KathleenandCraig

Only our view of the world so very biased in that way...... but we secured jobs before making the move 3 years ago, with one of us having 3 offers on the table a that time. We work in Marketing and Healthcare. Since being here we have had job offers made to us when not looking. I would say 1-2 every couple of months mainly through LinkedIn or professional networks we have built since being here. which didn't happen in the UK (to us). I would say about 50% are pushing us to move to Melbourne but we do get some for roles here in Adelaide. I recently accepted one of those offers and took a step up in role and salary which would have been a pipe dream back in the UK for us. I am not aware of any of our social networks out of work/looking but appreciate like every city in the world there are those struggles happening in Adelaide everyday. Not trying to 'sell' Adelaide or make it sound easy, I just wanted to throw another opinion/experience in the ring. Hope it helps someone somewhere. I am big believer you get out what you put in. Sorry to hear the stories of those who are still putting in waiting to get something back.

Quick update to say it is now on Realestate.com http://www.realestate.com.au/408662131

Hi All Just a quick note to say we will be leaving our rental in upmarket suburb of Craigburn Farm at the end of July. We will be moving into our own house we have built on Craigburn Farm or Blackwood Park as some know it as. It has been a great home for 3 years as we started our Oz adventure so very sad to be leaving! It is pet friendly and our 2 cockers we brought over from the UK have loved it! The neighbors on both sides are now considered friends and it has been the type of street that brings your bins in, lets the dogs out and watches out for one another. For those not familiar with Craigburn Farm it is in our opinion one of the best suburbs in Adelaide to live. It is quiet with plenty of open spaces for kids etc including some great parks and mountain bike trails. Being in the hills ensures you feel outside of the hustle and bustle of the main city but close enough to dip your toe in when ever you want, We both work in the CBD (North Terrace) which takes us 25 minutes by car (record is 18 minutes ) or 30 minutes from the local train station (Coromandel station is 5 minutes drive or 10-15 minute walk), it is 10 minutes from Marion Westfield or 15 from the beaches at Brighton, 30 minutes from Mclaren Vale. The local shopping center in Blackwood is fantastic with a real community feel but wide selection. As mentioned we love it that much we have built a house here. Anyway enough of me helping the Adelaide Hills tourism office but I do recommend you check out the likes of real estate to see the type of houses on the development or even some of the suburb reviews. Not many rentals come up in the suburb especially 3 bedroom as most houses are 4-5 bedrooms, so this is a heads up that we expect when it comes up that there will be lots of interest. Feel free to PM us for further info and happy to share before it goes live.

Hi Kathleen takes our daughter to Coromandel Valley Kindergarten playgroup on Friday mornings I think (15mins away from H.Cove). It only costs $2 per session and Kathleen says there are a few similar aged mums to her (she is 30). Most of the kids are older than our daughter as she is only 4 months old. Feel free to PM us if you want anymore info. Cheers Craig & Kathleen

Hi everyone My Dad is over from the UK for 9 months and is hoping to use some of that time catching up on his golf. He has been to the local course at Belair and is hoping to visit Flagstaff and Blackwood soon. Unfortunately my skill level is the driving range so he needs to find a golf buddy or 2. He turned 60 this year but acts like he is 50! If anyone fancies a game especially during the week please let me know. Cheers Craig

We can only offer up our own personal experience We moved over in Aug 2012 and OH had 18 months experience since graduating in January 2011. She was able to secure job offers before making the move. We put a lot of work into making links with SA Health and a few private hospitals so that when we came on our reccie we had 4 meetings set up. Spent 1-2 hours with each team (RAH, Flinders and Burnside) which helped OH understand the roles and differences with UK nursing. Also put a face to the application so helped them. Like I said it was a lot of work making those links, ensuring registration would be straight forward etc, but in the end it made the move easier knowing there was a job waiting for OH. I know that was then and nearly 2 years later it is tougher but I still think putting the work in before the move is worth it, if anything so you know where you stand. All the best and will keep fingers crossed!

That would be great Cheers

Thanks NicF. Yeah the numbers you are talking about there seem along the lines of what we were thinking too. When I meant major I was meaning closer to the $80K-$100K mark which is a little more than we wanted to spend . I think we will be looking at around $20-$25K just in paving etc, We are not looking to "flatten" the back garden and keep it naturally sloping, so hopefully we will keep any major works or need for major retainer walls to a minimum. I will give them a call tomorrow. Cheers Craig

Hi We are building a house at Craigburn Farm and need to get some quotes for landscaping, paving, fencing and a few other "outside" type things. Wondered if anyone had any recommendations for any of these things? Would be helpful if they were close by as a few in the Northern suburbs that we have already contacted won't come down here unless we are spending major $$$ Cheers Craig

Hi everyone Apologies for a lack of replies but we have been having a mad few weeks! Howde has answered most of the questions and as they say there have been a few new things pop up due to the budget. I can only speak from the discussions I am privy to, but I suspect what I say will be the case with Adelaide and Flinders, essentially we don't know what will happen following the news from the budget. It does look like students will have to bear the brunt of higher fees but to what amount? We just don't know yet. I suspect Post Grad study will be hardest hit but I doubt Undergrad study won't see changes too. I hope Australian Universities look to their colleagues back in the UK and avoid some of the pitfalls of raising fees. I read recently the VC of Adelaide uni raise the possibility of 2 levels of fees, some program's will be cheaper than others depending on type (and I suspect popularity). This is a common model deployed in the UK in the past 2 years. It reminds me of Ryan Air, where you could be sat next to someone who paid 50% less for their seat than you paid. I would advise anyone looking at study in 2015 and beyond to get in touch with the university they are considering and they can update you of fees, scholarships and entry requirements. "Are we there yet", if your son is on the same visa (489 is temp right?), then he will be classed as an onshore full fee paying student but for all intent, an international student. There are scholarships solely available to international students usually based on academic achievement and his choice of program. Cheers Craig

Sorry been away a while, thank you for the replies. Will start ringing!

Hi All We have family coming out for a 6-12 months visit. We would like to ensure they can get about during their stay and have started investigating long term car lease. We seem to be struggling finding a rental company that can offer anything over 2 months. Has anyone done something similar before? Any help is appreciated Cheers Craig

Hi Flossybeth Yes if she is here on a student or another temporary visa she would be classed as an International student. The cost of her program can vary quite a bit but all 3 Universities generally publish these costs on their program pages UniSA Adelaide Flinders Again if UniSA is on her list then I have a good contact in our Arts area which I would be happy to pass on.

Hi Oliver As SWIMBO has said below if you are here on a PR visa then the fees would be commonwealth supported just as an Australian Citizen is, but unlike them you are not entitled to get a student loan to cover those costs (known as HECS). Your fees would need to be paid up front before each semester. In terms of entry requirements, each University have different requirements. They also may give you a different score for your A levels (not too different). A good rule for would be that students must have a minimum of six points for entry to university and have completed at least three ‘A’ Level academic subjects. The scoring system guide (need to confirm with each University) would be A*= 6, A=5, B=4, C=3, D=2, E=1 Again just to give you an idea of entry for a business program at the 3 Universities: UniSA - Bachelor of Business – Score of 7 Adelaide Uni - Bachelor of Commerce – Score of 9 Flinders Uni - Bachelor of Business – I can’t see their score published but you can contact them for this I won’t comment on which is best as I know both Adelaide and UniSA are good due to their international ranking. Flinders may be equally as good it’s just that I am not as familiar with their business program. My advice would be to try not to treat the entry requirement as measure of quality but more a supply/demand. We have programs in my bit of UniSA that has an ATAR of 99+ but that is not because it’s any better or necessarily more difficult than the same program elsewhere or another program at UniSA with an ATAR of 60 or 70, just there is a huge demand for the program and limited places so it is high to ensure we get the best of the applicants. Business (coming from someone who studied business himself), can afford to offer more places than other programs and with all 3 Universities offering it we can all afford to have a lower ATAR than say medicine, physio or law. Does not make business a lesser course or less difficult. If you want more info about the UniSA business courses I have a great contact if you PM me. Cheers Craig

Hi Russell - Things are going really well thank you, hoping to start building up in the hills sooner rather than later. How is life on the coast? Hi Helen and Howde - Yes as Howde says all 3 Universities will recognise A-Levels but I would always suggest a 1-to-1 with the University you are considering to work out the exact conversion of A Levels or BTEC to an Australian ATAR Score (Australian Tertiary Admission Rank) as there can be slight differences. Uni of western Australia has a good tool which I used to learn on the job, I keep pushing UniSA to have one on their website. As Howde says SATAC is the body all domestic students will need to apply through (Citizens and PR), if you are here on a temporary visa then there is a strong chance you will be considered an on-shore International student and the application route can vary (sometimes it can be direct through the University). Helen, if your son has some questions feel free to send them through, as stated I will try my best to help or at the very least get you in contact with someone who can help you.

Well after getting some great help from lots of people on the forums, I thought it was about time I offered to give something back. One thing I have noticed is a lack of questions on University and other tertiary education. It surprises me as in my day job I get a lot of questions in person, on the phone and online from us poms! Maybe it's that the people of pomsinadelaide are fully up to date with their higher ed knowledge or there simply isn't a need for it on here as I do notice most of us have younger families. In any case I would like to offer my help to anyone who may have a question about Universities especially here in SA. After 18 months of working in a senior marketing role at UniSA I have built up a decent amount of knowledge about the 3 SA Universities and before I get accused of any bias, all 3 are great and have their strengths. This makes us very lucky in SA, I speak from experience after working in similar roles back in the UK where there is a real mixed bag of excellent, good, average and very poor Universities. I also have had to build a bit of know how about admissions, fees and some general “other” know how. So though I am a bit of a “generalist” I do know a lot of “specialists”, whether that be an academic in a particular program or a professional in a key function area. So even if I don't know the answer immediately I feel fairly confident I know someone who will or where to direct you to at the very least. So if anyone out there ever does need or want any help in the University area feel free to PM me and I will try my best to assist. Hope we are all enjoying our very warm summer! Craig

Grew up in Whittle-le-Woods and Chorley. Other half isn't Lancashire born and bred, but he moved to Walton Park in 1997. We bought our first house in Walton le Dale and lived there for 7 years before coming to Adelaide last year.

We used Petair last September for our 2 dogs and they took away a lot of the stress from what will always be a difficult decision. Bob from Petair answered every question we had and spent sometimes hours with us on the phone, all before we signed up with them which we thought was great. They helped us do everything early with them and our own vets, so by the time my parents dropped them off at their offices near Heathrow, the dogs only had the flight and 30 nights in Spotswood Quarantine in Melbourne to get through. My sister lives in Melbourne so was able to visit them twice a week and take them for a little exercise in one of the grassed exercise pens. We drove over at the end of September, picked them up which took no more than 20 minutes, drove back to Adelaide and was home for dinner!

Hi I have been a member of Blackwood fitness for a few months now and really enjoy attending the classes they offer but I am starting to struggle with motivation. I was just wondering if there is anyone else out there who is a member and might be interested in attending a few classes together? Thanks Kathleen (28)

Hi We have been living in Craigburn farm since last October and still haven't sorted a GP/Dentist. So far not needed one but check-ups could be on the horizon. Ideally would like one in Blackwood or closer. Any recommendations? Cheers Craig

Hi I came out in Sept 2012 and managed to secure a job at the RAH. We did a lot of work back in the UK to get "known" by some of the hospitals. That included emails, phone calls and meeting SA Health (when they were recruiting in Manchester April 2012), finally met the same those same people from SA health when we came for a reccie in May 2012 and they setup tours of both Flinders and RAH. It was a lot of work but by the time we came in September I had offers from the RAH, Flinders and Burnside. Only reason I chose RAH was it was a permenant nuerology/stroke role which is my background back in the UK. Apart from that I would have been happy taking any of the 3 roles. I did it direct with SA Health and Burnside. Kathleen

Hi, We used Pet Air for our 2 cocker spaniels October 2012. We used them from the very start so all the vet checks and tests, the crates, pick up, sorting out quarantine etc. All together it came up to just over 2500 (not including the actual quarantine costs). So all together I don't think we were too far off the 4000 mark (maybe even just over it).

Hi. We recently made the 1 way trip from the UK and we had to answer the same question back in April. In the end we did a lot of research on the various websites (including APHRA as Kathleen is a nurse) and posted a lot of questions on this forum and pomsinoz. In the end we came up with 2 options. Option 1 was to apply for the PR visa which would give us more flexibility when we arrived in Oz but the cons were that it would cost more and maybe take a little longer to get. The 2nd option was come on a 457 working visa which would be cheaper/quicker but less flexibility. We opted for the 457 visa as we had 4 years on it, we got to move quite quick and we saw it enough to cover a trial period here in OZ with a view that if we do like it (going well so far) we could then apply for PR. We did it all ourselves tho we did do a couple of free consultations with migration agents back in the UK (personally we found the forum community more informed though). We also were led to believe that once our employers saw us in action the more willing to be they would want to keep us and therefore pay some of the PR visa costs (which they have now offered). So as some above have already said, lots of research and scrolling forums and then you need to make the best decision for you and your family. All the best. Craig

6 weeks for us. We were (still are) new to Adelaide so took some time to find the areas first but when we started to apply it only took 3 weeks. We applied for 2 and got offered both (1 was a funny deal though as the owners were recently sperated and wanted the option to sell so wanted a rolling 3 month contract - no thanks). We did have to offer more bond for the one we did get because of our 2 dogs.

Also interested in the above ^^^ My employers have approached me after 4 months on the 457 saying they want me to consider applying for the PR visa through them again (as per my 457 visa). My understanding was that I needed to be here for a minimum of 2 years before doing this but they advise as long as I have at least 2 years left on my contract (my role is permenant so qualifies) then they can apply at anytime for it. Still not convinced myself.