I posted very little in the other forums, choosing to lurk and just leech the knowledge and advice from others.

Because of this, I'll offer up the last 9 months of my life after moving to Oz.

My wife and 2 younger child moved here in Feb 2010, whilst I returned, with our eldest so that she could finish her GCSEs. We had the benefit of being able to live with my wifes parents (they humbled me by extending their house to allow us all to have our own bedrooms), whilst gaining our feet in a new, and unfamiliar country.

My wife was lucky enough to have a job offer (IT consultant) before we set off. Seeing as I wasnt due to arrive till July I concentrated on getting the house done up and working my UK job (im in IT too. UNIX. Solaris.) I sent off a few CVs/emails regarding vacancies, however nothing came of it. I decided to winged it with the hope of finding employment once I got there.

I arrived in July...it was cold and raining. Hmm. I thought there was a drought here. I applied for quite a few jobs....and heard NOTHING back. Nothing at all. Not even a 'got your application, thanks' email. Nothing. After 6 weeks (I know its not very long, but when you've been in continuous employment for 20 years its unnerving), I got an interview AND THE JOB! THE FOOLS!

So...well, what can I say? Things are different here. The roads are quite scarey, some people drive like maniacs! However, the majority of people I meet are friendly and seem genuine. Things are, or appear to be, expensive. But I've learnt NOT to convert things into UKP, because i'm now being paid in $AUS, and my wage is (due to the exchange rate) a lot more than I was on in the UK. House prices are stupidly expensive, but it doesnt help that I have a house back in UK which is tenanted, but that only covers 50% of the mortgage!

Melbourne is a lot smaller than my rose-tinted glasses made it out to be, but its a nice place to wander around. The beaches are clean, and you can actually talk to people you meet (get that!).

I would say that it feels about 20 years behind the UK. Shops shut at 5pm, most dont open on Sundays (hey this ISNT a bad thing!). The places we've explored havent been overly commercialised. When we go for a day out we have a BBQ box which has everything we need. We take a gas BBQ and just go. Last spot was a place called Urquarts Point off the Great Ocean Road. Put up the table, whack on the barbie and get changed into your wet suit (its April dont forget, so its not warm). Beaches and tourist spots are clean, and theres a distinct lack of dogshit (not that I miss dogshit...), also there are numerous electric BBQs. These are free. Yes, FREE, to use. Basically a hot plate. You cook your food, clean up the plate, and move off to let the next family use it. Amazing. The vast majority of places we've been the BBQs are clean and work. Its a great country to explore!

All in all, its been a good move. We've had a lot of ups and downs. We've all suffered in a way from being away from my family, but my wifes family have done their best to make up for that. Rough and smooth. If we'd have been in the UK, well, it would still have been rough and smooth, but I wouldn't have enjoyed body boarding.

Oh, and there are, surprisingly, a lot of immigrants here. Just before the haters dive in, I work with 2 indians, 1 lebonese, 1 columbian and 1 russian. There are no Aussies in my team. That being said its a good thing. I've learnt a lot, AND i've learnt to tolerate different cultures (something us Brits are not known for).

Hmm, the homebrew is starting to kick in (its quite an underground culture here)...so im rambling. But all in all, I think its been positive. We havent been able to purchase a home yet...but we're saving up for a substantial deposit (paying for the UK house isnt helping). However, over here, they have 'open days' for houses that are for sale. You can just turn up and wander round, its brilliant. You can get a feel for the sort of home you want.

Anyway...I've tried to be honest and positive. We've been lucky. Bloody lucky. We've grasped the bull by the horns, and, to a certain degree, we're riding around screaming 'wwwoooooo hoooo'.

All I can say to anybody want to do this is.....have a go. If you dont like Australia (and there are some things I dont like) then you can either put up with them, or go back. Life IS DIFFERENT over here. But its a good different.

Crap, im waffling. Ask questions if you want, or PM. I'll try and respond.

Great update. How's the eldest child doing? Has she settled in ok?

Thanks for that, I really enjoy a positive update. We are moving to Oz in just over a years time. Cheers, H.

Well, being a teenager and not wanting to in the first place, she was always going to be a problem. As she finished school in the UK, but was only 16, she had to go back to school (they finish school at 18 here). Well, that wasn't good. She hated that. So we got her into TAFE and she's currently studying Art at RMIT. Oh and she has a boyfriend too. She seems happy, however if you ask her if she likes it here, being a teenager, you can't get her to admit it.

Such is life.

Indeed.

Great update Glad things are coming together

Good update, thanks

Good update, wish you all continued success with your new lives

Vicky