British Expats - Aussie and Brit looking to move to Australia (back to Australia in my case!)

Hello!

I (koala) am an Aussie that has been based in England since June 2005. During that time I have retrained as a midwife. I am a British and Australian citizen. My husband (Robin, not his real name) is British but has been to Australia many times and had strong ties with it before I met him. We were always keen to move out there once we got married and had kids, ideally before they went to school. We are in our early and mid-30s.

We got married early last year. As it usually goes, children aren't coming easily and we are still in the IVF/trying to have children stage. Due to the issue we face, we are confident that it will be successful.

My family and I grew up on the Central Coast where the large proportion of them are. My Dad and his partner are Shellharbour way. I'm not keen to go back to the Central Coast as I'd like a fresh start and I think we're all being priced out because of all the Sydney commuters and cost of living in Sydney. In addition, I don't think the infrastructure is there to accommodate the population, but perhaps that's changing. At the same time, I don't want to come all this way back and not be near my family, so it's a tricky predicament.

Anyway there's a few things we need to tackle in the UK first, but I love online forums and community and think it's a great way to stay current with situations overseas.

Example of things we need to work out:

1) We aren't sure if we'll go down the husband/partner visa or try and get him sponsored to avoid the cost, but then you're tied to a company. He's a structural engineer. I'm a midwife so as long as there's a maternity unit, generally I'll be ok fingers crossed!
2) Decide where to settle!

I'm looking forward to getting to know you all and finding out more to help make our plan happen!

Koala and Robin x