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| Topic Started: 5 Feb 2007, 12:35 PM (47,690 Views) | |
| pleasedeletemyaccount | 8 Feb 2010, 07:39 PM Post #751 |
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Hi there and congrats on getting this far! We have been here in VIC for nearly 3 years and only the past 6 months have I felt really settled. The first year was looking for a rental (a task in itself), so we stayed in a motel for 5 weeks (expensive), we finally found a great rental but found not being able to paint or do minor changes around the 'home' a frustration. Finally bought a place and settled, now into my 3rd job (which is very unlike me, I was at my last job for 10 years). Love my job now and feel very sociable and have made many new friends - no thoughts of returning to the UK at all. Depending on the lifestyle you prefer will of course depend on an area that suits you the best, but the Mornington Peninsula is a great location Mt Eliza, Sorrento, Portsea, Mt Martha, Mornington etc. The peninsula has beaches either side, take your pick: surf (Eastern side) or the bay area beaches where the sea is less rough and great for kids/paddling. There are dog walking beaches 24/7 during winter months and some limitations during the summer months but you can then use the leash free areas (ample along the peninsula). Only about 1hr 30mins to the airport (via Eastlink). I would strongly suggest that you rent first, although it may seem a waste of money we were blown away with the WOW factor at first and changed our minds on an area 3 times before we settled in the Peninsula and really enjoy it. The people is what make an area nice. Some areas look great at face value, but look carefully for shopping trolleys, graffiti, broken down cars, wrecks of cars in driveways etc. Be aware that a mansion may be next to a slum so do your homework. There are tax benefits if you buy a self build house but rememebr to keep about AUD$20k aside for simple landscaping and driveways - it is easy to forget the finishing touches and blow a budget. Some advice I wish I had before we arrived was: if you have any quality furniture, REAL leather shoes, handbags, belts, good crockery and cutlery KEEP them and bring them with you. To get the European quality means you pay a hell of a lot more for it. I am now an eBay queen and buy many products from the UK. Good luck and try and hook up with us all. The Pearces. |
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| julieandstewtaylor | 10 Feb 2010, 03:21 AM Post #752 |
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whereabouts on the peninsula are you? we move to Mornington 25th Feb! Julie x |
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| COOPERCAV | 18 Feb 2010, 08:10 AM Post #753 |
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Frankston South now, just down the road from Mornington. Less than 1 week to go, good luck with everything. |
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| COOPERCAV | 18 Feb 2010, 08:14 AM Post #754 |
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Just to update you as promised, the cats were fine, in fact more than fine. The female cat lost some much need weight (might try it myself!) and the male cat who had been previously been a grumpy stay-away tom cat was much more homely & fussy. Seemed to have been well looked after and none the worse for their trip. |
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| pleasedeletemyaccount | 20 Feb 2010, 08:18 PM Post #755 |
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We live in Somerville, between Hastings and Frankston. Were you at Cardinia today? |
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| sunnyday | 2 Mar 2010, 10:55 PM Post #756 |
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Hi guys, We are Michelle, Nigel and we have a 9 year old and 15 month old. I joined the site a while ago but haven't posted as yet, I was waiting until we got our visa so I didn't get too hooked on living in Victoria and not get the Visa. Anyway Visa granted today!!!!!!!!! We are hoping to be over Sept/Oct time so will be on here lots to pick your brains!! bye for now |
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| Bordy | 3 Mar 2010, 03:45 AM Post #757 |
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Congrats on the visa & welcome to Britvics. Feel free to ask anything, we are a friendly bunch. (Well most of us) :Grin: |
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| sunnyday | 3 Mar 2010, 05:41 AM Post #758 |
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Thanks Bordy!!! :bow: |
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| Herbies | 3 Mar 2010, 07:18 PM Post #759 |
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Many congratulations on the visa, sure there will be loads of brains willing to be picked! Trudy :wacko: |
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| sunnyday | 3 Mar 2010, 11:34 PM Post #760 |
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Thanks Trudy, I'll start with you!! Where abouts are you and do you like it?? :Grin: |
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| neilw71 | 5 Mar 2010, 03:35 AM Post #761 |
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Hi all, Been lurking for a while, but now taken the plunge and joined up :waving: :waving: I've been in Auckland for 5 years now, coming out from Rotherham with my wife to start a new life in NZ. We separated last year and so been taking a year to sort myself out and decide what I want to do next! We gained NZ Citizenship last year, so Aus is an option for me. At Christmas I decided I want to give it a go in Melbourne and so have been doing the usual Seek applications since then with no real luck. Normal story of "not here - not really interested". So I've booked a week's reccie on 21st and managed to get a couple of meetings with recruiters so far - to be honest, its more for looking around suburbs and getting a feel for where I'd be comfortable staying. There are lots of jobs coming up on Seek, so I feel confident that once I have a date for permanent arrival I will get a better response (same happened when we came out to NZ). I'll be posting a few questions - so thanks in advance for your collective wisdoms :wink: Neil |
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| antsxxx | 7 Mar 2010, 11:21 PM Post #762 |
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hi just joined and just starting out on this visa process im a carpet and viynl layer my wife and two daughters are hoping fingers crossed that all goes well and we will be living in melbourne in a couple of years time seems along way of but can you believe its nearly mid march already also my wife is a fitness instructor so we would be looking for somewhere with plenty of gyms and a few big carpet retail outlets any ideas of area would be great all help needed |
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| woosam | 2 Apr 2010, 04:53 AM Post #763 |
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Hi, I just wanted to introduce myself. I'm Carol and myself, hubbie and 2 kids are due in Melbourne March next year. We're coming over on a 457 as Rich is an IT project manager and the jobs are always being advertised over here due to the shortage. They're always advertised with a 457 so that seemed the best route. We'd had his skills assessed and approved by the Australian Computer Society just in case we want to apply for perm res (which is likely!) Anyway, kids will by 6 & 4 and we're looking at either Bayside or somewhere like Mt Eliza. We're looking at independent schools. Ive heard good things about both Toorak and The Peninsular in Mt Eliza? Any experiences or recommendations for schools around Sandringham/Brighton would be useful Oh and sorry my first post sounds so dull and needy! ;) |
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| John_K | 3 Apr 2010, 08:19 AM Post #764 |
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Hi all, We are the Kerron family. I'm John, and will be moving to Melbourne with my family (wife Vicki, and 3 boys, Joseph 10, Reuben 7 and Noah 2 ) mid May this year. We are looking to settle East / Southeast suburbs with good transport links as I will be working in South Melbourne. Any recommendations gratefully received! I am also trying to work out budgets and could really do with "ball park" figures for utility bills for a family of my size in a 4 bed house. Many thanks for any help. |
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| Ellejayh | 15 Apr 2010, 05:28 AM Post #765 |
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Hello all, Brand new to the forum so thought I'd introduce myself! Heard of this forum through British Expats and you all seem like a great bunch!... My boyfriend and I, ages 27 and 29 first visited Australia after graduating from University in 2004. We spent 3 months in WA, partly due to the boyfriend's job there and partly because we loved Perth so much. We then spent a month travelling the East coast, including just Sydney, Brisbane and everything in between. We then came back to the UK in 2005 but missed Australia so much we vowed to return for good one day. After much sweat, blood and tears which I'm sure we've all been through we finally got our visa through around a year ago. So what is she doing on the Brit VICS forum I hear you ask?! Well, after doing lots and lots of research we decided that maybe Perth wasn't for us. The main thing that swung it for us was lack of work. The Boyfriend is in I.T and it seems that most of the jobs in this area are in either Sydney or Melbourne. Sydney we liked, but couldn't really envisage living there. So, Melbourne seemed to be calling out to us AND we are due to do our reccie there in May this year!! Am soooo excited it's silly!! Have done lots of reading up on the area and am really looking forward to being there for real and finding out just what it's like. Just a couple of questions from the newbie...! Anyone who has done a reccie, what would they advise doing for definite? I.E Checking out estate agents and possible suburbs? Talking to recruitment consultants, possible agencies etc?? And, anyone else who works in I.T there. What is the industry like at the moment? Plenty of jobs around etc?? I, personally work in the airline industry, so I know it's a long shot but is there anyone out there who works in a similar role? Sorry about the long post, promise the rest won't be this waffly!! Lovely to meet you all. Ellejayh x |
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| Amanda & Simon | 15 Apr 2010, 08:46 AM Post #766 |
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If you can line up an interview or two while you're here it can't hurt and may give you a more definite feel for where you want to live. Even if you don't/can't I'd do some pre-reccie research into suburbs online so you come with a list of three or four (maybe more, depends how long a reccie you have) to drive round and explore when you get here. But if you really want to be able to talk suburbs one of the best things you can do is check to see if any Britvics meets are on while you're going to be here and then rock up and pick brains about where people live and what they think of it. Late autumn and heading into winter tends to be a bit quieter but there might be things like after work drinks in the CBD or the book swapping mob meeting up for cakes, coffee and books. The other must do IMO is try getting from where you think you might end up to where you think you might work, or a similar sort of distance, in the rush hour to see if what you're expecting in travel times is realistic. Melbourne traffic is worse than I expected but not as bad as I was used to with a few exceptions. Where you are now can be pretty busy as I recall - not far from where we were actually - so you might find the same thing. Can't help with your work questions but there are certainly some BritVic-ers in IT and I think maybe one or two who might be in work related to airlines or travel. Might be best to post specific questions in the main part of the general discussion board below this pinned section because that get's looked at most. Good luck. |
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| Ellejayh | 28 Apr 2010, 07:31 AM Post #767 |
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Thanks very much for the advice, and sorry for the late reply, (the airline industry has not been the place to be of late!). Will definitely be looking at a few suburbs whilst we're here, and might even have a nosey at some houses!! Will also keep an eye out for some meets. Thanks very much again :thumbsup: |
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| dracomjb | 28 Apr 2010, 09:15 AM Post #768 |
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There are a few airlines based in Melbourne, can't say for sure if there are jobs going as I work in IT for a travel wholesaler. Some of the travel industry specific recruitment agencies are: TMS Asia Pacific, In Place Recruitment & AA Appointments. A daily travel newsletter for Australia is Travel Daily (www.traveldaily.com.au) subscription is required I believe. There are also a couple of GSAs based in Melbourne that represent airlines that don't want to have their own offices. |
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| jeza | 4 Aug 2010, 06:03 PM Post #769 |
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Hi, my name is Jenny, My husband (Karl) i I will be settling in melbourne with our two girls in just 2 1/2 weeks. we are really excited about the move. The girls are 11 (Laura) and 9 years old (Emily) We are moving for two good reasons - new job for Karl and an adventure for us as a family. We are moving from the land of the great white cloud - New Zealand. But that is a big enough move for us! We are ging to make a good effort and try to get out there and meet lots of interesting, nice folks. Would love to meet any of you guys one day! We should be well settled in aboout 4 - 6 weeks i think. Looking to live in either: Ringwood area berwick area Mornington area Would love to know if anyone else is in the same situation as us, or has done it and loved it! Jeeny |
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| Bordy | 5 Aug 2010, 04:41 AM Post #770 |
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Hi Jenny, welcome to Britvics. Loads of people on here especially from the Berwick & Mornington areas. Good luck with the big move. |
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| masterp | 18 Aug 2010, 09:38 PM Post #771 |
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Hi Im Martin. My partner and the kids-we have 3 girls and one boy (ages 10, 7, 6 and just 21 months) are hoping to be moving to Melbourne Summer 2011. We have just started the visa process. I am a nurse and have all ready been in touch with some employers. We are all so excited (kids have not been told yet). I have been doing some research. How are the schools like? We are Catholic and my understanding is that Catholic schools charge fees. Are the fees affordable. We have been looking at places to live and Mornington seems like a good area. Any other good suburbs? If there is anyone willing to give some advice please do. It will be greatly appreciated. Thanks. Martin |
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| Amanda & Simon | 18 Aug 2010, 11:58 PM Post #772 |
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Hi Martin :wave: I think there are several Britvics in nursing who may be able to give you first hand advice on that, and there are quite a few people down Mornington way to ask about life down there. Other suburbs... well, depends what you want, what your budget is, etc. If I were you I'd put a post in the main General Discussion forum describing what you need to have local and what you'd like to have local and see what suggestions you get. Same with the Catholic schools - we don't have kids so I've no idea but I'm sure plenty of people round here could confirm that for you. Good luck with the visa and the eventual move. |
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| wishfulthinkin | 19 Aug 2010, 03:51 AM Post #773 |
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Hi to everyone on here, Me, my husband and our 4 children (3 girls 12,10,5 and 1 boy 27mths) are going to be moving to Melbourne late next year. We have already spent 4.5yrs in Perth but it was way too quiet for us. We thought we'd give uk another try and to catch up with family and friends but the pull of not being in Australia is really strong and we never thought we'd be like this, so time to save up some money and get back over there. While we're in the uk we thought we'd take advantage of this and i'm going back to college to become a teaching assistant for when we get back out there. My husband is a qualified bricklayer and also a qualified chef but he might also add something to his bow. We've been looking around the Rowville area and carrum and patterson lakes but we need to get a feel for the place and schools for the children are also very imprtant. My children are catholic but i don't mind if they don't go to a catholic school. As long as the school has varied subjects that my children can do then we'll be happy. My eldest likes mfl(modern foreign languages) and computers . My second loves anything to do with sport. Well i won't bore you anymore but we hope to see some of you when we get over there. natalie and paul. |
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| masterp | 19 Aug 2010, 08:06 AM Post #774 |
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Thanks for the advice Amanda & Simon, wishful as well. We are not particulalry looking for catholic eduacation though. State schools will be fine, just that we wanted to find out if the system is similar to here. as for areas to live, I have had a look at a few suburbs. We currently live in a small town, used to live in Camden Town. Kinda selfish and want to have a mix of both a bit of the city and suburban lifestyle. Important stuff would be proximity to parks, cycling, maybe cycling to work, good bars and bars with foodas well as sports bars. I am a mad LFC supporter, and thats one part of my life I am gonna miss so badly. I cant go a day without getting some news from the Kop. 2 other questions - we are thinking of taking our car. Is it worth it? And guys with young kids, was it difficult to broach the subject? We have been hinting and our kids do not seem to even want to move to a different area9let alone country, a subject we have not yet even mentioned)? Gosh I hope I dont sound pedantic and boring. I just hope I dont sound boring and a bit anxious. |
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| Amanda & Simon | 19 Aug 2010, 11:57 AM Post #775 |
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Hi Natalie and Paul :wave: Carrum's supposed to be nice from what I've heard. The in-laws lived there for years and every few weeks it's 'when we used to live in Carrum...'. Funnily enough my F-I-L was from Perth originally though I doubt he came here via the UK. Martin, I'm sure a parent will be along to correct me if I'm wrong but I believe that the state schools are like the UK in that living at this address means your kids go to that school and there isn't a way to send them to one you prefer miles and miles away without moving into the catchment area for it. That's the impression I've got from Aussie friends and rellies but as I say, I could be completely wrong. As for maybe bringing your car, that's a whole topic in itself. Several people have done it, including me, but it's not for the faint hearted. On the other hand neither is moving halfway around the world and since you're doing that you're probably not faint hearted anyway. It depends a lot on the car for one thing. If it's a model that was never sold here I'd say don't bother. The insurance companies charge more for an import anyway and if it's something that no one here has replacement panels for in case of crash damage they'll probably charge even more, though obviously if it's a rarity or a classic or something that's a different matter (though they'll still charge an arm and a leg). Equally, if it's a fairly standard family car that you see lots of in both countries you'll probably find that even with the relatively high price of used cars here the cost of importing plus all the little fees and taxes and so on will make bringing a car close to the price of a used Aussie one anyway. Deciding will take a little research on your part, and if I were you the first place I'd start is in the Britivics Wiki where bigAPE wrote a very useful car importing guide based on his own experience getting his Audi here by ro-ro and to which I added a bit about containerised car shipping having brought my Honda in that way. The Britvics Wiki is worth browsing through at your leisure anyway but to save you time the car import bit is here - http://australia.wikia.com/wiki/BritVics/ImportingYourCar. If you want to know the highs and lows of car importing I posted the whole story once I got my car checked, approved, declared legal and roadworthy, and finally fitted with Aussie number plates and on the road here - http://britvics.org/topic/100462/1/. Like I say there I don't regret it and I even came out slightly ahead money wise, which is not typical, but I wouldn't want to make a habit of it. Not trying to put you off if that's what you want to do but the fact is that it was a headache at times. Feel free to pick brains if you want to ask more. Si. |
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