NinaU

These past couple of days I have been avidly following this NG and must say - it is really good - have managed to get so much information -just incredible!

About us, we got our PR in 2000, but will move only in 2005. We started planning both financially and otherwise about 10 years ago!! We are giving up our careers and the potential to go on earning as much as we are earning now, in search of a better quality of life.

I hope our dreams come true, our expectation are really very simple!!

Career- wise and money-wise we have absolutely no expectations in Australia. I am prepared for the fact that we will earn probably less than 10% of what we are earning now - so no room for regrets. We are both currently in the financial sector, but are open to ANY kind of work that will earn us some income.

We have been working far too hard and far too long. Have led an extremely simple life - and we now want to enjoy life in Australia with our kids while we are still young. We have saved for the future - retirement, children's college education, health care etc etc. This has a very very big contribution to my dream.

My definition of a good life and my Australian dream is as follows:

- Enjoying our kids (second one on the way in a few weeks!!) and being able to spend more time with them (we both plan to semi retire - work part time only). Lots of outings - parks, picnics etc etc, with family and may be friends -have a large budget for this. We enjoyed the clean air, greenery -and loved Melbourne for this reason.

-Having lots and lots of friends. I am very social and get on well with people of all races and cultures. Already have some family in Melbourne. So lot of entertaining on the weekends.

- A reasonable sized house in a good location (i.e. safe area, close to good school, parks). Nothing fancy - three bedroom with a small garden would do very well for me. Have saved up for this.

- I have worked out a budget - and reckon I need about AU$3,000 - $3,500 (about Us$ 2k) a month after tax to live my dream. This is pretty high...especially if we only plan working part-time, that is the reason why we did not move in 2000- decided to suffer the rat race and work a little longer and save more money to supplement our income in Aus.

As regards living away from family - we are already living an expat life -for the past 10 years away from family and the place where we grew up. Moreover there is always email, phone, and the trips back home every year.

I do hope our dreams come true - have been dreaming about this life for the past 10 years and can't wait to come and live there.

Happy New Year every one and hope all your dreams come true - wherever you want to live!

Regards
Nina

mashiraz

Welcome to the forum and good to hear your story. We applied Sept 2001, waiting for PR but signs are looking hopeful now that we might hear soon.

Hopefully make the shift in the UK summer/autumn. Hoped it would be earlier but we've waited this long (over 4 years in the planning) we can wait a little more.

Hope to hear from you more.

Mash...

NinaU

Hi mash,
I know the wait can be quite agonizing - we waited 9 months before we finally got the good news. The feeling when you get the PR is simply fantastic!! At that time we had applied through Athens (not Adelaide)

Hope you get yours soon!
Rgds
Nina

Jaj

Nina

    >NinaU wrote in message ...
    >About us, we got our PR in 2000, but will move only in 2005.

1. I presume you did validate your visas with a holiday in Australia in
2000?

2. If you move in 2005 you are going to have to be very careful. Your
visas will let you stay in Australia if you arrive before the expiry date
but you will NOT be able to travel without a Resident Return Visa. Not even
to New Zealand for a few days holiday.

3. You won't get an RRV easily until you have either spent two years in
Australia. You can try and make a case once you can show you've established
your home in Australia (ie not just visiting). There is a restricted three
month RRV that's easier to get if you have a compelling reason to travel.

4. Once the expiry date on your migrant visa has passed, it's useless to
travel to Australia as a resident.

5. Read the notes I've written at
http://australianz.topcities.com/permanent.htm

6. Why such a long delay in moving?


Jeremy

This is not intended to be legal advice in any jurisdiction

tinaj

It sounds like you have made a sensible decision to save as much as you can, especially as the Aus $ has a high exchange rate at the moment ( against the £)
Bide your time and transfer the money when you get the best rate are you living in the Uk or the States?

I am sure you will love it when you finally get out there, life is for living not working !

Best of luck
Tina

scoobydooathome

Hi Tina,

Like the quote, ''life is for living not working'' well not too much work anyway...

Scoobydooathome

NinaU

Thanks for your reply JAJ

>> I presume you did validate your visas with a holiday in Australia in
2000?

Yes we did - Oct 2000

>>There is a restricted three month RRV that's easier to get if you have a compelling reason to travel.

Yes, we are aware of this. In case of an emergency, will apply for this type of RRV


>>Why such a long delay in moving?

Like I said, we both have very good, well paying jobs. Would like to save up as much as possible to make life easier for us in Australia. Would loved to have moved earlier - but know that we will never earn this kind of money in Australia - not even with 'Australian qualifications' and 'Austrlian work experience'. Want to enjoy Australia, not struggle!

Rgds
Nina

Robert Nicholson

Can one assume that you are from London and you've been working in the
City?

I'm torn b/w two possibilities right now. I'm married I'm also 32 and
I'm in IT. The later makes my choice more difficult as the industry is
suffering cut backs left right and center. I'm also British and
Australian and could take my wife to either location. My wife is Thai
(respectable family and job here in Bangkok.) I have about 100K AUD
saved up and so I'm wondering if I'm making the right decision in
trying to seek work in the UK right now as opposed to just going to
Australia/Melbourne and setting up permanently there or at least
making a determined effort to find work there before trying the UK.
The fear is that should I be forced to work in a different industry
I'm sure the quality of life will be a higher priority than money in
the bank.

The rationale is that if I can find IT work in the UK the money I can
save there will go further in Australia but given that my wife is Thai
I also need to consider the quality of life aspects as well versus the
monetary apsects.

Difficult choices.

NinaU wrote in message news:...
    > These past couple of days I have been avidly following this NG and must
    > say - it is really good - have managed to get so much information -just
    > incredible!
    >
    > About us, we got our PR in 2000, but will move only in 2005. We started
    > planning both financially and otherwise about 10 years ago!! We are
    > giving up our careers and the potential to go on earning as much as we
    > are earning now, in search of a better quality of life.
    >
    > I hope our dreams come true, our expectation are really very simple!!
    >
    > Career- wise and money-wise we have absolutely no expectations in
    > Australia. I am prepared for the fact that we will earn probably less
    > than 10% of what we are earning now - so no room for regrets. We are
    > both currently in the financial sector, but are open to ANY kind of work
    > that will earn us some income.
    >
    > We have been working far too hard and far too long. Have led an
    > extremely simple life - and we now want to enjoy life in Australia with
    > our kids while we are still young. We have saved for the future -
    > retirement, children's college education, health care etc etc. This has
    > a very very big contribution to my dream.
    >
    > My definition of a good life and my Australian dream is as follows:
    >
    > - Enjoying our kids (second one on the way in a few weeks!!) and being
    > able to spend more time with them (we both plan to semi retire - work
    > part time only). Lots of outings - parks, picnics etc etc, with
    > family and may be friends -have a large budget for this. We enjoyed
    > the clean air, greenery -and loved Melbourne for this reason.
    >
    > -Having lots and lots of friends. I am very social and get on well with
    > people of all races and cultures. Already have some family in Melbourne.
    > So lot of entertaining on the weekends.
    >
    > - A reasonable sized house in a good location (i.e. safe area, close to
    > good school, parks). Nothing fancy - three bedroom with a small garden
    > would do very well for me. Have saved up for this.
    >
    > - I have worked out a budget - and reckon I need about AU$3,000 -
    > $3,500 (about Us$ 2k) a month after tax to live my dream. This is
    > pretty high...especially if we only plan working part-time, that is
    > the reason why we did not move in 2000- decided to suffer the rat
    > race and work a little longer and save more money to supplement our
    > income in Aus.
    >
    > As regards living away from family - we are already living an expat
    > life -for the past 10 years away from family and the place where we
    > grew up. Moreover there is always email, phone, and the trips back home
    > every year.
    >
    > I do hope our dreams come true - have been dreaming about this life for
    > the past 10 years and can't wait to come and live there.
    >
    > Happy New Year every one and hope all your dreams come true - wherever
    > you want to live!
    >
    > Regards
    > Nina

Tyke

    >>> Why such a long delay in moving?
    > Like I said, we both have very good, well paying jobs. Would like to
    > save up as much as possible to make life easier for us in Australia.
    > Would loved to have moved earlier - but know that we will never earn
    > this kind of money in Australia - not even with 'Australian
    > qualifications' and 'Austrlian work experience'. Want to enjoy
    > Australia, not struggle!
    > Rgds
    > Nina

We worked our nuts off in the UK for 10 years. All of this for a good start
here in Adelaide.
It was the right way to go about it - especially as the exchange rate has
been very kind to us this last few years.

Be careful of the exchange rate though - who knows where it will be in
2005 - try sending spare money over now.

We have been here for nearly 3 years and not regretted it - apart form
missing family and friends in the uk ;-(

Cheers Russell


--
"You had better stop fighting by the time I get back,or
you're ALL grounded.
-God

mashiraz

Robert, There is life and good jobs outside of the city, and there are more cities in the UK than London. Open your mind..


Mash..

Axel Van Kampen

"NinaU" wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
    > Like I said, we both have very good, well paying jobs. Would like to
    > save up as much as possible to make life easier for us in Australia.
    > Would loved to have moved earlier - but know that we will never earn
    > this kind of money in Australia - not even with 'Australian
    > qualifications' and 'Austrlian work experience'. Want to enjoy
    > Australia, not struggle!

I have been here for 20 years now, working in IT and I earn more money in
Australia than I'd be able to in Europe. I have a much higher living
standard than my collegues working for the same firm in the UK and even the
US.

Don't assume that you can't get good paying jobs in Australia. You can, I
did.

NinaU

Axel,
Regarding your comment :

>>Don't assume that you can't get good paying jobs in Australia. You can, I did.

We are not in the IT sector - we are in the Finance sector. I have seen every job advertised, talked to several recruitment agencies - salaries just cannot compare.

To put it in better perspective - what we save in a year curently, would probably take about 6-7 years in Australia -assuming we were paid top bracket salaries there in our respective fields (very very unlikely to start at the top - w/o contacts, local work exp, local qualifications etc etc).

I want to quit working as soon as possible. Our priorities are to spend more time with our kids and enjoy life in Australia w/o having to worry about our finances.

BTW I have never been to the UK or Europe for that matter - only place we were never posted!.


Best Regards
Nina

Robert Nicholson

That's true. My last assignment was in Munich and life there was
considerably more enjoyable than the UK but in my case I do need a
good public transport infrastructure so that limits places outside of
London although I'm not totally up on which other areas have this.
Utilities in the UK seem to be very poor in general though.

mashiraz wrote in message news:...
    > Robert, There is life and good jobs outside of the city, and there are
    > more cities in the UK than London. Open your mind..
    >
    >
    > Mash..
    > Originally posted by Robert Nicholson
    > > Can one assume that you are from London and you've been working in the
    > > City?
    > >
    > >
    > > Difficult choices.
    > >
    > > > Regards
    > > Nina

Robert Nicholson

I suspect the original poster has been able to enjoy some very nice
bonuses during the good years and this money will go a long way in
Australia. From what I understand I dont't think they can expect to
earn anywhere near as much as a financial center like the UK in
Australia. They don't appear to be short of a quid and have planned
well. There's no question if you have kids already that life in
Australia will be significantly better than the UK. I fortunately (in
my case) do not so I have a bit more freedom in my decision making.
But I spent 4 years in Melbourne and it's a very nice city to live in.
I've not lived there since 1992 so I don't know what's changed since
then. I've visited but visiting is different.

NinaU wrote in message news:...
    > Axel,
    > Regarding your comment :
    >
    > >>Don't assume that you can't get good paying jobs in Australia. You
    > >>can, I did.
    >
    > We are not in the IT sector - we are in the Finance sector. I have seen
    > every job advertised, talked to several recruitment agencies - salaries
    > just cannot compare.
    >
    > To put it in better perspective - what we save in a year curently,
    > would probably take about 6-7 years in Australia -assuming we were paid
    > top bracket salaries there in our respective fields (very very unlikely
    > to start at the top - w/o contacts, local work exp, local
    > qualifications etc etc).
    >
    > I want to quit working as soon as possible. Our priorities are to spend
    > more time with our kids and enjoy life in Australia w/o having to worry
    > about our finances.
    >
    > BTW I have never been to the UK or Europe for that matter - only place
    > we were never posted!.
    >
    >
    > Best Regards
    > Nina

Tatiana

This mean approx. $60K/year before taxes - for financial sector it is merely an entry level positions (full time of course), so I think you can expect more. At the same time it is not very big money, for Sydney at least