KJCherokee

There have been lots of posts on here recently talking about the "risk" of emigrating to Australia which set me wondering why people decide to come in the first place. So can we have some posts which answer the following questions.

1. What made you first think about emigrating?
2. When did this happen? (Obviously the drivers are different now to 50-60 years ago!)
3. Did (do) you intend to stay permanently or go back after a few years?
4. Did (do) you know what you are coming to?
5. Do you think you made the right decision?

My answers:

In 1981-2 I was in a good job, but one which had very little prospect of promotion unless someone above me died. I was working on a trading estate and living in a modern 3-bed terrace on a brand new development. My wife was working evenings to help pay the mortgage which had gone from 8% to 15% in a short space of time. I was applying for other jobs, but they would all have involved working and living in similar areas, albeit in different counties. So we decided to look at emigrating and applied to Australia and got accepted. After a fair amount of "shall we, shan't we" we finally bit the bullet, sold the house, bought the tickets and arrived in January 1983. No job to come to, and Australia was in a mini recession, but I managed to pick up a couple of temporary fill-in jobs before landing a permanent one.

We always intended to make it a permanent move - we had sold everything in the UK so to come back would have been the same as coming out in the first place. And we are both still here (although no longer married to each other) and our daughters, who were 5 & 3 when we came, are also married and consider themselves Australian rather than British.

We really had no idea what we were coming to - our concept of Australia was Bondi Beach and kangaroos - and when we were being driven from the airport by our friends (an Australian couple who had been studying in the UK and living on the same housing estate) and saw all the houses with corrugated iron roofs we wondered if we had made a big mistake! But within a year we had made friends (having young school-age children is a great way of making friends at the school gate), had a permanent job, were buying a house (with a tin roof!) and had started Phase II of our lives (Phase III if you think of getting married as Phase II).

As far as I am concerned we made the right decision and I've never regretted it - except for when my mother died after a period in a hospice with terminal cancer and due to recent divorce/lack of money/changing jobs and states I didn't get back either before she died or for the funeral. Whether my ex-wife feels the same I don't know but she is married again to an Australian (as I am)and seems reasonably content. The girls of course don't know any different as they have spent all their school and married lives in Australia.

What conclusions do I draw from all this that may be of use to others? basically that no-one can advise you whether to emigrate or not - that decision, and how successful it may be, is down to you and you alone. What works for one person/couple/family will be totally inapplicable to the next one. No-one else can evaluate the 'risk' of leaving one life for another for you - only you can do that. Forum posters can tell you how it was for them, and can answer factual questions regarding costs, facilities, schools, etc, but you have to make your own decisions from those facts.

Steps down off soapbox and exits stage left.

Zen10

We cannot pinpoint this, despite many chats about it. It just sort of evolved out of travelling abroad on holidays etc.

As I said we always sort of talked about it. I guess nearly 20 years ago or thereabouts.

Yes, we intend on making Australia our permanent home, and hopefully where we will retire. However, we both intend on spending some time (years) in the UK at some point so kids and grandparents can spend more time together. This trip back will be temporary no matter what's in our hearts because we are not naive and are realists at the end of day.

Yes, we had both travelled a lot abroad and both have family all over the place so we had a broad idea.
Yes indeed. Not regretted it for a moment.

Dorothy

My answers above

jothefw

I was thinking just the same when I checked in on the forum this morning, too much doom and gloom for me!!

We first thought about emigrating in 2001 - my husband was made redundant and we had a "what shall we do next" conversation with some research, mainly into France and Canada at that stage.

It was a no at that stage but in early 2006 an Aussie job took my husbands eye in the trade press and he said he was going to apply for it. We weren't in a rutt, we didn't come for the glory days of a good exchange rate, we had no cash to bring and lost money on a house sale we eventually made (I say eventually as it took nearly 3 years to sell the flipping thing )

We intend to stay. That's it, no ifs, buts, maybes.

We didn't really know what we were coming to, hadn't visited Australia before, accept for the job interview.

The decision question is probably answered by the fact that we plan to stay. Yes for us, it has been the right decision. There's been hard times, but there would've been in England. The opportunities have been amazing, question whether I could say the same in Cambridgeshire. We've travelled all over Australia, outback, coastal, snow fields, you name it - we love it all. Couldn't have faced the crowds, congestion in UK to do the same.

Our children are our successes and failures, as parents, I look at my two boys and think we've done an amazing job, they're a pleasure to spend time with and I'm proud of the people they are becoming. I suspect, I would've had more challenges to say this in rural England.

Immigrating is a risk (as so many thread titles start) but it's what you make it - well it's what we make it, and we love it!

Reading that back through it sounds like I've been on the vino but I am passionate about what we've chosen to do!

brissybee

I was a minor and the decision to come to Australia was made by a parent, too long ago.

We were naturalised asap and I guess that means it was intended to be permanent.

I didn't have a clue about what we were coming to other than Australia had kangaroos, koalas and spc peaches.

I don't think it was the right decision.

Margaret3

Think i was just bored really, god not much of a reason, bored and having a midlife crisis.
I definately did not think it through.....when the house actually sold i bottled it and didnt want to go but felt things had gone too far by then.
Looking back we were very immature and naive about the whole situation, but being here has sure made us grow up financially and personally.

I dont feel we made the right decision but now its all spiraled outta control here and we will have to sit it out for at least another 5 years, which will make it 10 years in total.

neil248

Came on holiday Dec 2004 staying with a family rather than hotels etc.

Wife decided she wanted to live here, I was easy but saw it as an adventure.

I said get PR then and we will go permanently.

She did so we are here, arrived March 2006

Had a good idea of what we were coming to.

Was the right decision on most counts

jad n rich

I came to australia because of a relationship with a aussie. I had never had any desire to move to Australia, it was simply where partner was from.

How I feel about it depends on the year. There have been years/stages I have loved and some that had I not been in a family group of 5 I would simply got on a plane and never came back. But with a family you are not at liberty to up and leave as you fancy.

Stay or leave? Regret? I have never ever felt aussie, and only one of my sons says he feels partly aussie. You cant regret because you cant undo, Its just somewhere we spent a huge chunk of our working life.

Did I know what I was coming too, no bloody way!! Aussies do the biggest rose tinted spin on the mother land when overseas They would die for the southern cross, usually not even knowing what shape it is that sort of stuff. Partner still goes into you beaudy mode when overseas and spots another aussie, they are a patriotic bunch, despite moaning constantly about the country once back here. Lot of spin, climate was the worst shock, its touted as one of aussies best points, IMO its the worst, harsh climate, devastating weather events and the UV is not for the fair!

Right decision, TBH probably not but I was involved with an aussie..... blah de blah...

But to be fair, Australia Has been very very good to me in many ways, we were here in the ' lucky years ', I am not stupid I know what we achieved here, and that may not have been so easy elsewhere.

jad n rich

OMG

Margaret3

yep i know......should've gone to night school or taken up a hobby instead, lol

KJCherokee

Thanks for all the replies - I think these posts give prospective emigrants a good insight into what changing countries of residence involves. Keep them coming!

nicolac34

1. What made you first think about emigrating?

My mother always held Australia in high regard - this wonderful dream like place she visited in her youth and missed out on moving to because she married my dad. I guess it rubbed off on me, I visited on a 6 week holiday in 2004 and loved it (I was 21 and doing the Contiki thing) and always hankered to come back but never thought I'd get the chance. My OH got made redundant for the second time in 2 years and we just thought, 'what the hell', packed a bag and set off on WHV's for a year.

2. When did this happen? (Obviously the drivers are different now to 50-60 years ago!)

June 2011 - got our PR in May 2012.

3. Did (do) you intend to stay permanently or go back after a few years?

We only intended to come for a year! But my Company offered sponsorship so it seemed like too good a deal to turn down. My OH really wants to go back to England, this goes from in 5 years time to in 10 years time depending on his mood.

4. Did (do) you know what you are coming to?

Sort of. I'd been before, but a 21 year old coming on a boozy holiday is a bit different to coming to live!

5. Do you think you made the right decision?

Totally. We had no commitments in the UK, no house (and no chance of being able to save a deposit to get one), no kids, no immediate family and friends living near us and my OH had no job. Here we have good careers, good friends, and hope to buy our first house in the next couple of months

Margaret3

Well bloomin goodonya

Dreamy

I'd pondered on emigrating during a previous relationship, but that would have been to Canada. We never even considered emigrating until Himself was contacted by an agent (he works in the rail industry and his skills are in demand). Once we realised it was a real possibility we became quite enamoured with the idea!

First contacted at the back end of 2006 (I think - whenever it was I became a member here ) Several interviews for different companies came and went and Himself was offered a job in June 2007 on a 457. It took months for the visa to come through and we finally moved here at the beginning of January 2008.

We came with the intention of staying if we loved it (subject to being able to get PR)... fortunately we all (us and three mid-teens) settled in really well and when the opportunity arose we were sponsored for PR and now we're just waiting for our citizenship ceremony.

As much as you can do without having lived in the country beforehand (and not just visiting). This forum was incredibly helpful in removing a lot of the rose tints but I don't think anything really, really prepares you fully!

Definitely.

Having said that, I don't know if we'd still move out here today without the benefit of the equity in our house and with the exchange rate being what it is. Well, we probably would, but we'd definitely have more contingencies in place.

Alfresco

1. What made you first think about emigrating?

My Wife (and the UK weather )

We wanted to emigrate to Oz or NZ more than 20 years ago before we got married but couldn't get in because we were young and just starting out. So we forgot all about it completely. We then pinged to the UK from South Africa in 1996 for a year, then ponged back to S.A. We then pinged again to the UK in 2001. (Shipping everything each time - $$$$$$$$$$)

Then a few years ago in the UK, my wife got itchy feet and asked me how I would feel about moving to Australia. I said that I would move there tomorrow, if I could, and I asked her how on earth she planned get us there. She had done some research beforehand and had found an agency that said we could get possibly get in on a 175 PR visa.

2. When did this happen? (Obviously the drivers are different now to 50-60 years ago!)

A few years ago.


3. Did (do) you intend to stay permanently or go back after a few years?

Stay permanently.


4. Did (do) you know what you are coming to?

Yes, mostly.


5. Do you think you made the right decision?

Absolutely.