I am close to my family but don't feel at all dependant. We have more family in Australia (who would be very local to us) than we do here.

My wanting to move to Australia really has nothing to do with the weather. It was a negative actually as I gather Beerwah can be unpleasantly hot and humid in the summer! I also have a mozzie allergy and ended up on antibiotics due to cellulitis when I visited last year! I'm hoping if build up a bit of an immunity!
X

I lived on Bribie Island down the road from there for 10 years and know Beerwah well. Aldi opened a store there recently and the area is going to boom when the Citytrain rail is extended to there with a full city timetable.

However that's a couple of years away, and at the moment the area is still a bit "hick". It gets oppressively hot and humid in the summer, no sea breezes. Also it was bypassed by the main highway a couple of decades ago as hubby will attest, so any local business is dependent on local trade, and hanging on the rail improvement, and with the current economic downturn in Queensland I wouldn't be looking to establish a new business.

Hiya!

I found it pretty easy to get anything I needed/wanted when we were there last year. Big shopping centres at Morayfield or Caboolture. Local IGA and Woolies and Aldi pretty basic but necessities catered for. Local pool, schools etc. good.

My husband already owns a row of shops in Beerwah (he's had them for yonks) that he rents out. He's got a career that could be transferred easily and could locum if need be. I won't be working in Australia but will be managing our business here remotely (short term at least).

We live in a small city just outside Cardiff (I have done all my life), everything you could want/need on your doorstep - I could walk to the city centre (should I choose to, which I tend not to tbh) in about 7 mins. I actually want a more basic life. I want the kids to have a garden (our here is not a child friendly space and is small), I want them to ride horses, I what to own chickens, I want to pick fruit (husbands family business), I want to get involved with their schooling, I want them to get to know the other side of the family better.

I'm not a person who complains about British weather at all - I love the seasonal changes. I like the excitement of spring time and the birds singing, the breeze, I LOVE autumn - the leaves falling off the trees, the smell of bonfires burning in the evenings, I like winter with it's cold (freezing) winds when you're all wrapped up with scarves, gloves etc. Waiting for the magic of snow to appear. I like summer (we are having a beautiful one at the mo) - spending my non working days with the kids at the park, local outdoor water play, picnics etc.

I worry I will miss the variation of weather. Hor, hot and more hot doesn't excite me at all.

My best friend lives about 7 hours drive away from me at the mo so only see her about twice a year. I will miss her but will probably speak more as will make more effort. I have a large family I suppose but I'm not close to mAny of them. I have five brothers, only two of which I see "regularly" and by that I mean 4/5 times a year? I have 4 nieces I see just as often. My dad is dead, my grandparents are dead, my mum has her own life - we see each other about once a week and is a bit pointless (not quality time at all, just we are both in the same building for an hour or so). As for everyone else - my DH and I have spent so long working over the past........several years that we don't see people outside work much. There are people I would miss but am thinking Skype will help.

I'm not 100% sure that we're doing the right thing BUT is anybody ever!? Really?! There's so much to think about. I think it's a risk worth taking. As my DH always tells me - very little in life is irreversible.

Sounds like you have a pretty good idea of what it will be like good luck and keep us informed of how it goes for you

Its not all hot hot hot here, today theres lovely blue skies but a chilly 15° right now at 9am.

I pine for the seasons and especially Christmas, some of the things you describe are some of the things I sometimes wish for, its strange because I couldnt care less about them when I was home....My OH is indifferent in that regard.

Small city just outside Cardiff??? Is Newport now a city?

Has been for over 10 years now.

I remember walking up the main street after midnight in the snow- it was the only time the place looked pretty- but then it was the early 1980's, and all that it had going for it was the transporter bridge. I was doing my teaching degree in Cardiff, and my then boyfriend lived in Newport. Went to the rink a few times- not ice, but some plastic stuff which was weird to skate on.

Ha ha!! Yep Newport is indeed a city! There is no High Street anymore. Well, technically there is but it's full of closed/boarded up shops - having lived here all my life it's pretty sad to see (even though I would never choose to go there now).

Graham and Maria - I've been thinking about the seasons again today, totally agree with you, I'd miss winter/Christmas. Every year I go to Bath Chridtmas shopping to the little Christmas market. It's full of pretty little stalls and mulled wine and baileys hot chocolate :-) mmmm. I really can't imagine a hot Christmas!!? That and birthdays I can imagine feeling "homesick".

I love Bath, especially at Christmas - but it is a nightmare to drive there. Have they done anything with that stupid one way system?? The only time I went was on my motorbike, as it was easier to park it. But it was extremely chilly, so sometimes my hands had almost frozen to the handlebars.

We hummed and hawed for years about making the move and have finally done it. It's too early to say how it will work out but we are enjoying it so far.
We are having to start again and don't know anyone, you will have a massive advantage in that your husbands family are there and you will be able to build a house.
Can you get your husband to agree to a years trial on the understanding that you all return if you're not happy?
You sound like you have a good positive attitude and we are finding so far that it goes a long way here in Australia

Hi Kapri,

Pleased you're enjoying it so far - how long have you been there?

I think a years trial is wise. We are thinking it will take a year or so to build and settle into a house so it's a fair timescale. My worry is messing around with the kids schooling. I don't like the idea of them chopping and changing schools. It's weighing that up against taking the risk of all the things we believe they (and us as a whole family) will gain from the move.

I definitely think it is a HUGE advantage having my husbands family nearby. I know it wouldn't work for everyone but I think we will appreciate having them around. I am a VERY sociable person and one of my biggest worries is how I will make friends.

We have only been here a week!
I haven't started work yet and my husband hasn't started looking for work yet so it's too early to say how all that will pan out.
I won't regret giving it a go though, even if things don't work out. It's an itch that had to be scratched.
Good luck with whatever you decide