Where do we even start?

[ImmilBees]

Hi all,

 

So after bringing the idea up. and sticking a pin in it, and going back to it and delaying the decision, we have decided to take the leap and emigrate. Our chosen destination after research on the net, is Perth. From what we have read and seen on docu programmes, there are longer days, and a less humid climate which we think we'll prefer. From what we have seen, it's a younger city, which is still growing, so we figured had scope for growth. Please correct me if i'm wrong here though.

 

For now we are focusing on the south of Perth. I am a nurse, and my husband has a business degree, and experience in engineering. we have a 4yr old and a baby (2wks). My husband has recently got in touch with family that live in the Bibra Lakes area, so we may end up there to start with. We are hoping my husband can find work, and will travel over as a family on his visa.

 

My question(s) are:

 

We plan to save up first for a year, as much as we can, but how much would you recommend to bring with you? Just an estimate (I know it's quite a vague question, i'm prepared for vague answers) we rent over here and are looking to rent once we arrive. But is it possible to set up a rental from the UK, so we have a house to go into from arrival, or would we need to actually be in the country? In that case how long does the whole rental process take? So we know how long we may be living in a hotel for!

 

I have so many questions I think the easiest thing would be to ask if anyone had an itinerary they used or followed to make things more manageable. I haven't even got a clue on what Visa we go for. Is it a partner one, or a parent one? Would you recommend using an immigration representative who can help with all these things, or cheaper and just as easy to do it alone.

 

And then there's the whole telling family and friends bit. How long did you leave it until you told everyone? Did anyone have issues with a certain family member? As i'm pretty sure the decision is going to really affect my mum. I've broached the idea with friends before who are all supportive which is nice, but there's a line between telling them too early and they think it's just a pipe dream to them realising you're serious!

 

And lastly being that you are all living in Perth, I may get a biased reply, but what is life like in Perth honestly? We can handle crime etc, it's everywhere, but from a schools, work, way of life point of view, can you tell me the good the bad and the ugly. We want to come over with our eyes well and truly open!! How easily did you settle? Did you make friends easily? what are the pro's and cons you have found? And also one of my concerns is my daughter, by the time we come over she will be at least 5, I know kids make friends easily, but it will be so new for her, did anyone make the move with a child that age? how did they cope? with making new friends, being away from their grandparents, new school environment etc??

 

Many Thanks in advance.

 

Claire

[JohnC]

Hi Claire

 

Get your visa before you do anything else, it'll take over a year if you haven't started the application yet, my advice would be to go for the PR visa as the 457 will get you here but no guarantees, you don't want to be moving the family back just after you have got settled.

 

Bring as much as you can, it'll depend on how long it takes for your husband to find work, if he finds it before you come out all the better. We came with about £25k but my wife had a job and I didn't, her salary ($70,000) didn't cover our outgoings and started to eat into our savings, not too much though. I am now working and we are just fine.

 

You wont get a long term rental until you get here, and its pricey, the agents want to see who they are renting to and it can take a bit of time, but if you put together a rental pack and you know where you want to be then you may be able to get sorted within a few weeks. We rented a short term let for six weeks and looked from there, we got sorted after about 3-4 weeks and got a nice place near the beach to settle in the kids. I'll forward the details of that letting company if you want.

 

As for Perth its better than the UK, by quite some margin, it is expensive but the salaries compensate for that, its a great place to live and the crime rates in the UK are far higher than over here, schools are as good if not better than back home and the quality of life way better. I have two daughters aged 6 and 10, both have settled in very well at school and have never looked back, both took everything in their stride and both have made friends at school, you kids will love it over here trust me on that one. And their grannies are coming over for a few months over the xmas period, so they are looking forward to that to.

 

We used an agency to get our visa, we have permanent residency and this helped secure work for me.

 

My advice would be to start the ball rolling with the visa, get accepted and then plan seriously, tell everyone at that point so they get used to the idea.

 

Hope this helps, let me know if I can help anymore.

 

John

[Deb]

Good luck with everything .You need to bring as much money as you can with you.John given you a lot of advice.

[ImmilBees]

Hi all,

 

So after bringing the idea up. and sticking a pin in it, and going back to it and delaying the decision, we have decided to take the leap and emigrate. Our chosen destination after research on the net, is Perth. From what we have read and seen on docu programmes, there are longer days, and a less humid climate which we think we'll prefer. From what we have seen, it's a younger city, which is still growing, so we figured had scope for growth. Please correct me if i'm wrong here though.

 

For now we are focusing on the south of Perth. I am a nurse, and my husband has a business degree, and experience in engineering. we have a 4yr old and a baby (2wks). My husband has recently got in touch with family that live in the Bibra Lakes area, so we may end up there to start with. We are hoping my husband can find work, and will travel over as a family on his visa.

 

My question(s) are:

 

We plan to save up first for a year, as much as we can, but how much would you recommend to bring with you? Just an estimate (I know it's quite a vague question, i'm prepared for vague answers) we rent over here and are looking to rent once we arrive. But is it possible to set up a rental from the UK, so we have a house to go into from arrival, or would we need to actually be in the country? In that case how long does the whole rental process take? So we know how long we may be living in a hotel for!

 

I have so many questions I think the easiest thing would be to ask if anyone had an itinerary they used or followed to make things more manageable. I haven't even got a clue on what Visa we go for. Is it a partner one, or a parent one? Would you recommend using an immigration representative who can help with all these things, or cheaper and just as easy to do it alone.

 

And then there's the whole telling family and friends bit. How long did you leave it until you told everyone? Did anyone have issues with a certain family member? As i'm pretty sure the decision is going to really affect my mum. I've broached the idea with friends before who are all supportive which is nice, but there's a line between telling them too early and they think it's just a pipe dream to them realising you're serious!

 

And lastly being that you are all living in Perth, I may get a biased reply, but what is life like in Perth honestly? We can handle crime etc, it's everywhere, but from a schools, work, way of life point of view, can you tell me the good the bad and the ugly. We want to come over with our eyes well and truly open!! How easily did you settle? Did you make friends easily? what are the pro's and cons you have found? And also one of my concerns is my daughter, by the time we come over she will be at least 5, I know kids make friends easily, but it will be so new for her, did anyone make the move with a child that age? how did they cope? with making new friends, being away from their grandparents, new school environment etc??

 

Many Thanks in advance.

 

Claire

 

 

Thank you for this. Really appreciated, and the kid thing puts my mind at ease