Guest Benchola Posted January 10, 2010 Share Posted January 10, 2010 Hello! First timer here....well....what I actually mean is that I have been lurking for a few months now and have been reading posts over my wife's shoulder (who is registered as Smackey). Anyhoo....time to get this thing done..... My name is Matt and I'm married to Sharon (Smackey), and we have two children. Jacob is 4 years old and Isobel is 15 months. During the depths of the worst recession ever to hit the British economy, we made the momentous decision to emigrate to Australia, submitting our visa application (175) in August 2009. Our plan is to relocate to the far sunnier shores of Brisbane, Queensland - Visa approval, selling the house, and finding a suitable job all pending. Sharon and I first visited Australia over ten years ago, before we were married and before the tiny but no less destructive hurricanes of Jacob and Isobel were mere specks on the weather-scope of our lives. We viewed it as a ‘holiday of a lifetime’, and planned it as such. We spent three days in Cairns where we went scuba diving on the Barrier Reef, white water river rafting on the Tully River and recovering from jet-lag. We then spent a little under three weeks in Brisbane, where we stayed with family and took in the sights of Surfer’s Paradise, Noosa, Mount Tambourine, Movie World, Dreamworld and the lovely Sea World where we swam with dolphins. We then spent the last two days of our trip in Sydney - shopping till we dropped! We adored the Country, the weather was almost always lovely, and we visited in the Aussie equivalent of winter! Obviously, this was pre children, no responsibilities, we didn’t have to work and spent most of our time thinking about what we wanted to do, but it opened up our minds to the possibility that our future didn’t have to be in England. We decided some time ago that, once the time was right for us, we would start the immigration process. And that time has finally come. We have just submitted our Medicals and Police Checks and, having read other people's experiences on here, we are hoping to get Visa Approval at some point over the next two months (fingers crossed!). When that happens, we'll bang the house on the market - the intention being that, should it sell, we will emigrate in August / September, once Jacob has finished his first year in school. The upside, should the house sell, is that we will be able to emigrate fairly quickly and without the expense of a validation trip. The downside is that we would then have to live with the In Law's for however many weeks / months. But this is a sacrifice that I would be prepared to make! It is a far far better thing that I do...... Anyway, we're now beginning to look into the logistics of the relocation more and more. Finances, cost of living, mortgage options, property values, schools, areas to live etc etc etc. I'm sure that I will be pestering you all with my inane questions over the coming weeks and months and so I will apologise now! What I'm also really interested is speaking to people who are in a similar position to ourselves and, if they are local, meeting up - as I understand that there have been one or two site meet-up's in the past. Anyways....the purpose of this post was to just explain where we're at and say...well, hi.... :jiggy: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jackboots Posted January 10, 2010 Share Posted January 10, 2010 hey there , good site to ask those questions lol all the best with the visa's and your journey to oz! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest siamsusie Posted January 10, 2010 Share Posted January 10, 2010 Hi Matt & Smackey, a great first post. Welcome to PIO and I hope you enjoy your experiences getting into Australia.... Susie x Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Benchola Posted January 10, 2010 Share Posted January 10, 2010 Thanks for the welcome.... If I ever think about why we're doing this, all I have to do is look out of the window....the UK is currently in the depths of the worst winter for 25 years. The whole country, and I mean EVERYWHERE, is covered in an average of 6 inches of snow. We've had temperatures plummeting to as low at -18oC. If this isn't an incentive then I don't know what is! :no: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest proud2beaussie Posted January 10, 2010 Share Posted January 10, 2010 Thanks for the welcome.... If I ever think about why we're doing this, all I have to do is look out of the window....the UK is currently in the depths of the worst winter for 25 years. The whole country, and I mean EVERYWHERE, is covered in an average of 6 inches of snow. We've had temperatures plummeting to as low at 18oC. If this isn't an incentive then I don't know what is! :no: Come and spend a day of 43 celsius here and you might change your mind! seriously though welcome to PIO,we are a bit like a big family here,we don't always agree with each other we are here to offer help and advice for people who are thinking of moving to Australia,or sometimes people who are returning to the UK,there are lots of caring people here so if you have any questions then don't be afraid to ask them,we don't bite,well most of us don't anyway,lol.! I look forward to reading your contributions and questions. Cheers N'oz Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Benchola Posted January 11, 2010 Share Posted January 11, 2010 Cheers for the welcome Nigel. We got our Police Clearance through this morning and uploaded them to the DIAC website this evening. From what we've read before, I think that is about everything they need (unless they ask for Form 80, which I don't think they will). So all we need to do now is sit back and wait for the Visa Approval (with everything so crossed that it would make a contortionists eyes water!). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sids Dad Posted January 11, 2010 Share Posted January 11, 2010 Cheers for the welcome Nigel. We got our Police Clearance through this morning and uploaded them to the DIAC website this evening. From what we've read before, I think that is about everything they need (unless they ask for Form 80, which I don't think they will). So all we need to do now is sit back and wait for the Visa Approval (with everything so crossed that it would make a contortionists eyes water!). Hi mate, good post, but if you take my advice, get your house on the market NOW, don't wait ( Like we did) to see if you get the visa first. We missed the boat when house prices plummeted. OK it's settled a bit now but believe me there is nothing more frustrating than having that precious visa in your hand and having to wait for 9 months before you are able to sell. You can always take it off the market if you get a visa refusal. Good luck with your application and keep on posting, there are some great mentors on this site who will give you lots of help and encouragement. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
calNgary Posted January 11, 2010 Share Posted January 11, 2010 Hi Matt Welcome to PIO,hope you enjoy the site and good luck with your application Cal x Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Benchola Posted January 11, 2010 Share Posted January 11, 2010 Hi mate, good post, but if you take my advice, get your house on the market NOW, don't wait ( Like we did) to see if you get the visa first. We missed the boat when house prices plummeted. OK it's settled a bit now but believe me there is nothing more frustrating than having that precious visa in your hand and having to wait for 9 months before you are able to sell. You can always take it off the market if you get a visa refusal.Good luck with your application and keep on posting, there are some great mentors on this site who will give you lots of help and encouragement. Cheers for the advice, Sid. I know what you're saying, but the trouble is that putting the house on the market in January, just after Xmas, is never a good move as the market is at it's quietest. We spoke to some Estate Agents last year and they suggested that the best time was from the middle of February 2010 onwards. Hopefully, this will coincide with the Visa Approval. All that said, we're only looking to relocate to Oz during August / September. Why? Well, our little lad is in his first school year and we think that it would be best for him to finish the year before we relocate. This should also give us plenty of time to sell the house (again, everything crossed twice and thrice!). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest JOHN ODonnell Posted February 28, 2010 Share Posted February 28, 2010 Hi Matt, We are John n Julie on the other side of the pennines. We just started our Aus plan. Happy to meet up for beer n a bite and mull over the plans for moving down under. Keep me posted on the migrants meet up..............cheers....John Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LYNMACMD Posted March 1, 2010 Share Posted March 1, 2010 I had mums house on the market last year never moved, this past few weeks we have had more and more viewers and finally a sale without dropping loads on price. I have also noticed lots of other houses are selling locally too Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Benchola Posted March 1, 2010 Share Posted March 1, 2010 Hi Matt, We are John n Julie on the other side of the pennines. We just started our Aus plan. Happy to meet up for beer n a bite and mull over the plans for moving down under. Keep me posted on the migrants meet up..............cheers....John Hey John Check out the Meet-ups Forum - we've organised a Manchester PIO get together next Sunday. Would be great if you guys could make it. Cheers Matt Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Benchola Posted March 1, 2010 Share Posted March 1, 2010 I had mums house on the market last year never moved, this past few weeks we have had more and more viewers and finally a sale without dropping loads on price. I have also noticed lots of other houses are selling locally too We put our house on the market last week - 6 days later it had sold! I'm still in a state of shock! :err: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DonnaC Posted March 1, 2010 Share Posted March 1, 2010 things really moving quick for you!!! congrats. and best wishes for your future. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LYNMACMD Posted March 1, 2010 Share Posted March 1, 2010 Congrats I said houses were selling, the market is definitley moving if you are in the right price range Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest JOHN ODonnell Posted March 1, 2010 Share Posted March 1, 2010 beyelzebub,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,I got two viewers today lol !! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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