Greetings From A New Member
 

Good Afternoon All,

I hope you are all well?

I just wanted to introduce myself and family as we are all very new to this, I am Emily, my partner is called Hayley and we have two beautiful boys that are almost three. (Yes, double trouble is certainly real!))
For me, I have always had a burning desire to move abroad and when I was a tad younger I always thought America was the destination of my dreams but after having children and considering a few other factors my mindset has switched to Australia due to us having friends other there and the positive stories we have heard and also the lifestyle we can provide our children.
As soon as covid is over, we plan to visit Australia as more of a how it is like to live their visit rather than a holiday.

I was wondering if any of you would mind sharing your stories of emigrating to Australia with younger children please? Any difficulties you faced? Do you miss family? (This is for my partner, I would find the first seats out of here haha)
I am going to be qualified as an CIMA chartered accountant shortly and then have to work towards the years required for work experience so we have a few years of planning towards our potential move. We are also still only just reaching our 30's.
My partner is a Senior nursery nurse and could be part of the furniture at her current workplace.

Thank you all in advance.

Regards,
Emily

Re: Greetings From A New Member
 

First things first - can you get a visa? Accountants are always mooted to be on the verge of being dropped off the list of skills and apparently you need a very high point score to get an invitation as a n accountant and I dont know what nursery nurse would come under - is she a degreed nurse? Nursing is also a bit ho hum at the moment as there are plenty of new graduates being churned out.

As for moving little kids, they usually cope OK as long as they have their family there. They may grow up to resent missing extended family - grandparents, cousins, aunts, uncles etc but unless grandparents are caring for them at the moment and have a particularly strong bond, they should be fine and not even realise that their extended family is on the other side of the world.

We moved when our eldest was 6 months old - didnt bother him in the slightest and some 24 years later he emigrated back and is still there because there were better opportunities for him. And having lived in London he says "after London anything else is going to be boring" so I dont see Australia ever being back on his radar.

Missing family? yes and no. My folk never guilted me which is a plus and they made a choice to come and stay for 6 months a year for 15 years until they were too old to do so. Back in the day, it was more a case of "out of sight, out of mind" which worked quite well. I think a lot of people have more trouble these days because rather than having to write a letter and wait a week for it to arrive and another week for an answer, they are, via FB, FT, IG etc still enmeshed in the lives they have left behind and that can be disturbing. As my parents grew older, being an only child, I missed them much more and was very concerned about their wellbeing on their own, with increasing frailty and vulnerability. We ended up going back for nearly 9 years until early this year to care for them. Whilst I didnt miss "family" that much really, what I did miss was not belonging. Australia is a foreign country on the other side of the world, the colours are different, the humour is different, there's a lot of sameness about it and (yeah I know the Aboriginals have history) the history didnt have relevance to me - I am an alien and always will be I'm afraid.

End of the day, Australia is just another first world country with just the same problems as any other first world country. Nothing magical about it really, you still have to clean the oven, go to work, pay the bills and kids will be kids the world over, it wont be miraculously better than what you have now but it will be different in some respects and just the same in others.

Re: Greetings From A New Member
 

Definitely visit before paying out for visas. We moved out when our girls were 13 and 10. Eleven years later the eldest moved back to the UK. Currently out of work due to COVID but happy with the boyfriend. Whether she ever comes back for more than a visit is unknown. Youngest now 25 has no intention of moving back but I've always said never say never. Happy here but was happy there. Our lifestyle is pretty much what it was in the UK except I don't suffer the four/five month winter greys and I did suffer badly health wise. There again, many many people suffer here with the summer, thankfully I don't.

Research, research, research. Don't take your friends' word for their lives, what they say may not scan with what they really feel and do. When you come over to see for yourself, go somewhere where you don't know anyone. It'll feel less of a holiday.

Re: Greetings From A New Member
 

Thank you very much for your honest reply, when i spoke to an Migration officer apparently yes I can get a visa and my points were around 95 which is apparently high enough to get one but I appreciate as I am looking for in a few years time this could all change. My partner does not have a degree no so I do not think we could get a visa based on her experience either, it would fall on my profession.
What makes it a bit more different is I specialise in Inventory accounting which is a little bit trickier in getting a visa I imagine.
Could anyone advise a good migration agent to speak to please? I want to be able to get legitimate advise so I can plan for the future?

The main reason for wanting to move is for the outdoor lifestyle, I am not very good with cold weather and I would love to be able to wake up and say to my children lets go to the beach today or lets do something and hopefully not have it affected my the UK's bipolar weather. Also I appreciate not to take what I have been told by friends but I have so many there telling fantastic stories it is hard not to be wanting that theoretical dream too.

Thank you for your time again.

Re: Greetings From A New Member
 

Thank you for your reply also, I think you pretty much hit the nail on the head. I suffer terribly in the winter months, it is like a black cloud comes over me and that is it but put me in 40degrees (Orlando weather) and I cannot be happier. I can appreciate a four week holiday is most probably different living in it day in day out but I am sure I can acclimatise.
As soon as this terrible virus is gone, we will be visiting just us as a family and we have started researching non holiday things to go and see just to get an idea.

It is a lot to take in potentially moving to the over side of the world but it is something I have always wanted to do and the feeling never goes away, hopefully can make it a reality soon enough :)