keithjm

I saw an ad for staff at Ed Harry Reynella in the front window....

School generally starts at around 8:45 and finishes at 3:10 - 3:20. School holidays are two weeks at the end of each term (four terms) and summer hols are around 6-7 weeks over Christmas.

Hi James. I'm in a similar situation as you, I feel as thought I belong in England do a certain degree, but the rest of the family are happy here. I'd love to go back sometimes and I've been here for nearly 38 years. I read an interesting comment in the Sunday Mail last weekend, the columnist stated that Adelaide is great to live in, and no good to visit. I sort of feel the same could be said about the UK in current times as least, but in reverse - UK great to visit, not so great to live in... Food for thought anyway. Perhaps, like me, your're destined to just take trips back to the UK when possible, and enjoy the day to day life here. Because, when you break life down to a 'day to day' routine, it's not so bad here....

Hi Williams 1 I guess the thing that I've come to understand from my experience in moving to Australia is that it's not so much a better life, but it's a different life. Australia is probably no better, or worse than the UK. I've been here since 1974 when I arrived at age 14. My wife and three kids moved to the UK back in Sept. 2010 and stayed for 8 months. I really enjoyed it back there. Our original plan was to spend around 1-2 years living in the UK, but we had some family reasons for returning early. I have often thought that families wanting to move to Australia for a new/better life could try moving somewhere else in the UK first. There are several differences between the two countries and this takes a lot of acceptance. Here's a few differences that sticks out for me... A trip to the doctor can cost around $55, however around $35 can be claimed back from Medicare. Prescriptions cost around $30-35. State schools cost around $600 per year per child, this includes books, uniform etc. Food costs are generally a bit higher here than in the UK. There is nowhere near the pub life that the UK has. The summers are pretty hot - a lot of people go live in air-con house, air-con car, air-con work. Winters are cold here in Adelaide, heating (and cooling) costs are high if using electricity. Electricity bills are almost double what you would pay in the UK. Our personal experience with the educations systems indicates that the UK education system is better. Petrol is cheaper in Adelaide- around $1.50 per litre. Houses are definitely cheaper here, and you get a lot more house for your money. Much less traffic here in Adelaide. Plenty of sunshine. Great beaches. Great wine regions. Fruit & Veg is better here - fresher, bigger. I'd love to hear from other member's thoughts on the differences between the two countries.... I'd also love to hear from people that are considering making the move, and why they want to leave...

Hi Chris. I would recommend checking out: http://www.carsales.com.au I reckon you get better deals if you buy privately, but second hand cars are more expensive than back home.

Our kids have always got $2 from the tooth fairy, and it seems that is generally the case as far as we know!

I reckon that selling, then renting is the best way to go. We rented for six months, it made it easier to arrange flights and removals that way. We brought all of our furniture over, but I sometimes wonder if the cost of buying new gear would have been better than bringing it all over. Plus we wouldn't have to have waited for the gear to arrive. We slept on air beds for six weeks and borrowed a lounge suite!

Welcome to the southern suburbs! You've picked a great part of Adelaide to start off at. Check out the Port Noarlunga Beach area, and Pt. Noarlunga itself - great area!

I came over last year with a Nokia C3 (unlocked) and have no issues at all.

Reynella is a nice suburb and about 5 mins drive to Woodcroft. If you do a search on Google Maps and get the directions this will give you a good idea of travel times.

I would think that your 12yo would have to do the last term of the year at primary school and the 13yo would do the last term of yr 8 in high school. You could contact DECS here and ask if they could go up a year - it's worth a try. In general, Oz schools are a year behind the UK based on our experience.

Whyalla is not a good place to move to. There is only one main employer in the town (One Steel). One Steel's future in Whyalla is under a cloud at the moment, but is committed to another four years as least. The town has a population of around 25,000 but seems to be shrinking. Very hot during summer and not a lot to do. The town seems to have plenty of sports clubs etc. but not much else to offer. It's fairly remote, the next town is Port Augusta - also not much to do there either. Try moving to Adelaide - Whyalla would be a last resort for me.