Hello - Help me please! ;)

[Guest Banksy]

Hi all,

 

I have been offered a job in Adelaide with sponsorship. This is something that has come out of the blue and I believe that now that my nomination has cleared the visa won't take that long, 4-6 weeks?

 

My wife & I don't know where to start with regards where to live, schools, job for my wife etc.

 

I will be earning approx $65,000 with overtime expected. My wife works in HR so would be looking for a similar HR/Administration type role, part time(school hours). Looking at the various job sites she could expect to earn around $25-30,000 part time, is that correct?

 

Would a combined income of approx £100,000 be enough to live comfortably in Adelaide, all I seem to read is that the prices on everything has gone through the roof.

 

As we have never been to Adelaide(or Australia!) where are the recommended areas to live, and the ones to avoid. We have a 4 year old so would wan't to be near a good school and ideally in a great community to mix and make friends. We would be looking to rent for the first 12 months. The plan is to sell our home back in the UK, I expect to have £30k from the sale, which would be all the money we would be bringing.

I was advised to move there myself at first to make sure I like the job and Adelaide! then for my wife & child to follow me 6 weeks later, is that a common thing to do?

 

If I were to come alone at first are there possibilities of lodging whilst I look at suitable homes for my family?

 

 

I look forward to hearing from you, no doubt there will be many more questions to come....

Edited April 12, 2013 by Banksy

[Guest vikkiann]

Hi and welcome!

 

We have 4 kids and don't have that much coming in!

With regards to area's, it depends on what you want and where you will be working?

Would you rather be near CBD, beach, both? Or countryside?

 

We stayed up north when we activated and I hated it, we live down south and I love it. It's just personal choice.

Its just like England, you have the north/south divide.

 

Have a look on realestate.com.au to get a guide price for rentals and the cost to buy when you have decided. There's no point in renting in an area that you could never afford to buy in.

 

Good luck

 

Vikki

[Diane]

Hi there, first question is whereabouts will your job be based? That is probably a good starting point as regards suburbs. You wouldn't want to choose a place to live way down south and then find you have to commute an hour each way to work in the north.. or vice versa. I reckon $100k combined salary is pretty doable... try and bring as much furniture and stuff out with you as you can - that will cut down on replacement costs.

 

I'm not sure about coming out separately..... only you can know if that will suit you and your family... but I'm not sure if six weeks would be enough time to know for sure if you like the place or not! It would give you time to look around for a rental, but if it was me, I would prefer this process to be a joint one rather than relying on my OH to pick a place for us! I'm a control freak though so again, it's up to you as a couple to decide what would work best for you!

 

Prices for food and stuff have gone up, but house prices are pretty static at the moment, and the increases in food prices etc I feel are a lot due to the exchange rate - those of us that came over when the dollar was weaker tended to convert dollar prices to pounds at a rate of 2:1 whereas now it's more like 1.4:1 which makes a huge difference to perceived prices. Shop for food in season, take advantage of special offers, don't try and buy everything ready made, and I don't think our dollar food bill has changed a great deal in the past few years.

 

By the way - any north/south divide is really just on the forum - ask any south aussies, or any poms that don't come on the site, and they'll laugh at the idea - and tell you it's far more an east/west divide here in Adelaide.

[snifter]

Is your child currently in reception at school in the UK? If so, when is their DOB. SA school intake changes at the start of 2014 but currently a child does not start school till the term after they turn 5. One of our reasons for the timing of our move. Our son is 5 next month and started UK school reception last September but would not have been able to start school till July 2013 in Adelaide (the next full term after him turning 5). And then would do the rest of the reception year and most likely repeat a full year of it next year (how they usually work it).

 

Worth checking out.

[Guest gormusoglu]

Hi snifter, is there a website that explains the schooling ages etc.? I have been looking but am a bit confused. My son is 3, DOB 15Feb10, so he will start nursery in england this Sept and reception Sept 2014. Does Oz have a state nursery system like the uk, or funding for the nursery etc.

 

Any info greatly received.

 

xx

[Guest gormusoglu]

Sorry Banksy, just realised I hijacked the thread, i'll get told off again!!!

[Diane]

Sorry Banksy, just realised I hijacked the thread, i'll get told off again!!!

 

LOL I'm sure your question will be helpful to the OP as well - have a read here http://www.sa.gov.au/subject/Education,+skills+and+learning/Schools/School+life/Starting+primary+school

[Diane]

Hi snifter, is there a website that explains the schooling ages etc.? I have been looking but am a bit confused. My son is 3, DOB 15Feb10, so he will start nursery in england this Sept and reception Sept 2014. Does Oz have a state nursery system like the uk, or funding for the nursery etc.

 

Any info greatly received.

 

xx

 

and here.... http://www.earlyyears.sa.edu.au/pages/HOME/samefirstday/ .... so I think for your son, he will turn 4 in 2014 before 1st May so will start preschool on the first day of Term 1 in 2014, then primary school on the first day of Term 1 in 2015.

 

That's the way I read it anyway...

[Guest Banksy]

Hi and welcome!

 

We have 4 kids and don't have that much coming in!

With regards to area's, it depends on what you want and where you will be working?

Would you rather be near CBD, beach, both? Or countryside?

 

We stayed up north when we activated and I hated it, we live down south and I love it. It's just personal choice.

Its just like England, you have the north/south divide.

 

Have a look on realestate.com.au to get a guide price for rentals and the cost to buy when you have decided. There's no point in renting in an area that you could never afford to buy in.

 

Good luck

 

Vikki

 

Thanks for the info, the company is based near Mile End South, that's where I would report to in the morning. The actual work will be all over the place.

 

 

 

Hi there, first question is whereabouts will your job be based? That is probably a good starting point as regards suburbs. You wouldn't want to choose a place to live way down south and then find you have to commute an hour each way to work in the north.. or vice versa. I reckon $100k combined salary is pretty doable... try and bring as much furniture and stuff out with you as you can - that will cut down on replacement costs.

 

I'm not sure about coming out separately..... only you can know if that will suit you and your family... but I'm not sure if six weeks would be enough time to know for sure if you like the place or not! It would give you time to look around for a rental, but if it was me, I would prefer this process to be a joint one rather than relying on my OH to pick a place for us! I'm a control freak though so again, it's up to you as a couple to decide what would work best for you!

 

Prices for food and stuff have gone up, but house prices are pretty static at the moment, and the increases in food prices etc I feel are a lot due to the exchange rate - those of us that came over when the dollar was weaker tended to convert dollar prices to pounds at a rate of 2:1 whereas now it's more like 1.4:1 which makes a huge difference to perceived prices. Shop for food in season, take advantage of special offers, don't try and buy everything ready made, and I don't think our dollar food bill has changed a great deal in the past few years.

 

By the way - any north/south divide is really just on the forum - ask any south aussies, or any poms that don't come on the site, and they'll laugh at the idea - and tell you it's far more an east/west divide here in Adelaide.

 

It might suit us as it would give me time to find a decent place and it will also give my child the chance to finish the school term(closure). Thanks for replying.

 

 

 

Is your child currently in reception at school in the UK? If so, when is their DOB. SA school intake changes at the start of 2014 but currently a child does not start school till the term after they turn 5. One of our reasons for the timing of our move. Our son is 5 next month and started UK school reception last September but would not have been able to start school till July 2013 in Adelaide (the next full term after him turning 5). And then would do the rest of the reception year and most likely repeat a full year of it next year (how they usually work it).

 

Worth checking out.

 

Yes, my daughter is in reception, she will be 5 at the start of July. She is very advanced for her age and is already in with older children for reading, I'm worried that she may be held back if she has to do another 2 reception years! So if she arrived in say August, when would she be able to start school. Is there scope for putting them into class after reception when they are 5? Many thanks

Edited April 12, 2013 by Banksy

[jim and adel]

I will be earning approx $65,000 with overtime expected. My wife works in HR so would be looking for a similar HR/Administration type role, part time(school hours). Looking at the various job sites she could expect to earn around $25-30,000 part time, is that correct?

 

Would a combined income of approx £100,000 be enough to live comfortably in Adelaide, all I seem to read is that the prices on everything has gone through the roof.

 

I reckon you need to think worst case scenario and work out if you could manage then, rather than ideal or likely situation. As it stands, you've got a job lined up but your wife hasn't, so how long could you last on the one income? It's a tough time at the moment for many when it comes to landing a job, so it might well take some time for your wife to find work. She'll know very little about the place and will have no local experience or network to call on, and there's plenty of competition for roles.

 

Once you are both working, then $100k between you is more than a lot of families earn (some of who manage quite well and some of who don't), but nowhere near what some other families are on (some of who manage quite well and some of who don't). In short, you'll either adapt and live within your means or you won't! Of course, it also depends whether the $100k is gross, whether super comes out of this amount or is extra etc. Regardless, it's doable but hard to know if you'll live 'comfortably' on it.

 

Outside of this forum I've not come across any 'divide'. There are some suburbs that many long-standing adelaideans wouldn't choose to live in (but these exist both in the north and the south) and yet many migrants uproot their families from one end of the world to the other and plonk themselves down in or near such places and seem happy enough! It gets ugly to start naming suburbs to avoid because of this, but do some research through old threads, real estate sites, look at news sites and stats and you'll soon start to build a picture about where to begin exploring once you're here. Just be prepared to chuck the research out in the face of what you see; the reality can be different from what you expect or have been told (for better or worse).

 

As for rising costs, having been here five years I find it an expensive place to live - utility bills, food shopping, cars, paint! - and that's not because I'm comparing it to how many dollars I could once get to the pound, but because of how much things cost. Also, and I know you didn't ask but I'll get it off my chest anyway, when things are cheap the quality is often really poor (I'm a bloke and not big on clothes shopping, but if I were I wouldn't do it in Adelaide - which might explain why Adel keeps dragging me off for weekends to Melbourne!)

 

Jim

[Guest vikkiann]

If your daughter is 5 in July then she should start school in term 3, that would be July i think.

 

My daughter had almost completed a year in reception when we moved here but couldn't start school until term 3 because her birthday is June. She did 2 terms in reception and had to do reception again because you need to do 3 terms before progressing to year 1. I was really unhappy about this because she can read, does her phonics and is way ahead of lots of other children in her class but the school re assured me that she wouldn't be held back. She is now reading at level 8 and is still in reception, a lot of her class is still at level 1 and 2 but she is also being taught in a small group with other students in her year to be able to progress forward at the pace she is capable of.

Looking back at it now, I realise that I shouldn't have worried and I'm a firm believer of bottom of 1 year or top of another, my daughter is at the top and I hope she stays that way!!

The education system is very different to England but its not a bad thing.

 

Vikki

Edited April 12, 2013 by vikkiann
Spelling!

[snifter]

If your daughter is 5 in July then she should start school in term 3, that would be July i think.

 

I think it will depend on where the cut off is. My son missed the cut off by 10 days for term 2 so would not have been able to start till term 3 in July. If say the cut off for kids intake in term 3 is June 30 then start date for children born after that would be in term 4.

[guspjmh]

If your daughter is 5 in July then she should start school in term 3, that would be July i think.

 

My daughter had almost completed a year in reception when we moved here but couldn't start school until term 3 because her birthday is June. She did 2 terms in reception and had to do reception again because you need to do 3 terms before progressing to year 1. I was really unhappy about this because she can read, does her phonics and is way ahead of lots of other children in her class but the school re assured me that she wouldn't be held back. She is now reading at level 8 and is still in reception, a lot of her class is still at level 1 and 2 but she is also being taught in a small group with other students in her year to be able to progress forward at the pace she is capable of.

Looking back at it now, I realise that I shouldn't have worried and I'm a firm believer of bottom of 1 year or top of another, my daughter is at the top and I hope she stays that way!!

The education system is very different to England but its not a bad thing.

 

Vikki

 

 

WHat school does your daughter attend?

[Guest vikkiann]

Aldinga R7

[Guest Banksy]

If your daughter is 5 in July then she should start school in term 3, that would be July i think.

 

My daughter had almost completed a year in reception when we moved here but couldn't start school until term 3 because her birthday is June. She did 2 terms in reception and had to do reception again because you need to do 3 terms before progressing to year 1. I was really unhappy about this because she can read, does her phonics and is way ahead of lots of other children in her class but the school re assured me that she wouldn't be held back. She is now reading at level 8 and is still in reception, a lot of her class is still at level 1 and 2 but she is also being taught in a small group with other students in her year to be able to progress forward at the pace she is capable of.

Looking back at it now, I realise that I shouldn't have worried and I'm a firm believer of bottom of 1 year or top of another, my daughter is at the top and I hope she stays that way!!

The education system is very different to England but its not a bad thing.

 

Vikki

 

 

If I came out in July I'd imagine my wife & daughter would follow, late August/September. Would I be right in thinking she could then start the new term(4) in October?

My daughter is at stage 10(kipper, biff and alike) while the others in her class are on stage 1&2, she just loves to read without pressure from us.

If like you say she would be able to go into a reading group that would be great for her.

[Guest gormusoglu]

Thanks Diane, I'll take a look xx

[Guest Banksy]

Are there fees for sending your child to a government school - if so any idea what they are in Adelaide. I'll be on a 457.

Edited April 12, 2013 by Banksy

[snifter]

Yes, my daughter is in reception, she will be 5 at the start of July. She is very advanced for her age and is already in with older children for reading, I'm worried that she may be held back if she has to do another 2 reception years! So if she arrived in say August, when would she be able to start school. Is there scope for putting them into class after reception when they are 5? Many thanks

 

Don't view it as being held back. Appreciate its a different education system with the current starting age of 5. Not 4 as in the UK. Eventually it does all even out once they settle in. Also their school year runs Jan-Dec, not Sept-Aug like the UK, so if you do aim to get her into Y1 in 2014 then she will only be finishing off reception year with the others, not doing a full year. They are a bit more full on in reception in Aus than we are in the UK.

 

I know others have posted their chosen school insisted on their child remaining in the correct year for their age but we have looked around for schools that are open to the fact our son will have done an entire year of reception in the UK and possibly even a term of Y1 by the time we arrive in Aus. So we are looking to place him in with the class of children who started reception in the first two terms, not the latter two terms. And therefore he'll finish the school year out (it ends in December) and all being well will go into Y1 when the new school year starts in Feb. It is worth bearing in mind though we are only arguing our case for this with a 10 day gap from the cut off for the second term. It was April 29 iirc, our son has a birthday on May 10. I don't know if our son was born so far after the second term cut off in June or July the schools we are looking at would consider him for Y1 in 2014.

 

It is normal on the rolling intake system for children who only start in term 3 and 4 to do another full year of reception. They are all in it together and the children who then start the following year in terms 1 and 2 go up with them to Y1 and so on. So by doing reception over, even if its a full year, she would be with her peers and also one of the older ones in her class and so on. Not bad things IMHO.

 

I am lucky in that I have contacts in the teaching system in Adelaide who have been able to help us work out what we can do and what might be best for our son. Based on his current learning ability and levels here in the UK it equates to a level that we hope will put him in with the kids who will have done 3 and 4 terms of reception by the time he arrives (well in one of those terms anyways). We have also been told its easier to put him up a year from the off (and to move him back if we then need to) than it is to start him of repeating a year of reception and trying to move him up at a later date. So that is what we are going for. TBH if he had a June or July birthday I'd not probably be going about this and would leave him with his actual age group in reception.

 

Don't panic over the system. Check out schools and ask questions as it seems they don't all have the same policy. Remember what your daughter is doing in the UK, there will be differences in Aus.

[Jessica Berry]

My wife works in HR so would be looking for a similar HR/Administration type role, part time(school hours). Looking at the various job sites she could expect to earn around $25-30,000 part time, is that correct?

 

There is a lot of competition for work within HR and admin in general and even more so for part-time work especially to fit around school hours. In general (and this is just my opinion from working in HR/recruitment roles) I have found, compared to the UK, Adelaide is not big on part-time, job share, family friendly positions within the environments I have worked. There are companies which are more 'child friendly' than others and I personally would target them. As I always say there are the exceptions to the rule and organisations where it will not be an issue.

[snifter]

Are there fees for sending your child to a government school - if so any idea what they are in Adelaide. I'll be on a 457.

 

I don't think its changed since this was posted but you can easily check it out for yourself.

 

http://migrant.nabgroup.com/en/education-costs-for-457-visa-holders

[Guest Banksy]

There is a lot of competition for work within HR and admin in general and even more so for part-time work especially to fit around school hours. In general (and this is just my opinion from working in HR/recruitment roles) I have found, compared to the UK, Adelaide is not big on part-time, job share, family friendly positions within the environments I have worked. There are companies which are more 'child friendly' than others and I personally would target them. As I always say there are the exceptions to the rule and organisations where it will not be an issue.

 

 

We like the idea of living in Port Noarlunga. Would such jobs be even harder to get in such an area.

[Jessica Berry]

We like the idea of living in Port Noarlunga. Would such jobs be even harder to get in such an area.

 

Your wife may have to be prepared to travel for work. It is really down to the individual and what jobs are available and your circumstances, some people are happy to travel distances for work, others aren't.

[Guest HRHelp]

$100k is very liveable on and accommodation tends to be unfurnished rented houses but there are opther options available (try seeing if you can view the Advertiser online to see).

[Guest Banksy]

Your wife may have to be prepared to travel for work. It is really down to the individual and what jobs are available and your circumstances, some people are happy to travel distances for work, others aren't.

 

 

Yes we have spoken about that, it shouldn't be a problem, especially with trains from Noarlunga into Adelaide.

Whereabouts do you hold your courses?

[Guest Banksy]

$100k is very liveable on and accommodation tends to be unfurnished rented houses but there are opther options available (try seeing if you can view the Advertiser online to see).

 

We would be after unfurnished as we would be shipping our furniture across. Is your user name anything to do with Human Resources work?