Marisawright

Please don't let anyone let you feel ungrateful or guilty! I've seen far too many people who stayed in Australia because they were too proud to admit they'd "failed", and then find themselves in utter misery in their old age, having left it too late to move back. Try not to think of what other people think - what matters is your own mental health. Bear in mind, about half of all migrants end up going home, for various reasons. Missing family/feeling homesick is one of the major reasons given, so you're far from alone.

Commuting to the city from the Southern Suburbs is easy, but to get to SOP, you'd have to take the train into the CBD and then out again.

An interesting thing about Sydney is that there are a lot of misconceptions about some suburbs. People who live on the North shore think the West and South are anathema, people who live out West think the North is insufferably snooty, and people who live in the East think most of the rest of Sydney is wilderness! When I first lived in Sydney, I was appalled at the idea of living west of Glebe or south of Maroubra. Then I discovered the Inner West and realised how nice Summer Hill was, for instance. Then I went to live in Five Dock and loved it. I especially like Concord with its high street lined with restaurants and cafes. We also lived in Ashbury for a while, a tranquil little suburb hidden between Ashfield and Canterbury with a lovely primary school. All of those suburbs are further west than most people's imaginary boundary, and they're great! However, I have to say I wouldn't go much further west than that, unless forced to by budget. Same with going South. That was no-man's-land as far as I was concerned, and I strongly resisted moving there - until we went to look at a townhouse in Oatley, and discovered the huge "village green" with its clocktower, the friendly atmosphere, and the proximity to the beach, all 40 minutes on the train from the CBD and ten minutes from all the shopping and facilities in Hurstville. If I had to move back to Sydney, that's where I'd go.\ However if that was too expensive, I'd seriously look further along that train line to Gymea which has one of my favourite cafés in Sydney.

Yes, I don’t see a problem.

Are you setting the "arrive by" and "depart at" times so you see the commute time at peak hour? I haven't checked so I'm not sure how they compare - but the fact remains that Pennant Hills and Beaumont Hills are far inland, no sea breezes, 45 minutes to the beach. Oatley is 20 minutes to the beach by car, and there's even a train straight to Cronulla which is a great beachside suburb with lots of restaurants and cafes.

Just make sure your partner knows how you feel and more importantly, that you know how he really feels. Look at Aussiebird and me - we both have partners who are inclined to find excuses to delay, rather than risk an argument. So when you say, "I don't want to stay in Australia forever, I want to go home", he says, "Yes, we will, but the business is doing too well right now". Then in a few years when you raise it again, it's, "Yes, sure we will, but we can't go now because it will disrupt ...'s education, let's wait till they finish primary school". Then a few years later, there'll be another reason - and before you know it, your child is going to university, they meet someone, fall in love with an Australian, and that means if you go back you'll be going back without your child. I know you're not thinking that far ahead at your age, but the message is - make sure your husband is genuine about going back and not just playing delaying tactics.

There are no charges to move money from your Moneycorp account to an Australian bank account.

OK, then I'd definitely go south, not west. You're not going to get to the beach before or after work from Pennant Hills, it's a 45 minute drive! Whereas from Oatley or Gymea, you could be at a beach in 20 minutes. As Capn Roberto says, you could also go North - but the commute from the Northern Beaches to SOP is a real headache, so I wouldn't go much further than the other end of Concord Bridge. In practice, you will never go into the CBD for shopping. Everyone shops at the vast Westfield shopping malls which are scattered across Sydney. For instance if you live in Oatley or Gymea, you'll go to Miranda or Hurstville.

I wouldn't suggest a flat for the long term, but you will need to book an AirBnB for about a month when you first arrive, and being close to your work would be a good idea. Many AirBnB flats accept dogs. What do you think you'll get further out, that you won't get if you're central? That would help me suggest what suburbs would offer what you're looking for. If you're looking for green and leafy/village atmosphere then I'd suggest looking South - Oatley is my favourite but if the budget forces you further out, look at Gymea or Kirrawee. You'd have to drive to work but once you know how to get across town, it's not a big deal and it's not on the main commuting routes so it's not as busy.

I have no idea whether the Civil Partnership is recognised but it doesn't really matter. It will be useful extra evidence rather than the be-all and end-all. Immigration sees too many people getting married to Australians in order to get a visa, so they don't set great store by the piece of paper - they want to see evidence of a genuine, enduring relationship. That means things like shared finances, shared living arrangements, shared life experience. It's a tedious process but worth it. Good luck.

Raul gives excellent advice (he should, it's his job!). It's getting harder and harder every year to migrate to Australia. Australia isn't a young country, desperate for workers, any more: the unemployment rate is much the same as the UK. For that reason, we're starting to get the same "migrants are stealing our jobs" nonsense in the media as the UK. Politicians are responding to that by cutting the number of visas, removing occupations from the list, increasing the points required, etc. The longer you wait, the more risk that you'll find you're not even eligible. As VeryStormy explained, when you get the Visa, you don't have to migrate straight away. You can go for a holiday, which will validate the visa, then you'll have a full five years to save up for the big move. You'll need to save because it is an expensive business. Apart from the fees and the air fares, you'll need to budget for: a month's holiday accommodation when you first arrive, to give you time to look for a home (check out airBnB to get an idea of rates) three to six months' living expenses (as a new migrant, it can take that long to get your first job) a car (more expensive than the UK - check carsales.com.au) shipping your belongings replacing whatever stuff you left behind I agree that 30-35K is realistic. At first glance, it seems easy to save money by leaving most of your stuff behind. However, you'll find that shipping small amounts is comparatively more expensive per square metre. You'll probably find it more cost-effective to send a Movecube than sending a few boxes of tools (sevenseasworldwide.com). Bear in mind the children (and you) will settle better if they've got a few of their treasured toys with them, and you'll have enough trouble squeezing all your clothes into your luggage allowance on the plane! Also, don't underestimate how much it will cost - and how much time it will take! - to replace everything. We build up our collection of kitchen equipment, linen etc gradually over the years and don't realise how expensive it is. So I suggest going on a fake shopping expedition. Most Australian shops have an online store now. You can "buy" furniture at harveynorman.com.au, electricals and whitegoods at thegoodguys.com.au, kitchen utensils etc at petersofkensington.com.au, and so on.

I would be looking much closer to Olympic Park. The Western suburbs get a bad name as bogan (chav) land, but some of the middle ring suburbs are nice. Concord and Five Dock are worth looking at. Lidcombe used to be run down but is coming up in the world. There's a prestigious girls' school in Croydon. I'd suggest looking for an Airbnb in Newington or Wentworth Point for your first month. Both are large developments so there should be plenty available, either a flat or a townhouse. If you choose a flat, the kids will be happy as the block will have a swimming pool, and there are plenty of cycling trails in the surrounding parks. You'll be minutes from your work so you'll have more time to get yourself organised, house-hunt etc.

The difficult thing about this is that there is no compromise possible. Either you win or he wins - you can't live in the middle of the ocean. The essence of your argument seems to be that you're deeply attached to Australia and you'll end up on anti-depressants if you don't go back. Whereas he enjoyed living in Australia, so he can't possibly feel the same way about the UK. The question is, though - are you sure of that? Is he good at articulating that kind of thing? As Quoll said, it's not hard to enjoy a year or two in a foreign country if you know there's a chance you can escape eventually - especially if you know it makes your loved ones happy. It doesn't mean you'd be happy spending your whole life there. Ask yourself if it's possible he got back to the UK and realised how much he loved it, and how glad he was to be back - after all, he wouldn't be likely to tell you, knowing it would likely cause an argument. That's where counselling comes in. It has nothing to do with whether your marriage is in trouble. It's bringing an independent person into the conversation, someone who can bring out honest answers from both of you in a safe, controlled environment, so you both understand how the other feels.

Only one person can apply for the visa. Then the husband or wife and children get included as their dependents. So yes, she should apply for the visa and you go along for the ride. She needs to check whether she can get enough points. Probably best to hire a good migration agent to help you through the process. It's pretty complicated these days.

I'm not an expert but I'd say it's obvious: if you quite one day after visa grant, then it's glaringly obvious that you let the application continue even though you knew you wouldn't take the job. That's fraud. Whereas if you resign a month or two after visa grant, then that's long enough for your circumstances to change and no one can prove your intentions one way or another.

"Being Australian is in my blood" - this is the heart of the matter. You don't have to find reasons why you need to be back in Australia, you just do. Some people have a deep connection to their homeland. They don't necessarily love it, in fact they can see all its faults: it's just that they never feel quite right unless they're on home soil. Often, they don't even know that's how they feel until they move to another country, and realise that "something's missing". There are people on these forums who are living in Australia and think the lifestyle is great, they have a better career, they like the place - but they are yearning go back to the UK once they've made their money, because there's a part of their soul that's missing, and no amount of money or sun can make up for that. I think that's how you feel about Australia - but have you considered, maybe your husband feels the same way about the UK? Maybe he realised, when he got back to the UK after your last stay in Australia, that he was "home", and it felt so good to be whole again, he hates the thought of leaving. No doubt he can see the advantages of life in Australia so he feels foolish saying he can't bear the thought of leaving his homeland. He may not even be able to put it into words. If that's the case then I feel for you. If you're both equally attached to your homeland, then there is no answer because there's no halfway point - either you stay in the UK so he'll be happy and you'll feel homesick for the rest of your life, or you stay in Australia so you'll be happy and he'll feel homesick for the rest of his life.

I'm so sorry to hear it hasn't worked out. To be honest, I've been reading your posts on these forums, and I had a strong suspicion your husband didn't want to move. I wonder if your hubby is like mine - if I want to do something and he doesn't, he won't say so outright. Instead, he'll find some excuse to delay it for x amount of time. Then when that time is up, he'll find another excuse to delay it again. And so on. It drives me mad. As far as I'm concerned, that's lying. The way he sees it, he's being kind because he's not "killing my dream", and maybe he thinks he'll feel differenlty by the time the deadline looms - but of course, he never does! You might want to bear that in mind if you have the conversation on Wednesday and he holds out another hope of moving "in five years" or whatever. If he's like my oh, it probably isn't true - he's just trying to keep the peace.

Office workers need to be close to Brisbane to find work, but as an electrician, you're lucky - there are lots of reasonably-sized towns in Queensland where you'd find work. That way you could get the classic Aussie lifestyle without the big commute, and cheaper housing. Are there other reasons you want to be close to Brisbane, like family?

We're obviously talking at cross purposes. I was replying to a post saying there were no late-night eateries in the Sydney CBD because of Gladys Berejiklian's lockout laws. There never have been many late-night eateries in the Sydney CBD, all the time I lived there. Trendy inner suburbs, whichever city you're in, are more likely to have such places - but the average visitor wouldn't know they were there.

Northbridge is a quiet leafy suburb, about half an hour's drive from the CBD on the other side of the bridge. What would it have to do with the discussion?

Paddington and Double Bay used to be significantly more expensive than Bondi Junction, maybe that has changed. I would avoid Bondi because the commute time will drive you round the bend.

What Toots says is true - if you know the right suburbs you can find late-night places. But the post I responded to, referred to the CBD, and there's nothing within walking distance and never really has been.

I'm an immigrant. I never assumed I had a "right" to live in Australia. Australia will accept the people they want to accept, and that's THEIR right. If you get accepted for a visa, you are lucky. If you don't, you are unlucky. You have a better chance of success than winning the lottery, but it's still a lottery. If you want to migrate to Australia, you are supposed to stay in your own country and apply from there. Then you can get on with your life while you wait to hear if you've been successful. If you choose to use a backdoor method which involves staying in Australia on a bridging visa, you've created your own difficulties so you can hardly complain.

At the moment, it's a moral obligation only, so theoretically you could get away with what you propose. However, as others have said, the states are heartily sick of sponsoring people, only to find they never turn up. We've heard whispers that NSW has started cancelling such visas, though some people question whether the states have a legal right to do so. Whether it's true or not, the bad news is that it's likely to be true by the time you get here. There is a groundswell of public anxiety about the number of migrants crowding into our major cities, so the government is talking about making it compulsory for new migrants to stay in their sponsored region for at least two years, or their visa will be cancelled. The current government may not last long enough to pass the legislation - but given the public mood, I think it's likely the new incumbent would implement it anyway.

If you're willing to go West, you'll get slightly more for your money than Bondi Junction with the same convenience. I like Summer Hill - nice pub, restaurants and cafes, train station. Not a big shopping centre but just down the road from Ashfield. A few more stops on the train than BJ but still a fast service. If you're tempted to stay closer in (Stanmore, Newtown), watch out for aircraft noise. If you're prepared to consider bus, then don't overlook Randwick. Shops, pubs restaurants, supermarkets, and closer to the beach for a similar price. No trains, but find somewhere close to the bus stops on the High Street and you can be in the CBD very quickly - the bus picks up at a few stops in Randwick, then it gets straight on the Eastern Distributor and flies into town.