Did you migrate without visiting first?
May 28th 2011, 2:27 am
#16
Mostly Harmless
Joined: Jan 2010
Location: Semi-rural wonderworld, Brisbane
Posts: 15,109
Re: Did you migrate without visiting first?
The OH has always lived around Brisbane and wanted to buy a house close the MIL so the general area was also fixed. She did say if I didn't get on the heat/humidity then we could give Tassie a go, which was jolly nice of her. I can see us (or just me?
) moving there later in life.Made perfect sense at the time and can't say I've ever doubted the move.
I've always been at my best with few fixed plans and fewer expectations.
May 28th 2011, 3:11 am
#17
BE Forum Addict
Joined: Apr 2005
Location: Melbourne
Posts: 4,553
Re: Did you migrate without visiting first?
The only place I truly hated was HK. I didn't enjoy living in Manhattan either (although I feel I might think differently now). Both were without any fixed plans.
Last edited by IndieG; May 28th 2011 at 3:21 am.
May 28th 2011, 3:20 am
#18
BE Enthusiast
Joined: Nov 2005
Location: Yorkshire - Queensland - NSW
Posts: 843
Re: Did you migrate without visiting first?
We could not afford to visit before hand ,we could only just afford the one way flight to get here
Rational behavior
yes and no i think we had a lot of luck on our side 
as it could of all gone horribly wrong 
May 28th 2011, 3:34 am
#19
Lost in BE Cyberspace
Joined: Sep 2005
Location: Somewhere South... Not Telling YOU
Posts: 10,959
Re: Did you migrate without visiting first?
Nope, we never visited first... Just immigrated...
Couldnt afford a reccie, so just got on with it... My ancestors who migrated to the uk in 1066 never visited first... They just invaded... So why would we?
I'm hoping that we caused less of a stir than the Norman conquest did...
Couldnt afford a reccie, so just got on with it... My ancestors who migrated to the uk in 1066 never visited first... They just invaded... So why would we?
I'm hoping that we caused less of a stir than the Norman conquest did...
May 28th 2011, 4:13 am
#20
BE Enthusiast
Joined: Jul 2010
Posts: 404
Re: Did you migrate without visiting first?
Yes - We got our permanent visa first and had never been before, but hubby wanted to visit first as he was unsure, although I think I would have taken the plunge without visiting because my sister was already here and she likes the same as me and she had always wanted to move here from when she first visited a few years before (in fact, she never stopped talking about Australia and used to get on my nerves) and she knew i'd love it. We got home and we here 5 months after that.
May 28th 2011, 4:27 am
#21
Forum Regular
Joined: Mar 2009
Location: Frenchs Forest, Sydney
Posts: 218
Re: Did you migrate without visiting first?
Hi unhappy mum,
I tried to send you a PM, but it doesnt go thru to you. I think you need to have more posts to send and receive PM's.
I am sorry that you are struggling to settle in Sydney. One month really is still early days. I really think it would be of great help to you to make a separate post in which you tell us a bit about yourselves, where from, where you live now, ages of kids, a few bit about your family. You will be surprised how a few pointers from the seasoned lot would sort you out. Someone might even invite you over for a cuppa if they are not too far. Please dont suffer in silence here. There are just too many of us who have done it "successfully" before. I live in Drummoyne in the Inner West and knew nobody really. Luckily through this forum and kids/baby stuff I now know plenty of people. We have been here for 2 and a half years and I have now realized how important connections with people are when I broke my leg last week. I am 6 months pregnant and have a 17months old boy too. And everybody has rallied around and I have a constant stream of people bringing me stuff to eat and entertaining us. Just amazing. Please let us know what we can do to help. Good luck.
May 28th 2011, 6:37 am
#22
Still alive
Joined: Jan 2006
Posts: 28,994
Re: Did you migrate without visiting first?
See, Manhattan is about the only place I've visited that I would like to live. Not permanently, but maybe for a couple of years once the kids are grown and on their own.
May 28th 2011, 6:37 am
#23
BE Forum Addict
Joined: Mar 2009
Posts: 1,289
Re: Did you migrate without visiting first?
Yes, it was a rational decision. We did a lot of online research, not just "opinion sites" like BE (but opinions and experiences of other people are helpful), but also factual sites for example BOM.
Until we started the research our gut feeling was we'd move to Sydney. A bit of research and we realised Sydney was not for us. Researched Melbourne next, then Brisbane, then Perth.
Arrived in Perth in Nov 2007 - best decision we ever made
.
May 28th 2011, 7:15 am
#24
Waiting to be a grown-up
Joined: May 2010
Location: Adelaide
Posts: 4,695
Re: Did you migrate without visiting first?
OH has visited before - Sydney and Cairns. I have never been. Our initial plan was to just make the move, but that was working on the old timelines (damn DIAC for speeding things up
). Now we may get our Visa shortly
we will have to do a validation trip as we can't physically make the move until at least July 2012.
So, we will be planning a recce, visiting rellies and hopefully pop in to see some friends, oh and checking the wineries out
). Now we may get our Visa shortly we will have to do a validation trip as we can't physically make the move until at least July 2012.So, we will be planning a recce, visiting rellies and hopefully pop in to see some friends, oh and checking the wineries out
May 28th 2011, 7:34 am
#25
Lost in BE Cyberspace
Joined: Jun 2007
Location: Tropical North QLD
Posts: 21,434
Re: Did you migrate without visiting first?
I came without having been before. Yes it was rational.
Both of us had lived in foreign countries before now so knew that they do things differently in foreign lands.
Pre-determined that we would try and stick it out for at least 2 years and then if we didn't like it we would come back. If there was something seriously wrong we could come back sooner. Using the money not spent on the reccie trip.
We had no plans or desire to move back to where we were living when we left.
We would use the money saved from not doing a reccie to pay for the return trip. If no return trip then we would spend the money otherwise.
Reccies are just holidays and don't give enough of an impression of living somewhere to be useful.
Planned and budgeted for at least 3 months to set up. For us this was better than doing it as part of a reccie trip.
For us it was definitely the best decision. A reccie would have been a waste of time and money. I found the internet thing to be very handy.
Obviously each to their own. Different people different requirements and rationality.
Both of us had lived in foreign countries before now so knew that they do things differently in foreign lands.
Pre-determined that we would try and stick it out for at least 2 years and then if we didn't like it we would come back. If there was something seriously wrong we could come back sooner. Using the money not spent on the reccie trip.
We had no plans or desire to move back to where we were living when we left.
We would use the money saved from not doing a reccie to pay for the return trip. If no return trip then we would spend the money otherwise.
Reccies are just holidays and don't give enough of an impression of living somewhere to be useful.
Planned and budgeted for at least 3 months to set up. For us this was better than doing it as part of a reccie trip.
For us it was definitely the best decision. A reccie would have been a waste of time and money. I found the internet thing to be very handy.
Obviously each to their own. Different people different requirements and rationality.
May 28th 2011, 8:25 am
#26
BE Enthusiast
Joined: Mar 2008
Location: 60 Kms north of Sydney
Posts: 553
Re: Did you migrate without visiting first?
I emigrated in the sixties when air fares cost a fortune so it was straight to Enzed without ever having seen the place, hated it when I got there but gave it a few years and was not getting anywhere. At the time there was very little difference between air-fare and a passenger ship but I didn't have much spare cash to waste on the boat so I caught an aeroplane instead. Similarly I next moved to Australia and it is the best move that I have ever made, loved the place right away and have been very happy here ever since.
May 28th 2011, 8:43 am
#27
Lost in BE Cyberspace
Joined: May 2004
Location: Birkdale QLD
Posts: 7,642
Re: Did you migrate without visiting first?
JTL and I have both worked in Melbourne, visited Sydney and Cairns. However we had never visited Brisbane before we moved here 7 years ago. No regret. JTL wants to retire on Lamma Island in HK, if they don't fill the place with highrises by then. I'm thinking more south of France.
Mrs JTL
May 28th 2011, 8:52 am
#28
Crazy Cat Lady
Joined: Apr 2004
Posts: 65,493
Re: Did you migrate without visiting first?
I would happily live and work in HK or Manhattan (or any metropolitan for that matter) if I didn't have any kids. I love visiting both - for the shops, the restaurants, and more importantly, all my family and close friends are either in HK or east coast of the US.
JTL and I have both worked in Melbourne, visited Sydney and Cairns. However we had never visited Brisbane before we moved here 7 years ago. No regret. JTL wants to retire on Lamma Island in HK, if they don't fill the place with highrises by then. I'm thinking more south of France.
Mrs JTL
JTL and I have both worked in Melbourne, visited Sydney and Cairns. However we had never visited Brisbane before we moved here 7 years ago. No regret. JTL wants to retire on Lamma Island in HK, if they don't fill the place with highrises by then. I'm thinking more south of France.
Mrs JTL
May 28th 2011, 9:44 am
#29
Lost in BE Cyberspace
Joined: May 2004
Location: Birkdale QLD
Posts: 7,642
Re: Did you migrate without visiting first?
Good question... 
He used to think he could retire by 45 (in his dream, well, before the arrival of the Beans anyway!) and now hopes before 55. We need a pre-retirement plan to get rid of the Beans before we go our separate ways to our preferred locations...
Mrs JTL
He used to think he could retire by 45 (in his dream, well, before the arrival of the Beans anyway!) and now hopes before 55. We need a pre-retirement plan to get rid of the Beans before we go our separate ways to our preferred locations...
Mrs JTL
May 28th 2011, 9:58 am
#30
Home and Happy
Joined: Dec 2002
Location: Keep true friends and puppets close, trust no-one else...
Posts: 93,807
Re: Did you migrate without visiting first?
I visited several times before I moved, mostly to Tassie not Qld. And because I was in a relationship with someone living there I did all the day-to-day stuff like supermarkets and banks and real estate hassle. And I LOVED it. However nothing prepared for living here. One of the things I remember was that suddenly I couldn't say "I'll sort that out when I get back to the UK". I had to stay here and sort everything from here, with people who just seemed to talk a different language.
Personally I don;'t think it matters how much time you spend here beforehand, living here is different, it suddenly hits you in the face and makes you think either "hey I like this" or "what the f*** have I done" And even then,, a bit of time here can change your views totally - go back and look at how my posts changed by the end of Feb 2004 when I'd been here 4 months to see that........
Personally I don;'t think it matters how much time you spend here beforehand, living here is different, it suddenly hits you in the face and makes you think either "hey I like this" or "what the f*** have I done" And even then,, a bit of time here can change your views totally - go back and look at how my posts changed by the end of Feb 2004 when I'd been here 4 months to see that........
