Sweepea Posted June 9, 2015 Report Share Posted June 9, 2015 Hi everybodyi have read a number of posts on this site last year and recently again and found it to be soo informative - i dont think i posted before. Im 43 and hubby is turning 43 too in Aug. Im a CA and he is a Certified Internal Auditor working as an associate director at a smaller audit firm. We have twins turning 1 year this month. As i have applied to Canada under the FSW in Dec, i already have a number of docs but the police clearance expires so that will need to be redone. I had done the IELTS general but see that for a skills assessment i need the Academic. The first available date is only in Aug but looking at the forum, it looks like i should give the Pearson a try to get the process going quicker. Didnt see recommendations for TOEFL tho as the Pearson sounds a bit odd where you have a number of people all talking at the same time...Not sure yet where in Oz we would like to live but i would prefer a balanced lifestyle with kids now where i dont have to spend hours in the traffic to work and back; where Finance jobs are available, good schools and cost of housing is not unaffordable. I need to surf the forum but suggestions would be welcome.Not yet sure whether we want to use an agent but i have seen the recommendations on the other threads and have spoken to Reuven too who scored us at 65 points. Will apply under the 189 visa. i see that the cutoff for accountants has been reached but will only be able to apply after that anyway due to English test and Skills assessment.have a great day 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jordy Posted June 9, 2015 Report Share Posted June 9, 2015 Welcome. Glad you found this forum helpful so far. May you have a smooth ride. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EmNew Posted June 9, 2015 Report Share Posted June 9, 2015 All the best for your application, Sweetpea!You are in good hands with Reuven - we used him too - received our visa grant April, and heading off to Aus in September.We're heading to Melbourne, for finance and IT jobs for myself and hubby. From what I have read Melbourne and Sydney are the best options for availability of those positions, but that's no guarantee of easy employment.It would appear that the job market in WA is a bit depressed at the moment, although everyone raves about the lifestyle in Perth .Melbourne also has a great public transport network, so even if you live further out from the CBD , where the housing is more affordable, you don't have to sit in highway traffic. I think however, until we're earning AUD, NO housing in Australia looks affordable when translating into ZAR.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RDD Posted June 9, 2015 Report Share Posted June 9, 2015 Hi Sweepea.We wrote the TOEFL test as IELTS were also fully booked for a few months, and TOEFL was relatively new.I would suggest writting the TOEFL as soon as possible. The actual test is a 4 hour test with 1 hour allocations to listening, oral, writing, etc. And seems in line with the IELTS tests in terms of structure and acceptance by ICAA.Good luck for the process. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sweepea Posted June 9, 2015 Author Report Share Posted June 9, 2015 wow thanks for the quick responses! i thought i would need to wait a few hours due to the time difference.RDD, I have already booked with Pearson now for 24 June as the first available TOEFL date is 11 July and i still need to wait 2 weeks for the results. my heart skipped a beat there but i see that PTE Academic is on the form for the ICAA skills assessment. Congrats on getting your visa granted.EMNew look forward to hearing about your settling in.Jordy - must be great to be an Aussie citizen.Thanks for all the wishes and the support already:). im really bowled over and so grateful. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RDD Posted June 9, 2015 Report Share Posted June 9, 2015 Thanks Sweepea.Its an amazing feeling getting that Grant Notice. Which I am sure you will experience soon enough.Good luck with the tests, etc.Looking forward to seeing how you progress.Please keep us updated. We will also help whenever you need some advice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
monsta Posted June 9, 2015 Report Share Posted June 9, 2015 Have you thought about Brisbane?It is fast on its way to becoming a bug city like Melbourne or Sydney. But its not quite there yet.On paper Sydney is your best option as it has the most jobs. But Sydney is trying to play catch up with public transport. There are four massive tublic transport upgrades happebing; wesconnex, nortconnex, nort west rail link and the Sydney Rapid Transit. But Sydney suffers from too many public transport "black holes", ie suburbs where public transport is almost non existent. And in Sydney they seveary limit parkings to force you to take public transport.Add to that property prices went up by 12% last year with no sign of a decreaseany time soon. Melbourne was around 4%. So, Brisbane or consider Melbourne Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mara Posted June 9, 2015 Report Share Posted June 9, 2015 Welcome, I do hope you find many answers here! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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