Contemplating a move to Australia, at the moment just looking at our options and looking for some advice.

My husband is an electrician, I am a staff nurse and we have 3 kids- our oldest in high school. So what we are considering doing, is, for hubby to go over for 3 months, hopefully give him time to get his electrical qualifications sorted and get a feel for things and then we would join him. We are hoping this would make the move smoother for the kids and possibly be easier financially-we will be keeping our house in the uk and renting out until we are certain we are settled.

Our other option s to sell up and move over together with the profits from the house-argh, such a big decsion and not sure what way would be best-can anyone share their experiences?

Thanks

Roberta

Hi Roberta,

Can't help with the nursing, and have replied to your post in the Electricians forum. Do you have any idea of where in Australia you are likely to be headed? Also, where are you on the visa process?

Hi Old.sparkles,

Thank you for your replies, just read through the info you posted on my other post, Thanks for that. We are thinking of Perth, but at the moment still doing our research for best career prospects, salary, schooling, cost of living ect. The visa process is a bit of a mind-field along with Australian nursing register haha! so we haven't started our visa apps at the moment, would hope to get the ball rolling early 2014, looking for as much advice as possible for now from people that have made the move.

You might want to rethink selling your house - it's always good to have a bit of back up! Moving with a HS student can be a tad tricky - if they are young enough then GCSEs become an issue - if they step off the GCSE roundabout it gets harder to step back on it. 16 is the crucial age for Aus final 2 years of schooling, if you miss that boat then you are better to wait until after A levels. Another thing to consider is to take a career break rather than burn all your bridges.

First task though, get your visas and see what happens

We sold up lock, stock and barrel and haven't looked back.
Some people we met who moved here the same time as us are heading back after 6 months - she loved it, he couldn't settle as he didn't like his job. They had kept their house in the UK.

It's a personal decision and no one has the right answer but I think if you keep your house it's because deep down you suspect you will return at some point.

Not so sure about your last point. We keep our house in the UK, but purely because it makes sense from a financial perspective not because of any other reason. Personally, I'd like to get rid of it, but it makes sense to have it rented out at the moment rather than sell, so that's what we do.

There is no right answer to this one, it comes down to personal choice. We certainly contemplated the idea of one of us going first, looking for work and then the other joining later. We didn't need to do that in the end, but we did think about it. If you have a low risk threshold, then it might be the best option for you.

On the other hand, those three months apart are probably going to be hard on everyone and there is a lot to be said for starting this adventure together as a family. If you have a slightly higher risk threshold, then this might be the right option for you.

Personally, love it, so glad we came, three kids love it and are thriving. We sold everything, I do personally think if you keep your uk house you are more likely to go back...

We're contemplating travelling back three months apart, so am curious what you mean by risk thresholds?

My advice would be to not sell the house. You might need to be on the property ladder in the UK if things don't work out in Australia. Plus, property prices in Britain are on the up, so better to wait for the market to peak imo. Also, don't underestimate the impact of migrating with a teenager. Unless yours is super keen for the move, it could be very hard on him. Keep all your options open for as long as possible. At least, that's what I'd do.

Fair point GG. I guess for some people it makes financial sense

Well we are quite risk averse. So that is why we considered travelling one at a time, so that we keep one job and income going. Then when the one that travelled first is settled, the second one followed. It seems less risky to us than both giving up jobs and taking a leap.

Had we been bigger risk takers, then maybe we would have just both resigned and gone for it at same time.

In the end we both lined up jobs before we went, so it was even less riskier for us.

Agreed. Us too. I think for many of us who have moved recently it has made the most financial sense to do that. We would realise a massive loss if we sold now and then we wouldn't get many $ for the pound either. So it makes sense to leave it.

We sold the house at the start of 2008, for a bit less than it was worth, but as we had lived in it for 8 years it gave us quite a bit of equity to start again here. DD had just finished the first year of High School, but had to repeat the last term and a bit as we arrived in August, and didn't want to put her up a year. She is just about to start her IB exams on Monday- we did that rather than the HSC (Australian exam system) so that if she had needed to go back mid way through her schooling, she could have slotted back into a British school offering the IB.

For what it is worth, we are very happy here, and bought our property here 6 months after arriving. Others are less content and leave after a year or less, and some (who have ponged back and forth) just can't seem to settle anywhere.

If you sell your house, then you have to try to make a go of it. If you are not sure you want to stay, then don't sell.

Personally I would say dont move. I came over to perth in 2006 with my long time partner and its been downhill since. I am now single and stuck in a small apartment on my own and unemployed wondering what the hell I am doing here.
If theres one thing I have learned its that its not where you are thats important but who you are with. Stay where you are and enjoy what you have. Thats just my opinion, everyone has one :P