We applied for our Visas way back in November 2005. Life got in the way and we had all but given up moving to Australia. But as the final leaving date rapidly approached we decided to throw caution to the wind! Jobs were resigned our belongings packed (very stressful - and shippers were crap) and tickets bought. We arrived in Sydney on November 17th stay with a relative for a couple of weeks.

We travelled up to the Gold Coast as we had planned to live somewhere south of Brisbane. Our shipping container arrived weeks before the floods but we could not get to access our belongings due to customs. We had rented a house but we had no furniture so had to buy camp beds to sleep on, and garden chairs and table - we had an interesting Xmas. The Brisbane floods arrived and thankfully after a few days of anxious waiting we were told our container had survived the inundations. A month late our belongings finally arrived. BUT our boat which was also being shipped was due to arrive the same day as the floods hit. We got an e mail saying it had been left port-side in Sydney as Brisbane port was closed!! Panic.... thankfully the Australian importers we had hired were fantastic and it was re shipped to Brisbane later at no extra cost.

As teachers we had expected to be able to get jobs no problem .... wrong!! We now know that teaching jobs in south Brisbane simply don't exist as people simply do not move on.

We had been in Australia for four months and needed to do something radical to get work. We contacted QLD education and simply said where do you want us?

James was offered a job in Dalby (2 hours inland from Brisbane) on Thursday and started the following Monday. He was given an education QLD house and moved in with absolute basics. After a few weeks of commuting to the coast to be with us (me and 2 teenage kids) we decided to break our rental lease move the kids out of the school they were attending and risk all for Dalby! We were not happy but we certainly were not ready to give up and move back to the UK. (Not that we could as all our savings had gone - car, rental deposit and rent as well as basic living and a very weak £.)

That was six months ago and we are planning to stay here for a few more years. I have since got a full time teaching job at the same school and the kids have settled despite moving schools twice in 8months.

The school house is more than adequate and is situated on an agricultural campus with nine other houses. The rent is dirt cheap and our savings are slowly creeping back up again. mostly as there are no restaurants to speak of and any decent shops are at least an hours drive away!

We are not where we wanted to be and the boat is unlikely to see the ocean for a while... but we are doing ok. There is always a silver lining if you look for it and we are now looking at buying an expedition camper and going off road around Australia as we have gotten a taste of the outback. Yee ha!

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