Just starting the process! All advice welcome!

[Guest evo2044]

hi all!

 

Already read several posts and found out loads of info. Just wanted to say hi and ask a few starting out questions!!!

 

We have just signed up with Visa- Go emigration to go through the skilled worker visa entry under adult education.

 

Does anyone have any advice on job wesites to start looking at? Also havent got a clue on where is best to settle. We have a 21 month old son and i have no idea about nurseries or when children start school out there? Where should we look to settle?! So much to consider! Really excited at the minute but i know it could be a long process so trying to not get too excited!

 

Any starting out advice would be very welcome!

 

Julie & Barry

[Guest kazdan]

Hi

 

We are just about to start the process to! Excited scared etc! I to have questions, but I have looked at many sites. You can google schools in Adelaide and it comes up with loads of nurserys etc! Or Education authority Adelaide.

I have not decided where in Adelaide we would like to go, so am hoping that I get some replies to my thresd???

We are not going with an agency and are doing it ourselves! Scary thought!

We are going to a seminar in feb/March to get more info and job info.

 

Goodluck!

Karen

[Guest pixie7]

Welcome guys, Karen you will be fine doing it alone, loads of people (us included!) do it alone without a problem- feel free to ask anything and think of the pennies you are saving!

 

Julie and Barry and Karen are you going for 176 state sponsorship? or 175 ? Also what jobs are you all looking into? Cant help on areas yet as still researching ourselves... fly in 10 weeks

[ajford]

Hi,

 

When we first starting thinking where to live we bought a A1 map of Adelaide and had it on the living room wall, and looked at locations all over the place, north,south etc.. , we then looked at how long it would take us to get to the city,hills,beaches. Then went into more details of where the schools were going to be and worked back from there.

When in the uk looking at the map the distances looks massive and I didn't really want to be any further than a 1hour commute away,in the uk it took us around 30mins, however other jobs took longer so based it on that.

We also looked at what we could afford and being so close to the city for the type of accommodation we wanted wasn't really an option,plus we used to live close to the city in the uk so we knew this wasn't something we wanted again,so we looked at places further out.Then looked at possible working opportunities,real estate,schools et... .

In the end a came to where we could get an affordable holiday rental, the ones that came up were further down south,all was last minute as we could do anything until the house contracts had exchanged,selling houses ain't fun. With four weeks notice we took the risk and booked our holiday rental that was down in Aldinga,around 30 mins away from the city. Never heard of Aldinga until we found the rental,first thought it was too far away for us,due to having to rely on public transport for work however we were so thankful for coming down here to start with. We loved it ,we had a look around and it suited us very well bonus that the rental was so good.

We explored the area surroundings for locality to schools,shops and jobs all very good ,best decision we made.

Thinking back to when we were looking at the map and where we were originally looking at living we ruled out many areas due to being future out, how wrong were we. Until you are here don't get too hung up on where to live it's really different over here when driving around, the traffic appears to be less even in so called rush our, well down south anyway.

Well that's just our opinion, we love it here.

 

Andrew

[Guest kazdan]

Hi All

 

Thanks for Info, Its a 175 I think! will look again digits and numbers everywhere! Have decided will do the application online on the 1st Jan! New Year New start!

 

My husband is a heating engineer, and time served Plumber for 7 years. I work in Children's services as a Child and family/social care worker. We will be coming on my husbands skilled Migration Visa points etc. And I hope to get a job when out there. Have already seen a few.

 

Keep us updated on your adventure goodluck! And let us know where you settle.

 

Take Care

 

Karen, Dan and George

[Guest guest3462]

Hi guys, Congratulations on your decision to move to Oz!!! Take a look at these websites:

www.myschool.com.au (school league tables etc)

www.realestate,co.au (rentals and housing prices, also great for looking into areas)

www.adelaidebound.com.au (very useful for everyone moving from abroad to Adelaide)

www.seek.com.au (jobs website)

www.adelaidenow.com.au (local news, just for your interest really)

Also be aware that the DIAC are making serious changes to the method of application for a PR visa from next year, which may make it very difficult for most people to get a visa (its going to get like the USA and NZ where they have an application lotto) so you may be better off getting your application in sooner rather than later. Get your skills assessments sent off ASAP as they can take ages to come back and start gathering all the documentation you will need to support your application toegther now. It makes it so much easier when you are ready to submit the forms. Also if you only have a short time left on your passport, renew it now as it costs double to do it here.

 

There is so much to think about and do when you first start out. We found it useful to have a big chart on the wall with a list of "to do's" and we ticked them off as we went along. The list never seemed to get any shorter as we were always adding to it lol!

Why 175 and not 176? They are taking a lot longer to process. Take a look at www.immisa.gov.au and see if you qualify for state sponsorship as these visas seem to be finalised within a few months!

 

Nursery care for your little one is much the same as in the UK where you pay private until they turn 4 they then get 5 sessions a week for $55 a term. Childcare costs are approx the same as in UK too, but can be heavily subsidised if you qualify for child benefits. Children start school the term after their 5th birthday.

 

Looking at places to live depends very much on what you want to get out of your experience in Adelaide. It also depends on how you value your personal lifestyle, for example we wanted to live near the beach and by our friends and to do that we had to sacrifice living near the CBD for work and Rich has a 1hr commute to the city every day for work. He likes it and says the views on the drive home are far better than the ones on the M62!! There are lots of fab suburbs all over Adelaide, it seems to be cheaper for housing and a far more laid back approach to life in the south, but better for trade work and schools in the north and east (only my opinion)

 

I cannot comment on the availability of work as Rich had secured his job before we left the UK, in fact that was the only easy thing that ever happened during our visa journey lol! Although I can vouch that almost every profession needs to resit exams or proficiency tests and licences.

 

Be very aware that absolutely everything costs money here that you would perhaps otherwise take for granted in the UK, for example my driving licence just cost me $386 for 10 years. The only thing there isnt a fee for is the tv (no licence fee and thank god cos its terrible!!) You need money on elastic when you first arrive so start saving hard now.

 

I'm sorry if this sounds harsh, its not meant to but I really feel that the hard truth is best faced early on lol! The grass isn't all that greener here, but if you work hard and play harder, the sun shines more which makes life so much more pleasant!

Good luck, looking forward to reading your journey!

Julia

[Guest evo2044]

Welcome guys, Karen you will be fine doing it alone, loads of people (us included!) do it alone without a problem- feel free to ask anything and think of the pennies you are saving!

 

Julie and Barry and Karen are you going for 176 state sponsorship? or 175 ? Also what jobs are you all looking into? Cant help on areas yet as still researching ourselves... fly in 10 weeks

 

Thanks for ure replies . We are going on 176. Kind of wished we'd gone it alone as the fees are high but I don't have enough spare time to devote to doing it all! I'm currently a police officer but my skilled visa relates to adult education as I currently train police officers in interview and investigation skills so I have absolutely no idea where I could find work in Adelaide ! All suggestions welcome :-)

[Guest guest3462]

Try the SAPOL website? This is the south Australian police dept and I'm sure an email or call to someone in their offices should cut you some useful info. There are quite a few uk Bobby's on PIA and I think they may be recruiting but please don't quite me on that!

JC x

[Guest evo2044]

thank you for your prompt and hjonest reply! i would much rather know the good and bad as I am entering into this with eyes wide open! I understand property is quite pricey, and cars? wasnt sure how much money we would need to bring with us.... long way off to even begin worrying about I suppose!

 

cheers

 

Julie

[Guest kazdan]

Thanks so much for the info!

Much apprechiated, and I think we need the harsh stuff to it can not all be a big dream world.

 

Does anyone know about the work in Children's Services?? And Heating Engineer/Plumber

 

Or if you need one??? Im trying!

Karen, Dan and George

[Guest kazdan]

Good luck Helen and Chris (Pixie 7) and enjoy the flights Weather looks fab! Keep us updated on your travels and arrivals excited for you!!!