Stefan

I was on a Singapore Airlines A380 that had to do an emergency landing at Singapore in April last year. We were sat on the plane for two hours with no air conditioning while they tried to start two of the engines. Finally they got them started and we took off, circled Singapore bay for 20 minutes but the plane's air con failed again so we were told and we then came back in to land with 450 passengers, luggage and full of fuel. The plane came in heavy of course to a full airport emergency and 7 of the tyres deflated on landing. We then spent another two hours on board as they couldn't move the plane due to the tyres and the fact the fire brigade were keeping the brakes etc cool underneath. We finally walked down one set of steps and got bussed to the terminal, some people who were taking photos as they came down the steps apparently had their cameras and phones taken at the bottom and had the photos deleted. There were also rumors of scorch marks on the side of the plane and two engines failing in flight. There certainly wasn't any reverse thrust engine braking during landing! We finally departed for Heathrow 8 hours late and without our luggage as they couldn't open the cargo doors due to the plane leaning! I still flew with them again a couple of months later, these things happen. Stef

We use CurrencyFair, it's a simple process of open an account, notifying them you are transferring in, then you transfer from your UK account to their UK account (they're based in Dublin though I think) by faster payments, then once it's arrived you exchange it and then transfer to your Oz account. We transferred some money from Halifax to Westpac via CurrencyFair last week, took less than 24hours, $1.88 exchange rate and a flat $4 fee. Stef

We brought 3 TV's over, a Toshiba, a Sony and my Sons Disney Cars Truck TV and all 3 have digital Freeview tuners and work perfectly well with Freeview here, in fact the Toshiba picks up 3 times as many channels as the Samsung we bought here! Stef

Where/what is this UK you speak of? We've only been here just under 5 months and never want to go back! Stef

The difference in keyboard layouts between British and Australian, like the @ and \ keys!! Stef

We bought Pre-pay Optus sims for ours and pay $30 a month which includes 250 minutes anywhere including international, 500mb and 250 texts I think. It's called Social something or other and stuff like Facebook is unmetered, so if you spend all day posting crap on Facebook, that's the SIM for you! Just kidding of course!! Top up is really easy and you can just top up data in the interim 30 days if you wanted, something like $20 for 2gb. They are 4G compatible and we've had no issues with signal loss to date. You do need an address though if you buy from an Optus store but you can get the sims from the supermarkets like Coles or Woolworths. Hope that helps? Stef

Just realised I hadn't posted an update! So we have been here almost three months now. We settled in Mindarie, top end nearer to Quinns and rented a house with great sea views and minutes from Quinns beach and the foreshore. All our stuff arrived from the UK safely after six weeks. Settled in well at work down in the CBD and soon got stuck in with the daily grind of commuting by train, and so cheap it is too! IT Security here compared to the UK? Hmmmm, it's interesting! It's taking me a while to adjust to the WA way, that's all I'll say........... We are all really glad we made the move though, even if summer does seem a long time coming! Stef

Thanks, will be a good chance to acclimatise slowly! Stef

Yay! Visa's granted today, well actually last Friday on my birthday but they wanted a full version of my sons birth certificate, so got that done Monday morning, emailed over Monday night, visa granted this morning and today was my last day at work in the UK too! Not long to go now! Stef

Mine has been in for three weeks so far and no update online since the submitted date. Stef

Morning! It was Emmiejay that had the hospital interview, my job is in IT Security. My offer came direct from the company though, not through an agency. Regards Stefan

Thanks for the info. Yes, aware of the associated costs of being on a 457 and it's restrictions. I did discuss PR with my employer, they are aware I have no intention of company hopping and that I'm looking to settle down now and spend the rest of my working life with them so hopefully we can get that done pretty soon after arrival. Regards Stefan

Thanks, good luck with your plans and I hope everything works out for you. It's about time people like you and I were dealt a little luck! Stefan

Thanks, I'll give you an update on my thoughts of the industry once settled in. Stefan

I had the NZ/Perth choice. I failed my first attempt at IELTS by 0.5 on the reading part and I was pretty P'd off at that as I had a 9 for speaking, 9 for writing and 8.5 for listening and 7.5 for reading of course. That temporarily, read almost permanently put my Perth plans on hold and I then had a look at Wellington in NZ. I had a couple of interviews and it all looked pretty promising but I just wasn't happy as I saw NZ as a fall back and although I know NZ is an amazing place and Wellington in particular ticked a lot of boxes, the climate was just too close to home and the fact that I visited Perth last year and fell in love with it just made me slightly unhappy. I have absolutely no doubt that if I ended up in Welly I'd now be typing this differently and with a smile on my face. However, things took a different turn and I was offered a permanent job with a sponsored visa in Perth so that's where we are heading, and really very happy with that. So for me I knew NZ was the easier option to get in, but it wasn't Oz. I think if I'd never been to Perth, I'd feel myself incredibly lucky and honoured to have been able to settle in NZ. That probably hasn't helped, but I thought I'd share it with you. Regards Stefan

Morning/Afternoon from a glorious sunny day from the South Coast of England! Things are finally moving for us, my 457 visa application goes in tomorrow and the agent my new employer is using thinks we'll be granted the visa in two to three weeks and she thinks it highly unlikely we will need a medical etc. I was formally offered my job last week which is in IT Security and as it's a full time, permanent job I'm hoping that the company will agree to sponsoring my Direct Stream Transition visa application, I have everything in place already for that. It's been 12 months since I first met up with this company so both myself, my Wife and my 11 year old Son are really excited about the future. Our house is on the market and we are waiting for feedback from two viewings from Friday and yesterday so fingers crossed there! We have a limited company to close here and that's it then, so hopefully we will be in Perth within a couple of months max, just in time to arrive in winter and acclimatise! We are fairly sure we will settle NOR but I think we are going to have a look at a couple of apartments in the city around the Subiaco end of Hay Street. Does anyone have any knowledge of schooling in that area? Regards Stefan

Glad it all appeared to go OK, good luck, hope they don't keep you waiting too long! Stef

That's what I said regarding the English language side of it, and yes as per comment above, two years or skills assessment.

Correct, I've looked at this too as we are initially coming out on a 457 and looking at Direct Stream and as long as you have a skills assessment for the job and you meet the English language requirements (from an English speaking country or score 6 on all four IELTS) you can apply at any time. Stef

Cool, good luck. I've just been made the offer of the job in Perth, much happiness all round. Stef

If you want a simple way to understand how it works, have a look here......... http://www.digitaltrends.com/computing/the-heartbleed-bug-explained-by-a-web-comic-xkcd/#!F5pJd Stef

Emmiejay, how did the interview go? Stef

Thanks. It will be a walk in the park for you too, you wait and see! Stef

Well I got the call this morning, job offered and they just need to discuss what visa to bring us over on. Can't wait!! Stef

Thanks Deb, and sorry Emmiejay for kind of edging in on your post, hopefully mine and yours will be good success stories. Mine initially started this time last year when a friend moved to Perth on a 189 PR visa. I came out in May to stay with them after he put me in touch with the company he worked for, we were going to do the Skype interview initially but then I met up with the company when I came out. Suffice to say I fell in love with Perth and knew I wanted to work for his company. Hopefully we are almost there. It's taken almost a year and a mix of in person, telephone and Skype interviews. So be confident and you will get the job! Stef