The big move - is it really going to be worth it????

[chelle+james 0]

Yeah well Lynjer and I have become close friends and we have discussed this often and are both feeling that our lives here are not what we expected. We have bought a house here in Georgia and ever since we have we have no money. The monthly bills are ridiculous so much so I have cut cable bill in half by changing it, my husband would be earning so much more if we were back home than what he is here but it is a government job and hence I came to him.

Medical here is ok but we don't get the coverage like I did back home for family. I was covered for glasses the lot but here it is specific things and even though we get cheaper as he is a veteran it's just not the same.

No family and friends to just visit . The shopping here is so different but admit cheap. I am 54 and am a homemaker but now because we are struggling with bills I am looking for other ways to make money as all the money I brought to this country is gone spent on getting my husband out of debt from when he was single and gone inot just living .

Even though I am not that unhappy here life is just so more pleasant back in OZ and NO we don't have guns in OZ. I hate that idea here too, no wonder crime is so high.

I miss my daughters so much more now too that I am here and not being able to just have coffee with friends or go visit my girls.

I love my husband but hope too one day I can convince him to come back to OZ as I really don't want to die here alone.

I totally understand how you feel.... hope you guys can make it back to Oz!!

[lynJer 7]

Hard to turn away from an adventure...but it all comes crushing down upon you wen you start missing your mates back home....and they miss you too....post grad degree's in commerce....10 years experience in the industry plus miliatry experience but Im not a us citizen and that goes against you here.....so damned if Im working for under 100k....was on 150k back home....so unless I head to NYC to work....I dont have a lot of decent opportunities here....my 60k savings is gone in getting over here and I cant even afford a ticket to go back home for a week or two....so....my international management degree, and my international working experience that I have through working in another country apart from australia isnt really cutting it here...

Yeah....sweetheart is worth being with...but you gotta have a big think guys about coming over here....I suggest bc australia is doing so well these days....that your better option...if you future spouse agrees...is STAY IN OZ.......sometimes it isnt an option....but if it is....then look into it BIG TIME...

[Deb+Steve 13]

I hear you ... it was one of the things most on my mind just before I made the move. DH is in the military and is only 18 months away from retirement so that's why I moved. Fortunately, his rank allows me to stay home and we don't have to worry financially but I fear for when he does retire. The only jobs I am really qualified for are usually with DoD contractors and I am not a citizen yet. I wonder if it will be worth it to file by then because he'll be so close to retirement. I'm lucky that he understands the way of life in Aus and how blessed I was that he is willing to move.

I gave up everything so he could finish out his career so he feels that he should reciprocate. I do believe that at some point in the future we will be heading back to Aus.

[Adrian-Danielle 12]

Hi guys, Its my first post here and im really glad i found this forum. I can totally understand how everybody feels. Im from Sydney and ive been with my American girlfriend for about 3 years now and we are thinking about getting engaged and applying for the K1 fiance visa. Of those 3 years i have been living in Toronto - Canada for nearly 2 years (spent 2 years in England prior to coming to Canada). I met my girlfriend in Spain while backpacking and she lives in Long beach in New york which i have visited well over 20 times and spent months there at a time and its an awesome town right on the beach and only 45mins to NYC and i have no problem moving there but what scares me most is just the job security. Im an electrician by trade and licensed in Australia and Canada and my license isnt really recognised in the states and im worried about what ill do for a job as i dont really want to do a 7 year apprenticeship again. And the wages are so much lower - (45k-50k) a year. And just the distance will be hard from family and friends....it is tough isnt it!

Also i have a question about getting married? - How did you guys go about planning a wedding when the time line about getting approval varies so much from people to people?

Thanks guys...

[Travis and Meghan 24]

If you want to have a big traditional wedding or something like then then i would probably plan on having two weddings, a small (possibly courthouse wedding) when you get there so you can file the paperwork etc and then a bigger one later on. A lot of people do that, it's so hard to plan a big wedding when you don't even know when you'll be back there, lol. If you do though, don't make any plans that aren't refundable

My husband and i just had a really small simple wedding about a month after i got here. Even though i only had a couple family members there it was still wonderful. When i got my visa in hand he went ahead and paid the deposit for the place we were looking at and we just sent out a facebook invite....reception was easy, we went to ihop, lol

[lynJer 7]

Yes we were goingto do courthouse then big wedding too....but did a mini wedding...I would like to renew our vows wen we head to Australia next so that my family will be there.....hopefully heading back for xssy this year...

Long island NYC is u beaut....and yes u r right re the wages for trades....it's bc of this recession....can u move to montreal Canada quebic.....that's about three hours from NYC...?? Supposed to be like a mini Paris apparently. My daughter wants me to take her there for her 18h b/day.....( I wonder why) hehe

[Orando 57]

If you want to have a big traditional wedding or something like then then i would probably plan on having two weddings, a small (possibly courthouse wedding) when you get there so you can file the paperwork etc and then a bigger one later on. A lot of people do that, it's so hard to plan a big wedding when you don't even know when you'll be back there, lol. If you do though, don't make any plans that aren't refundable

My husband and i just had a really small simple wedding about a month after i got here. Even though i only had a couple family members there it was still wonderful. When i got my visa in hand he went ahead and paid the deposit for the place we were looking at and we just sent out a facebook invite....reception was easy, we went to ihop, lol

Nice, IHOP reception!!!

[Adrian-Danielle 12]

Travis and Meghan - my girlfriend mentioned we should just go to the courthouse and get married with just her immediate family then we can plan our big wedding (dont know how my girlfriend will be able to keep that a secret from her friends ha)but i always thought that was a bit cheap but it sounds like its the most logical....

LynJer - Yeah there could be worse places to live in the states than on Long Island(Long beach), its really nice there - i saw another poster who moved from Aus to Buffalo Ny - ha if my girlfriend lived in buffalo - i wouldnt have moved there in a million years!!! Oh and Montreal to NYC is about 6-7 hr drive.

[Travis and Meghan 24]

yeah, and after all of the visa and moving stress...it is really nice to do something that's not stressful so a small wedding is kind of perfect, lol.

ahaha, yeppp, ihop, they were great. They set up an area outside for us all and let us bring our own cake and have music

[Amanda and Josh 12]

We went CR1 visa and had a big wedding here with all my friends and family. I figured I was moving over there for him so my friends and family were going to get an awesome wedding!! Now he wants me to do it all again when I get there lol

[milopnkr 0]

Interesting post. I originally migrated to Australia to join my husband. But after two years we are moving back to the states for the same reasons you mention NOT to move to the states. I could not find a job in Australia. For 2 years. And I have a doctorate and a profession on the skilled migration list!

The 'boom' you speak of is nice and totally a positive if you are apart of it, but unfortunately I am not. And lets face it, the boom happening in WA is propping up the rest of Australia... had it not been for that boom at just the right time, Australia would be in a recession too. Medicare is a nice bonus in Australia but that cant last long and again it's WA that is paying the bills for the rest of the country--can you tell that we are from Perth? Like every boom in history, there will be a crash... I dread to see what else will tumble when the boom dies off.

On the job front: I get paid twice in America than what I would have earned in Australia (had I been able to find a job). I feel like the US values education and experience. And it's a lot easier to move up the professional ladder if that's what you want to do. Pay in the US is very competitive and opportunities are limitless if you are qualified. In Australia, this was definitely not the case. So yeah, I am a bit bitter that someone in Australia who doesn't even graduate from high school can earn just as much or multiples of what I do (see how much a truck driver earns in the mines). I'm not saying that these high waged people are not needed or valued, but where is the motivation to pursue further knowledge?

Cost of living is through the roof in Australia and as a pharmacist and lawyer, my husband and I could not save enough money for a down payment. Housing prices have tripled in price over the past 5-10 years. And homeowners actually believe this trend will continue... hmm this sounds just like what homeowners were saying before USA's housing market crash. A report came out right before I moved back to the USA about a month ago that teachers, police officers, and nurses are priced out of the housing market in Perth--and these are the people you want to live next to!

Yes, lifestyle is definitely a lot better over in Australia only if you can afford it... We were living paycheck to paycheck in a crappy little apartment.

The grass isn't always greener on the other side. That's why we are back in the USA. But it really depends on what you are looking for in life... for our situation, the USA is a far better option.

[alex and astrid 38]

I immigrated to the US because I had the least to lose. Alex was halfway through his degree already, I had not yet started...plus a lot of other things. My parents were willing to help us with our whole journey, his parents were not and are still really not supportive. We've been married two years (next week yay!) and been a couple coming up seven years. We certainly didn't rush into it. We are happy in the US, and there are good and bad things about both countries. I do miss the money I earned working back home though, I feel like my quality of life was slightly higher. I also miss medicare! And of course my family. But, I have family here too, and friends. This is home.

So, having said all this, Alex is doing his Ph.D right now, and after he finishes this degree in 2016, he has promised that he will apply for jobs in both countries. So we shall see where that takes us! We would be happy in either country.

[Lainie B 465]

Interesting post. I originally migrated to Australia to join my husband. But after two years we are moving back to the states for the same reasons you mention NOT to move to the states. I could not find a job in Australia. For 2 years. And I have a doctorate and a profession on the skilled migration list!

The 'boom' you speak of is nice and totally a positive if you are apart of it, but unfortunately I am not. And lets face it, the boom happening in WA is propping up the rest of Australia... had it not been for that boom at just the right time, Australia would be in a recession too. Medicare is a nice bonus in Australia but that cant last long and again it's WA that is paying the bills for the rest of the country--can you tell that we are from Perth? Like every boom in history, there will be a crash... I dread to see what else will tumble when the boom dies off.

On the job front: I get paid twice in America than what I would have earned in Australia (had I been able to find a job). I feel like the US values education and experience. And it's a lot easier to move up the professional ladder if that's what you want to do. Pay in the US is very competitive and opportunities are limitless if you are qualified. In Australia, this was definitely not the case. So yeah, I am a bit bitter that someone in Australia who doesn't even graduate from high school can earn just as much or multiples of what I do (see how much a truck driver earns in the mines). I'm not saying that these high waged people are not needed or valued, but where is the motivation to pursue further knowledge?

Cost of living is through the roof in Australia and as a pharmacist and lawyer, my husband and I could not save enough money for a down payment. Housing prices have tripled in price over the past 5-10 years. And homeowners actually believe this trend will continue... hmm this sounds just like what homeowners were saying before USA's housing market crash. A report came out right before I moved back to the USA about a month ago that teachers, police officers, and nurses are priced out of the housing market in Perth--and these are the people you want to live next to!

Yes, lifestyle is definitely a lot better over in Australia only if you can afford it... We were living paycheck to paycheck in a crappy little apartment.

The grass isn't always greener on the other side. That's why we are back in the USA. But it really depends on what you are looking for in life... for our situation, the USA is a far better option.

It's interesting to hear the other perspective to this discussion! I agree that house prices are insanely high in Australia right now, and mortgage rates are very high there too compared to the US. I wouldn't even dream of trying to buy a house there at the moment, and as you say it can't last forever. I think people tend to focus on what seems more expensive - I look at the price of some things here thinking they are so much lower back in Australia, but tend to forget about all the things that are cheaper in the US(like gas, clothes, books, a drivers license). The same goes for my husband - when he visited Australia he would focus on what seemed to him to be so much more expensive in Australia compared with what he is used to - such as a meal at a restaurant, but I had to keep reminding him that there's no tipping to factor in!

But the wages are sooooo much lower here, at least where I am. I also have a doctorate and I have a good job but I still earn half what I would earn in Australia, and I don't get any retirement/superannuation. I guess it varies a lot within the US. I know I would get paid a lot more in a different state (but then rent would be much higher).

All in all, the grass always does seem greener. I try not to focus on the $$$ and see it as an adventure.

[Amanda and Josh 12]

yeah I am seeing it all as an adventure at this point. At the end of the day I am Australian and can always come home and start again.

[Deb+Steve 13]

LynJer - Yeah there could be worse places to live in the states than on Long Island(Long beach), its really nice there - i saw another poster who moved from Aus to Buffalo Ny - ha if my girlfriend lived in buffalo - i wouldnt have moved there in a million years!!! Oh and Montreal to NYC is about 6-7 hr drive.

That would be me ... Buffalo isn't so bad , it's only 45 mins to Ikea and an hour and a half to Toronto. We got married in Las Vegas and we did the CR-1. Suited both of us because I had so much to tie up in Aus with my house and job etc. and after adding up the time and money it would take for the K1, it was worth it. All up it was 11 months with us slowing it down at the NVC stage for about 2 months and we added a month because I wanted him to visit before I moved.

As for the electrical licencing, I know a friend of mine had issues because apparently in NY state each city issues its own. It's not statewide. Best of luck with your journey.