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Long story short.... my Mum met and married an American sailor when I was 6 so I've been in the USA for 29 years. I've been back to Aus a few times throughout the years as my entire family is there, including 2 siblings. I'm obviously still an Aus citizen and am about to be married to a US citizen.
We've decided to relocate to Aus and would love any websites or advice anyone could link me to help with the plans. I know I need to apply for his resident status and such at the Australian consulate but am more looking for what to expect. As you read, I've never lived in Aus as an adult so I'm sure there are going to be little things I forget about. Do I need to apply for medicare before arriving? Should I open bank accounts before getting there? What cities would anyone recommend? One sister lives in Burnie, Taz but that's far too cold for me. The other one lives in Melbourne, which again, too cold. I don't like Sydney, too expensive and looking for more of a laid back beach community. Also, I'm in the IT field so that would play a factor in finding a good job in the recommended city.
Thanks much in advance. The move is scheduled for fall of 2014.
I would think that for IT, Sydney is probably your best option. Perhaps Melbourne and Brisbane too (although you find Melbourne a bit too cold for your liking)
You can walk into your preferred bank branch whenever you want and open an account when it suits you. You apply for Medicare at your own leisure, it is not compulsory, but I highly suggest you get it as it will be a godsend should you ever require a procedure done. Your doctor's visits are also paid through Medicare. I recently had a couple of ingrown toenail procedures done, I didn't have to pay a cent but if you're not covered under Medicare it could cost hundreds.
Burnie is an exceptionally cold place, Melbourne is not even remotely as cold.
Why are you guys relocating?
Generally speaking it's a lot easier here than the US to get stuff set up. You could set up HSBC US and Australian accounts from the US or just wait till you get here and pick a local bank. No one uses cheques here so you'll be banking straight away.
Realestate.com.au and domain.com.au are all you need to find a place
Seek.com.au or mycareer.com.au for job hunting
Gumtree.com.au is like Craigslist but you wouldn't use it for jobs or housing.
Meetup.com is good for meeting new friends and other expats in whichever city you choose.
And Melbourne's not that cold plus you're close to family and that might be nice.
My .02
Thank you so much for all your advice. We're moving because frankly, I'm sick of the US and so is he. I've been wanting to move back to Aus for years now but life circumstances have kept me here a bit longer than expected. I know Aus isn't perfect but the US is just getting to be too much with it's hate, fighting, anger, narcissism, "keeping up with the jones'" mentality, etc, etc.
So really what I just need to focus on at this point is the residency status for my fiance, finding a shipper and a place to stay once there. I've been looking for work abroad but am starting to realize I'll have much better luck once I"m local. The rest I guess can be taken care of once there. Thanks again all. So excited about this new adventure in my life!
It might help if you specify why you don't the US in determining which Australian city would be best for you.
i.e Too cold? - Stay away from Melbourne
Too many immigrants? - stay away from Sydney
Too quiet? - stay away from Perth
Too many guns/crime? - any Australian city would be OK generally speaking (though Sydney has alot of drug-related gun crime)
Location: Central Bay Area, CA as of Jan 2010...but still a proud Texan from Houston!
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Rhayah
We're moving because frankly, I'm sick of the US and so is he. I've been wanting to move back to Aus for years now but life circumstances have kept me here a bit longer than expected. I know Aus isn't perfect but the US is just getting to be too much with it's hate, fighting, anger, narcissism, "keeping up with the jones'" mentality, etc, etc.
tropical87: Yep, I already specified that I definitely didn't want too cold and why I already mentioned that Melbourne isn't really an option so people wouldn't suggest it. Immigrants don't bother me on the whole as long as they speak the native language of the country they've chosen to reside in (in this case, English), but I also mentioned Sydney as not very appealing because of it's cost of living. I definitely don't mind quiet and Perth has been an option since I was born in WA. I also specified the beach in my original posting as being a draw for me. I love the ocean and fishing. I'm leaning towards Brisbane or somewhere in QA at this point. I also specified that I did need to find a job so finding something in my field was important to where I live.
TVC15, my Dad (the American my Mum married) is retired US Navy so I've lived all over the US throughout my whole life. Mainly though in CA and currently reside in FL.
Now, TVC, I know it looks like the tropics, but if you don't like the cold, I wouldn't suggest Tassia.
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