Hi
I am a 43 Year old male and successfully gained a full independant visa 2 years ago. I am a Self Employed Plumber with a reasonably good Business in the UK, but I am desparate to realise the dream of living in Oz.
I have been to Queensland twice in the last 3 years and would love to move there.
Trouble is that with only around £70k to bring and a nervous wife and 3 kids I don't know whether we have enough capital to start again.
The Sunshine Coast would be my ideal spot but think we may be better going nearer to Brisbane to chase the better money.
I would love some advice as I have a nice 4 bed home in the UK and would like a similar place in OZ though I realise I would not command the same wage I earn here Circa £60k
Help!!!

 

Hi,

I do not know a lot about the plumbing business but i will offer what i know.

You do know that you may need to obtain a license to get work here. As you already have a visa have you tried contacting any companies over here to see what is available and what pay you could expect, some may be willing to help with relocation costs. QLD at the moment is desperate for all trades to help recover from the floods. If I were you I would now be contacting companies and see what they can offer, You have your visa and I am sure someone would snap you up.

 

Hi and welcome to PIO. Lots of people have succesfully moved here with less capital than you have so i dont think that is too much of an issue. Obviously the more you have behind you the easier it is but its not a make or break thing. Migrating is tough and there is no getting away from that, it would make your move easier if all of you are 101% behind it. We have been here just over 4 years now, our kids are now 7 and 12 and have settled like ducks to water, my youngest remembers next to nothing of UK life which is a little scarey at first ,lol

You will have to consider what you will do for an income whilst you sort your Plumbing licence out. There are quite a few hoops to jump through before you will be granted one and it costs a few $$$ too so make sure you are fully aware of what awaits. It seems to take most guys around 6 months to get some form of the licence (normally a provisinol). This site should give you some more details - Plumbers and drainers licences - Department of Infrastructure and Planning

Good Luck with everything, it would be a shame to lose the visa by not coming, i know how tough they are get.

Cal x

 

Thanks Cal,

I am very grateful for any advice. Look out for my post over the next few weeks as there may be a few!!!!

Pat

 

I have heard it can take up to 6 months to get your licence but you may be able to start the process before you leave as long as you have your visa.......this link should help you Skills recognition - Department of Education and Training
In general plumbers are paid fairly well in Queensland...try - www.seek.com.au where you can check average pays for different professions..
Hope this helps

 

Hi my mum and dad emigrated to australia in the mid 60's as ten pound poms.. arrived with two kids aged 9 and 6 and with hardly any money.... they worked hard and had each other.... as long as you got each other you can be anywhere. .... they came back to england in the 80's for family reasons but i was born there and plan to return when i gained my nursing qualification. My partner is a self employed builder and i will be a nurse with kids aged 9 and 7 and with around 80, 000 pounds. We plan to live sunshne coast gympie to bunderburg region..land cheaper.... spend a few years there and then move on hopefully with a bit more capital i am sure you will find work with your trade and its a roof at the end of the day.. the important thing is TO LIVE YOUR LIFE go for it.. good luck xx

 

Hi
Thanks for your advice.
We loved the Sunshine cost but never went as far as Gympie though. Further down seemed expensive and with a lack of well paid work, so loads of things to think about!!!

 

Thanks for your post. I must of missed it until now!!!:biggrin:

 

hey pat ,hannash here we are hoprfully getting a 175 visa or at least thats the idea ,im a bricklayer and i am going over the same things that youve been going over for months even years .anyway we are still working even though most squads of bricklayers are split up and there is very little work about .in fact in our town there is only one squad working and thats us ,most people are saying to me you are mad leaving work her and going to some where that may not even have work,my cousin is a plumber and moved to north brisbane and has plenty of work .he got a job almost instantly and is still with the same guy two years on .my biggest fear is the shocking price of houses,,, ive seen a lot of the building trade in my twenty years and it has to be the most over priced housing market ive witnessed

 

The trick is to go where the work is, As Cal says work is a plenty due to the flood recovery. It may be a case of a few years living where the work is, getting experience and money behind you and then moving to where you want to be.
We have been in the western suburbs for about 6.5 years now, we moved to where the work was. Now we are at the point that we are able to move to where we want to be. Where we want to be is the Sunny Coast, Within 18 months we are out of Brisbane!!!

 

Hi Pat, I just had to reply as my circumstances are very similar to yours. I am 43 and my hubbie is a lift engineer who also requires a costly licence in Queensland. We also got our skilled independent visas about 2 yrs ago now and are keen to move to Gold Coast area with our 3 sons. We have also been to Brisbane/Goldcoast twice in last 2 years and are very keen to live there but are worried about finances as we will only have about 10K to go with. We have a nice 4 bed in Basingstoke and Tony has a good job but something keeps pulling me towards OZ!!
I was just wondering how near you are to going?
Cheers
Debbie (in Basingstoke)

 

Hi Debbie
We haven't gone to Australia yet and I haven't even been on the forums for 12 months and never even saw your post. W have an opportunity to go now as our house sale is nearer than ever.
Did you go or are you proceeding with things?
I would be really interested to know.....

Pat

 

Hi,
I have no idea what license you may require to start your business, but a good idea may be to start working for an already existing business? Certainly there's plenty of work as, like anywhere else in the world, you can never find a plumber when you need one!
And your capital is more than sufficient to move, don't worry about that. I migrated with 7 times less with no problems at all.
Cheers
Phil

 

Thanks Phil
Its reassuring to hear your thoughts.
Hopefully we will take the plunge this year...

Pat

 

Take the plunger too!