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Scooter. Do you have any idea what type of visa you would get?
if you are going by a State sponsored regional visa, there are geographic restrictions on where you can live in the state. A friend of mine had a regional sponsored visa. In South Australia he could live anywhere. In Victoria, there were certain post codes approx 30km from Melbourne. For NSW he had to live in the Blue Mountains as he could not live anywhere in metro Sydney. Not sure the geographic restrictions for Qld.
Scooter. Do you have any idea what type of visa you would get?
if you are going by a State sponsored regional visa, there are geographic restrictions on where you can live in the state. A friend of mine had a regional sponsored visa. In South Australia he could live anywhere. In Victoria, there were certain post codes approx 30km from Melbourne. For NSW he had to live in the Blue Mountains as he could not live anywhere in metro Sydney. Not sure the geographic restrictions for Qld.
Just food for thought as you research visas.
We have not gotten specific with that just yet…mainly as we have not made our decision yet. We are still just as likely to stay put and settle in the states. I hope to fly down to visit Oz in January…as we want to see it again first.
So we expect to have more direction on that come just after the holidays. At the moment, we are in no rush to make a decision. If we move Down Under, my wife will likely opt to apply for a skills shortage visa (as a English teacher)…and I will likely move on a visa with the help of (and at the discretion of) whichever airline I slide over to fly with (if I elect to leave American Airlines that is).
If it's alright, I'll look to pick your brain then (and that of others on this forum) on visa "do's and don'ts."
Scooter. Do you have any idea what type of visa you would get?
if you are going by a State sponsored regional visa, there are geographic restrictions on where you can live in the state. A friend of mine had a regional sponsored visa. In South Australia he could live anywhere. In Victoria, there were certain post codes approx 30km from Melbourne. For NSW he had to live in the Blue Mountains as he could not live anywhere in metro Sydney. Not sure the geographic restrictions for Qld.
Just food for thought as you research visas.
Geographic restrictions are even more pronounced with school teachers, and this applies to local residents as well.
In NSW at least, living in the west is strongly encouraged, and there may be bias to people that are willing to live in remote places.
There is nothing wrong with places like Dubbo or Tamworth in NSW.
Generally pilots, flight attendants etc can often cope so long as they are only an hour or so to an airport.
I am a long time reader and occasional poster on this forum. I have found it to be VERY useful in the past. We are currently giving serious consideration to immigrating from the USA to New Zealand in the fall of 2012. We have a young family with kids ranging in ages from 8 to 2. We'd appreciate a local perspective from anyone in the "know" about the best areas in New Zealand to raise a family. A nice safe family friendly environment and good schools are our primary concerns. It's been about a decade since I visit visited New Zealand, and even then it was only for short layovers. We are trying to research as much as we can about life there, and the benefits of such a dramatic move. We are also trying not to get caught up in the "grass is always greener" trap mentality, so we are open to hearing about the cons as well as the pros. Any thoughts, opinions, and facts that you are willing to share with us on this subject would be greatly appreciated!
Scooter - Thanks for posting this. My wife & I are in Minnesota and I logged in to post an almost identical subject. We are ready to make a change but need some additional information. Again, thanks!
^^ Ditto to this. Health insurance for my family is free. My employer pays for everything.
Sorry I do not get why your employer pays the health bill for your entire family. What does your employer get for the extra cost of insuring your family ?
I think it really depends on what a person wants. There are lots of fantastic places to live in Australia. I love Newcastle/Lake Macquarie for example. The beaches there are absolutely gorgeous and you have the city feel, yet it's no where near as large or crowded as Sydney. If you like the city Newcastle and the whole central coast is a great place to choose. It's also very central to the whole east coast, making for easy access to most of Australia's large areas. There are gorgeous suburbs and towns all over the area, and because it's a decent size jobs are also easy to come by and you have the benefit of a good uni and so on as kids grow.
Another area that's gorgeous is southern WA, from Perth down through the Margaret River area. Depending on whether you like a country town or city, WA has fantastic facilities and a very friendly feel to it. Perth is a beautiful city. Margaret River is just magical. All of these areas are good for kids.
We're a defence family so have lived in a number of areas.
Darwin is wonderful. There are good areas and bad like other places, and it's very unique - unlike any other place I've been to. It's a small city but wages tend to be very good to compensate for remoteness. There is easy access to amazing national parks. Some people love Darwin, others hate it. I loved it personally, because I enjoy the outdoors and don't mind the heat. The markets in Darwin are fabulous, sitting on the beach eating dinner.
Wagga was quite nice. It's a medium sized country town and a great area if you like a town feel. Toowoomba in Qld is similar and it's a beautiful place. I lived in Canberra as a kid and in my early teens and it's extremely family friendly - lots of outdoorsy stuff to do, not too far to go to the south coast beaches for the weekend, near some beautiful national parks and the snow. It has the highest wages and highest level of public service in Australia, but it's also freeeeeezing (though still enjoys very hot summers).
Right now we're in Brisbane, or Springfield Lakes more specifically, which is technically Ipswich (avoid Ipswich, it's a filthy crime infested bogan hole - sorry, I'm sure some people love it and it does have positives, but that's my opinion). It's not a bad area, though it's quite 'suburban' with plenty of McMansions and a totally designed look to it. Brisbane itself is quite nice, too, though I'm not sure which areas are good for kids as I've never been far outside the CBD.
Christchurch is nice but it's flat and rather boring and people there can be pretty anal.
Auckland is a great multi cultural hub with a big polynesian flavour.
Man..that is a generalisation if I ever heard one regarding Cantabrians! Im originally from the Auckland region living in ChCh and love it here (except for the earthquakes). I dont think I would class my kids as anal!
Location: where you sip the tea of the breasts of the spinsters of Utica
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As long as New Zealand is being mentioned, I want to be helpful again and point out that the grass really IS greener there - at least compared to Australia or California.
As long as New Zealand is being mentioned, I want to be helpful again and point out that the grass really IS greener there - at least compared to Australia or California.
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