Laura15 | ExpatWoman.com
 

Laura15

Laura15
19
Posts
EW NEWBIE
Latest post on 04 September 2013 - 15:59
Hi Mrs Orchid - I am no expert in Australian immigration but have been through the process. We moved to Perth with my husbands job 5 years ago on 457 visa sponsored by his company. During the first year there we enlisted http://truebluemigration.com/ to assist us with applying for Permanent Residence. At the time skilled independent visas were taking up to 3 years to process, and we were advised to apply for State Sponsored visa which was much quicker. This just meant that we had to commit to living in WA for a minimum of 2 years. This should have taken 18 months to process. However my husbands employer then advised that they would sponsor us just as we were starting the State Sponsored application, so we completed the necessary paperwork and the company lodged it on our behalf. It took 4 weeks for us to be granted PR. He was not committed to the company at that time, however I believe now most companies that sponsor for PR require the employee to agree to remain in their employment for a minimum period ie 2/3 years. If your husbands company are willing to sponsor him and your family then it should be much quicker. I believe from friends who are applying from outside Oz now it can take up to 4 years for a skilled independent visa without employer sponsorship, but this may also depend on if your husbands occupation is in demand. I'm not sure if that is helpful to you but we found the migration agents helpful and I believe they offer a free assessment. Good luck! Perth is a wonderful place to live :-)
Laura15
19
Posts
EW NEWBIE
Latest post on 04 July 2013 - 15:49
Hi Lincolnimp - I could have written this myself a few months ago! My DD started nursery 2 mornings a week in April (she was 19 months). Like your little one my DD is very sociable, confident and loved going to classes/soft play so I was expecting her to love it straight away. The first week the nursery recommended to take her every day to get her used to it - the first day I left her for less than an hour, the 2nd day for about 1hr etc and built up to 2.5 hours by the end of the week. It was awful - she cried when we got there, got herself so worked up on the 3rd day that she exhausted herself and fell asleep on the teacher when she was comforting her, refused to eat anything, had a crying fit when they moved from one play area to another etc. After the first 3 days I was ready not to take her back out as I was so upset seeing her like that. However, the next week I took her and she was like a different child - she walked in by herself, knew that she had to take her shoes off and sit on the mat and waved, blew me a kiss and off she went! I couldn't believe it! She now loves it - so much so I have put her in for 2 mornings of summer camp this week before we go away and will do the same in August when we are back. When I tell her she is going to Nursery School she goes to her drawer and gets out her uniform to get ready. Stick with it, she will settle soon enough, just keep being positive and smile. The teachers were wonderful with my dd and she quickly bonded with them and would go to one teacher in particular for a cuddle if she wasn't very sure of things. Hopefully your little one will be just as happy in no time :-)
Laura15
19
Posts
EW NEWBIE
Latest post on 06 May 2013 - 15:32
DH and I emigrated to Oz in 2008 and we are now Oz citizens. We love it over there, yes it is far away from Europe and you can't jump on a plane and be in France/Holland/Spain etc within a few hours but you get used to that, plus there is so much to see and do there. It's a long flight back to UK though, and it is expensive to visit family. However, for us the lifestyle far outweighs that. If you enjoy being outside, beaches, bbqs and laid back lifestyle you would love Australia. I am from the UK and we will never go back there to live, and I would not want our kids to grow up there - we feel that there is more opportunity for them in Oz. We are having our adventure in Dubai for a few years, but I know when the time comes for us to go back to Oz we will be very happy to be going home. I do miss it a lot. However, it is very expensive to live there. Housing, taxes, food, clothes, cars etc are expensive. We find Dubai much cheaper than Perth. I have friends who are teachers in Perth and they all send their kids to private high schools but state primary schools. Private school fees can range from $7k - $25k per year depending on school/area. I can only go on our experience in Perth but an average 4 bed family home will cost around $650k in an outer suburb. Hope that helps a bit? :-)
Laura15
19
Posts
EW NEWBIE
Latest post on 11 February 2013 - 16:21
Tried Maids.ae - not very good. Have been using Dial a Maid once a week for 2 months now and happy. 35dirhams an hour for min 4 hours.
Laura15
19
Posts
EW NEWBIE
Latest post on 27 December 2012 - 17:32
Hi Anj2409 I am also new to Dubai (been here 2 months) with a 16 month old daugher in Arabian Ranches. I did go to a coffee morning a few weeks back and have joined Arabian Ranches Mums on facebook and been to a park play date for a couple of hours. I have met a couple of people although it takes time I guess. I have registered to go to Moms and Tots at Extreme Fun in January on Sunday mornings, so I am hoping we might make some friends there! I will go to the EW Mums and Tots coffee morning in Mirdif in the new year, I just haven't got around to it yet. I will post something on AR Mums fb group in the new year to meet up with new people as there seem to be quite a few 'new arrivals' around here with kiddies around the same age. We are off on holiday for 2 weeks tomorrow then have family coming so won't be around much until end of Jan, but will definitely be making an effort to go to another park play date then. Hopefully we will see you there! Good Luck :-)
Laura15
19
Posts
EW NEWBIE
Latest post on 20 December 2012 - 22:50
Thanks Ladies - Zabeel Saray looks beautiful but I think I am going to book Madinat this time. Any recommendations for restaurants?
Laura15
19
Posts
EW NEWBIE
Latest post on 12 November 2012 - 12:03
Hi spiritedaway53 and pandora2011 - sorry I have only just seen your replies! I will message you both now to catch up for coffee/play date :-)
Laura15
19
Posts
EW NEWBIE
Latest post on 12 November 2012 - 11:53
Thank you admin - I went along to a coffee morning last week and once I am mobile I will definitely be going to some of the mums and toddlers events :-) Plum2 babysitting services will most definitely be required let me know how to contact you and meet your teenagers. Happymummy1 - I have found this website so helpful to research, I hope your moving preps go ok! I have not had chance to visit nurseries yet, but will be as soon as we have moved as I understand there are waiting lists for most of them. As others have advised we need to look into schools now for DD and get her name down so that is at the top of my to do list once we have moved. Everyone has recommended to live near kids schools, I guess your 3 year old will be going to school fairly soon here. We have only been to the marina briefly, and both DH and I agreed that if we did not have DD we would most definitely choose to live there. Lots of people love living in apartments with kiddies as there seem to be lots of facilites etc and less maintenance, however apartment living just isn't for me with a 15 month old. I like to have outside space and we enjoy having our own pool, so we have chosen a villa in a community which seems to be family friendly with parks for kids and community shaded paddling pools etc. But it is personal preference, good luck with your move :-)
Laura15
19
Posts
EW NEWBIE
Latest post on 08 November 2012 - 14:14
Hi ladies Well we are here! Arrived 2.5 weeks ago and so far so good! We have found a villa to rent in Saheel AR and will be moving in a couple of weeks. I am yet to brave driving here, but we are car hunting the weekend so I will have to give it a go soon :-/ I must confess that I am actually a Pom! We have been living in Perth for 5 years and LOVE it so it is now our adopted home, and we have come to Dubai for a bit of adventure and a new experience...who knows where it will take us?! If any of you ladies in VH with little ones would like to get together sometime I would love to meet some new people and find some play mates for DD! Laura :-)
Laura15
19
Posts
EW NEWBIE
Latest post on 06 November 2012 - 11:00
Thank you mumofboys I will google them :-)
Laura15
19
Posts
EW NEWBIE
Latest post on 06 November 2012 - 10:44
We are moving into a Saheel villa soon and need to get stair gates which will fit the wrought iron railing, I don't think the usual (ikea etc) will work due to the iron railing. Any recommendations on where to buy or made to measure ones? Thank you :)
Laura15
19
Posts
EW NEWBIE
Latest post on 31 October 2012 - 21:12
Thank you for your advice ladies, much appreciated. Deeva - I have never heard of DAMAS trees, why are they a problem? We have been quite impressed with the agents so far, they have explained pretty much what you have below. With the exeption of the registering of the lease which we were told we would have to do. I will ensure we have copies of ll passports/deeds, contact numbers etc. The ll has just bought the property and put in a new kitchen, it has been painted throughout and is in very good condition. Hopefully the transaction and move continues smoothly!
Laura15
19
Posts
EW NEWBIE
Latest post on 28 October 2012 - 08:49
Thanks ladies - I have looked on mall of emirates website but couldn't see a play area in there for little ones? Would be great if there is! Will check out the park and cheeky monkeys this week too :-)
Laura15
19
Posts
EW NEWBIE
Latest post on 27 September 2012 - 10:20
Thanks ladies - that is what I assumed SEY83 however as Suze63 said...you know what they say about assumptions so we will clarify with the company just to be sure! :-)
Laura15
19
Posts
EW NEWBIE
Latest post on 27 September 2012 - 10:17
Gets a monthly allowance of 12k but his contract states the company provide a loan deducted each month from his salary to help pay for annual rent.
Laura15
19
Posts
EW NEWBIE
Latest post on 25 September 2012 - 11:31
Thank you ladies! I hadn't seen the posts Di@DXB so thank you for letting me know. After reading all of your comments I don't think The Villa community will be for us at this point in time. I have had enough of building sites, so I think we will look at Arabian Ranches and Victory Heights first as I have heard good things about these areas. PlainJane out LO is only 13 months so we haven't looked into schools as yet. Well better get off the computer and carry on packing!
Laura15
19
Posts
EW NEWBIE
Latest post on 23 September 2012 - 05:07
Thank you for your replies ladies - much appreciated! Dubizzle is great... Looking forward to getting there now and starting to explore :-)
Laura15
19
Posts
EW NEWBIE
Latest post on 19 September 2012 - 11:29
We (hubby, dd 13 months and I) are relocating to Dubai at the end of October from Australia. Everything is in hand on this side now, and I am starting to get my head around the move and getting excited about our new adventure! I was hoping that some of you would answer a few questions for me? 1. Vaccinations - are there any that we should be having before leaving Oz? Dd has had all her jabs and will be due next ones at 18 months. We are in WA and she will be due the chicken pox vaccination in Feb. Is this easy to obtain there and does Dubai follow any particular immunization program for kids? 2. Villa to rent - We will be put up in accommodation for 3-4 weeks when we first arrive to give us time to look for a home. We have narrowed down areas to start looking at however I have read some horror stories of people getting ripped off! Any recommendations for agents? We will be looking around Victory Heights/Arabian Ranches possibly Meadows/Springs. I assume we have to pay agency fees up front? Does the agent usually remain a tenants point of contact or is it the norm to contact the landlord re maintenance etc? Also what is a maintenance contract as I've seen that mentioned a few times. Any questions we need to be asking prior to signing a lease? What other costs should we be taking into account? Do agents help set up utilities etc? 3. Cars - do most people buy cars outright ie cash or finance or lease? My husbands employer provide a monthly allowance of 5500 AED for cars. We will need 2 cars - family car 4x4 eg Toyota Prado or similar and a car for hubby for driving to and from work. Will this be enough to get 2 decent cars? How easy is it to get finance on arrival? Is leasing an easier option? Is it realistic to expect to get a car on finance or lease within first 2 weeks of arriving? 4. Driving - is it as bad as I keep reading? I am a confident driver but getting a bit worried after reading so many bad stories! 5. Car hire - any recommendations of a company to use to hire a car for first couple of weeks? Thanks ladies! I'm sure I'll be back with more questions next week! :-) <em>edited by Laura15 on 19/09/2012</em>
Laura15
19
Posts
EW NEWBIE
Latest post on 27 August 2012 - 13:28
Thanks Sarah Joy! I really should have re-read my post before posting it! I wanted to ask if there are any other communities that we should consider that I didn't mention? Looking forward to getting over there now - although there is so much to do before we leave.
 
 
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