this is some little help

HUP

Hi hidden

Where abouts in Melbourne are you. We are just outside of Berwick and about 35km SE from the CBD. Its pretty rural around us. Also if you go out North as well you can get some open spaces (Obviously I don't know how long it will be until the developers fill them up ).

HiddenPaw

Hi Hup, I'm about 10,000 miles outside of Melbourne right now . Actually back in UK - came back in Dec as having a baby next month.
Issue for us was the fact that we had to get in a car to be able to reach the countryside (but then we did live only 10kms from the CBD for 18 months!!) We would have moved away from the city had we not come back to have the baby. Agree that with the Dandenongs & Macedon Ranges there is some nice countryside on the outskirts of Melbourne. I used to cyle a lot up round Warrandyte and Yarra Valley as well - it's lovely cycling country Is Berwick on the bay? I regularly cycled down to Frankston as wel l which is about 40km SE down Beach Road but I don't think I came across Berwick.
I have spent a lot of time in rural Vic up near Mildura as that is where my sister lives - I'm definately more a rural than a city person. We'll head rural if/when we go back.
Hope you continue to enjoy Berwick (you seem very settled from what I've read)
HP

Merlot

Hi HP

Good luck with the baby thing. I bet it is great to be close to family again. I can't wait to get back, out of limbo!

I notice your whatsit on the side still says Melbourne. Time to let world know you are a happy bunny in Cheshire.

You know everytime I say Cheshire I think of that white crumbly cheese and a glass of Merlot!

Best of luck with the impending arrival.

Merlot