Questions about Australia (susan)

[susan]

Hi, Merry Christmas and a happy new year. My family is currently living in SA and are thinking about immigration. I have 2 children and a dependant father living with my husband and I. WE have many worries and concerns and would love to talk to someone who has immigrated to OZ and does not mind being honest and giving advice (not about the immigration process-we have an officer for that-more lifestyle questions)

Thanks

Susan

[OneTime]

Hello Susan, and welcome to Great Trek and best of luck with your decision to make the move!

I'm happy to answer any questions you have about Aus if I know the answer. I've been in Aus for 2 years now. There are a few of us who have moved to Aus on the forum, and I'm sure the others will be happy to do so too.

Fire away!

[susan]

Hi there, didn't get your name!!!!

my biggest concern is that my kids will be happy in government schools should we not be able to afford private ones. I am also concerned that my child who is only 20 months old gets enough attention from us-ideally i would like to stay at home. What would my husband need to earn to support us so that i could do this, he is a programmer and should be able to find a good job. If I have to work (i am a teacher) would my kids be raised by strangers???? What is government medical care really like is it as good as our private care.

Susan

[OneTime]

Hi susan, I answer by many names - OneTime, OT, Ed, Hey you and "oi!"... :grin

These are just my experiences - some people's opinions may differ...

It's a tough one with schools - generally government schools arent' that bad but it does depend what area you're looking at. Private schools are the exception rather than the rule over here. Most Australians I know went to government schools and turned out ok. Unfortunately it's a sign of the times that kids these days are exposed to things we weren't, but that's the same the world over. If we're comparing Australian government school to the average SA government school, I don't think you need to worry. Unfortunately, you do get bad schools, everywhere though. As you can probably gather I'm not really qualified to comment - my little man is only 3 months old so not ready for school yet. :grin

I also know many single income famlies where one parent stays at home to look after kids. Childcare is expensive and often it doesn't justify the parent on the lower income working. It's hard to say what basic salary would be enough because people have different priorities and spending habits. I would say that as a programmer your husband could support the family on his salary with some clever budgeting.

If you worked as a teacher and your husband as a programmer, I'd say you'd be able to afford a very comfortable existence. Yes, the downside is your kids would go to childcare.

Government Medical care is very good. We have both private and public medical and we actually chose to have our son born in a public hospital because it was closer to home and free. Our experience was fantastic! I would compare it to a private facility back home. Again, this depends on your area, but my experience was good. We have private health insurance that helps with rebates on things like dental, optical, etc, but for the most part, we can elect whether to go private or public.

Hope this helps... :thumbs

[OneTime]

PS: I've changed the subject line and moved the thread to the Aus section - helps other people find the thread.

[ICE]

In your opinion, which city in Aus is the best to move to?

[Nyala]

In answer, ICE, I think it boils down to whether you want metro or country life. There are many merits in living in the big cities but I'm in a rural city with a population of roughly 90 000, have been here for 7 years and love it. We have everything the big cities have without all the rush, earn good salaries and manage to live quite well.

All our education and medical needs are met with a choice of three universities and four hospitals, shopping is a breeze with everything we need covered by 4 shopping malls and a great CBD and dining out is great, too many resturants and pubs to mention. We live in a suburb on the outskirts of town so I wake up every morning to the sound of Cookaburras and cattle - it's almost paradise for me.

[ICE]

Sounds just what the doctor ordered...

Where is it?

[OneTime]

Hello ICEman,

If you're talking about a good city to raise a family, I have one in mind.

LongJohnny will be happy to hear me say - ADELDAIDE. It's my new favourite city.

A lot of Australians harp on about there being nothing to do there. That's rubbish. There's plenty. Sure, it's not a thriving metropolis like Sydney or Melbourne, but if you ask me, Adealaide has everything you need.

They say jobs are hard to come by, maybe so compared to the big cities, but there are enough corporate satelite offices and large companies to provide employment - I imagine you'd just need to be less picky as you can be in the big cities. You only have to drive through the CBD to see some big names that translate into employment - ANZ, Qantas, Telstra, Westpac, NAB, etc. There's also a fair sized industrial area.

The 20 minute rule. Everything is no more than 20 minutes drive. I have family in Adelaide who live in the burbs, and not one of them spends more than 20 minutes in rush hour to drive to work. The CBD is 20 mins from the airport, which is 20 minutes from the hills, which is 20 minutes from the beach, which is 20 minutes... you get the picture. :D

Restaurants and bars a plenty, the quality and variety of food is fantastic. Plenty of pubs with lots of character. The old-style buildings are fantastic.

The real suburban feel. Trees everywhere. The style of houses (especially the sandstone ones) make for a very interesting suburban experience. It does have to be noted though that for every nice looking house there is an ugly one. :D

World class concerts and sports events. Adelaide IRB rugby sevens, cricket test matches, AFL games, etc.

Adeliade to me is a bit like Pietermaritzburg by the sea.

Did I mention that everything is within 20 minutes drive? :grin

One problem - property is expensive in Adelaide, and land is like gold dust. I'd compare prices in Adelaide to those of Sydney, Melbourne and Perth, but the problem is, employment is not as extensive, and salaries are lower.

Hope my 2c helps.

[ICE]

Thanx OneTime.

More questions soon.... ;) :whistle

[Nyala]

Ice, I live in Albury on the Murray river. It's on the highway between Melbourne and Sydney.

[susan]

Hi onetime

Thanks a stack for answering so candidly. How would we know what schools in which areas are not so good????

And when you say if we budget carefully what do you mean???? Pap and sous for supper or no cable TV???

Susan

[Nyala]

Here are a few links I found, hope they help.

http://www.immigration2australia.com/living_in_australia/living_cost_of_living/

http://www.aussiemove.com/aus/costlive.asp

http://www.australia-migration.com/page/Cost_of_Living_calculator/95

http://www.expatforum.com/articles/cost-of-living/cost-of-living-in-australia.html

http://www.tribuslingua.com.au/blog/cost-of-living-in-australia

[ICE]

Thanx, Nyala!

[Nyala]

My pleasure, ICE. I remember when we began researching Australia as a place to go, the Aussie Embassy in Harare gave ua a flyer with all the costs of daily living, etc as well as a salary guide. It was so we could assess if we'd manage to come out on our salaries.I wonder if they still do that?

[Nyala]

Hi onetime

Thanks a stack for answering so candidly. How would we know what schools in which areas are not so good????

And when you say if we budget carefully what do you mean???? Pap and sous for supper or no cable TV???

Susan

Hi Susan

I have been living here for nearly eight years, my kids were all in high school when we came over. I think the most important thing to remember when you're making a big move like this is that you're leaving South Africa and you're not going to find it here. A lot of folks make to mistake of thinking they're going to slot right into a life the same as they are familiar with. Although the life style here is similar with a big emphasis on the outdoor and family social life, there are differences that we have had to get used to.

I came from Zimbabwe so my perspective would be different to a South African but one thing I did note was that in the school system parents are encouraged to be interactive with the kids and staff, meaning that if you had any concerns or worries the schools bent over backwards to meet with us to discuss it and find ways to overcome the problem. It is not as rigid and unbending as the schools I was used to. Before I put kids into school I had meetings with the headmasters of the three high schools closest to where we lived. Each one was candid about the school telling me the good as well as the bad. They were all public schools as we didn't have the funds for private schooling when we arrived. Once I'd made my choice I never looked back, my kids all graduated year 12 and went on to further education.

I hope this helps you in your decision.

[OneTime]

No problems at all susan.

I'm really not sure in terms of schools I'm afraid - I have zero experience in this, sorry...

In terms of budgeting, pap en sous probably helps, and if you swim in rivers and lakes with your clothes on, it saves you from doing washing. Whilst you're in there, take shampoo kill 3 birds with one stone - saves on your household water bill. :D

No, seriously, by budgeting I mean just by being clever with your money - things such as buying second hand cars when you get here, rather than new ones (second hand market is great in Aus, especially nowadays, you can pick up a really decent 1 or 2 year old car with low mileage for nearly half the new price), being careful about what you spend on groceries, that sort of thing. Australia is like bargain hunters paradise - there's always something on special.

I guess what I'm pointing at is - a lot of people expect to get back the lifestyle they had in SA very quickly, the cars, the house, the furntiure, and this doesn't happen quickly enough most of the time. It takes time to re-build your lives again and you need a lot of patience for this. It's taken us 2 years to get settled in this aspect. Some people have big bucks and do it within 3 months - unfortunately, we're not those people.:D

Luckily in Aus, there is a lot for families to do that doesn't cost the earth - picnics, bbqs, picnics, beaches, etc.

[ICE]

We are playing with a few ideas.... ;)

[LongJohnny]

Hi, Sorry for responding only now, we've been away a bit on holidays, been to the Yorke Penisula again.

To answer the question about state schools. The state schools are good, and I teach in one. We have our fair share of problems, but the main thing is how individual school deal with it.

In a city like Adelaide it is a good idea to “shop around” for schools, and to avoid school in the more disadvantaged areas. In South Oz it’s a good idea to log onto a school’s website which you are interested in and check their level of disadvantage. This is graded from 1 – 7. Schools indexed 1 to 3 are pretty challenging while most kids should be OK in schools that are indexed 4 – 7. School’s disadvantage index mostly are strongly related to the post-code area it is in.

The way most kids “hack” it in State Schools also have a bearing on the way that they are raised at home. Kids with supportive parents sail through school mostly with no or little problems. Saffer kids mostly do very well in Aussie State schools.

As I said, Aussie schools have their problems, but schools are supported and resourced to deal with these problems. Another thing, schools here are highly supportive of students as well as their parents. If ever you encounter a problem don’t hesitate to raise the matter with your child’s teacher or the principal. In South Australian school many schools also have a counsellor, whose job it is to work directly with students and parents.

Hope this helps,


LJ