Moving to Australia is now looking unlikely. Help me look on the bright side?

[Heatherbell1978]

It’s now looking highly unlikely that DH will get invited to apply for a visa (Skilled 189) before he turns 40, at which point he doesn’t have enough points and we’re out of the game. There aren’t any other visas we could apply for. In hindsight we left it too late to apply but we stupidly wanted to wait until DD was born incase we got an invite too soon and before we were ready to leave. DD is now 7 months and DS is 3. We assumed we’d migrate next year. Our plan was Perth where we have friends and we’ve visited a few times.
In one way we’re slightly relieved as there are numerous reasons to stay here (we have quite a comfortable life) but we’ve been daydreaming about this for 5 years and always said we’d go after we got married and kids were born in the UK. Now we have to prepare not to go and especially coming into winter in Scotland it’s going to play on my mind when the days are cold and dark.

I guess I’m just looking for some light hearted banter on why this is a good thing that we probably can’t go?!

I should add that we’ve been in the queue for a year now with 65 points and they’re only really processing people with 70+ points in DHs profession...and we’re on a ticking clock until his 40th...

[BrieAndChilli]

If it makes you feel better I know a couple of people who emigrated with a view to stay forever but came back after a couple of years.
They liked it out there but things like education and family ties brought them back.

[Blackcatonthesofa]

No chance of upping the points in some way? DH just turned 40 and we lost ten points as well. He is now going to try to get all 8s for ielts. We are also keeping tabs on when the next exams of Naati are for paraprofessional interpreter for five extra points. If that fails we are also ltrying to get a sponsored job and stay there till the points are higher because of the Australian work experience. The ozzy work experience gives so much more points.Whatever works we will do. Can you take another look at possibilities?

I have to say that I really want to go but my cousin who is already there is complaining that the cost of living is so high that they can't do a lot with the kids because it's so expensive and they are working more than fulltime. There is a lot to be said for some financial wiggle room if you have children. Plus that it's so nice to take a weekend trip in Europe. It's really easy to go to another country/culture.

[Blackcatonthesofa]

It saves on dealing with spiders

[Blackcatonthesofa]

You can savely swim in the sea here.

[Blackcatonthesofa]

No gay marriage over there so if one if your kids becomes gay you can still be mother of the bride or groom.

[Blackcatonthesofa]

You can just go to a boxing match over here and don't have to wait till the roos start.

[Heatherbell1978]

blackcat DH got full marks in the English test in all categories. He had to to get enough points. Thankfully he did French at uni so is quite skilled with language tests. But his degree also means he gets zero education points as it’s unrelated to his current profession. His profession is oversubscribed so they’re processing limited visas and only the top scores.
It was always a huge decision for us, one which I struggled with but now it’s likely been taking out of our hands I’m a bit sad for the kids. I wanted to give them 2 passports - in this day and age that would be such a useful thing to have😔

[GoodStuffAnnie]

It's really boring over there. We have awesome and interesting countryside.

[scootinFun]

Really boring? Australia has fantastic and varied countryside?

[Blackcatonthesofa]

Christmas is so much better in winter

[Blackcatonthesofa]

*scootinFun how is that helping?

[fluffiphlox]

I would say that the upside is that you won’t have to move to Australia.

[scootinFun]

On the downside it’s stinking hot, rotten with lethal wildlife and anti gay marriage.

[scootinFun]

Blackcat cat stepped on my phone and I didn’t finish post. It has pros and cons. I have experienced both and Britain is a lovely place to live too, with a ‘varied and interesting landscape’. Keep hoping but two passports isn’t the be all anc end all and u am sure your just da will have a great life here too.

[Blackcatonthesofa]

Just inagine not having to do that plane ride with two small kids. 30 hours of no sleep for you and then they are cranky and jetlagged for a week. What a nightmare

[scootinFun]

I have done that - still gave nightmares

[scootinFun]

My sodding autocorrect! ‘Have’ nightmares

[Blackcatonthesofa]

My cousin found a redback spider in the babies crib once

[sinceyouask]

If you stay...
It won't be sunny and hot at Christmas, which is good because that is just weird.
You won't be sharing a city with my scary, white supremacist cousin (which is reason enough for no one ever to move to Perth again).
Far less chance of encountering lethal wildlife.
Proper football, not Aussie Rules.
As much as Australia is full of lovely people, the acceptance of racism and the way racist jokes etc are mainstream is jaw dropping.
Have you seen how much housing costs in Perth?
It's nice to be somewhere sunny and warm. Less nice when it's so hot the air burns your lungs and doing anything more than lying naked on the tiled bathroom floor praying for it to be less like a fucking furnace outside is all but impossible.

[Blackcatonthesofa]

Can you even imagine having a kookaburra nest in your garden? They start screeming very very early and are called natures alarm clock over there. And the bloody possums eat everything in your veggie patch. Gardens over here are much nicer imo.

[Blackcatonthesofa]

And google realestate for the housing costs. Some small shitty weatherboard house (not insulated) with paint falling off for 800.000 AUD. Come on, you'd never be able to send your kids to university or retire. All that for just some sun? You can save your money and go on luxury holidays to tenerife and portugal every winter.

[bigfatbumfreak]

......and spiders....and snakes.

[HipToBeSquare]

sincey I think we can all agree the racism that has become apparent here since Brexit is also jaw dropping

As an Aussie these threads annoy the hell out of me.

It's unfortunate OP but I'd be looking for a different way of getting there if that's what you really want.

But I do agree after 8 years of cold Christmas I'm used to it and actually prefer it now

[sinceyouask]

Sorry hip, but despite the appalling increase in racism and xenophobia here over the past 18 months, it isn't acceptably mainstream in the way it is in much Australian culture. It used to be. It could be again. But right now, it isn't. Are we more snobbish and class obsessed here? Totally. Are there things about the UK that are far less of a problem in Australia? Definitely. But pretending that there isn't an acceptability to racism in Australian mainstream culture that is not currently equalled in the UK would be daft.

[QueenLaBeefah]

No scary sharks off the coast of the UK.