Hello,
I am new to the group and have been reading the previous messages. Currently my husband & I are living in Oklahoma City put plan to relocate to Australia in January 2006. We have US passports & he has sent his credentials (diplomas, work experience and so on) off to be evaluated by the engineering board that will hopefully say he is quallified to work in Australia under some trade agreement that the US has with Australia. He then plans to file for a work visa. We BARELY make the points cut off with his credentials.
I am a Registered Nurse, but for the last 10 years most of my nursing has been done in summer camps, privately and in private schools. I have CURRENT nursing licenses in BOTH Missouri & Oklahoma & have kept up on the education, however I do not meet the "actively worked full time 8 out of 10 years in the field" that would let us count my career as points. I grew frustrated with the whole HMO/insurance/hospital thing here in the States. I would VERY much like to use my nursing in Australia part-time and possibly full time with the right job, however I am 35 and cannot imagine the 12-15 hour on my feet shifts again. If we come in under my husbands work visa, may I then work part-time or must i have seperate paperwork?
I am planning on taking a "tourist" trip to Australia in the next couple of months and we are looking to settle within 50 kilometers of Melbourne since my husband would like to some day study there (he is structural./civil/environmental engineer and would like to receive his PhD in the future).
What areas or suburbs would you suggest for me to look at while on my trip for settling? Does anyone know anything about the nursing situation? I know they are in need of FULL TIME nurses but I am not sure I want to make that commitment. Should we reveal my nursing on the visa even though it would not count towards helping our points? What about small storage units? i plan on making several trips in the next year or two and would like to leave some stuff in a unit that we have pre-paid on. Is there a "group" of American-Australians whom I could meet with or talk to on my trip? Where do you reccomend staying for 2-3 weeks? Should I cruise the Internet or simply look for small home accomadations when I get there? Is there anyway I can get an address or post office box with my American Passport because we are wanting to get a tax ID # and open a bank account?
I have heard that furniture is very high in Australia. Would it cost more to ship solid wood dining room table or should I sell it & buy new when I get there? Do they sell Universal DVD players so my American DVDs will play? I notice there is no Walmarts in Australia (although they are in China :), what is the Australian equivalent of Walmart? I was told to bring my good cChina from Germany, that I would use it more in Australia then USA, is this true?
We are very attached to our cat & realize the paperwork & expense involved in bringing him. I have found a good home for him here in the States should we choose not uproot him like that, but will I be able to get another kitten from the pound? How hard & expensive is it to keep ONE domestic animal? What about LandLords-is it like the States where a deposit is required, are they more or less accepting of household pet? What advice would you offer, Im not sure our cat would adjust & do well with the quarentine & all the preperation and so on. Is animal population there a problem?
How hard is it to get peanut butter? Someone told me its very expensive abbroad.
Finally we ar planning on getting a new laptop but want to do it for australia, so should we wait & i buy one in Australia on my 1st trip or is it cheaper to get one here? I was told a switch on the laptop converts the power supply source so that it can go back & forth from 110 to 220 but we went shopping this weekend and none of the salespeople knew what we were talking about & told us we would have to special order that from the company itself. PLEASE HELP- we want the laptop to entertain me on the plane but also to use as our main computer when we first arrive in Australia. Are electronics, computers and so on more or less expensive there since you are closer to Japan & trade more with them?
Any responses & advise would be appreciated including tips on airfare-Can we join Qantas frequent flier while still in the State or must we wait until we resettle? We are very excited but feel very overwhlemed-it seems for every form there is two other forms they then send us. Any tips & advise are appreciated.
Chanah
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