Reality vs Bubble

[JuliaClaire]

I wrote on this forum a while back and always check in time to time to read the posts.

We received our Australia permanent residency visa in 2011 a few months after resettling in South Africa from beautiful Namibia. My husband had just started a new job when our visa came through and my dad died, a year later, so we weren't in a position to move.

Our visa expires in Oct 2016 !!

There are 2 things I want to say.

Firstly, and I've mentioned this before, my husband is 50 and has an excellent job, one that will see him into retirement here. He feels we can't move to AUS without first securing work. And it seems very difficult there at the moment. He is a marine scientist.

Is anyone also sitting on a PR visa but waiting to secure work before making the move? Or anyone in their 40's and 50's thinking about emigrating?

Secondly, SA is such a beautiful country with so many stunning spots to explore. It's easy to live in a bubble and forget the nasty stuff.

On the weekend, a couple from KZN were murdered whilst staying overnight at a guest farm in the Free State. I often think how nice it would be to hire a house in the Transkei for the holidays. But of course, look how that guy was murdered on his balcony whilst bring in the New Year. I suppose what I'm trying to say to myself is, that no matter how much of a bubble you live in, and how beautiful SA is, there's always the menace of crime. It's a reality. Just when you think everything is hunky dory, the horrible stories hit you like a slap in the face.

Bit of a bumbling post from someone who probably wishes our PR visa had come through 10 years ago and made the move then.

[gordonza]

Possibly Curtin University?

[Mara]

All I can say is, I would rather retire in Australia, living in a pandok, than retire in South Africa living in a palace.

As your husband is aged 50 already, this is probably your final chance to get out of South Africa, so before you decide against leaving, just give this fact some serious thought!

[RYLC]

Agree Mara - it's a long time to live from 60 to 80 something in the uncertainty of old age in RSA

[Erik]

There's a lot more marine science going on here than RSA, start applying for jobs and see where that leads. We decided to bite the bullet and come over without a job, and lo and behold, I got a position one month before our cut off date. It's a step back, but believe me they pay a lot better for science and I'm better off than I was in RSA.

[joweni]

JuliaClaire.-you didn't mention in your post if you have children and if so,are they living/working in SA. We came to Aus later in our lives (I was 45 and my husband 50) and our two kids. We wanted them to have the option of living in a first world country . And I did not want to live on a different continent to them like my sister in law whose kids were all in the UK and only saw her grand kids once a year.

But if we did not have kids,I don't know if we would have sold our farm and made this huge move. We are settled now and happy to be in Aus but it has been an uphill battle as we have found that once you are over 50 it is difficult to secure permanent employment -it was only when we bought our own business that things started to come right for us financially and we can now start planning for the latter part of our lives as we don't think we will ever really be able to retire esp as it seems the government is going to lift the pension age.

Wishing you all the best with your decisions .

[MrsMupersan]

As Mara says, I'd rather retire in a pondok in Aus than a palace in SA.

Check these guys out - they're up the road from us here in Coffs: http://scu.edu.au/environment-science-engineering/index.php/33/

[BrianJ]

Hi JuliaClaire,

We are in a similar position. I am 50 years old, and our PR expires in Nov 2016.

The older I get, the more reluctant I am to move.

I am very concerned at my opportunities in Australia, factoring in my age, as well as the declining

manufacturing industry in Aus. ( We have been involved in manufacturing all our working lives)

Our business is still growing in RSA, and financially we are comfortable.

However, we still have children at school, and for us its a no-brainer that we have to relocate, in order for them to complete their tertiary education in Australia.

Google a AUS Dollar to ZAR graph over the past 5 / 10 years, and the results show a consistent decline in the value of the Rand, resulting in the average South African becoming "poorer" by world standards.

I cannot see why this trend would change from its current course.

Therefore relocating based on this scenario makes financial sense.

Our decision is when to relocate, and not if we should make the move.

I am not sure if its wisdom of older age, or fear of the unknown, but we are currently making

small but meaningful steps towards making Australia our home.

[AndreaL]

I agree with Erik, we have a huge coastline..........we have the Great Barrier Reef, surely there would be more opportunity for him here?

We have some great Universities, we have CSIRO.

Here are some links to dangle in front of him.......it wouldn't hurt to put out feelers and the experience would be great for any scientist.

http://australia.gov.au/directories/australia/aims

http://www.wamsi.org.au/

Some well paying jobs too http://www.simplyhired.com.au/k-marine-environmental-scientist-jobs.html

http://au.indeed.com/Marine-Science-jobs

http://www.jobseeker.com.au/Marine-Scientist-jobs

[JuliaClaire]

Thanks so much for all your thoughts and advice.

My husband has been applying for jobs for the past year, but I think it is fairly impossible to expect to land a job without being in AUS.

Joweni; We have 3 children age 11, 9 and 4 so still lots of schooling ahead of us! Do you know the details of the new pension age?

Brian: sounds like we are in a very similar position!

[Eto]

Hi JuliaClaire,

Yep, we are also in the same boat. Finding a job while still in SA is going to be very difficult looking at current economics and employment opportunities. Even worse when considering i will be 50 in a years time

Good luck to all of us and keep rowing that boat

Eto

[Mara]

They have been banding about raising the pensionable age from 65 to 70, however, I don't know if anything will come of it, there was an outcry when it got mentioned.

[JuliaClaire]

thanks for that Mara!

[AndreaL]

The current government is considering lifting the pension age to 70. I believe if they do this, that they will have to place incentives etc to ensure that mature age workers are not discriminated against.

It is quite difficult but not impossible to land a job here from South Africa, but believe that someone with specialist science skills such as your husband does have a greater chance.

[RYLC]

Your husband needs to be on LinkedIn for the best chance of getting work before arrival. I've just had a look there and there is one marine scientist job going.

http://linkedin-api.simplyhired.com/a/li-api/view/jobkey-29188.18388x1744091/jp-0/hits-69/licc-au/ln-en

[patrice]

as i understand - the suggested new pension age is likely to impact only those 'youngsters' born after 1959

This apparently will also only be considered after the next election - if voters 'support' this and other economic reforms

we moved over when i was 50 - wish i had the opportunity to move earlier - this would have given us more $au 'time' to make up the financial & exchange rate 'slide' we all experience when converting R to AU$ and the higher cost of living here. This said - i think the earlier you move and take the 'pain' the better -so you can start 'building' again ...

gOOd LucK

[Bronwyn&Co]

Mrs M do you live in Coffs? We are thinking of going there to check it out for a few days soon. My uni is SCU so I also want to see Lismore.

Coffs sounds like quite an interesting place. Do you like it there?

Edited April 25, 2014 by Bronwyn&Co

[Fish]

Mrs M do you live in Coffs? We are thinking of going there to check it out for a few days soon. My uni is SCU so I also want to see Lismore.

Coffs sounds like quite an interesting place. Do you like it there?

Hi Bronwyn, Apologies if you know all this already, but just past Coffs is a road named Waterfall Way that goes through a nice little town named Bellingen as well as obviously waterfalls/scenery/cows etc. The road leads to Armidale which is a nice university town. You can then drive the New England highway back to Brisbane through Warwick.

I think I read once that Coffs officially has the best weather in Australia. Though obviously that's still subject to taste. Nice little place and the surrounds seem nice as well. Good half way stop between Brisbane and Sydney.

Edited April 26, 2014 by Fish

[MandyRut]

Hi there

My husband and I moved in March this year. My husband is in his early 40's and I turn 40 this year. We also had to make the decision, as our visa is expiring in August this year. We have no children, and were really living a great life in South Africa. We were extremely successful, my husband in his business and me in my career. We also tried looking for work from South Africa, but it is not very likely that you will find a job unless you have made the decision to move and are probably already here.

As someone else mentioned, this is probably your last chance, as it was ours, to get out of South Africa before it gets completely out of hand. It is a tough decision to make, but we decided we would rather have a more peaceful life, filled with freedom and safety, rather than chasing money and risking our lives on a daily basis.

As for his job search, Linkedin is extremely important, but I would suggest you have the profile and his resume done professionally. I use Ben Stokes (ben@cvjedi.com). He did a great job with both and gave me awesome advice. The way they do things here are completely different to South Africa, so rather pay a few rand and get him to help you.

I really hope you find the right answer for you. it took us four years to finally reach a decision, and we are really happy that we decided to come!

[MrsMupersan]

Mrs M do you live in Coffs? We are thinking of going there to check it out for a few days soon. My uni is SCU so I also want to see Lismore.

Coffs sounds like quite an interesting place. Do you like it there?

Hi Bronwyn

Yes we moved here in September last year after having lived in Sydney, Brisbane and Canberra. Previously we'd moved around because of being on a 457 & not having a choice. This was a lifestyle move - best decision we ever made!!! :-)

Actually, Coffs was named by the CSIRO as having the most liveable climate: "According to the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation, Coffs Harbour has the most liveable climate in Australia, and it is nestled between a high mountain backdrop and dozens of beaches."

Here's some more info from Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coffs_Harbour

We chose Coffs because of the climate and the population was big enough to sustain a business as well as small enough to not be a big city. It has an airport which flies direct to Sydney for emergency flights to SA if needed.

We fell in love with this whole NSW northern coastline when we landed in 2008. It's just spectacular! And yes, the Waterfall way is amazing to drive - we drove from Coffs home to Canberra via the Waterfall Way, Armidale, Tamworth, Mudgee and down some back dirt roads which was really fun back in 2011.

Another place to also check out is Port Macquarie - also spectacular part of the world. It's just a couple of hours south of Coffs.

[Bronwyn&Co]

Hi Bronwyn

Yes we moved here in September last year after having lived in Sydney, Brisbane and Canberra. Previously we'd moved around because of being on a 457 & not having a choice. This was a lifestyle move - best decision we ever made!!! :-)

Actually, Coffs was named by the CSIRO as having the most liveable climate: "According to the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation, Coffs Harbour has the most liveable climate in Australia, and it is nestled between a high mountain backdrop and dozens of beaches."

Here's some more info from Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coffs_Harbour

We chose Coffs because of the climate and the population was big enough to sustain a business as well as small enough to not be a big city. It has an airport which flies direct to Sydney for emergency flights to SA if needed.

We fell in love with this whole NSW northern coastline when we landed in 2008. It's just spectacular! And yes, the Waterfall way is amazing to drive - we drove from Coffs home to Canberra via the Waterfall Way, Armidale, Tamworth, Mudgee and down some back dirt roads which was really fun back in 2011.

Another place to also check out is Port Macquarie - also spectacular part of the world. It's just a couple of hours south of Coffs.

Thanks Mrs M & also Fish. I've booked accomodation in June for 5 nights, so hopefully that will be enough time to look around. It sounds like my kinda place :)

[Bob]

The retirement age, at present 65, is already set to be 67 for those born in the late 1950s. This was passed in law back in 2009.

The new incoming Conservative government is now talking Australians thro the possibility of raising the retirement age up to 70.

This actually works more in your favour, as you will have a full 20 years to put into the Australian social security system to get your work pension (superannuation) looking reasonable. There will be the basic government old Age pension, currently paying around $32 000 a year for a couple, but most Aussies would like / need to top this figure up with their work pension included.

Looking at the Rand over the past 10 years, there is a steady decline in the value v the Australian dollar, with consequential loss of living standard associated with a depreciating currency. In 20 years' time, with you being 70 by then, what will your work pension be in South Africa I wonder???

It will be tough migrating to Australia.

You have left this option open quite late in your lives and as said, this will be your last chance in migrating to Australia. It won't be easy to make up for lost financial opportunity, nor to build a network of friends that support you. All this takes time, years even.

You can take the easy option and stay put, putting up with whatever happens on the African continent. Your kids most likely will seek opportunities in the First World, leaving you alone and / or seeing grandchildren once or twice a year instead of in the next suburb each weekend.

You have to look at what's best for your own circumstances, but what is acceptable now may not be the case in ten years. I'm sure the whites choosing to stay in Zimababwe on hand over to black powere in 1980 would have thought life "acceptable" enough for them to stay then, but not 20 years later.

[Eva]

The new pension age only kicks in for those born after 1965.

http://www.smh.com.au/federal-politics/political-news/retirement-age-rise-to-70-by-2035-joe-hockey-announces-20140502-zr318.html

[Bronwyn&Co]

Well how frikken convenient for Joe Hockey to have been born in August 1965, in that case ?

[HansaPlease]

Well how frikken convenient for Joe Hockey to have been born in August 1965, in that case ?

He'll be fine anyway, he'll have a bloody golden parachute to fall back on