Originally Posted by Lisa Cameron

I agree he has to be 100% committed, we have always talked about moving abroad, he even thought about trying for a post in Cyprus, to be honest before we went to Australia, I was so nervous about the flight and excited about seeing my family, that I didn't really think about Australia...

Originally Posted by mavine1

Well good luck I hope it works out for the best. We hope to go in 18 months and I hope by then the job market will be better in OZ. Even when you get your visa you then have to find work and the credit crunch is global!

Originally Posted by Lisa Cameron

Thank you! we have lots of talking to do lol...

what do you do? I'm lucky being a hairdresser, everyone still needs their hair cut and Brides need to look good on their day, most woman will cut down on other stuff, just to get their hair done.

Originally Posted by mavine1

I gave up working a year ago but I was an Office Manager. My husband is a Senior IT Manager and the IT world in Oz is not very vibrant in Oz at the moment from what we understand. We hope by the time we go things will have picked up! We are heading for Perth by the way. Looking at areas from Hillary's up to Joondalup. Where is your brother?

Originally Posted by Hutch

Not one for bursting anyone's balloon because I think Oz is a great country. However - couple of things to consider:
1) Seems to me, having read many tales of woe on these forums over the years (and in my own experience), that unless both parties in a relationship are 100% fully committed to building a new life abroad, then you're headed for disaster. Quite often the whole marriage breaks down and, in the worst cases, families are left split across the planet. So, while you may cajole your old man into moving, unless his heart's really in it - you're just making trouble for yourself and your family.
2) You came out to Oz on holiday for three weeks. You saw family you haven't seen in ages. The sun shone, the kids had fun, you enjoyed plenty of cool glasses of lovely Australian wine. But that is a holiday - not life. You say you fell in love with your brother's family's lifestyle - but what you actually saw was them on holiday, not working, running the kids to school, paying the bills,doing all the tedious stuff that has to happen everywhere. For many people, the sunshine, large houses and beaches do not compensate for the fact that ultimately - it all becomes routine again - only this time you're in a routine 12,000 miles away from the rest of your family, your friends and everything you've ever known.
3) Yes - he would get his pension. However due to a ludicrous bit of legislation, it wouldn't be index linked, meaning that as the years went by, its real value would continue to diminish.
4) Despite all the above - if you all really commit to it, it needn't be a dream. It's not paradise down here, but for many of us, it's a big improvement on what we left behind.