Marisawright

Maybe true, but the OP is struggling to find somewhere affordable to live from a distance. They could end up anywhere on the outskirts of Sydney in any direction. I was suggesting it because it's going to add considerably to their stress if they commit to a school when they arrive, and then find they're struggling to afford a home in that area.

Sounds like none of them bothered.

School breaks up late December so really not worth starting late November. Then it’s the long summer break and new term doesn’t start till the very end of January.

When are you arriving? I know some people don't put their children into school immediately. I'm not sure what the regulations are in NSW about how long you can delay enrolment. Have you tried this calculator on realestate.com.au. You plug in whether you want to rent or buy, how much you can afford and which state, and it will show you which suburbs and towns you can afford. Annoyingly, you'll get results for the whole of NSW so you'll then have to do a Google search to find out which are close to Sydney, but it's a starting point: https://www.realestate.com.au/neighbourhoods?cid=cid:buy:left:homepg:neighbourhoods Notice there's also a search bar. Type a suburb in there and you'll get a profile which will give you the median price of a house in that area. Also look at homely.com.au to get reviews of suburbs.

Ah, I wasn't aware they'd been taken over. I'd go with Appliances Online myself. They're a family-run company based in Sydney (I used to live round the corner from their shop) but they have an Australia-wide network and deliver free. Their service is wonderful. The first time I used them, I ordered a tumble dryer for my flat which was on the fourth floor (no lift). The driver called me half an hour before to check I'd be home and ask about parking. Two guys carried the tumble drier up to the flat without a word of complaint AND THEN OFFERED TO HANG IT ON THE WALL FOR ME! They then took away the old dryer, whistling cheerfully as they carried it down those stairs again. I've ordered a couple of things from them since and all their other staff seem to be similarly cheery.

Was that the normal policy or is it the special one for overseas visitors? https://www.hcf.com.au/overseas-health-cover/overseas-health-insurance/overseas-cover-explained

Actually, I don't think you are being selfish at all. After all, you're planning to spend thousands of pounds to move your cats to Australia - and on top of that, you're planning to spend hundreds of pounds on more expensive accommodation, and probably lose thousands of pounds on your house sale because you have to be so inflexible with your sale timetable. Considering all that, you're not being selfish at all, you're sacrificing a fair chunk of your family's security for your cats' sake. Considering you're coming to the periphery of Sydney where homes are so expensive, I think it's an unacceptable risk.

I know i'm being tough on the issue but I do understand that it will break your heart to let your cats go. I love animals too. If you had only one cat, I'd be saying, bring it and buy a portable run that you can take from your holiday place to your rental to your eventual home. I know it's the last thing you want, but take a moment to plan out how your move would work, if you only had the dog. How much simpler would it be? How much would you save? Would it make a difference to how good a start you could make to your family's future in Australia? Get your husband's opinion. The two of you might decide that the cats are so precious, you are willing to go through the extra stress and cost to keep them. Or you may not. But you can't make the decision if you don't face the possibility and asses both options.

If the ones you've got are halfway decent, bring them. They are expensive here. I've found these guys to be the cheapest if you need to buy them: https://www.appliancesonline.com.au Otherwise try https://www.thegoodguys.com.au or https://www.jbhifi.com.au/home-appliances/ I know shipping stuff seems awfully expensive but in general, it will cost you a lot more to re-equip your home here when you arrive - plus it takes a ridiculous amount of time when you don't have time to spare.

A dog is fairly well accepted these days. Both my nieces have dogs. One owns her own home but she and her husband travel a lot for their business, and they take the dog with them. They mostly use AirBnB now and have never had a problem. The other is renting and has moved a few times, again never had a problem finding a place. As Ramot says, there are laws in some states which say landlords cannot refuse to allow ONE pet. It's the multiple animals that are the problem. Does your husband realise the difficulties and considerable expense the cats are going to cause? Does he also think they are worth the cost (not just of shipping, but the cost of all the other complications you're putting yourself to because of them).

If he was registered with a GP before he left the UK, then he already has a NHS number - unless he left before they were introduced in 1996. Either way, he just needs to go and register with a doctor. They will either track the number down, or register him for a new one. To get free treatment, you need to establish residency in the UK. We just had to provide proof of address but I believe they are tightening up now. The easiest option is to go along to the doctor and register and see what happens.

I agree with your wife.

There used to be an exemption but I believe it no longer applies

Yes, provided they don’t cry poor when more frugal people have more money

BUT did you see my other post. If you move to NSW and then your husband can't find work, you can apply to be released from NSW. They are lenient - if you move to Port or Newcastle, and genuinely can't find work, you'd get your release and be off to Queensland in only a few months. Absolutely NO risk of having your visa cancelled and NO risk to your citizenship, because it's all official and above board. It's true he's already got a job, but you've now discovered you can't afford to move to Sydney. That's fine, Immigration will understand that. You'll just explain that you had to go to a regional area which you can afford and try to find something. It's a win-win - either he finds a job and you stay for two years in a nice. affordable town, OR you stay there for three months or so, apply for a release and head for Brisbane. Whereas your current idea of going to Sydney means you'll be struggling to survive on the breadline for two years. It doesn't work for me.

No one is blaming smashed avocado, surely you realise that. It's symbolic of the problem, that's all. People are now thoughtlessly spending twenty times as much on breakfast (a few pennies for home-made toast vs $15 for smashed avo), and the same thing applies to many aspects of life. $5,000 is a gross underestimate. When I was working in the eighties, I would eat at home and bring my lunch to work. By the noughties, I was like everyone else, buying a takeaway breakfast and eating it at work, then lunch from a food court. Not to mention the odd coffee during the day. I stopped work ten years ago, but even then, I would've spent $5,000 a year just on that. And like I said, don't forget compound interest. The couple in your example SHOULD have been avoiding takeaway food since they started work. If they're now 30, their $5,000 a year would be $40,000, plus I'd hope they would have invested it wisely, so it would be more. And that's just takeaway. There's lots of other , far more expensive things they could save on.

That's a legitimate strategy. My oh agrees with your approach. In the insurance game (which he is), you'd be called "self-insured". He has never had private health insurance as he's always been happy to use the public system, and paying if he needs to go private. I think Brits are better able to understand that strategy than Australians. Australians have been bombarded with marketing by the health insurers, telling them they need to "choose their own doctor", have a private room, and get their hip replacement done pronto. Whereas British people wouldn't think twice about being treated in a public ward, by whatever doctor's on duty - and though long waiting lists are a pain, in Britain they are simply accepted, what choice do you have? The only snag is when you get old, and that's starting to worry my oh now. He has already had to pay about $20,000 for a couple of operations in the last few years. He could have had those done on Medicare, but there would have been delays. For the first op, he was in a LOT of pain and couldn't bear to wait. The second op was for a melanoma and he didn't want to risk any delay. It's far too late to take out health insurance now, as he'd pay a penalty of (I think) an extra 40% on top of the annual premium - as if that wasn't already eye-watering enough. As for me, I've been dutifully paying for health insurance for years, basically because I got scared into it by the campaign about loadings and tax penalties. I wear glasses and contact lenses, and use physiotherapists and massage therapists because of my dancing, so I do make some claims every year, which makes me feel slightly better about it - but still, my husband used to scoff. I must say, I did feel better about it two years ago, when I had to have a double spinal fusion, which cost $35,000.

Everyone under the age of 30 probably did. The ones who didn't were the ones who lived on tick and are struggling in their old age.

If you hold a permanent residency visa, then you have a Right to Return for only five years after departure. The longer you leave it after that, the harder it is to renew. Your case is not straightforward so I would strongly suggest you engage a reputable migration agent. You need someone who can fill out the documentation correctly and use the right wording to present your case in as strong a manner as possible. We have some agents who post on these forums, which to me is an indication of their helpfulness and approachability, e.g. @wrussell or @Raul Senise

Absolutely right, IMO. That's why our "resentful" poster has no idea what we're talking about - marketing has convinced the younger generation that luxuries are necessities. As you say, we didn't even think about the gadgets, the excessive amount of clothes or the balayage in our hair because we weren't being bombarded with advertising for them. We didn't feel hard-done-by with our second-hand furniture and our snowy TV because all our friends were the same and we all had a laugh about it. Whereas I think it would be a brave millenial who would have any old stuff in their flat (unless it's "vintage") because their friends would scoff.

Ah, but the migration agents have been posting here recently to say they're starting to cancel 190 visas if they catch people doing that. However, they are still very generous with releases, so that's the way to approach it now. You have to at least try to get settled for a few months, then if you can't find work, you can make an application to be released from the obligation. Once they approve the release, you can go anywhere you like.

NSW is not expensive. Sydney is expensive, and Sydney is only one city. All the towns up and down the coast will be half the price of Sydney and give you a lifestyle close to the beach. Here's an idea. Be brave and go without a job. Go to Newcastle or Port Macquarie. Give it three or four months. If your oh finds a job within that time, you can settle - both are lovely beachside places to live. If he doesn't, write to Immigration with proof that he's knocked himself out looking for work in the area, and request a release from your obligation, on the grounds that he can't afford to be out of work with a young family. It's highy likely they will grant it, and you'll be able to move to Brisbane immediately.

An awful lot of people are finding that they can't. Even people born in Sydney are moving elsewhere because they can't afford it. Look at @aconcannon - their experience is exactly why most of us tend to tell potential migrants to go elsewhere. I think I read something similar about Cambridge in the UK (or was it Oxford?). It's so expensive, it's got to the point where no ordinary person can afford to live there, so they can't get nurses or tradies any more because no matter how far out they go, they can't afford a place to live. That's where Sydney is now. Did you know that the average Sydney resident lives at least an hour from the beach? You're trying to move to Sydney and live on millionaire's row from day 1, and that's not realistic. Most Australians do not have the beach lifestyle depicted in Home and Away (which is filmed in a part of Sydney where even modest houses cost millions). Most of Sydney's population lives out around Parramatta. They live there because they can't afford to live by the coast. There are plenty of respectable suburbs out west. The problem with the Western suburbs is that they all tend to be faceless places, just row after row of houses. They don't have pubs, and some don't even have a supermarket. They might have a Chinese or Lebanese takeaway, a convenience store and a launderette, and that's your lot. Everyone drives to the big Westfield malls for their shopping now. Then there's the heat. Summer is stinking hot, humid and airless and temperatures are 2 or 3 degrees higher than the coast. It's manageable because you'll have air conditioning and the shopping malls are cool too, but it means you don't get the outdoor lifestyle you're probably hoping for. Honestly, in your shoes I would be sacrificing the job and starting out in Newcastle instead. Yes, it's scary to go without a job lined up, but that's what most people do. Ask yourself what's going to cost you more in the end - a few months without a salary at the start, or paying twice as much rent/mortgage for the rest of your life?

Can you clarify, is that a half hour outside Sydney? Or 1 to 2 hours outside Sydney? And do you mean from the Sydney CBD or the edge of the city?

Are you saying people under 50 would know the truth whereas the ACTUAL baby boomers are all lying? Give me a break. As GreySky says, Millenials are making life choices now which mean they'll have far less in assets in their thirties and forties than the average baby boomer - and that has NOTHING to do with house prices and everything to do with spending money on gadgets, cars, meals out, etc. We don't know if there will ever be a housing boom again, but because Millenials don't have that attitude, they won't be in a position to capitalise on it, even if it does happen. Besides, how does a future housing boom have anything to do with the baby boomers?