Are you glad you moved to Australia?
Mar 26th 2009, 10:48 am
#61
Australia's Doorman
Joined: Jan 2005
Location: The Shoalhaven, New South Wales, Australia
Posts: 11,056
Mar 26th 2009, 12:30 pm
#62
Just Joined
Joined: Mar 2009
Location: Australia
Posts: 16
Re: Are you glad you moved to Australia?
This is my first post and possibly not the best place to put my thoughts, but, I'm going to do it anyway. (sorry!)
Yes, I'm glad I made the move, and so is my teenager and my partner.
No, I probably wouldn't have made such an extreme move. (ie, selling my home, shipping all our possessions and the cat) I probably would have put the stuff in storage and hedged my bets a little more, it would certainly have been cheaper.
This is fuelled by the fact that after 8 months my partner still has no job, is very depressed and I'm struggling to cope with no family or close friends to support me. I have a job which means we survive, but I feel utterly alone.
'Hi I'm Barb and my partner is suicidal' is a real conversation no no with 'new friends'
I know that I wouldn't want to hear it from any of the people I've met since being here.
So, I am thinking seriously that I need to get back to the UK and maybe try again when things are better (both economically and mentally)
I like Australia,really I do, but if 'things' are a bit shaky, you really need solid support, and I've not been here long enough to have that. As a consequence, my grip on sanity is shaky to say the least. So I'm back off home to lick my wounds, I'm not saying I won't come back again, and I know that finding a job in the UK at the moment is tough, the only difference is that Australia has yet to see the worst of it. Nobody really knows how bad it's going to be, but, as we say where I'm from 'Brace yourself!' the forecasts from economists seem to be getting more pessimistic by the week.
If we'd arrived 12 months earlier, then it would have been a very different story, every agency who's sent a knock back has said that it would have been really easy to find a job 12 months ago, but now there are so many Aussies who are suitably qualified/experienced and are looking for work, they naturally employ them. I know, given the same circumstances, I would do the same (ie you have a Polish worker new to the UK and a British worker with British work experience.) I would employ the Brit, everything else being equal, and I dare say everyone else would too.
So, I expect, I'll be taking my very expensive leave of Australia in the foreseeable future. It's been an expensive lesson, £20,000 to get here with visa costs, reckie trip and shipping, and around £10,000 to ship us, the cat, and the 20' or 40' container back to the UK. Depending on whether we take the brand new car we bought on arrival back to the UK
It's not really a reflection on Australia, but a consequence of the 'unpreeecedented' times we are living in (Say with accent like the Holden advert!)
Yes, I'm glad I made the move, and so is my teenager and my partner.
No, I probably wouldn't have made such an extreme move. (ie, selling my home, shipping all our possessions and the cat) I probably would have put the stuff in storage and hedged my bets a little more, it would certainly have been cheaper.
This is fuelled by the fact that after 8 months my partner still has no job, is very depressed and I'm struggling to cope with no family or close friends to support me. I have a job which means we survive, but I feel utterly alone.
'Hi I'm Barb and my partner is suicidal' is a real conversation no no with 'new friends'
I know that I wouldn't want to hear it from any of the people I've met since being here. So, I am thinking seriously that I need to get back to the UK and maybe try again when things are better (both economically and mentally)
I like Australia,really I do, but if 'things' are a bit shaky, you really need solid support, and I've not been here long enough to have that. As a consequence, my grip on sanity is shaky to say the least. So I'm back off home to lick my wounds, I'm not saying I won't come back again, and I know that finding a job in the UK at the moment is tough, the only difference is that Australia has yet to see the worst of it. Nobody really knows how bad it's going to be, but, as we say where I'm from 'Brace yourself!' the forecasts from economists seem to be getting more pessimistic by the week.
If we'd arrived 12 months earlier, then it would have been a very different story, every agency who's sent a knock back has said that it would have been really easy to find a job 12 months ago, but now there are so many Aussies who are suitably qualified/experienced and are looking for work, they naturally employ them. I know, given the same circumstances, I would do the same (ie you have a Polish worker new to the UK and a British worker with British work experience.) I would employ the Brit, everything else being equal, and I dare say everyone else would too.
So, I expect, I'll be taking my very expensive leave of Australia in the foreseeable future. It's been an expensive lesson, £20,000 to get here with visa costs, reckie trip and shipping, and around £10,000 to ship us, the cat, and the 20' or 40' container back to the UK. Depending on whether we take the brand new car we bought on arrival back to the UK
It's not really a reflection on Australia, but a consequence of the 'unpreeecedented' times we are living in (Say with accent like the Holden advert!)
Mar 26th 2009, 12:34 pm
#63
Forum Regular
Joined: Jan 2009
Posts: 159
Re: Are you glad you moved to Australia?
This is my first post and possibly not the best place to put my thoughts, but, I'm going to do it anyway. (sorry!)
Yes, I'm glad I made the move, and so is my teenager and my partner.
No, I probably wouldn't have made such an extreme move. (ie, selling my home, shipping all our possessions and the cat) I probably would have put the stuff in storage and hedged my bets a little more, it would certainly have been cheaper.
This is fuelled by the fact that after 8 months my partner still has no job, is very depressed and I'm struggling to cope with no family or close friends to support me. I have a job which means we survive, but I feel utterly alone.
'Hi I'm Barb and my partner is suicidal' is a real conversation no no with 'new friends' I know that I wouldn't want to hear it from any of the people I've met since being here.
So, I am thinking seriously that I need to get back to the UK and maybe try again when things are better (both economically and mentally)
I like Australia,really I do, but if 'things' are a bit shaky, you really need solid support, and I've not been here long enough to have that. As a consequence, my grip on sanity is shaky to say the least. So I'm back off home to lick my wounds, I'm not saying I won't come back again, and I know that finding a job in the UK at the moment is tough, the only difference is that Australia has yet to see the worst of it. Nobody really knows how bad it's going to be, but, as we say where I'm from 'Brace yourself!' the forecasts from economists seem to be getting more pessimistic by the week.
If we'd arrived 12 months earlier, then it would have been a very different story, every agency who's sent a knock back has said that it would have been really easy to find a job 12 months ago, but now there are so many Aussies who are suitably qualified/experienced and are looking for work, they naturally employ them. I know, given the same circumstances, I would do the same (ie you have a Polish worker new to the UK and a British worker with British work experience.) I would employ the Brit, everything else being equal, and I dare say everyone else would too.
So, I expect, I'll be taking my very expensive leave of Australia in the foreseeable future. It's been an expensive lesson, £20,000 to get here with visa costs, reckie trip and shipping, and around £10,000 to ship us, the cat, and the 20' or 40' container back to the UK. Depending on whether we take the brand new car we bought on arrival back to the UK
It's not really a reflection on Australia, but a consequence of the 'unpreeecedented' times we are living in (Say with accent like the Holden advert!)
Yes, I'm glad I made the move, and so is my teenager and my partner.
No, I probably wouldn't have made such an extreme move. (ie, selling my home, shipping all our possessions and the cat) I probably would have put the stuff in storage and hedged my bets a little more, it would certainly have been cheaper.
This is fuelled by the fact that after 8 months my partner still has no job, is very depressed and I'm struggling to cope with no family or close friends to support me. I have a job which means we survive, but I feel utterly alone.
'Hi I'm Barb and my partner is suicidal' is a real conversation no no with 'new friends'
I know that I wouldn't want to hear it from any of the people I've met since being here. So, I am thinking seriously that I need to get back to the UK and maybe try again when things are better (both economically and mentally)
I like Australia,really I do, but if 'things' are a bit shaky, you really need solid support, and I've not been here long enough to have that. As a consequence, my grip on sanity is shaky to say the least. So I'm back off home to lick my wounds, I'm not saying I won't come back again, and I know that finding a job in the UK at the moment is tough, the only difference is that Australia has yet to see the worst of it. Nobody really knows how bad it's going to be, but, as we say where I'm from 'Brace yourself!' the forecasts from economists seem to be getting more pessimistic by the week.
If we'd arrived 12 months earlier, then it would have been a very different story, every agency who's sent a knock back has said that it would have been really easy to find a job 12 months ago, but now there are so many Aussies who are suitably qualified/experienced and are looking for work, they naturally employ them. I know, given the same circumstances, I would do the same (ie you have a Polish worker new to the UK and a British worker with British work experience.) I would employ the Brit, everything else being equal, and I dare say everyone else would too.
So, I expect, I'll be taking my very expensive leave of Australia in the foreseeable future. It's been an expensive lesson, £20,000 to get here with visa costs, reckie trip and shipping, and around £10,000 to ship us, the cat, and the 20' or 40' container back to the UK. Depending on whether we take the brand new car we bought on arrival back to the UK
It's not really a reflection on Australia, but a consequence of the 'unpreeecedented' times we are living in (Say with accent like the Holden advert!)
Mar 26th 2009, 12:37 pm
#64
Just Joined
Joined: Mar 2009
Location: Australia
Posts: 16
Re: Are you glad you moved to Australia?
I live in Melbourne.
Mar 26th 2009, 12:46 pm
#65
Forum Regular
Joined: May 2008
Location: Somerset, UK
Posts: 50
Re: Are you glad you moved to Australia?
This is my first post and possibly not the best place to put my thoughts, but, I'm going to do it anyway. (sorry!)
Yes, I'm glad I made the move, and so is my teenager and my partner.
No, I probably wouldn't have made such an extreme move. (ie, selling my home, shipping all our possessions and the cat) I probably would have put the stuff in storage and hedged my bets a little more, it would certainly have been cheaper.
This is fuelled by the fact that after 8 months my partner still has no job, is very depressed and I'm struggling to cope with no family or close friends to support me. I have a job which means we survive, but I feel utterly alone.
'Hi I'm Barb and my partner is suicidal' is a real conversation no no with 'new friends' I know that I wouldn't want to hear it from any of the people I've met since being here.
So, I am thinking seriously that I need to get back to the UK and maybe try again when things are better (both economically and mentally)
I like Australia,really I do, but if 'things' are a bit shaky, you really need solid support, and I've not been here long enough to have that. As a consequence, my grip on sanity is shaky to say the least. So I'm back off home to lick my wounds, I'm not saying I won't come back again, and I know that finding a job in the UK at the moment is tough, the only difference is that Australia has yet to see the worst of it. Nobody really knows how bad it's going to be, but, as we say where I'm from 'Brace yourself!' the forecasts from economists seem to be getting more pessimistic by the week.
If we'd arrived 12 months earlier, then it would have been a very different story, every agency who's sent a knock back has said that it would have been really easy to find a job 12 months ago, but now there are so many Aussies who are suitably qualified/experienced and are looking for work, they naturally employ them. I know, given the same circumstances, I would do the same (ie you have a Polish worker new to the UK and a British worker with British work experience.) I would employ the Brit, everything else being equal, and I dare say everyone else would too.
So, I expect, I'll be taking my very expensive leave of Australia in the foreseeable future. It's been an expensive lesson, £20,000 to get here with visa costs, reckie trip and shipping, and around £10,000 to ship us, the cat, and the 20' or 40' container back to the UK. Depending on whether we take the brand new car we bought on arrival back to the UK
It's not really a reflection on Australia, but a consequence of the 'unpreeecedented' times we are living in (Say with accent like the Holden advert!)
Yes, I'm glad I made the move, and so is my teenager and my partner.
No, I probably wouldn't have made such an extreme move. (ie, selling my home, shipping all our possessions and the cat) I probably would have put the stuff in storage and hedged my bets a little more, it would certainly have been cheaper.
This is fuelled by the fact that after 8 months my partner still has no job, is very depressed and I'm struggling to cope with no family or close friends to support me. I have a job which means we survive, but I feel utterly alone.
'Hi I'm Barb and my partner is suicidal' is a real conversation no no with 'new friends'
I know that I wouldn't want to hear it from any of the people I've met since being here. So, I am thinking seriously that I need to get back to the UK and maybe try again when things are better (both economically and mentally)
I like Australia,really I do, but if 'things' are a bit shaky, you really need solid support, and I've not been here long enough to have that. As a consequence, my grip on sanity is shaky to say the least. So I'm back off home to lick my wounds, I'm not saying I won't come back again, and I know that finding a job in the UK at the moment is tough, the only difference is that Australia has yet to see the worst of it. Nobody really knows how bad it's going to be, but, as we say where I'm from 'Brace yourself!' the forecasts from economists seem to be getting more pessimistic by the week.
If we'd arrived 12 months earlier, then it would have been a very different story, every agency who's sent a knock back has said that it would have been really easy to find a job 12 months ago, but now there are so many Aussies who are suitably qualified/experienced and are looking for work, they naturally employ them. I know, given the same circumstances, I would do the same (ie you have a Polish worker new to the UK and a British worker with British work experience.) I would employ the Brit, everything else being equal, and I dare say everyone else would too.
So, I expect, I'll be taking my very expensive leave of Australia in the foreseeable future. It's been an expensive lesson, £20,000 to get here with visa costs, reckie trip and shipping, and around £10,000 to ship us, the cat, and the 20' or 40' container back to the UK. Depending on whether we take the brand new car we bought on arrival back to the UK
It's not really a reflection on Australia, but a consequence of the 'unpreeecedented' times we are living in (Say with accent like the Holden advert!)
Would you not consider moving to a different state?
What is your OH occupation?
Mar 26th 2009, 1:31 pm
#66
Just Joined
Joined: Mar 2009
Location: Australia
Posts: 16
Re: Are you glad you moved to Australia?
He's applied for jobs all over the country, even Perth. (I don't mean it's bad, but it's just not somewhere I can imagine living, sorry Perth guys)
My partner is an Development Engineer. 15 years experience, fabulous references, lots of qualifications.... We had his CV 'redone' by Hewitt Consultancy, and paid for a 'career course' as he'd always worked for the same company since Uni and just progressed through the ranks.
The truth is that his old co would probably find him a position, possibly not at the same level, but work all the same. I have already made some contacts at home and I'm sure I'd be able to find something or other. Even if I don't at least I'll have family to support me whilst I support my partner and work on getting him back to 'normal' again.
As for toughing it out for a bit longer, it's been a long, hard 8 months, I probably shouldn't have brought him out of England.... He's always had a tendency to melancholia, it was foolish of me to think that removing him from his comfort zone would be a great thing to do
Like I say, we can always do it again, and I've learnt some valuable lessions;
That I shouldn't have been so wreckless when we were moving
That I need to properly consider the consequences if things went tits up.
That I could do with taking a few pages out of the James Stockdale philosophy (always expect the worst possible case scenario)
That I should have had an escape route planned in advance, as it is I'm trailing the internet looking for removals, pet shippers, and cheap flights An open ended return would have provided a year of safety net at a very small additional cost over the price of a one way ticket.... because I was full of the optimism that usually accompanies and international move I never even contemplated this. (Stockdale would have bought a return!)
This is just me, act in haste repent at leisure, not everyone has this much trouble with health issues.
My partner is an Development Engineer. 15 years experience, fabulous references, lots of qualifications.... We had his CV 'redone' by Hewitt Consultancy, and paid for a 'career course' as he'd always worked for the same company since Uni and just progressed through the ranks.
The truth is that his old co would probably find him a position, possibly not at the same level, but work all the same. I have already made some contacts at home and I'm sure I'd be able to find something or other. Even if I don't at least I'll have family to support me whilst I support my partner and work on getting him back to 'normal' again.
As for toughing it out for a bit longer, it's been a long, hard 8 months, I probably shouldn't have brought him out of England.... He's always had a tendency to melancholia, it was foolish of me to think that removing him from his comfort zone would be a great thing to do
Like I say, we can always do it again, and I've learnt some valuable lessions;
That I shouldn't have been so wreckless when we were moving
That I need to properly consider the consequences if things went tits up.
That I could do with taking a few pages out of the James Stockdale philosophy (always expect the worst possible case scenario)
That I should have had an escape route planned in advance, as it is I'm trailing the internet looking for removals, pet shippers, and cheap flights An open ended return would have provided a year of safety net at a very small additional cost over the price of a one way ticket.... because I was full of the optimism that usually accompanies and international move I never even contemplated this. (Stockdale would have bought a return!)
This is just me, act in haste repent at leisure, not everyone has this much trouble with health issues.
Mar 26th 2009, 1:33 pm
#67
Banned
Joined: Mar 2009
Posts: 427
Re: Are you glad you moved to Australia?
5 years in Perth and I feel I have wasted 5 years on my life to be honest, going back in August.
Mar 26th 2009, 1:39 pm
#68
Just Joined
Joined: Mar 2009
Location: Australia
Posts: 16
Re: Are you glad you moved to Australia?
Take into account the Stockdale philosophy.....
If you haven't already, think about getting citizenship. You never know what the future may hold. (Australia is a big place, and having an Aussie passport might come in handy one day)
If you haven't already, think about getting citizenship. You never know what the future may hold. (Australia is a big place, and having an Aussie passport might come in handy one day)
Mar 26th 2009, 1:53 pm
#69
Forum Regular
Joined: May 2008
Location: Somerset, UK
Posts: 50
Re: Are you glad you moved to Australia?
He's applied for jobs all over the country, even Perth. (I don't mean it's bad, but it's just not somewhere I can imagine living, sorry Perth guys)
My partner is an Development Engineer. 15 years experience, fabulous references, lots of qualifications.... We had his CV 'redone' by Hewitt Consultancy, and paid for a 'career course' as he'd always worked for the same company since Uni and just progressed through the ranks.
The truth is that his old co would probably find him a position, possibly not at the same level, but work all the same. I have already made some contacts at home and I'm sure I'd be able to find something or other. Even if I don't at least I'll have family to support me whilst I support my partner and work on getting him back to 'normal' again.
As for toughing it out for a bit longer, it's been a long, hard 8 months, I probably shouldn't have brought him out of England.... He's always had a tendency to melancholia, it was foolish of me to think that removing him from his comfort zone would be a great thing to do
Like I say, we can always do it again, and I've learnt some valuable lessions;
That I shouldn't have been so wreckless when we were moving
That I need to properly consider the consequences if things went tits up.
That I could do with taking a few pages out of the James Stockdale philosophy (always expect the worst possible case scenario)
That I should have had an escape route planned in advance, as it is I'm trailing the internet looking for removals, pet shippers, and cheap flights An open ended return would have provided a year of safety net at a very small additional cost over the price of a one way ticket.... because I was full of the optimism that usually accompanies and international move I never even contemplated this. (Stockdale would have bought a return!)
This is just me, act in haste repent at leisure, not everyone has this much trouble with health issues.
My partner is an Development Engineer. 15 years experience, fabulous references, lots of qualifications.... We had his CV 'redone' by Hewitt Consultancy, and paid for a 'career course' as he'd always worked for the same company since Uni and just progressed through the ranks.
The truth is that his old co would probably find him a position, possibly not at the same level, but work all the same. I have already made some contacts at home and I'm sure I'd be able to find something or other. Even if I don't at least I'll have family to support me whilst I support my partner and work on getting him back to 'normal' again.
As for toughing it out for a bit longer, it's been a long, hard 8 months, I probably shouldn't have brought him out of England.... He's always had a tendency to melancholia, it was foolish of me to think that removing him from his comfort zone would be a great thing to do
Like I say, we can always do it again, and I've learnt some valuable lessions;
That I shouldn't have been so wreckless when we were moving
That I need to properly consider the consequences if things went tits up.
That I could do with taking a few pages out of the James Stockdale philosophy (always expect the worst possible case scenario)
That I should have had an escape route planned in advance, as it is I'm trailing the internet looking for removals, pet shippers, and cheap flights An open ended return would have provided a year of safety net at a very small additional cost over the price of a one way ticket.... because I was full of the optimism that usually accompanies and international move I never even contemplated this. (Stockdale would have bought a return!)
This is just me, act in haste repent at leisure, not everyone has this much trouble with health issues.
Mar 26th 2009, 1:59 pm
#71
Just Joined
Joined: Mar 2009
Location: Australia
Posts: 16
Re: Are you glad you moved to Australia?
Thanks for your comments.
I wish you every success with your move and I'm sure that the future is very bright for you.
I wish you every success with your move and I'm sure that the future is very bright for you.
Mar 26th 2009, 6:29 pm
#72
BE Enthusiast
Joined: Oct 2007
Posts: 960
Re: Are you glad you moved to Australia?
it would be good if those that have said they tried it and didn't like it, could give a brief explanation as to why, as this would help would be migrants look in more detail at those things which have made people return.
you never know, it may even save some going through the same scenario.
you never know, it may even save some going through the same scenario.
We loved it there and would like to return, but life's securities seem to take over and there fore would like to secure jobs before going back as this was one o the main reasons for returning, especially security for the children.
But the children are all over eighteen now and have now got to the stage of both of them saying they would not return, so i think we are biding our time for them leaving home or sorting out what would be best to do under the circumstances before returning.
I tend to go up and down most days on the subject of returning, i think possibly because we would not be a whole family over in Aus next time and what with it being so far away from the UK for the boys.
