Victoriwa

I'm not a stranger to Christmas in Aus (I spent a year on a working holiday visa), and in any case, ensuring a toddler gets his midday nap will keep us out of the peak of heat.

Hot isn't a problem...

Thank you chaps... Starting to realise that prices at that time of year are at a premium - let's take another look at that travel diary!

We're slowly wading through the migration process and so as to get a real feel for the place, myself, my partner and our 2 year old son, are looking to visit Perth for 4 (or so) weeks at the end of this year... But that dream isn't going to be cheap if we look to book into a hotel! So, does anyone know of any alternatives available? We'd be willing to explore all alternatives available! Many thanks in advance ? V x

Thank you - so glad you took time to post xx

Thank you you for your reassurance! And great that your OH is a plasterer too; did he contract to firms at all? Did he have references missing, and did this make any difference? I just know that we won't get a response from everyone and worry it may set us back!xx

We're trying to go through Skilling Aus too... But I'm afraid they've assumed us to be disinterested now! We spoke with them last September (I think), but unfortunately I took my eye off the ball and got sucked up by Christmas plans! You've certainly helped reassure me and I thank you for that xx

Has anyone out there managed to achieve the AQF III qualification by themselves (ie without an agent), and if so, who did they go through, and how easy did they find it? We did instruct an agent, and they did refer us to someone... But we're finding it hard to get the ball rolling!!

You may well find that Sydney is where most of the jobs in that sector are based, but there may be work from home opportunities... Good luck!

i wanted to 'like' your post... But I just couldn't on the basis of morality! I'm so sorry you're getting such a rough deal of it from the tax man. It's hard to find comfort in the deprevation isn't it? Although the news that we've just shelled out 1.9bn on clearing the UKs debt from WW1 made me feel all warm and fuzzy... there's no doubt we're all moving onto better futures if we stick to our plans; see you guys on that greener side

What an inspiring post this is... I already can't wait to come back and re-read this when I feel I've lost my mojo and am having an 'all is lost' moment. Thank you to every single one of you who has posted! xx

i think that is the precisely the reason why most (if not all of us) are striving towards this change in our lives; it seems go be increasingly difficult to improve the quality of life in this country. I know a mothers guilt is the worst pain imaginable; but you're doing this for them and I know that once you start living that dream, they'll have forgotten all about this small chapter.... And tv in Aus is not as good as over here (for good reason, obviously!), so maybe you're doing them a small favour by letting them cram whilst they can

Thats fantastic news! Congrats to you guys and please make sure to let me know how things go for you once you land - would be great to hear from someone in a similar situation...

Snap! My beloved and son both have birthdays on the same day, 6 weeks after Christmas. Finally, I can now give my purse a break and focus on saving towards shipping-out ("nothing worth having is easy, nothing worth having is easy, nothing worth having is easy...")

Criminal, isn't it? At least it ought to be; I've just done our weekly shop and consider it a personal best because I managed to spend only(?!) £95 to feed two adults and one toddler...