moving to perth

[sapper]

hi guys my name is kim and my husband and i and my 2 kids are thinking of moving over to perth australia at the end of the year but i still have a alot of questions to ask if any one could help i know i will be renting a home at first but is there a time limit as to when you can aply for a mortagage is it very expensive to take my westie dog over as he's apart of the family do i have sit another driven test when i get there. does it cause alot to move our funiture over or is it cheap to rebuild our home again.
lot of thanks kim

[kaz101]

Hi Kim,

Do you have the visa application already in or approved?

You can apply for a mortgage at any time but I was advised either to do so before I left the UK (so I could prove my income) or after I had a regular income in Australia.

You need to check the state rules but in South Australia we qualified for First Home Owners Grant which was A$7,000. There are some conditions though such as living in the house for 6 months.

You don't have to sit another test see Driving in Queensland with an international licence
A UK licence can be transferred over to a basic Aussie licence in QLD.

We had a 40ft container sent over from the UK in July and that cost us about 6,000 pounds. The main reason for that size container was our Mustang
I'm not sure about how much it would cost to replace stuff in Perth, but if it's old & electrical it's probably not worth bringing it over.

Older UK televisions don't work out here unless they are connected to a set top box (you can get vision but no sound on our tv without the set top box).

Regards,
Karen

[sapper]

hi karen thanks for your reply its nice to get some answers karen if i was going to rent a home how can i go about it from scotland and is it best to send belongings before we go or about the same time we leave. karen people say its a great live and not stressful as back here is it as good as people say karen do i have to take out health insurance for my family and for dental treatment i heard that there are state schools are these schools good or would i have to go private my kids go to goverment schools here and im one of those mothers that likes to keep on top of my childrens education. my son would like to ask you is football a big thing there as he loves his football and would hate to give it up is there any boys football teams so he can still carry on with it. my daughter and son like to horse ride to i know these may sound like silly questions but they all matter to the kids and this is a big thing for them. karen would i be able to get a job easy i can put my hands to anything could you tell me is it expensive to bring my dog with us

karen thankyou very much for taken time to help

thanks kim

[kaz101]

Originally Posted by sapper

if i was going to rent a home how can i go about it from scotland

Check out websites such as
Real Estate, Property, Land and Homes for Sale, lease and rent - realestate.com.au
www.domain.com.au

they have rentals and sales on there.

and is it best to send belongings before we go or about the same time we leave.

Depends on you. We sent ours out a little earlier but still had a wait a few weeks in Australia. If you send them out early think about you'll cope, and if you get them late think about how you'll cope :-)

people say its a great live and not stressful as back here is it as good as people say

I don't live in Perth so I can't talk about there.
It depends on your expectations and what your finances are like.
Some people come out to Oz and send all their money on a house and then wonder why they are still working to pay off the mortgage :-)
I love where we live and I love the life we are creating for ourselves.

do i have to take out health insurance for my family and for dental treatment

Depending on your visa you will get Medicare as standard.
Private Health Insurance Australia - iSelect is advertised on tv for medical insurance but I've not used it

i heard that there are state schools are these schools good or would i have to go private my kids go to goverment schools here and im one of those mothers that likes to keep on top of my childrens education.

I don't have kids so I can't help you there. Most of the kids here go to state school.

my son would like to ask you is football a big thing there as he loves his football and would hate to give it up is there any boys football teams so he can still carry on with it.

I can't help you there either. I know nothing about football and not about it in Perth. Aussie rules and cricket are more popular around here.

my daughter and son like to horse ride to i know these may sound like silly questions but they all matter to the kids and this is a big thing for them.

Same answer as above I'm afraid.

would i be able to get a job easy i can put my hands to anything

If you look at the please read post towards the top of the forum that has some job links. If also has link for medicare and different parts of Australia.

could you tell me is it expensive to bring my dog with us

I did'nt have to that so I'm not sure.

I'm not a relocation or immigration agent - just someone who went through the process myself back in July 2007.

Regards,
Karen