Quoll

How long did it last? - 42 years come Sunday, not that I struggled in the beginning, basically because we both believed it wasnt going to be for ever. I spent 8.5 years from 2011 back in UK and it was better than I imagined it would be. Hope you can sort yourself out.

You’re also right to avoid NSW because you’d be stung for upwards of $5k pa for education (per child) on a temporary visa. You might want to add in health insurance (300+), parking (possibly), other transport unless you get a company car, budget something for doctors and dentist visits and prescriptions and also random costs of schooling (uniforms, visits, special events, stationery etc), child care if your OH wants to work (100+ per day)

Just say “go with his age cohort” and drop the “again” (simples!)

Can’t help you with WA specifically but lots of stitch and b*tch sessions around here! Try FB or Ravelry to see if there are groups on there which may meet in person - they’re often called “knitting” groups but usually generally much more eclectic. If you can find a craft/yarn shop in the vicinity they’ll know where groups meet - around here they tend to meet in clubs, craft shops and even libraries. If you have a favourite type of yarn for crochet (like style craft dk) then stock up before you come. You’ll find Lincraft and Spotlight stores for supplies which are like Hobbycraft and there are some WA local yarn shops which sell on line so there will likely be bricks and mortar ones. I found that craft groups were my way into social connections when I went back to U.K. and then returned here. You might even find that there are some Zoom craft groups going which might start you off in the area you’ll be heading for (maybe email a craft shop in the area and ask if they know of any Zooms (we have a couple in Canberra but the time difference is a pain!)

Theoretically you can if he meets the cut off date but pragmatically you would really disadvantage him by doing that. He would actually be better to wait and finish A levels because they convert really well to Uni entry requirements - much better than going in the reverse direction! If he were to start half way through the 11/12 course he would rely on someone calculating his ATAR score and that would probably be well lower than he might have if he had done the whole course. All depending on which state you go to, the yr 12 score is a mixture of continuous assessments and exams in varying degrees, it’s not like A levels where it’s all on final exams. He wouldn’t be being “put back” a year (he might even be chronologically right for year 11 - the U.K./Aus year levels don’t match up exactly) - he will never have done year 11 in Australia before even if he is slightly older than his grade cohorts. It very much depends on his birthday and which state you will be going to as to which Aus year he will be going into. Best scenario though, let him finish A levels - board with someone if need be - then he keeps all options open for whether he wants Uni in U.K. or Australia.

We always say to people that it’s never a good idea to lie to Immigration. You did and you’ve been caught. Talk to an agent, you might find a way to get out of it but you’ve been given an option with a condition you buy a ticket to leave - sounds like the sensible option will be to do that then start applying again properly once you are back home although on your record they will know that you lied once already and that won’t look good for you.

That would be very unusual, especially in Victoria where rules is rules. You generally need a permanent address and schools have priority enrolment areas where they are obliged to offer a place to anyone in that area. You may apply for admittance as an out of area placement in any other school but none would be obliged to take you unless they had vacancies. Only way I can think of knowing which school they’ll be going to is if you choose to go private then as long as you pay the fees they don’t care where you are going to be living. With a kid being much younger than their cohort it isn’t so much “now” that is the issue it’s when they get older and they’re developmentally and socially out of step with a whole lot of hormonal drinking/driving/drugging teens and heading for Uni at 17. If you can see the disadvantages of legitimately being the youngest in U.K. the disadvantage of being the youngest in Aus would be greater - many parents with kids close to the cut off (say Feb-April) will keep the kids back a year in preschool so they are older going to full time school.

Oh my heavens! You have my total sympathy! We did actually go and squat in my parents back bedroom for nearly 9 years (accidentally) because I was their only family and they needed help (but mum wasn’t happy for us to provide it, - dad was relieved!). POA is hard enough when you are on site (some places are notoriously bad for accepting it!) and executing a Will is impossible from Aus especially in this COVID era. It is the weird little things like the scams which render them so vulnerable. Left to his own devices my dad would have probably had wholesale double glazing, a bigger conservatory, a smart meter and solar panels as well as paying through the nose to end the scam calls. Mum would have spent an absolute fortune on things from catalogues or charities who assured her she had won amazing prizes and the phone calls for playing word search $$$$$$!!!! You will feel much better if you can get them to try supported accommodation, they really are vulnerable no matter how canny they think they are! Having elderly relatives in the other side of the world when you are an only child is bloody hard. There is no easy answer if you are “it” and have to do all the organising and protecting. The only way we could do it was to be there - to do the doctors, dentists, therapist, optician etc appointments and to gradually take over the finances, shopping, management of home issues etc etc. We certainly didn’t think it would end up being almost 9 years, but I think our being there did actually extend their lives. I was there when mum died and we supported dad through that but, sadly, he died alone as he had made the choice to go into a care home which allowed us to sell up his life and come back. He was very happy in care but he was in hospital for a non Covid issue and just went out on his own terms without us being even aware, let alone there for him. I couldn’t go to his funeral but I really don’t think that would have bothered him, he always said not to bother to go back for a funeral. I wish I had words of wisdom for you but I don’t think there is any easy answer and unless you can delegate you’re going to struggle to deal with all the agencies- there may be advocacy agencies you could use but ultimately you’re going to be the best advocate for your olds. Maybe if there is one good thing to come out of Covid it is the preparedness of organisations to use Zoom/Skype/FaceTime which means you can be directly involved! I organised my dads funeral on Skype and watched it on Facetime! Good luck!

Basically. It's the 7th year of school in both places. Get that "doing year 6 again" thing out of your head, he's never done it in Australia!!!!

Yup he will need to turn 12 before the cut off on 30 April. Don't sweat it, it's a foreign country with a different system, different kids and probably a much less directed way of learning (which he may find more challenging if he's always been "taught" stuff). His.basic skills will probably be well ahead of his peers (my UK yr 2 grandson is now doing things that my Aus granddaughter was doing here last year in yr 4!) but he may struggle with the self directed learning that a lot of schools think is the way to go. Either way, he will be with kids his age and that's a plus, and he will go from being one of the younger kids in the class to bring one of the older which might encourage him more into leadership roles. Is only going to be an issue if you go back to UK at some point where he will have effectively lost half a year but UK schools seem to be good in getting kids to catch back up if that ever happened. BTW everything is different to UK LOL, it's a foreign country. Overall one less year of schooling, generally later starting ages and every state is different so we can't even get it together coherently as a country. Final year is year 12 and yrs 11&12 are really the only 2 years that are assessed.

Here in Canberra too - we have been extraordinarily lucky I feel. Even Apple have recently stopped requiring you to wear a mask to go into their store. They were the only ones who did and it was beginning to look very silly!

A small town in Norfolk isn't really going to compare with a small town in Australia unfortunately. It really depends on what you consider a small town of course. As a very broad example, in Victoria for instance, if you live in a small town like Orbost then you'd have a primary school and a high school but if you lived 20 minutes away in a smaller town like Marlo, where you might have a small convenience store you'd have to take the kids to Orbost for school. Getting work in Orbost could be a much bigger challenge of course and your DH might have to drive for an hour to Bairnsdale for work. Australia is littered with small places like this but until you see them you aren't going to know. It'll be the work that decides where you need to be, I suspect. The smaller the town, the harder it will be to get work and the further you'll have to travel to get it. An hour's drive to work or school is nothing in the country.

You're lucky to have found one! I like my gears but ask the cars I've been vaguely interested in areas autos. I'm still a girl racer at heart not the old lady I actually am!

But if it was issued 2018 and not validated within the year then it would be cancelled I would have thought - may be a reason.

You did validate it and live in Australia once it was issued I assume.

Of course. Unless they've been personally impacted and taken special leave.

Dont forget Canberra (even though we dont have a beach, we have lakes and we are close enough to both beach and snow) - very seasonal weather with temps up to 40 in the summer but mainly in the high 20s low 30s. and lower than 10 in the winter up to high teens (max temps) in summer If you want seasons then Canberra is your place but it is expensive.

What the others have said, a car is essential, basically. That said, we have been back a year and haven't bought one yet but 1. We are retired. There would be no way that I could have worked without one and the same would be true for a sparky carrying all your tools (all the tradies I've encountered this year have mega sized trucks) 2. We live almost in the centre of the National Capital where public transport is almost ok. 3. I get free public transport (cos I'm old lol) and our local IGA took pity on us when we first arrived and were in at home isolation and they home deliver. And 4. Our son lets us borrow one of his cars if we need to go out of public transport range. Even so, I walk 2 Miles each way into town and back. When you first arrive you are going to need one to check out all the possible places you might want to live in. Learn to drive before you leave, definitely!!! I think you might have to adjust your expectations about what might be possible. Seaside living is, as the others have said, either horrendously expensive or comparatively isolated with poor job opportunities. "Good Schools" with the best will in the world, tend not to be found in tiny towns - and most tiny towns don't have high schools so travelling time for HS kids could easily be over an hour each way if you're lucky. You will also need to research about sparkies getting their relevant licences before they can work unsupervised. I think that varies from stars to state but I know it has been a challenge for some.

Should be OK. If you are over 50 that'd be a different kettle of fish. However be prepared to take anything and work your way up.

So I see!

So sorry this is happening to you Loopylu - I've seen quite a few posts of people who have been allowed out on compassionate grounds so it's very sad that you arent getting the same leeway. I missed my dad's funeral - c'est la vie, only 15 would have been allowed to have been there and the thought of a couple of weeks quarantine at each end wasnt going to make it worth it. Easy for me as I didnt know he was going to die, he just popped off quietly like he always said he would. I hope you get back to see your dad and maybe get to his funeral - pancreatic cancer is not a good way to go and so hard for everyone around him.

My sons say they had a great childhood but both have independently said they regretted growing up without having extended family around. The UK based one said, at first, that he wanted his kids to have the same Aussie childhood that he did but he seems very happy with the opportunities that his son has in UK and isn't thinking of coming back, ever. I don't suppose it's done them much harm but I think the one who is still here in Australia might not have taken the path he did had we been in UK (self sufficient somewhat hippy in the bush type) and would have a more productive life. He's the one who would now kill to go and live in UK because he hates the heat and, like me, is a magnet for all biting insects within 100 Miles (his ex would never let him leave with the kids). I suspect they would have been quite happy in either place.

You'd like to think so but lots don't. They assume it will be just like Britain with exams and easy transfers but it isn't. All sorts of traps for unwary players.

Just another thing for you to consider. You say you only want to go for 2 years, you will need to work out how that will impact your child's education. Chopping and changing around GCSE/A level time can be fraught. If you leave now you could possibly get back before that all kicks off but you could be cutting it a bit fine if you leave it too much later given that spouse visas can take a year to come through. Just a thought.

Don’t suppose he’s got a UK born grandparent? Ancestry visa is the golden chalice.