s-jmelbournewannabe

hi Malcs66,

We are planning away at the moment. got our visa over a month ago now and been non stop before that and after. we sold our house too b4 got visa and not regretted it..

Think you've just gotta go for it and not be too serious as it will make it a lot harder for you when the time does come. i'm just cramming in as much as i can into 100 cu ft. anything that dosnt fit isnt coming as simple as that.

have got my flights booked for nov 25th and have just hired a car and paid for a rental on the sunshine coast. just got to get kels and andy over there so they can meet us at the airport with our linen and carseats!! oh and so they can enjoy their new lives in Australia too...

Just go for it, live your life a little dangerously!! We have 4 kids, 3 young and i was sooo serious about life then something clicked and i thought F**k it you only live once!!!

S-j xx

Dawn&Andy

we just going for it now think well if it all goes wrong so what we needed a sort out anyway, but like u cant see us not getting it meds and pccs were all ok so no other reason really we shouldnt get it, its just a matter of time, only reason we aint sold our house yet cos it needed doing up for us to get max price for it or i think we prob would have sold up well before we got visa, we wanna be there as soon as we get visa or soon after anyway, should be able to get estate agent round finally this week, we just finished the kitchen this morning and so long as rain holds off tomorrow we will paint garage door and thats it whole house been decorated, just hope it sells after all our hard work

just go for it and dont worry too much, think of the new life thats ahead, we got 3 kids too and they are fine they going with the flow, its a big adventure for us all, but i wouldnt change a thing, we cant wait to get going!

s-jmelbournewannabe

nice one dawn, Glad you finished it all and found your mojo again... S-j xx

Dawn&Andy

thanks sj turned into a good week actually after my little blip earlier in the week, still no news on visa but im back focussed on wots to be done and feeling much more positive now

and well done u with all your organising, you soon be sorted and on that plane

andreak

Here's a saying I found on my travels and think it is so good I thought I'd share it with you all:

"Life should NOT be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in an attractive and well preserved body, but rather to skid in sideways, chocolate in one hand, wine in the other, body thoroughly used up, totally worn out and screaming "WOO HOO what a ride!"

Think this puts getting a visa, and emigrating in the "WOO HOO what a ride" box!!

Malcs66

thanks for your views. We are not generally that cautious or we wouldn't be applying for oz. I know what you mean about going for it, we talked about oz for ages then a friend of mine died of a heart attack at the age of 34 and that made my mind up. Like you we want to be over there asap due to my sons age (15) we would like him to finish school over there to get oz qualifications.
Its typical, you get all the jobs done on your house and then you sell it. We have done loads to ours and have three people round and got three offers, so the hard work paid off.
I guess i'm going to be busy putting ad's on ebay this week

Malcs66

love it!!

brissie-here-we-come

have got my flights booked for nov 25th and have just hired a car and paid for a rental on the sunshine coast. just got to get kels and andy over there so they can meet us at the airport with our linen and carseats!! oh and so they can enjoy their new lives in Australia too...

nicely put s-j, hope we do too ,

we charge did i not tell you that, bit cheaper than the aussies though

no probs mate really , looking forward to getting there and putting on our first post , in oz , and telling you wot a fantstastic time were having

kels x

loubylou1

hiya all..........we are starting to think about what to take and who with......there used to be a good thread on be but i can't find it now, which listed loads of things i have never thought of. does anyone know where it is or got some good tips of ther own. Like others we are not taking much, as most our stuff is past its best. but we have to take 20 tonnes of my hubbies nik naks..............that would fill 100 cubic feet in no time! was wondering about buying a pc here too, but could we survive that long with out one at the other side?sooo much to think about! gotta sell the house first!lol good luck all who is still waiting for stuff....loux

The howellers

Hi liverpool lass!Hope things are well with you? could you update our info please?? we have now sent off pc and meds so final wait now!! Thank you! Tracey.X (the howellers)

bundybell

Hi All,
Just thought id tell you about our journey to becoming wanna be ozzies.
I turned 45 in june just made it with my application as 45 is cut off point age for applicants! Im a nurse in Cardiff
My husband is warehouse manager and worked in Bundaberg QLD [ 4 hours drive North Brissie]years ago before he met me always had good memories of the place and said we would visit one day. One of his mates stayed and married an ozzie lass has his own business and would not come back.
I was nursing a women one week older than my self who was told she had 6 wks to live. I thought thats it lets go to Oz and visit my hubbies friend.I booked the flights on my credit card and off we went. this was in Aug 04. I fell in love with the place and we started planning our move back then. We have been back twice more and took our children in feb this year. My daughter turned 21 !! while we was in sydney. My son is 18 !! so our application has been difficult as we have had to prove they are dependant on us and have remained in education. Plus to get enough points we have to give $100.000 bond[ good job had house to sell]
I came back home with a firm job offer, i will be working for the Friendlies Society private hospital on approx $ 40.000 a yr without enhancments.
We could not have applied without our immigration consultant expertise and guidance, she is brilliant worth ever penny.
We sold our house Dec06 before we applied, so was in the position to put deposit down on piece of land when visiting in Feb 868sq metres $127.000 !!we have even had plans for house and pool done just waiting for us to get there. We are lucky that the sale of our house is going to fund most of this, however i will have a mortgage because QLD gov allow nurses to pay mortgage before tax is taken thats their thankyou for being a nurse good a!!My new employer is wanting me to start in Sept if possible they have 2 new wards being built so need the staff. So i am hoping i get a case officer very soon. They have everything so all i got to do is wait, but o my god is it ever stressful its driving me insane.
We have just sold my sons car, had loads of car boots living in rented just got furniture using a mo to sell we have just started advertising it .
Its all a gamble but what the hell our consultant is confident we have done all we can so weve gone for it.
This site helps me though only just found it but good to see others in same position.
Hope i havent bored you with how i became a Marchie
Bundybell [ the name of a boat that cruises the river in Bundaberg]

TheSubMainMan

Hi bundybell,

Mind if I ask where you got your house plans from?

It's just that we also want to buy a plot of land and build something on it. I'm looking for some cheap off the shelf plans and haven't found anywhere to get them from yet! A nice queenslander would do me.

Any tips appreciated.

bundybell

We got the plans from looking at show houses, we seen one and all of us fell in love with it, so the guy modified it to our needs before we left Bundaberg.
It was quick and all done in a day. Builders are known to the estate agents out there so if you find a piece of land first they will be able to point you towards reputable builders. another thing to consisder, that the estate agents can help you with is the covenant. all plots have these they stipulate what type of house can be bulit on the plots.
If you want to purchase a plot before entering Oz you have to apply to the FIRB[ foriegn investment review board] This you can download from their site.
and takes about a month to get approval. You have to inform them what type of house you intend to build on it too. Once granted permission to buy you have to start build within 12 months plus inform them when build started and completed.
Also if you start build before being perminant resident you will have to pay stamp duty and would not be intitalled to first time buyer grant which i believe is $7000. None of this i believe is availble if on a tempory visa.
hope this helps
Bundybell

Katsmajics other half !!!

Evening guys thats a great saying..........and all true might i add.......my bosy is going to reach end in a well used state and hopefully abused by the good lady.

whats the point in arriving at the fianl destination wishing you had done this and that.........i reckon just go do it and be like a kid again.


NO FEAR !!!!

s-jmelbournewannabe

loubylou1, get a laptop and take it as hand luggage. we're taking ours that way.

Malcs66, go for it mate!

Bundybell, nice story. thanks for sharing it with us.. expats is fab i love it!!

Andrea, nicely put, couldnt say better myself.. S-j xxx