British Expats - 1 year 1 month and a few days or so.

as the title says weve been here over a year, its been a interesting journey, started in melbourne and ended up in north brisbane, drove up to brisbane from melbourne, liked it so drove back and packed up and drove back up again all in 8 days, was it worth it, hell yes. have we settled , yes we have, is it great, no but it suits us, it rains and it gets cold, you can still get mugged and the food is expensive , cars cost a fortune and electrical goods seem pricey, we made the decision from day one to forget about the pound so we havent worried about the price of stuff to much, we have seen brits arrive and go back, weve had bad news from the uk and had to deal with the reality of not being able to afford to go back for loved ones. enough of the reality check for you all, weekends are awsome, we get on the beach and drive up as often as we can, swimming when hot enough is great, my son is doing well and the wife is enjoying her new career choice, im still working and camping as often as possible. i guess i just want people to realise that not all their choices will be right and aus isnt the best thing ever, but its as good a place as any and you can make it if you want to, some of the realitys can be harsh ill warn you now, like the dreaded phone call from the uk and realising that if you go back for a trip then thats the step back onto the housing ladder gone for another few years, worrying that if you lose your job there is no dole money until you have been here for 2 years, i also think that as a family you all have to want to be here and its not worth staying if you dont , even to keep a husband or wife happy (seen that one). all in all ive gone on a bit, but thats just my views, good luck to all making the move.