mikeandrach

hi. we are a young married couple living in yorkshire, england. im 27 and rach is 25. rach is a primary teacher, im a manager for currys electrical stores.
i have lots of work expereience as a manager but no meaningful qualifications.
we rent our home, so no cash lump sum from a sale.

we are considering moving to australia, probably queensland as i am a passionate diver.

basically, i am fed up of paying over £500 a month in fuel to commute to and from work, sick of the weather and have had enough of the english attitude where everyone seems to moan about everything (we are both english by the way!).

one major issue is we have pet chinchillas. am i right in thinking they cant be bought into australia?

we rent a large 3 bed detatched house in a very good small town for £600pcm. we have 2 nice modern cars and 1 old relic but that is worthless and is a back up if one of the other 2 let us down.

realistically, how easy would it be to get a teaching job for my wife? i am open to do any work, i want to be happy, i want the bbq lifestyle, and i dont care what job i have to do to ahcieve it. i am not a millionaire nor do i expect australia to make me one, i just want to have a good lifestyle, a bbq i can actually use and i want to have kids and bring them up in a better environment.

assumng we had minimal savings, as i would keep most back for emergencies, how easy is it to live in australia? is it worth the move? any advice, thoughts, suggestions etc would be greatly appreciated

sonlymewalter

mate you need to check out yours and your wifes occupation to see if you can get a visa - start here http://www.immi.gov.au/skilled/gener...n-demand.htm#a

then maybe do a few searches on here [see search button above] and check out various pieces of info in relation to the move. Also maybe try the immigration forum on this site.

Good luck mate.

Weebie

except for fuel most things are much more expensive in Australia.

mikeandrach

how noticeable is the difference in cost of living? especially as wages seem lower?

a big attraction is definitely the weather, i love what we see on tv etc as the aussie lifestyle, is it a move worth making or is it a dream?

mvagusta

As sonlymewalter said have you checked if you can get a visa?

It's doubtful that you yourself will qualify for a skilled visa as I also come from a retail management background (27 years) and don't qualify for a skilled visa. Then again I'm also too old to apply either way.
There are other ways of possibly getting in, such as a 457 sponsored visa but most employers will want to interview you while your in Oz. So a holiday to Oz maybe the best solution and arrange interviews for when you are there. That way you can see if it's for you as some people don't like it.

Oz is dearer to live in general although if your lucky the wages can be higher for a similar job. You would probably need to rent somewhere for a least the first 6 months first and the price would be dependant on where you go and what you rent. Allow for approx $1200-$1600 per month.

If you search the forum there is alot of info on living costs etc.

gr8leo87

Before you do start dreaming and all, it will be good idea to check your eligibility to transition a living into Australia.

Usually, you are going to need a permanent resident visa to live in Australia. For that you will need to assess your self if you qualify for one. Like you mention that you don't have a formal qualification, and your work experience is not that of a trade's, I'm afraid it will be difficult to get a skilled permanent visa for you. Now for your wife, she will need to see if she qualifies for a permanent visa and if she does then you both can go and live your life in Australia.

Check the Migrant section on australian immigration website. www.immi.gov.au

mvagusta

You need to research the different types of visa that are available and be aware of the time scales and costs that are involved.

The PR visa (175) can take up to 2 years to get and costs a bit of money.
The 457 visa which is temporary for upto 4 years is employer sponsored an takes upto 6 months and the cost is not much and normally paid by the employer.

It's obviousley better to get the 175 as you can stay as long as you like but the 457 can also get you a PR after 2 years in the country.

P.s there are employers that sponsor retail managers on a 457 visa

mikeandrach

thanks very much for your reply, i will look into that one. do you know of any retailers who will do that by name?

one more importnat question, i touched on earlier, is it right that chinhcillas cant be bought into australia? i know it may sound daft possibly delaying a move over a rodent!, but we have 4 of them, our oldest is 7 and weve had him since 8 weeks old. they live in excess of 20 years potentially so we would really like to bring them if possible, regardless of cost. is this likely to be possible or a complete no go? i really would struggle to leave them behind. ive been glued to my phone in the maldives before waiting for a text with nes that they are ok! and yes i am a very masucline 27yr old male! leaving them behind could potentially delay us by some years, although that wouldnt be a disaster as we would start a family here then move abroad later, it wol dbe nice to take them

mvagusta

Send me a pm on the retailers.

As far as the Chinchillas are concerned I have no idea. Just be aware that delaying can be costly as the list of skilled occupations can change along with the price. The employment scene can also change due to the economy changing so what might be possible this year might not be possible in 2 years time.
I don't see the argument in delaying for a couple of years as the oldest one still has 13 years of life.

quoll

No chinchillas http://www.daff.gov.au/aqis/cat-dogs/other

mikeandrach

thanks for the link. i do know somebody i would trust to take them on, but i have to seriously consider things. although they can live 20 years, even close to 30, they often dont. problem is if they are ill they dont show any symptoms at all, unless broken bone etc. so they can die from a treatable illness at any age becuase we dont know they have them. i know it sounds cold, but the other 3 i would be more willing to leav ebehind (although still not keen). the oldest though, is like a dog to us. he responds to his name, he bears a grudge if you dont see him first thing in the morning, etc etc. so i couldnt give him up i dont think.


one more practical question. i have a new, high spec car, but nasa would tremble at its mileage! if i were to import it, how easy is it to get parts and service for european brands? its a peugeot 407sw, but its a 2.2 diesel engine which is quite rare on that car here, most parts are unique to that engine and i have to wait for them.

sorry, one more question!! does anyone know of any airline that flies direct form australia to male (maldives)? its a regular holiday haunt for us and one i would not give up unless my limbs were removed!

bingobob777

you spend nearly 40% of your waking hours at work, are you really prepared to do any job during that time so you can have some bbq's

My advice would be that some sun at the weekend is unlikely to make up for 5 days of pain.

bcworld

No direct flights to MLE - you'd have to connect eg in Singapore.

sonlymewalter

like others have said it can take up to two years to get a visa which gives you plenty of time to sort out all other practicalities but getting the visa is your most important task.

Kooky.

Hi Mike, I'm from Yorkshire too although I came here via a considerable stint in SE Asia.

The best bit of advice I can give you is to stop watching those damn TV programmes! Life's really not like that when you have your nose to the grindstone.

Have you been to Queensland? The weather is far from perfect every day - just watch some footage of the floods and the poor buggers digging their houses out of the mud, and they're the lucky ones.

I can't comment on the cost of living in QLD as we're in Sydney, but that's chuffing expensive. With apologies for my usual Yorkshire bluntness, which I hope you'll appreciate, as a teacher and a retail manager you're not going to be on megabucks. Your holidays in the Maldives would probably have to go (and, again apologies, you seem very set in your ways for one so young).

I don't often try to put people off coming here - life is an adventure - but you guys sound like you have a pretty nice life as it is. Assuming your wife can get a visa, she's got to find work. (I'm not certain but I think she'd need to do some kind of conversion to teach here? Have a look in the forum with profession-specific sections.) Then you've got to find work.

Notwithstanding the chinchilla issue, are you prepared to risk all your savings on moving out here and not being able to hack it?