rday

is any body in the same boat as me.

i have never been to oz/nz.

when i get my pr, we're selling up and buying a one way ticket to oz.

i't too expensive to go visit first(2 adult/2 kids(8/10))

he have heard so many good things about it,and heard from a few people who are in tears and big regrets because they had the chance years ago to go to oz,but they bottled out,or their other halfs said no.and now they are to old to qualify for points.

rday

yvsie

Hi Rday,

We too havent been to OZ...we have friends there and also Ive chatted to 2 or 3 women on here who are hoping to settle nr Perth which is where we want to go..so that would be nice...a little support group ready for us for when we get there!!!

We were gonna go in1995...and I chickened out!!..I had my skills assessment done but dilly dallied on other things..and got cold feet...so only got the pool mark which at the time was 95.

So NOW....we're thinking...at ages 40 and 41...IF we dont do it now...it WILL be toooooo late!!!!
AND we dont want to regret it!!!

So hopefully I will be sending my skills assessment off in the next 2 weeks..just waiting for 2 letters...then get certifications done...and we're on the journey properly!!!

Where are you in the process??

Yvonne

rday

had skills assessed
sent visa app july 2001 at london

going as 35 yr old 47sk plumber
i'm glad i'm not the only oz virgin
good luck
rday

Pread

We're in the same boat too. Would love to have gone for a holiday first, but didn't
due to the cost. But we have (distant) family there, and most of our close families
have visted extensively. Plus of course we've done plenty of research in these forums
and elsewhere. We're lucky in that we have a family out there to put us up, and show
us around when we get to Melbourne. Actually not liking Oz is quite a long way down
out list of things to worry about...

This site may be of interest to those with kids, it's a good way to meet people
before you go :

http://www.p2p.au.com/

Cheers, Paul.

Thunder Ace

rday <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:<[email protected]>...
    > had skills assessed sent visa app july 2001 at london
    >
    > going as 35 yr old 47sk plumber i'm glad i'm not the only oz virgin good luck rday

Go for it you guys. I have been there but I like the maverick spirit that says "sod
this, I'm off".

"Que sera sera" and all that.

Good luck

Thunder Ace

MrFlibbleUK

Not been to Oz.....but weeellll.....my view is your a long time wormfood/dust so might as well give it a go....if its rubbish I will come back (although would have to be real bad for that to happen though). Obviously am checking out what people say about it....reading books about Oz (BTW the book by Bill Bryson is quite informative/funny).

Go for it!

hibee

Hi Rday,
We have never been either , i agree with your asumption 100% , we also have 2 kids.I have been waiting since Dec 2000 for the magic call and have recently been a bit down , but it is nice to see things are moving again , and hopefully i may here soon aswell.

Cheers

bsftaylorm

You guys have got some guts. Don't know if I could up sticks and go live somewhere I've never been before, that is thousands of miles away!

I am lucky - I have an Australian wife, and have been to OZ twice (third time in 2 weeks). Went to Brisbane, 'cos that's where the better half originates from. First impression - it's very bright! Second impression - what a great place for my kids to grow up.

I have to say that I do not think you will be disappointed by the country - it is a wonderful place full of down to earth people.

I love it.

Good luck with the applications.

Mark

sophia

Hi guys, I'm dead impressed with your sense of adventure! I am sure you will absolutely love it because you all seem to be going with the right attitude to it.

We went over in October of last year, it was my husbands first time and we decided within the first week of visiting that it would be a better place to bring up our boy, so we applied for his spouse visa and we're off in October.

Can't wait!!

heading downunder 2002

Hi all,

We have been twice, can't afford another holiday, so lets move there!!.

It is a great place and just to be able to plan how you are going to spend a day the following week will be wonderful.

We have had a lovely sunny day here in Cumbria today but then the forecast for the weekend says a possibility of SNOW showers!!!

I can't wait and now we know we won't have to spend another miserable winter here!!!

Susan

jopaulss

Hi Guys
Well done all my husband wanted to go out without a visit , but me being me no we had to go out and see. So we were very lucky and went out for 6 weeks over december 2000 to january 2001 wow we had a ball,xmas on the beach ,new year in Perth wearing shorts and tshirts.
You will all love it so save your monies and just buy a oneway ticket thats what we plan to do now .
Good luck
Joanne and Paul x

kiran rowe

Hi Rday,

Went to Oz for three weeks last year for the first time with hubby, partly as holiday and partly to see if I could live there permanently. Was captivated by Sydney. It's a beautiful, cosmopolitan, vibrant, clean, modern, family-friendly and environmentally-friendly city with lots of water features - even in the heart of the business district. I have never been a big fan of skyscrapers but the ones in Syndey are architectural masterpieces. At weekends the parks are filled with families having picnics and barbecues. It's wonderful. The Blue Mountains (only 90 minutes away) and the Hunter Valley (2 hour drive) are spectacular - the latter is a wine lover's paradise. We even spent our second anniverary there in a fabulous hotel where all nine rooms (in the form of cabins) are themed - ours was in the style of a luxury ship's cabin with a balcony overlooking vineyards. We had chilled wine brought to our rooms, a delicious gourmet meal in the evening and a full breakfast the next day and all for £100 for both of us. Liked Brisbane as well but didn't think much of Canberra after seeing Sydney. I don't suppose it helped it was -2C at night as we went in May. I went to Oz not sure what to expect and came away mesmerised. I raved about how great Oz is to friends for weeks. Now I am just waiting for my PR visa. Hubby doesn't need one as he is an Australian citizen by descent and has been itching to go back since he returned to the UK (not by choice) 12 years ago. He's out there now for 2 weeks for job interviews and rings me at home everyday to tell me how hot it is

dugongs

I think that Oz is so similar to UK in a lot of basic ways that it does'nt really matter about visiting first. Its a wonderful experience moving to the other side of the world and gives you a unique perspective on life. Been here nearly four years and has given me surprisingly a different view of the UK as well and can now appreciate both UK and OZ equally - both places have their faults and both places have their benefits in my view.

I do think that if you are going to move here though not to bother with the southern cities as they all have great weather in the summer (english winter) but the rest of the year is not that flash particuarly melbourne and even sydney seems to have regular storms and depressions throughout the year. I think Perth and Brisbane have the closest to the perfect climate we Brits dream about in the depths of winter !!!

Jaj

I would say to anyone considering moving to Australia that they must plan to stay for
a number of years, eg 3 years, no matter what. Even if the husband can't get a job in
his skill area, or the wife feels homesick (without wanting to generalise too much,
but these are the most common problems), you should decide in advance to stick things
out for that period of time. If at the end of 3 years you still want to go home, do
so. Many migrants do find the first years difficult, but are glad they stayed and
didn't go home before giving Australia a chance.

3 years is also long enough to apply for and be granted Australian citizenship -
which won't cause loss of British citizenship. It's not unknown for those who return
to the UK after moving to Australia, to want to go to Australia a second time. If
they have Aus citizenship, or valid resident return visas it's possible, if they
haven't got citizenship, let their RRVs expire and don't qualify for migration a
second time, then they can't.

Melbourne's climate during the winter is not spectacular - although I daresay it's
better than London's winter - but Sydney during the winter is often very nice with a
lot of sunshine and reasonable temperatures (18/19C during the day). Sydney's weather
is often more stable and consistent in winter than it is in summer, especially late
summer (February).

Jeremy

    >On 25 Apr 2002 00:30:08 GMT, dugongs <[email protected]> wrote:

    >I think that Oz is so similar to UK in a lot of basic ways that it does'nt really
    >matter about visiting first. Its a wonderful experience moving to the other side of
    >the world and gives you a unique perspective on life. Been here nearly four years
    >and has given me surprisingly a different view of the UK as well and can now
    >appreciate both UK and OZ equally - both places have their faults and both places
    >have their benefits in my view.
    >
    >I do think that if you are going to move here though not to bother with the southern
    >cities as they all have great weather in the summer (english winter) but the rest of
    >the year is not that flash particuarly melbourne and even sydney seems to have
    >regular storms and depressions throughout the year. I think Perth and Brisbane have
    >the closest to the perfect climate we Brits dream about in the depths of winter !!!
    >
    >
    >
    >--
    >Posted via http://britishexpats.com

Thunder Ace

[email protected] (JAJ) wrote in message
news:<[email protected]>...
    > I would say to anyone considering moving to Australia that they must plan to stay
    > for a number of years, eg 3 years, no matter what. Even if the husband can't get a
    > job in his skill area, or the wife feels homesick (without wanting to generalise
    > too much, but these are the most common problems), you should decide in advance to
    > stick things out for that period of time. If at the end of 3 years you still want
    > to go home, do so. Many migrants do find the first years difficult, but are glad
    > they stayed and didn't go home before giving Australia a chance.
    >
    > 3 years is also long enough to apply for and be granted Australian citizenship -
    > which won't cause loss of British citizenship. It's not unknown for those who
    > return to the UK after moving to Australia, to want to go to Australia a second
    > time. If they have Aus citizenship, or valid resident return visas it's possible,
    > if they haven't got citizenship, let their RRVs expire and don't qualify for
    > migration a second time, then they can't.
    >
    > Melbourne's climate during the winter is not spectacular - although I daresay it's
    > better than London's winter - but Sydney during the winter is often very nice with
    > a lot of sunshine and reasonable temperatures (18/19C during the day). Sydney's
    > weather is often more stable and consistent in winter than it is in summer,
    > especially late summer (February).
    >
    > Jeremy
    >
    > >On 25 Apr 2002 00:30:08 GMT, dugongs <[email protected]> wrote:
    >
    > >I think that Oz is so similar to UK in a lot of basic ways that it does'nt really
    > >matter about visiting first. Its a wonderful experience moving to the other side
    > >of the world and gives you a unique perspective on life. Been here nearly four
    > >years and has given me surprisingly a different view of the UK as well and can now
    > >appreciate both UK and OZ equally - both places have their faults and both places
    > >have their benefits in my view.
    > >
    > >I do think that if you are going to move here though not to bother with the
    > >southern cities as they all have great weather in the summer (english winter) but
    > >the rest of the year is not that flash particuarly melbourne and even sydney seems
    > >to have regular storms and depressions throughout the year. I think Perth and
    > >Brisbane have the closest to the perfect climate we Brits dream about in the
    > >depths of winter !!!
    > >
    > >
Hi JAJ, that comment you made about the wife being home sick, or the husband or any
other partner for that matter. Sod that, if they want to go home, there's regular
flights outta there! I'll be staying put.

Reading the rest of your message, I've noticed it only seems to apply to British
people. You know, "british citizenship", "we brits" and all that. Come on mate, this
is a global site.

Thunder Ace