Attending immigration seminar

As a layman to the migration process, we decided to attend a free seminar held by a migration company. In order to have a personal consultation after the session, a $200 fee has to be paid. 

We attended 2 seminars (New Zealand and Australia) and signed up for 2 consultations. It is through the consultation that we realized that the application to New Zealand will not be straight forward. I worked in the public sector and my work qualification is not useful at all in the entire migration process. Therefore we are dependent on my husband, who is a teacher and his teaching skill are likely to be in demand.

In order to apply a PR directly to New Zealand via the teaching route, he has to secure a teaching job first. However it is almost impossible for him to find the job while in Singapore. The alternative route will be for him to apply the Australia PR which he has a higher chance of getting. Once the Australia PR is attained, he could then apply to New Zealand.

Interesting isn't it? Since it is easier to get the Australia visa, then why not go to Australia instead? We had a good impression of Australia, especially Melbourne during our vacation. 

After attending the Australia seminar and speaking to the consultant and finding out more about Australia and Melbourne, we decided to proceed with the application. 

First step, DIY or engage agent?

Now we have decided to migrate, the next step is how to go about doing it. There were 2 options, either we do it ourselves through research or engage an immigration agent.

Both methods have their pros and cons. To do it ourselves save the cost of engaging an agent. People have done it before, thus it is definitely achievable. However this requires a great amount of effort to ensure what we did is correct so that time and money is not wasted on re-submissions or re-applications

In the end, we decided to go with an agent as taking care of 2 young children takes up too much time. While we spend the money on the agent, we can be assured that our submissions are checked and we need not lose any sleep thinking of we have submitted the application correctly. 

Thus far, our experience with our agent has been pleasant and the procedures have gone smoothly without hiccups. We have already gotten the invitation to apply and is waiting to start the visa application. 

Decision to leave

I am an ordinary working mum in Singapore, with 2 lovely daughters and a caring husband. Why did we decide to leave Singapore? When I was pregnant with my 2nd daughter last year, my husband and I were discussing about the future plans for our family and we realized the following:

1. We don't own anything! We are a typical middle income family with a HDB and one car. We seem to have it comfortable until we realized our HDB is on a 99 year lease which we are left with 2/3 of the lease. Our car's COE will expire in 2009 and to get a new one, it will cost another 100k or so for just 10 years! What assets do we own that we can pass down to our children? Nothing! 

2. Stressful education system. I would rather my children enjoy playing more during their childhood days instead of focusing on getter good grades from P1. However I know that I will succumb to parenting norms here of sending them to academic enrichment classes and tuitions eventually if I stay. One may not necessarily make it in life if they do well academically in Singapore but the chances of surviving is even lesser if they do not have the qualification. It doesn't help that their future depends largely on their PSLE scores at the age of 12.

3. Work life balance is not applicable here. I feel this strongly as a working mum. While I really wish to spend more time with my children, I can't do more. The fact that I have to handle work matters during my maternity leave tells you how much balance I can have.

4. High medical cost. It costs me $240 in 2 days when both of my girls fell sick together. How about that. 

5. I just want a simple family life where I can stay home and take care of my children when they are growing up instead of them growing up in infant/childcare/after school care or in the hands of helpers. I can't achieve that here due to high medical, insurance and vehicle cost. The best I could do is to take 1 or 2 year no pay leave while eating into my savings. This is not the long term solution.

Yes, I am getting disgruntled about life here. The alternative route is to leave. I do not know if life will really be better and it is definitely risky to leave what I have built here and venture into a foreign country. But if I never try, I will never know. So we decided, let's give it a shot. We are just half way there, hopefully we will complete our move by next year. 

A new journey begins

After living 35 years in Singapore, I have decided to leave for Melbourne, Australia. The decision was not easy as I had to grapple with many sacrifices and life changing decisions. What awaits me is the great unknown and I want to share my experience of my migration in this blog.

I am a mother of 2 lovely daughters. The elder is turning 4 this year, and the other turning 1 this year. I suppose this blog can help many Singaporean Mothers who decide to leave SG for other countries.

My journey started in September 2015, when I made a life changing decision to attend a seminar on migrating to New Zealand. Moving to New Zealand was one of my husband's choices as he enjoyed the great outdoors and he loves nature. However, our decision changed when we attended the seminar and did some research on New Zealand. The reason why we opted for Melbourne is because Auckland property prices are really high. Secondly, there are many earthquakes in NZ. In addition, the is a requirement for us to obtain an Australian PR before we can be considered for NZ. Given so many restrictions, we decided to stick to Melbourne.

Melbourne City

My hubby and I visited Melbourne and Perth. What attracted us were the beautiful greenery, the vibrant arts culture and yes, lots of fresh air. People are generally courteous and polite to each other. While driving in Melbourne, we realized that people rarely honk at each other and respect each other's lane of travel.