hello

[Guest phoesmummy]

:biggrin:hello everyone. im Tracy and a total newbie to all this. im 38 and my hubby is 37 hes in IT and im a stay at home mummy mostly but also training to be a TA (teaching assistant) we currently live in Kent. my hubby and I have often talked about emigrating to oz but have then forgot about it etc. Recently we started thinking about it again, thanks the our lovely british summer or lack of it. we have two girls who are two and five and all we want really is a better life for them. I have family in perth and we have friends in Brisbane, I also have a couple of friends that are in the processs of emigrating to Adelaide. id not thought of it before but looking at it, it looks beautiful. what appeals is that it looks very green and is also by the coast : ) My hubby is in IT (asp.net web developer) and I was wondering if theres a big call for it in Adelaide. I have tried to look at wages etc. but a lot of job specs dnt include this. It is very early days for us and its pretty scary but I just think it would be a better family life for us all, Britain seems to have a lot of issues and I worry about what it will be like in 20 years we have not started any visa process at the moment and are just researching.

 

sorry if im rambling on a bit but my head is full of it at the moment!

[snifter]

Hello and welcome to the forum

 

I personally think Adelaide is lovely. It does sprawl and there are many suburbs covering a fair distance. Plenty of different areas to choose from.

 

It isn't as green as you might think. It can look pretty parched and brown in summer and autumn. I guess peoples gardens, parks and so on may fair better but I remember being taken aback at how brown it was in many areas around Adelaide and heading out into the hills and down the coast after a dry summer. However, doesn't mean to say its all like that or anything. It is a different continent, climate and fauna so of course is different to what we are used to. Still plenty of green in the trees and so on, but the grass definitely doesn't have the lushness we are used to over here in summer. Not a bad thing, just different Even my hubby, an Aussie, still comments on the amazing greens we have here in England in spring and summer. He remarks that while they have green in Adelaide, its nothing like the green we have surrounding us here in England. He'll miss that aspect I think when we return to Adelaide.

 

That better life thing, it works for some people to have this train of thought but perhaps try not to let it take over in terms of why you are migrating. It can be a harder life, more work, adjusting to living the other side of the world away from family and friends, not having the support network (if you have one in the UK) around you. It can be lonely and take a fair while to build friendships and settle and adjust to living outside the UK. It can also be really rewarding, positive experience and the best thing you ever do. It really depends on how things go work wise mainly and how you cope as individuals and as a family. For some things fall into place and its all good, for others it doesn't and they struggle. Even some for whom it works out job wise and so on suffer homesickness or missing the UK or something and don't settle so return to the UK. Others find Adelaide isn't for them and move interstate.

 

​My understanding is Adelaide doesn't have the same demand for IT as say Sydney or Melbourne but there is work there. As to if it would be suitable for your hubby, I really don't know. I think he best bet would be to do some research himself into his field in the cities you are considering. Chances are he'd find a network or some such of people he could reach out to or get some leads.

 

Your children are at a good age for migrating IMHO. Not too settled into school for the oldest and a ways off from starting for the youngest. Our main reason for returning now is that our son is 5 and we don't want to leave it too much longer as otherwise those friendships in school will be well and truly formed and it'll be more of a wrench to take him away as he gets older. Being this age or younger is IMHO about the best time to go if you have kids and can manage it. Having a toddler will also get you out and about to playgroups, parks and so on and give you a chance to meet other mums with children the same age.

 

The coast is lovely. Adelaide has some amazing beaches. Helped by being on the gulf. I like it out in the hills also and we are already planning some camping trips for the summer holidays over Christmas (we arrive sometime over the UK summer/autumn). And hoping to do some cycling also.

 

For me Adelaide ticks all our boxes. Hubby is from there so home for him. Neither of us want a big city or fast paced life, endless bars or pubs or anything like that. If we did we'd be living in London, Manchester, Edinburgh or Bristol or some place already here in the UK. We don't, we prefer a small town and access to the city when we need or want it (about 5-6 times a year usually). So in that sense Adelaide isn't going to be much of a change. Has some good schools, plenty of stuff to keep us busy and hopefully we'll find an area we can both agree on to settle in the long term. I'm not expecting it to be easy in the least. Hubby has been away nearly 8 years and while he has a large family there we'll be starting over again in terms of finding a home, work and so on.

[likesshopping]

Hi there

 

I agree with everything Snifter has said - its a beautiful place to live and fab for families, we came over when our two daughters were 7 & 10, but would have loved to have moved over sooner when they were younger - your girls are perfect ages.

 

My husband works in IT ( IT Project Management) and finding him a job in Adelaide was the thing we were most worried about - There is defo alot more in Melbourne & Sydney. It took my husband about 10 weeks to find something and that was with him going into the city everyday and speaking with recruitment agencies - but then landed a good job in Microsoft......Its definitely a place of who you know, not what you know here, so networking is good. He has since moved jobs a few times and he has never been out of work ( in 6 years ) and pay has increased as well - so there are jobs here, just may take a bit longer to place - once you get your foot in and name know within the IT people, things are fine.

 

Hope thats helped a bit.

[Guest phoesmummy]

thanks ladies, i know there is alot to think about ;-) but if we dont do it i feel we may regret having never tried. x im aware that it will take a couple of years to go through the process too x

my daughter is called Phoebe too and my other little girl is Amber : )

 

ive also just looked on the high demand list for Adelaide and web developer is on there so im hoping thats good news to start with : )

Edited May 21, 2013 by phoesmummy