Woj Posted August 17, 2015 Report Share Posted August 17, 2015 Hi everyone! Just registered with this cool forum. My wife and I are planning to come in September next year on a one way ticket with our two kids (they will be aged 2,5 and 6 when we fly down) and I thought that a forum is a great place to get info which would be helpfull for us to find out what and where. We planned a few places, Queensland, Perth and recently even Adelaide. From what I have heard the Sunshine Coast in Queensland is pretty tuff with work, Adelaide apparantly is living even harder times with employment, and so I will be doing as much research as possible to find out about Perth, as we are also taking it into consideration. We're not seeking party life (from what I heard, Perth is a lot of things BUT that.. lol) as we've been thru it and are over it, we have two small kids and are looking for a cosey laid back lifestyle where we can bring up our kids and just enjoy it. So I'll probably be throwing some posts and questions up on the forum pretty soon Anyway, wishing you all a good one! Woj. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
verystormy Posted August 17, 2015 Report Share Posted August 17, 2015 Hi and welcome to the forum. What sort of work are you going to be looking for? What visas are you coming on? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ali Posted August 17, 2015 Report Share Posted August 17, 2015 Welcome to the forum Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gar374 Posted August 18, 2015 Report Share Posted August 18, 2015 Welcome Woj, you picked the right forum, this place is awesome, a friendlier bunch you won't find. good luck Gareth Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Woj Posted August 18, 2015 Author Report Share Posted August 18, 2015 (edited) Hi and welcome to the forum. What sort of work are you going to be looking for? What visas are you coming on? As for visas, my trip is fairly hassle free. Im an aussie citizen, our two kids will get citizenship from descent, and we are at the stage of getting my wifes partner visa documents under way, but I assume that with an australian husband and with kids that will obtain paspsorts, that will probably just be a formality. I hope anyway.. As for work, Im a certified tennis coach here. have been teaching tennis for the past 15 years, and for the past 10, have been really into the international client scene here in Wroclaw. So in short, have been leading individual and group lessons to english expats here in Wroclaw. I was thinking to maybe give something else a try when I come down, seeing as such a big move mite be the perfect time to try something new, but then agian, maybe it would be good to stick to something I have most experience in, allthough Im not scared of getting my hands dirty. Would love to do something on my own, meaning freelance, as practically that has bee exactly what I have been doing since 2000. The reason I gave Perth a bit of mind, is that I am looking for something that is family friendly, as the laid back lifestyle is what we are looking for, with good weather and a pleasant lifestyle. I know that it sounds like a fairy tale dream, but I know its out there and we want to give it a shot (allthough my wife is terrified of the move and would probably rather stay as we have our whole Fmaily here in Wroclaw), and the best time is when our kids are young and will start school when we head down.. Welcome to the forum Welcome Woj, you picked the right forum, this place is awesome, a friendlier bunch you won't find. good luck Gareth Thanks! Edited August 18, 2015 by Woj Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
verystormy Posted August 18, 2015 Report Share Posted August 18, 2015 Sounds like you have a lot organised. Your wifes visa is fairly simple, but will take 12-18 months and they are now fairly expensive at just under $7k Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Woj Posted August 19, 2015 Author Report Share Posted August 19, 2015 Sounds like you have a lot organised. Your wifes visa is fairly simple, but will take 12-18 months and they are now fairly expensive at just under $7k 7k? My god, my jaw just dropped... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
verystormy Posted August 19, 2015 Report Share Posted August 19, 2015 7k? My god, my jaw just dropped... Afraid so. Actually, by the time medicals and police checks done it will be a tad over $7k. I think average processing time at the moment is about 14 months Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Woj Posted August 20, 2015 Author Report Share Posted August 20, 2015 (edited) Afraid so. Actually, by the time medicals and police checks done it will be a tad over $7k. I think average processing time at the moment is about 14 months Very seriously considering the visa. In short I'll let u in on our situation. My wife isnt eager on the move, as we have it pretty good here. I have a good stressfree job, my wife also has a good job, house, weekends free, no debts or mortgages, we have a huge family here in Wroclaw, preschool and school fir the kids is within 1km of our house - so my better half doesnt want to lose it, as she knows that we will be starting from scratch (I'll be 41 when we make the move). I understand her and told her that when we fly down, if after 12 months she tells me that she wants to return, that she doesnt like it there or that we have a better life here, we pack our bags and come back. So now, seriously thinking if not to fly down, we will come down on aussie passports, my wife will have a holiday visa or other, simpler visa which will allow her to stay 12 months (from what I read there is the visitor visa (subclass 600) which allows to stay for 12months. If after that time we or anyone of us decides that its better here, we come back. If we decide that Oz is our place, than we make the necessary steps to formalize our permanent stay.. Just thinking out loud.. Edited August 20, 2015 by Woj Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
verystormy Posted August 20, 2015 Report Share Posted August 20, 2015 The only word of caution I will throw in, is to be VERY careful about persuading someone that doesn't want to make the move to do it. It is a very stressful process and it has torn apart many a family. Particularly when after the 12 months, one wants to stay and one wants to leave. On the work front, I would do a lot of research. Perth is feeling the downturn pretty heavily. I would question if doing this in a circumstance where only one of you can look for a job is wise. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Woj Posted August 21, 2015 Author Report Share Posted August 21, 2015 I had a very serious think about this yesterday and have chosen to go with the partner visa for 7 grand. Main reason being that with this visa my wife can work legally and be able to feel like somebody thats living in Australia, and not somebody who cant work etc etc. I know my wife and if she wont be able to work than she will go crazy. Best option is a half time job that will let her work 4hrs per day, get out of the house, meet people etc. I think its the most reasonable way to go.. I know about the problems when one person wants to go and the other doesnt, we've been living thru this for the past 5yrs, as I have been longing to come back. Thats why the compromise that if somebody cant find their place in Oz, and really wants to come back to Poland, then we come back. Thats why I hope that either both of usa want to come back, or both of us want to stay.. Its a pretty tuff call.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
verystormy Posted August 21, 2015 Report Share Posted August 21, 2015 I think that is the wise choice. I would put an agreement in place between you to cover the eventualities down the track. I have seen a fair few cases very similar that ended up with the Australian citizen obviously wanting to stay in Oz while the partner is desperate to go back to their country. You need to try and agree what would happen in such a situation now, rather than later as later, the emotions can be running too much too high for agreements of compromise to be made. I can appreciate how hard it is for you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Woj Posted August 21, 2015 Author Report Share Posted August 21, 2015 I think that is the wise choice. I would put an agreement in place between you to cover the eventualities down the track. I have seen a fair few cases very similar that ended up with the Australian citizen obviously wanting to stay in Oz while the partner is desperate to go back to their country. You need to try and agree what would happen in such a situation now, rather than later as later, the emotions can be running too much too high for agreements of compromise to be made. I can appreciate how hard it is for you. verystormy, I can tell you that your nick perfectly describes our atmosphere sometimes. But I guess its something that we have to go through. I desperately want to come back to the place I was brought up in, and take my family there. Especially that our kids have citizenship by descent, I have a passport of course, and with this situation i think my wofe should get the visa quick smart. I just see this as a huge potential for the family, for the kids to go to an english speaking school, to see something completely different than here - I want them to see and experience a differet life, and now is the best time to do it. They will be 6 and 2,5, so will start school. If they start school here it will be harder to make the move, as school starts, they will have their friends etc etc. My wife has never been abroad for a longer period of time, only in England whenshe was 18 for a month to work and doesnt recall it very well. That was 12 years ago and now she is going with her kids and husband who supports her a lot, so I am hoping her fears will break very quickly upon arrival. Then again, of course I understand her emotions. This is really a tuff call.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Happy little Vegemite Posted August 23, 2015 Report Share Posted August 23, 2015 Woj, your post just made me want to cry. With a similar story in many ways to ours I feel your pain! I moved to the UK in 2001 and lived there until last year, when we moved back to Oz with a 3 and 6 year old in tow. Getting my hubby to agree to the move almost broke us. I know it wasn't an easy thing for him to do, but circumstances in Oz took me to a place where I didn't feel like I could stay any longer in the UK, I needed to come home. That rock and hard place will always be there! First bit of advice I would give is to definitely all agree to give it longer than a year, I don't think it's worth the upheaval and upset, not to mention the cost, for such a short time. Knowing you're only doing it for a year would make you not want to even bother settling I think. Even though I'm the Aussie and am thrilled to be living close to my family for the first time in years, it hasn't and isn't always easy and there have definitely been times when I would have been happy to throw it all in and go back to the familiar. Saying that, once you've left somewhere, the place you go back to will be different, people and things inevitably move on without you. Australia seems a pretty different place to what it was when I left (although that could be partly to do with now living on the west coast!). Second bit of advice, don't underestimate the impact that it might have on your kids, I know I did! Ours have found it much harder than I thought they would. Even though they've got family here including cousins of similar ages and we all get on really well, it's not the people that they've grown up with and is taking some adjusting. The friends they had in England they had known since they were tiny babies and it's heartbreaking to see them struggle with finding good friends here. I know it's only a matter of time, as it was in England, but can't help feeling guilty about it. I imagine this would be even more apparent moving from a non-English speaking country! This is just the bad bits though! For all of us the good far outweighs the bad, we are much busier and more active together as a family here than we ever were in the UK, and have made some really good friends in the time we've been here. It has always been one of my mother in laws dreams to visit Australia so we will be able to make that come true for her when she visits us in November, small consolation for taking two of her grandkids away maybe, but we Skype every weekend, and they have a special bond that will never be broken from the years the kids spent growing up in England. We've kept our house in England as a bit of security for hubby that we haven't cut all ties and although it's a bit of a pain, it is something that we had to do to make the move sit easier with him. I feel for you on the visa front, man has that gone up in price in the last few years. I think hubby's was only around 1800 pounds and took 9 months to get. Good luck with the decision making and the visa process, it should just be a formality for you with your situation, and I really hope that your wife can embrace the opportunity that you guys can have! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Woj Posted August 23, 2015 Author Report Share Posted August 23, 2015 Thanks Happy Little Vegimite for your reply. Yes, our situations seem like "copy paste" ones.. We on the other hand have one tougher side, we are leaving our whole Family behind. Here in Wrocław, we have my parents, my wifes mum, we have around 10 cousins here, aunts, uncles and grandparents, everybody that we are attached to (close Family). And that is all in Wrocław. Going back to Oz, we are by ourselves. I think the good idea would be to stay 2 years, as after two years on the partner visa, my wife can apply for the permanent visa. I dont really want to bring it up yet, we want to clear the air with finances etc. I deeply believe that when my Mrs comes to Australia, a lot of weight will fall of her shoulders when she sees its not snakes, alligators and spiders on the streets, but beautifull weather and friendly people. My aim is to show the family a different life. Wheretheres a will theres a way. It has to work out, I dont see any other option.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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