maidensarah

yes that's good. My son wouldn't be happy if he had to repeat a year below.

I was lucky that when my son started he was ready (even though he was only 4 and a half), he has always been ahead with academic things. Even now he reads school books for age 8. You can defer 'summer born' children here, and my daughter being in May would be included, however I wouldnt then want her to be the oldest in reception next year as then she's instantly different to the others . If she doesn't make enough progress during reception it's possible they can keep her in it for another year. She also still has naps some times and is not yet potty trained either due to her delays, though she is making progress towards it. We have a few months to go!

I find it fascinating that my daughter, who starts school here in the U.K. in September when she is only 4 years and 4 months old, would not start in SA until 2 years from now. It would suit her great as she is developmentally delayed, mainly speech/communication/understanding. my son is nearly 6 and in his second year of school (year 1). Other states may have been different though and a year earlier than SA though still later than UK.

My brother is a roofer. I'll send it over to him incase he's interested haha. My dad is a roofer too but he may be too old at 56

Thank you, Jessica.

Thank you. Yes will do. The school would have to be the most important option, and area overall. It's no good being in a not so nice area even if it is by the beach. Good school and areas often go alongside one another so that would be the first thing for us to look into.

Hallet Cove and Noarlunga both look very nice

Thanks Snifter. Where you live sounds lovely, and with only a short drive to the beach it's no problem. We certainly wouldn't be able to afford a hefty price tag. Assuming we can afford the same price as here then we would be looking at about $500k AUD. I'm not sure what this would afford in decent suburbs. I definitely wouldn't be going with rose tinted glasses. Well, maybe a little bit. But I know finding work could be a struggle etc. and feeling settled would take time. I remember the heat of QLD in the summer! And in Sydney on New Year's Day 2006, 42degrees! But cloudy and flies everywhere. That was a weird day! Stayed in pubs/bars for air conditioning lol

Thanks for your reply, Helen. I'd like to think we would live by the beach but obviously it depends on their nice areas in our budget.

Thanks for your reply, LC. It is just the scariness of moving to the unknown. Especially when things are comfortable here. I can't say we have any major friends ties, which sounds odd, but my friends from school, the ones I've known years, I see a few times a year, none have children like me so that creates an huge difference in lifestyle/priorities. Don't get me wrong, when we meet up we can chat for ever with no problem but it's that shared history and childhood that keeps it going. None of them I would rely on. Same for my husband's friends. He has some good friends he made at uni but with them all living in different locations/towns/cities they also only meet a few times a year. I have made some friends through son's school but it's more people I chat to at the gates and coffee occasionally. I am close-ish to my family and see fairly regularly but we do not rely on them much for childcare/babysitting, as some people miss their family for that element too, as well as just missing them. and my husband's family also live 4 hours' drive away. The main reasons I wouldn't want to move are that I love our house (it's new and we've only been here a year), the town is okay but nice location opposite some woods. Son goes to a nice school. Plus my husband has a very good job and earns a lot so giving that up to go to ??? Would it be matched? I do find the greyness of England annoying, I love sunshine but we only get the odd days or maybe a few at a time. We live a couple of hours from a beach. My daughter my youngest loves the beach (in the sun) We have a 6 month old yellow lab puppy who we would of course bring (expensive I know) i dont think we would do a trip first which is obviously risky but you can't really get a proper feel for a place unless you've lived there a while anyway. It would just be a holiday and cost a lot which could be used elsewhere. Plus the fewer long flights with my children at this age the better! Ah, desicions decisions. I think it says a lot about Australia though that I still think about it a lot 10 years after coming home from there.

Thanks NicF for your reply and all of the information. I guess I would mean Adelaide yes as I would assume that would be better for job opportunities. We live in what is considered a large town in England (212000 people), the whole of the shire has about 700,000. So Adelaide would still be a lot bigger than we are now, though I have no desire to live in a large city. Ideally somewhere close to a nice beach, 30m max commute to city centre, assuming that's where work can be found, nice schools etc etc. However although my husband's role is on SA's CSOL list, I'm not sure how easy it would be for him to find a job in that role, being a smaller city that the others.

Thought I would join this forum and say hi as I'm already an unregular member of Pomsinoz. I'm not actually in 'oz' yet but my husband and I are looking at the possibility of doing an EOI and then applying for a 190 visa. He is a senior finance manager and I believe his occupation is on the CSOL list for SA. I have been to Australia before 10 years ago for a year on a WHV but only spent time in NSW and QLD. My husband has never been before, or our two children aged 5 and 3. We are only in talks about this at the moment as there is a lot of research to be done but is something we've talked on and off about for years. I don't know much about SA so wondering if any of you can tell me about your experiences of living there, the suburbs, the people etc. We have a nice life here and are not looking to move as we are unhappy but more for adventure and experience. If we don't we might always wonder etc