Hello from an Aussie now living in Bristol

[Taz_]

Hi all,

my wife and I moved from Sydney to Bristol a little while ago but now is the first time I found this forum, so had to find out all the 'fun' stuff the hard way.

I just wanted to introduce myself as I don't know anyone in Bristol and thought i'd come and say hello.

We navigated the beaureacracy of registering at doctors (many who said they are in a different zone to us or weren't taking more patients), and sorting out all the things needed to live in another country. It's almost like starting from scratch.

We put our house on rent and after the first nightmare tenant we now have a good family in there who seem to be looking after the place.

We had our apartment here broken into in October last year and most of the stuff worth anything was stolen, but we had insurance so most was replaced other than sentimental stuff and like my wifes jewellery.

So a bit of bad luck initially...

We now live in an apartment in the Bristol City Centre along the river overlooking the Castle Park in the old brewery buildings and are enjoying the different lifestyle of city living and being in the middle of it all vs. living in our house in the suburbs of south west Sydney.

Just wanted to say hello, hopefully help others and make some friends really.

[izzysmum04]

Hi, Taz! Welcome to the forum!

[jlms]

I just installed a burglar alarm.£25/month for a bit of peace of mind :-/

[Taz_]

Thanks.

Our apartment had secure video entry and CCTV, they still got in though...

Bit of a shock coming to Britain even though we are not in a high risk area since we've never had any issues back in Sydney.


If we can survive that and the credit crunch then well we can survive anything. We are here as part of a transfer with my wife's work so will be here for another year.

The funny thing is just about every Brit we spoke to said we were "crazy" for moving to this country from Oz, and they all pretty much wanted get out of Britain and go to Oz etc.

It's funny the reactions you get from the locals.

[amandabren]

Hi there

I am currently living in adelaide and am looking at moving over to the UK at the end of this year on a two year youth mobility visa. I have heard some interesting things and was wondering if you could clarify something for me.

1. how hard is it to get a bank account over there?

2. do we get free medical care because we are Aussies?

3. how hard is it to get accomodation over there?

4. is the job crisis as bad as what they say?

I know no one over there and am just 24 years old not tied down and looking for an adventure.

it is a huge gamble and I am so looking forward to it but need some info help.

Pleas help

thanks
amanda

Originally Posted by Taz_

Hi all,

my wife and I moved from Sydney to Bristol a little while ago but now is the first time I found this forum, so had to find out all the 'fun' stuff the hard way.

I just wanted to introduce myself as I don't know anyone in Bristol and thought i'd come and say hello.

We navigated the beaureacracy of registering at doctors (many who said they are in a different zone to us or weren't taking more patients), and sorting out all the things needed to live in another country. It's almost like starting from scratch.

We put our house on rent and after the first nightmare tenant we now have a good family in there who seem to be looking after the place.

We had our apartment here broken into in October last year and most of the stuff worth anything was stolen, but we had insurance so most was replaced other than sentimental stuff and like my wifes jewellery.

So a bit of bad luck initially...

We now live in an apartment in the Bristol City Centre along the river overlooking the Castle Park in the old brewery buildings and are enjoying the different lifestyle of city living and being in the middle of it all vs. living in our house in the suburbs of south west Sydney.

Just wanted to say hello, hopefully help others and make some friends really.

[Taz_]

Originally Posted by amandabren

Hi there

I am currently living in adelaide and am looking at moving over to the UK at the end of this year on a two year youth mobility visa. I have heard some interesting things and was wondering if you could clarify something for me.

1. how hard is it to get a bank account over there?

2. do we get free medical care because we are Aussies?

3. how hard is it to get accomodation over there?

4. is the job crisis as bad as what they say?

I know no one over there and am just 24 years old not tied down and looking for an adventure.

it is a huge gamble and I am so looking forward to it but need some info help.

Pleas help

thanks
amanda

Hi sorry for the delay, have been travelling..

1. Bank account is relatively easy, I think there are also agencies in Oz that can help with this before you arrive in the UK.

2. You get access to the NHS, but when you are working they take a % of your pay. You need to setup a National Identity number when you arrive and then register with a GP. I'm sure there is more detailed info on the net...

3. Accomodation, well I am here with my wife and it's part of a relocation package with her work so can't really comment, also it depends on where you are looking to move to in the UK.

For places like London it will mainly be share houses with others usually, Kiwi's/Aussies etc. Places like Gumtree are worth checking out.

4. Personally, I think the job crisis is quite bad, it depends on the region you will be staying and your qualifications/work field. For me I am still looking for decent work in my field, Bristol isn't the biggest city, plus with the current climate employers don't want to hire work VISA carriers and when they can find a UK local...

If my wife didn't have a good package with her work we wouldn't be here still.

[karen si]

Sorry to hear about your break-in, hope you and your wife are more settled now and beginning to meet people , are you both working, are you planning on staying in the united kingdom for good? Istay in Scotland and on the last leg of our visa application to brisbane Australia. I always find it funny that people like myself and my husband are desperate to emigrate to your country and you guys are coming over here to the wind and rain.
Hope people are making tou feel welcome and you are enjoying your time here in Britian.
Karen

[Taz_]

Originally Posted by karen si

Sorry to hear about your break-in, hope you and your wife are more settled now and beginning to meet people , are you both working, are you planning on staying in the united kingdom for good? Istay in Scotland and on the last leg of our visa application to brisbane Australia. I always find it funny that people like myself and my husband are desperate to emigrate to your country and you guys are coming over here to the wind and rain.
Hope people are making tou feel welcome and you are enjoying your time here in Britian.
Karen

The break in was a bummer, but we survived! Made life difficult when it came to finding an insurance company to renew our policy with though!

We are only here for a 2 year contract, so about 11 months to go.

The UK is good mainly due to it's distance to Europe and the rest of the world, it's not a place i'd live for good as Sydney is just better in every way for us and it's home. So yes all the people from the UK are thinking we are crazy and they all want to live in Sydney instead of here, but we are mainly here for my wife's work so just making the most of the situation and travelling as much as we can.

Finding full time work in my field of marketing has been difficult since Bristol is mainly financial industry based, the company I used to work for in Australia has a UK office but it's near London so the location isn't ideal for me. Plus i've been turned down for jobs at the last stage in favour of locals. It's a bit discriminatory against visa holders but I also understand that in times of recession employers will make more conservative choices and favouring a local is pretty straight forward if I was the hiring manager.

It looks like Summer has come and gone, a few weeks of hot weather and it's now turned to cool, windy and showers.. Then again, that's better than last years summer!

[karen si]

Glad things are now better for you. What does your wife do and has she found work ethics over here different from home. Are you looking forward to going home , will you get your old job back or will you have to look for new employment. What has the recession been like in Australia?
My husband is a joiner and i work in child care as a nursery nurse in a state school. Do you think we will find work okay when we get to Australia.