Isthegrassgreener

Everything is starting to happen now in readiness for our move to Perth in February/March on a 457 visa. Husband will be jumping ship from his current employer and starting a completely different job. We will be leasing our house and renting in Perth and definitely plan to return to the UK (anytime between 2 and a half and 4 years. Husband will then have to secure a new post with a different employer.

To say I am now getting cold feet is an underestimation. I am now questioning why on earth we are putting ourselves through the upheaval and potential pitfalls with the children's education for this short a time. We are expecting them to adjust twice, once going 7 months backwards to fit in with the Australian term and then slotting back into the UK system when they return, and possibly being put back a year.

Yesterday the removal's company came for an initial visit and I have been feeling sick since. The scale of the move is only just hitting me I think. X-rays and medicals are happening within the next week or so, and I just want to stop the bus.

Reading other posts, you get a sense of people's desire to move to a new country and their excitement. With a 457 temporary visa and absolutely no intention of applying for PR I am wondering why we are doing this full stop and why we are putting the kids through it.

Is their anyone in the same position who can let me know their experience?

moneypenny20

I am not in your position but I would say that the experience you will give your children cannot be measured in terms of formal education. They won't necessarily "go back" 7 months, and I wouldn't worry about them slotting back in to the UK. I know we do worry about our kids but they are soooo much more adaptable than we give them credit for. They will have a ball if they pick up good vibes from you. If you pass on your concerns, they will have them 2 fold.

Treat it like an adventure. Look for the positives, not the "what if's" you can do nothing about them other than not go and you will possibly regret that for a long time. You shouldn't regret something you've done, only stuff you don't do.

Lots of people take their kids out of school and travel around the world with them for a couple of years then go back and carry on with life. The children can only gain by the experience.

Pookster

Hi, the wife and I are shortly off to Perth on a 457. We've just got our visas!
You're right, it is very hectic, stressful etc but what an opportunity!

There's been so much to do sorting out the house for renting etc, at least on a 457 temp visa you won't have to worry about paying Oz govt tax on your rental income.

& now our 2 cats have just been collected for their flight tomorrow. The wife is crying all over the place. It all so mad.

As for coming back to the uk in 2 or 4 years you never know, by then you may think of oz as home and not want to return.

Go on give it a go!

Good luck
Ed
Nottingham - soon to be Perth!

nightnurse2

Do it................because you can

We're on a 457 but have the intention of getting PR.
Even if we had to go back tomorrow (God forbid) we've had a good time and a bloody good adventure.
Our children have adapted well and are brimming with self confidence and health. If they had to go back they would adapt well back there, I'm sure.
It's normal to get cold feet at the last hurdle but you've got an opportunity that many would kill for................just come!
Good luck,
Tracey

JenJen

Hi

I think it's natural for all this to be going through your head the closer it gets
How old are your kids? Can I ask a stupid question why was it you decided to go out to Aus with the full intention of coming back after a few years?
It would hopefully be a great experience for you all, especially the kids. You'd get the experience of a different way of life and if you like it the opportunity maybe to stay there?

I wouldn't worry too much about the kids 'going back' and pretty much repeating half the year they have already done, I was told by my kids teachers here not to worry they'll be able to focus more on settling in without having to worry that the settling in period is disrupting their school work, may even give them a chance to go over fractions and divisions or re-itterating what a vowel is?

I think the kids 'repeating a year' as such is the least of things that worry me, but not going to make you worse by sharing my concerns incasae you take those on board.

If you hate it out there, although it may feel like an eternity it won't be long til you come back, there is nothing tying you to stay out there.

Is there anything that makes you feel positive about going there? Try and focus on that.

I'm trying to to sound flippant or patronising cause I know in a few months i'll prob be posting up panic threads wondering what the hell I was thinking when I agreed to do this lol

Jen

Caroline B

Absolutely agree. I have been going through the same emotions myself. Going out on a 457 visa, huge amounts of worry and expense and the idea that we've got to leave the country within 28 days if it all goes wrong with the employer is really daunting.
BUT it is a huge adventure, and you may really love it. I've wanted to live in Oz for ages and thought I was too old, so I'm trying to be positive and if it doesn't work out, then at least we've given it a go. Plus we're keeping our house and I've got a really good relationship with my current employer - so something to return to. I'm sure your kids will love it out there - it's a great education.

movetoperth

I'm sorry but i'm going to disagree with everyone else here.If your attitude to going is "is it worth it" "it's an upheaval" "it's disrupting the kids" etc which are all fairly negative ways of thinking then i think it would be mistake for you to come, you are going into it with the wrong frame of mind and are leaving the door open for you to be thoroughly miserable. If on the other hand you are thinking, "hell its a lot of hassle to get everything organised but think of the adventure we can have" or "a couple of years living somewhere else will be great for the kids" that sort of thing then go for it.

Making it work and being happy is all about he right attitude, go into it with the right one and you'll give yourself a much better shot at enjoying it go into it with a shed load of negativity and chances are you'll struggle.

Lynn

northernbird

You don't say how old your children are. I can only comment on younger children. We moved to Canada on a temp visa when my daughter was 3. She would have started school the year after in England and as it is in Australia the Canadian system starts them later. She started school in Canada in the school year that she turned 6. We moved back to England just 4 months later. She entered year 1 and seemed to be way behind everyone else, effectively as she had missed Reception. Within 3 months she had caught up and had even overtaken some children. My daughter is so much more confident having been in the australian system now for nearly 18 months. I think if your kids are still in primary it can be seen as a wonderful experience for them, I am not sure if I would be doing it with your frame of mind if my kids were teenagers but thats just me.

What makes you so adament its a temporary move. You may get here and love it, you may not. However keep an open mind and don't dismiss things before you even arrive. As Lynne says you seem to be setting yourself up for a fall before you even leave the UK.Life is too short for regrets and I think if you didn't give it a go somewhere down the line you may regret it.

Nomore

We were not in the same position but we have some good friends who came to Perth on a 457 Visa 2 month ago.
They come from Liverpool and still have their house for sale in UK.
The Sponsor company they are with have been unable to get him a job and he is a Carpenter.
He is tied to this Sponsorship and is still looking for work. With the house prices being what they are, not working and feeling the pressure they have decided to return to the UK after Christmas.
They have booked a container already and their flights.
Maybe the decision was made easier because their house was not sold in the UK so they had something to go back to.
I know that if we hadn't had sold our house we would be back in UK by now, but if you have nothing to go back to then you stick it out and hopefully things will improve.
I do think they have given up too easily, but it just goes to show that things do go badly wrong even in a short space of time.
I don't want to say give it a go or don't bother coming as the decision is yours, everybody is different and expectations will be different.
Good luck in whatever you decide

grunty123

We are in Perth on a 457 visa. We came to enable us to see Oz and do it justice in a way you can't if you come on holiday. We rent out our house back home and fully intend to go back once we have see everything we want to see. We didn't come to test the water to see if we would like it long term and our opinion about going home hasn't been changed by being here. We are having a good time, Perth is nice, but it's not for us forever. I would encourage you to go for it. Life is about experiences. Come with an open mind, but if you've still got your house back home you can always go home if you hate it, and that's a big safety net. You'll never know if you don't try and I always think you regret the things you don't do more than those you do. We sold it to our kids as a 'big adventure' and they settled in really well and are having a good time, but have never said they want to stay forever and are still in touch with friends back home and we also keep in touch with their school back home too. We have seem some wonderful places and things and met some lovely people, and I'm really glad we've done it. We shared your concerns about schooling, and we have found that our kids have repeated lots of stuff here that they'd already done back home, so they will probably be behind when we go back. They are still at primary school though and as we are aware of it we will try to put it right prior to our return. We just try to concentrate on the wonderful experiences they've had which are an education in themselves. It is a lot of work to get here, and it's very emotional to say goodbye to folks you might not see for a few years, but I think it's well worth the effort and we feel lucky that we've been able to do it.

yanH

Hi,

We are in Sydney on a 457 visa and so far are enjoying it. We have three kids of school age who are all settling in well. I would agree with the fact that the Schools are slightly behind with the work but I think this is a good thing as it gives the kids time to settle in without worrying too much about the work.

I would expect that most people get a degree of cold feet in the final few weeks before emigrating. We certainly did. Why were we giving up good jobs, house and friends to move to the other side of the world? However once we got here started work and settled in then these doubts have faded away. However we are in a different situation to you in that we intend to stay permanently by converting to PR at the first opportunity.

Good Luck whichever way you go!