Wanna go to Oz, where do I start???

[durbs538]

Hello everyone,

My wife and I have decided enough is enough- we want to be living a better life and creat a better future for our son who turns 3 in December. We've decided that Oz will be our peferred destination, but we're not sure where in Oz. Perth because it's closest? Sydney because of family already there or somewhere else?

I think choosing a city is the first decision, then we can start focusing on looking for jobs and dealing with immigration companies(I'm assuming this is the easiest option?) We are both teachers-our jobs are in demand and I have family there that will act as sponsors so getting a visa should not be a problem.

So in a nutshell, I would like some advice on the following:

> Which cities would you suggest for Saffas who are not too fond of Durban tempretures?

> is there a preferred destination for teachers?

> Should I go with an immigration agency or not?

Any help would be greatly appreciated!

Thank you in advance...

[Serendipity]

Hi there and WELCOME to the forum

Only Q i can assist on is the last one - its a personal choice, many members have gone the DIY route with great success, well others - like myself - used an agent.

It will all seem very daunting to start with but once you get your head around the process and rules it should be a-ok.

Personally I was happy to use an agent especially when we knew nothing about what to do and where to start but with a forum like this you will gather great information

which might be enough to get you through converting your skills and the general process. Our visa application changed status since lodging our original 176 application,

so for us, yes an agent was the best thing for our application.

We live in Victoria and love it but the state you choose again is a personal choice. There are teachers on the forum who i am sure will help you.

Again HUGE WELCOME and all the best with the start of a really fantastic journey

[candivw]

Hi and welcome,

There is no way for you to know which city you would like until you visit them and even then a visit is very different to living in a place. Perth is very hot for 3 months of the year but the rest of the time its really pleasant. QLD is more humid, we have no humidity in Perth. Do you like big busy cities or smaller places? Sydney is a big busy city but you could live further out. I would read some of the journals on the forum and then maybe do a trip to take a look? I had come to Perth 12 years prior to us moving here so it was very different when we moved it had changed a lot, my hubby had never been outside RSA until we landed here and he is very happy.

[SANZOZ]

If you don't like Durban's humidity then I don't think you will like Sydney in summer at all!! I usually refer to Sydney as "Durban on steroids" when it comes to the weather in summer. I think its bearable because everything is air conditioned but if you are outside its definitely really hot and humid. Otherwise, Sydney is an awesome place to live but it really does depend on what you are after and I agree that you need to experience it before deciding.

Regarding the agent, if you have a fairly straight forward application I wouldnt really spend the money on an agent. The only reason I would do it is if you need specialist advice for some reason or if a company is sponsoring you and paying for an agent. Not saying agents arent brilliant, but there are other things you could be spending that hard-earned cash on.

Good luck with the decision!

[Fenrir]

Sydney is hot in summer. Melbourne can be too. All these main cites are by the sea so you'll have to deal with some humidity in summertime.

If I had a choice, I would have chosen a small town in Victoria/NSW/SA more inland where the humidity isn't so bad.

New Zealand is nice and cool though

If you feel confident about the visas, why not take up the process yourself? It will save you money and answers to most questions can be found on the internet or on sites like these.

Good luck!

[Tex]

Suggest you go to the Australian visa site Visa Wizard and use the wizard to see which visas you might be eligible for. If you find all the information confusing, your best bet will be to enlist some help in the form of an emigration agent and an initial interview. They will be able to determine which visa or visas you would be eligible to apply for. There are a few agents on this forum - Fiona Carre comes to mind but there are others too. We used Hitchcock & Associates to assist us in 2007 and they have offices in most big cities in SA - Durbs too. We could have done it ourselves, but my age was a factor (approaching the 45-year deadline for the 175 visa) and our families future is too important to mess about with trying to save a few dollars. Don't skimp on the important stuff!

If you have specific questions, write the list down then use the search function on this forum to look for answers. Theres heaps of information on all sorts of topics.

Your passports will need to have a few years life left on them, and you will need original certificates for birth, marriage (and/or divorce) education & so forth. If you do not have them now, start the application process with home affairs sooner, rather than later. It took us the better part of 6 months to get all our paperwork in order before being in a position to submit our application.

All the best,

Tex

[Jordy]

Welcome start here http://www.saaustralia.org/index.php?showtopic=9251

[tyde]

HI and welcome,

What kind of teacher are you or your wife? High school, primary, what subjects do you teach? That will help us to answer your questions.

Good luck!

Deirdre

[BronE]

Hi

I don't know much about Oz but I can tell you that their website for visa applications online is VERY jacked up! We went in totally blind with no knowledge of forums or any 'inside' info and we looked on the site and just followed the step by step process.

We had a couple of questions about which skills to be assessed for and ended up phoning their enquiry line for that, otherwise it was really straight forward. I think probably the biggest thing is deciding which visa to go for but if you are confident in that then I would say there is no reason for an agent.

The system is so efficient that 2 days after we got our final documents scanned over to them we had our PR! It was a bit of a shock because we had hoped to delay things till the end of this year and have more time to play with but it does tell you how organized they are. The ONLY delay in the whole process was due to our home affairs taking 4 months to get our childrens unabridged birth certificates, all the work of getting the documents has to be done by you whether you have an agent or not so I wouldn't want to spend money on one. So if you have all the docs already it could take as little as 3 months to get your visa.

Good luck in all the decision making

Bron

[Mara]

Contrary to suggestion in one of the above posts, Melbourne is hot in summer but not humid, it is a dry heat!

[Bob]

In regard to climate and temperatures, these factors are affected by the Great Dividing Range when it comes to Australia.

Australia's a pretty flat place being the oldest continent, geologically, on Earth, yet has a ridge of low mountains / hills running about 200 to 500 kms inland along most of its eastern side.

Looking at a map, you'll see all the rivers running east to the South Pacific up to the Great Divide, and west to the River Darling and Murray on the other side.

One side is humid, the other dry. The moist winds off the South Pacific dump their rain on the eastern side of the Great Dividing Range and the western side gets the left overs, if any.

Cities in Australia are on the coast, where settlement in the 1800s was the easiest.

Starting in the south, at the border of New South Wales and Victoria at the bottom, you'll get a number of places heading north . . . . . Wollongong, Sydney, Newcastle, Gold Coast Brisbane, Sunshine Coast, Rockhampton, Townsville, Cairns.

The further up the coast you go, the more humid you can expect the climate to be, since you're getting closer to the Tropics. Once you get up as far as Rockhampton, you've crossed the Tropic of Capricorn.

You can pretty well choose how humid a place you want to live in by choosing how far up the east coast of Australia you want to live in.

If you prefer "dry", check out the other parts of Australia . . . Melbourne, Adelaide, Perth.