OnOurWay

I found applying for jobs from the UK was a complete waste of time. However, as soon as I arrived I found something. My wife found a job from the UK easily. So I guess it just depends what you do. I have that in general applying for jobs here isn't very fruitful. Find a list of companies that you think you have the skills to work for and start talking to them.Just my tupence worth, others may disagree.

We were in a very similar situation to yourselves. We had no other option than a 457 visa. Even then we were told that my wife as newly qualified midwife would need two years experience to be offered a 457 visa. With a lot of phone calls and a trip out here she was able to find someone to sponsor her, just for 12 months. We sold up back in Edinburgh and made the move just before Christmas. In many ways it was (and still is) complete madness. The three of us arrived with nothing and we knew that in a years time we may well have to go home. As it stands now, we have got a further 457 for another 3 years, and just hope we can find a way of getting PR. I would echo the points above. 457 is not an ideal way to come over. That said, for me neither is PR with neither party having a Jo to come to. The job situation here is not great right now, and its a pretty expensive place.We have one child, and although my wife's wage is better than what she'd be earning in the UK, we couldn't have survived for long just on what she earned.For us its been a journey, at times a rocky one. There are hurdles along the way. But its a lovely place and we are glad we've given it a shot. Good luck

I found that things work differently over here. I started applying for jobs on Indeed and Seek etc and had very little success, barely a reply. The problem is that there are so many people looking for work that employers can be choosy and take the safe option. I spoke to a recruitment consultant recently who told me that he'd had over 200 applications for an admin recently! I know you have 20 years experience, but the thing to remember from an employers point of view is that you have absolutely no experience of working in Australia. I ended up calling people, and knocking on doors of companies that I thought might be interested in employing me. After 2 days of doing this someone put me on to the firm I now work for. Australia seems more entrepreneurial than the UK, and they seem to like it when people think outside the box. Try calling/going into smaller companies. That way you have a chance of talking directly with the person that owns the company. Knock on enough doors and one will open. Also, be realistic with your wage expectations.

Cant comment on secondary education as my son is only 10. We moved just before Christmas and he's certainly had a shock to his system. The standard of work expected here is higher than back home, and he's getting far more homework. He's coping fine, as kids do, but we've been really impressed by the education so far. Possible that we've just found a good school, but we have no concerns about him going to secondary school here because of what we are seeing at primary level.

What if, what if, what if......... What if one of you gets laid off at work in the UK? Here's a slightly different way of looking at it...... Your decision isn't really about should i move to Australia. The decision is should I move to Australia or should we stay in the UK. People often think that deciding not to move has no consequences, and I simply don't believe that. Doing nothing means you decide to remain in the UK. If that's what you decide, that's absolutely fine, but make sure its an active choice, and not a passive one. Both posters have been thinking about moving for years. Why is that? For years you've thought that there might be a better place to live your lives. That alone suggests you have reservations about the uk! Reality check.....leaving loved ones behind is tough. You can skype, but its just the same. Jobs wise (I think you really mean money!) the chances are one of you would be the main earner. You have no one to look after kids while you are both at work. Maybe a part time or flexible job for one of you. For us, money is tight. Let me put that in a bit of context though. We live in a beautiful 4 bed house with views over the Perth hills and my son is at private school. He could go to a state school and we could live in a smaller house if we really wanted to save money! We've been through what you guys are going through ( and all from Edinburgh too!). In the end our decision was based on simple thing. My wife's desire to give it a go was greater than my desire to stay in the UK. One of us wanted to come, the other wasn't that fussed (me!). Fear and lack of visibility weren't good enough reasons not to take plunge. House with a pool......you can rent one in a nice area here for about the same as a three bedroomed flat on leith walk!

Airbnb is always worth a look. Different types of accommodation with a wide range of prices.

I'm growing a beard!

Sod it...... Toss a coin, heads to move, tails you don't!!!

I can't offer any advice as to whether you should move out here or not. What I can say is that if you spend too long deciding, the decision will be made for you. Time will pass and you'll end up not coming. Deciding that it is best you and your family to stay in the UK is making a decision. Deciding to give it a go is making a decision. Spending so long deciding what to do the the opportunity is taken from you is a crime, with regret being the punishment. I've been here not very long and have managed to find work. It pays considerably less (a quarter) Tha I was earning back home. I spent 10 years in Edinburgh working my way up the ladder, and you cant really expect to walk into the same salary in your first job. Financially things are tight for us right now, yet back home we lived well. We've swapped nice cars for an old 4x4, and we cant really afford to eat out. But again, its about setting your expectations. We moved for a change of lifestyle, and believe me we certainly got that! As the months go on I hope to earn more and we will be able to afford more material things. I don't want to sound like an old hippy, but money cant buy some of the things I have now. The other day me and my son were kayaking Dow the Swan River and two dolphins came, on either side of the kayak and just seemed to play with us for a while. The first time you take the kids surfing.....the first time you drive into the middle of nowhere with a tent......all of these things are impossible to put a price on. I guess what I'm trying to say is decide, don't let time pass by so quickly that the decision is no longer yours to make. This is an amazing country and I you do come, please prepare yourself for a period of transition. Me and my wife always remind ourselves Tha we've done the hard bit.....we are here. For what its worth (this is perhaps directed at your husband) I didn't really want to leave the uk. I was worried about all the same stuff Tha your husband is worried about. Now I'm here, I just think Tha I worried too much. If we go home in a couple of years because it didn't work out, so be it. I'm really glad I gave it a go.

We were the same. Jobs was the big worry, and to a point still is. My wife is a midwife and is earning much more than she was back in the UK. Me on the hand, I've had to take a huge drop in salary. Our total family income has nearly halved, as I was earning good money in the UK. Yo a point I've had to start again. Its not ideal by any means, and hopefully I will work my way back up fairly quickly. I didn't move half the way round the world to be rich, I moved for a change of lifestyle. Money is pretty tight, and there's a lot going out, plus the initial costs of getting here and setting up. That said, the things we love doing here are free. Walks in the hills, body boarding, kayaking, camping in the middle of nowhere etc. Another thing that we realised when we got here was how much we called on family and friends for childcare etc. You have none of that here. We'd thought about moving for years and done nothing about it. Now we have, I'm glad we did. Hopefully in a couple of years my wage will go up to where it was in the UK and we'll have an amazing lifestyle. Up until then, we are happy and skint!

To answer the original post...... You don't know its right. I think most of us take a huge leap of faith. We've been in Perth now for five months, and what I can say is that moving to the other side of the world is nowhere near as big a deal as we thought it was before we did it. Will we stay forever......I don't know. For us, the risk of not giving it a go was bigger than the risk of trying. If it doesn't work out, we'll move home. All very simple really! One thing I would say is that moving over he's has been a very empowering experience. We've done it, and now we feel like we could do anything. Do we miss family.....yes of course we do. We also miss our friends. However, I have learned to kayak, I live amongst the vineyards and we go camping under the stars. I am not in a position to give you any advice, but I think that too many people accept their lot, and don't step outside their comfort zone. Is Australia for you........i have no idea. However, you are interested enough to post on a forum like this so ask yourself this........whats the worst that can happen? You get here, don't like it and go home. Yes it will cost a small fortune, but its only money. WA is an amazing place, and I can honestly say, that no matter what happens from here we did the right thing trying it. The bottom line is that you will never know whether its for you or not, without actually coming here. Thinking about doing something is one thing, but doing it is another. It takes a leap of faith, and you are taking a risk. To me the risk feels quite small now we are here. Coming here was the hard bit, moving home would be easy. Buy plane tickets and tomorrow we are home.

Everyone has their own reasons for doing something. If someone moves to another country as a way to increase their personal earning potential that seems a perfectly reasonable thing to do. Presumably you are providing skills that cannot be provided locally and therefore are adding value to your chosen destination. It never fails to surprise me how defensive people get. How and why people get here is their matter. People do whatever works best for them. Moving to a new country because you love it and just want to be there is great, but I don't think it's any more or less noble than moving there because your skills are more valued. Just my two pence being chucked in the pot.

We are coming out in the riskiest way possible. 457s (only way we can) and we are selling the house, as we have no savings. However, for us there is a bigger risk, one that hasn't been mentioned yet. That's the risk of not trying. We are in our 40s and this is our last chance. Not taking the opportunity to try was the biggest risk of all for us. Maybe it'll work out for us, maybe it won't, but not trying, having been given the chance was too big a risk to take. We've worked hard to get this chance, with my wife giving up work and spending the last 4 years at university retraining as a midwife. She had yo spend a month by herself in Perth last year on a placement at a hospital and they offered to sponsor her when she qualified. In three-months or so we land in Perth with our nine year old son. Three suitcases and nothing else. I have no idea what I'll do work wise and it's all very scary. Fortunately we've become friends with a family on PP and they have offered to collect us from the airport and put us up for a night or two. The kindness of strangers is truely humbling! I guess what I'm trying to say is the inaction brings its own risks. Not a day goes by when we don't ask ourselves what the hell we are doing, but for us, not to take the chance would be worse.

We are coming out on 457s, basically because we have to, it's our only choice. I understand the arguments against this route, but for us and many others it's the difference between coming and not coming. There is one big advantage though to a 457 as far as I can see, and that's you must have employment to go to. Now, no job is secure so there are huge risks attached. I mention this because alot of the stories I've read on here about people packing up and going back to UK are from people who could not find work in Australia. Now, with no job to go to I'm assuming the PR was granted. I guess that PR with a job to go is the best option, but with at least one of the family with a job to go to you don't run out of cash in a few months.

Hi Pete, I too have looked at the Great Wall SUVs. Difficult for me to have an opinion because I don't have one. All I would say is read the reviews. Not just the top gear type reviews, but the reviews from people that have owned them. I think we will be looking else where! I suspect that in 10 years time the Chinese cars will be superb, but right now they seem be on the beginning of their journey.

If they don't make it as professionals, they can always move to Scotland!

We are moving over the Perth in four months time. Having done a bit of research the wee place we are going to staying in has a thriving football team. They have 350 players and field a team for every school year, as well as an over 35s team! I assume that most places are the same, therefore I would imagine you'd have a local team on your doorstep.

Where there's a will there's a way!

First of all, good luck to you. My wife has just qualified as a midwife in the UK. Ok, completely different to social work, but this may be useful. In the third year of her degree, so last year, you have to do an elective placement. She managed to get a hospital in Perth to let her to it there. She went across for a month, by her self and impressed them. They said when she qualified they would give her a job and sponsor us on 457 visas. She qualified last September and if all goes to plan we land in June. To be a midwife out there you need two years experience, but by working there for a month they were happy that she had the skills and experience they needed. Now, 457s are only temporary visas, but it gets us there, and quickly. Personally, I would worry that $15k doesn't sound a lot. We are looking at modest houses and are looking at around $500 per week. That's little over 6 months rent. You'll need a car, possibly school fees etc. That said, if your wife starts a job when you arrive that will help. There was a really interesting thread on here not too long ago where most people were saying that about $5000 a month is a fairly basic standard of living. Having said all of this, you certainly seem to have the desire to get there and that counts for a lot. We are going not for a wealthier lifestyle, but for a change of lifestyle. My OH always says she rather be skint in Perth, than skint here!

One of the best things about PP is that no matter how you are feeling, there are plenty of people who have been there and done that. Great to read about so many people having made the move. Unlike most of you, we appear to have not much a huge amount of thought into moving. My wife got offered a job just after Christmas, and all been well we will land in June. We haven't even applied for visas yet, but spoke to immigration and because we are 457s it should be a fairly straight forward process (here's hoping). We nearly made the move years ago, and completely over thought it and did nothing. This time we thought, what the hell! In about 17 weeks the three of us will land in Perth with a suitcase each. Nothing is being shipped and we don't really know what we'll do. There are two type of people in this world, those that do and those that Don't. Glad to see we find ourselves in the company of so many doers! in the next few weeks I expect to post lots of panicky questions, so thanks in advance!

I think the main thing here is make sure you explore all of your options. From your original post it looked like that you decided you wanted yo live in oz, done the points assessment, and decided you couldn't come. Make sure you explore every option. Maybe you can get to oz, maybe you can't, but I think a lot more investigation is required before you give up. I wish you well and just encourage you to do as much research as you can.Maybe you are high earners, maybe you are well under 50, maybe your jobs are in demand in oz? There's so much we don't know. The best advice is to explore all routes. Good luck and keep us informed!

My wife is under 50, and so am I as it happens, but to a point that's irrelevant. She is been sponsored by the hospital and both me an my son are getting 457s on the back of her sponsorship. At no point did anyone ask how old I was (although my dob is on my passport!) If you can find an employer to sponsor you much of the hassle is removed. In order to do that you must have skills that cannot be provided locally. I have no idea what you guys do employment wise, but I'm in finance and my wife was a Secretary. Three years at uni and a month working for free in Perth and bingo.....we got sponsored. As I said earlier I am no expert, I'm just sharing our experience. You seem fixated on the points system, yet you'll find many Brits in oz didn't get there via that route

Sorry, but I think you are missing my point. We don't have enough points to get in either, so we found a different route. The points system is not the only way. Get a needed skill and find an employer to sponsor you. That's what we have done. At no stage have been assessed on points. I think you need to iinvestigate different visas and different routes. There are many. If you are serious about going, you will find a way. As I say, we don't have enough points either!

There's more than one way to skin a cat, so don't give up so easily. Me and my wife are moving to Perth soon. We had no where near enough points. My wife retrained, did a degree in midwifery, and we are arriving in June. She spent three years at uni, did here final placement in Perth and they said as soon as she qualified they would sponsor us on 457 visas. If you really want something, you can get it. Might not be easy, but certainly not impossible. You just have to get yourself on the skills list and make it happen. 457 visas are only temporary visas, but once we are there we can work on making it permanent. Australian immigration can be a very rigid object, but if they want you then it can be a bit more flexible. I am no expert on visas or Australia immigration, only saying that had we only considered the points route we would not be going.

I don't mean to flippant, but the reason why you are in Australia is because you wanted to leave the uk, surely? Try and cast your mind back to the day you got your visas. I bet the plane couldn't arrive quick enough. We are in the UK, due to come to Perth in June. It's exciting and scary in equal measure. I'd like to say also that you miss what you miss. If you miss supermarkets, you miss supermarkets! We live in Edinburgh and I know that I will really miss the Edinburgh Festival, this is despite the fact that every August I curse it because the town is so busy. You don't necessarily have to love something to miss it! I hope you get through this, and I hope you make the decision, for you. I'd also like to say thanks for posting. It helps those of us in the UK know what we are letting ourselves for. Before you go its all too easy to only think about the good things. Tell you what, let's swap for a couple of days. I'll think about all the things I'll miss and you think about all the reasons you left!