My cousin moved permanently to Australia recently, he has managed to get himself a permanent resident visa and everything. Anyway, I was looking at Australias immigrations laws and apparently if I have a first cousin there (he is a first cousin) he can sponsor me in to the country to live there permanently also. I have never been there so I cant say, but if any of you had the opportunity to move there permanently would you take it, and is life better there than in the UK? The weather is much warmer there and that is one major plus for me.

See the thread here for some comments and feedback which may be of use.

Australia is a very big place fella. You can't really generalise the whole of Australia. Each state varies with it's own pro's & con's and weather!

Some people love it, some people don't. It all comes down to the individual and what they want.

We're lucky and have visited several times over many years. This has given us the confidence to know our move is a good choice. I can't imagine doing what some people do and moving around the would to somewhere they've never been.

It also amazes me to see people mid-application, but with no idea where they want to go in Australia.

I would suggest:

• A visit if you can, but a 'life experience' visit - not a holiday.
• Investigate the different states, and decide which sounds better to you
• Make a 'wishlist' of why you want to move, and then put this to people to see if your being realistic.

Cheers,

We've never been, but I took a job to go out to Brizzy, and we are going, thats me, my wife, and two children.

I see it that until you live there, you wont know.

Our container went today, and we land on 8th of Feb.

It cant be any worse than this dump that they used to call Great Britain.

ARe you sitting on milk crates and eating fish n chips ?

Does that mean your stuff will arrive before you? Our stuff goes the day before us!

Mandy

We are sat having a Chinese in my front room, on my parent patio furniture, and the kids are asleep on cushions from their caravan

Our furniture was loaded on to the container today, sails on Friday and lands in Brizzy on 25th of January ! ! !

I'd never been here before we moved 8 months ago. However, I saw it as a bit of an adventure and a chance to do something different and see a new part of the world - I never had a gap-year, still don't have kids, so wanted to take the opportunity for myself. Remember that becoming PR doesn't mean you have to live here forever. Thinking about it like that (forever or never) can actually drive you crazy!
If it's just you that you have to consider, and you fancy making the move and can afford to spend the money on it (without being broke afterwards) then go for it - what have you got to lose? If you can't really afford it, or it might destroy your relationship, or there are kids to consider, or elderly sick relatives - then think long and hard before doing anything hasty.
There's a whole heap more advice on these forums, have a browse and it should give you plenty of food for thought. Good luck!

UK is a great country, many things are better in the UK than Oz, but the weather drags it down and keeps it stuck in the middle ages. I wouldn't emmigrate for negative reasons such as thug culture, high prices, etc. There are more or less the same number of negatives in every country and these can be changed, plus its good to stay and put up a fight to help change these things.

Something that cannot be changed is the weather and I think a lot of people in the UK underestimate how much we need the sun to survive and progress. I don't think its healthy to live in the UK with so little sun, especially with increasing indoor jobs, a few holidays a year just doesn't cut it. As time goes on we'll realise how important good weather is for our health and we'll see more reports like this. You and your future familys health aside, people just generally better in nice weather, people are slightly more positive and energetic. This helps the country grow and progress faster, just look at the statistics or the views in Oz's city. There's other stuff, but you get the point... UK is nice country but Oz has overtaken it and the gap is widening.

Well said Jessy,

I'm not moving to Aus for the "weather" - but I do beleave that the weather is what makes the people their generally happier and more friendly.

Everything looks nicer under a blue sky - even the UK. How much happier is everyone in the UK when the suns out!

My Mrs reckons I suffer from SAD, and has noticed a general dip in my mood since it's got cold and dark. Driving too and from work in the dark and spending all day indoors sucks.

I visited a couple of schools in Aus this August (i'm a teacher) and I loved the way every classroom door led to outside - no inside corridors!

...huh? That's a pretty bizarre statement. Many of the most socially, technologically and economically advanced countries are in northern Europe - didn't the Danes come out as the 'happiest' country? Weather is not the be all and end all and whether or not a climate suits you is purely a matter for the individual.....the entire population of the UK is not miserable because it rains every second day.

I'm not saying that a climate like here in Brisbane doesn't open up a whole lot of opportunities but I'd gladly trade a months worth of sunny days for some of the less tangible things that make the UK attractive - just a month though!

Do you not think that they would be happier if it were sunny though?


The 'outside' lifestyle has it's drawbacks of course. It can be 'too hot' in places. There are flys and bites to get used to. There are no 'late light nights' in Aus. Some places long for a bit of rain just to raise water levels...

It's light until about 8:30pm here in SA just now. Which is late enough for me

Some of them would be........I used to live in Aberdeen so I know all about SAD...it was estimated that 10% of people suffered from this during the Winter there. The converse was Summer...they may not have been hot (or even warm) but you could look forward to a few hours of usable light after work.....not so in Qld (at any time of the year), although the Southern States are much better.

The point I was trying to make is that I think this idea about Australians being so happy due to their climate is overdone. I think its a national characteristic of both Brits and Aussies that they like a good whinge - I did see an obviously very scientific survey once that rated the UK 1st and Aus either 2nd or 3rd in the world whinging stakes. Personally, in charcater terms I think Aussies are VERY similar to Brits...despite their climatic differences.

I agree. It is lovely to see the sun so much (and it is depressing sometimes in England when it's constantly dark), but in terms of health it's not good to have too much exposure - speaking from experience, it's perfectly possible to get burnt within a couple of hours even on an overcast day in the rain! And regarding the temperature, yes it's nice when it's warm, but when it's HOT it can make people feel exhausted, irritable, dehydrated>headaches etc, plus you've got the insects, and the constant stickiness from coating yourself in lotions & potions....
And the drought has led to a frightening amount of depression & suicide in some areas, and price rises elsewhere. The aussie climate is not all that friendly when you think about it!