To consider emigrating within the next year?

[stayorgo1]

What the title says. I was born in Australia but my parents live here, not close to parents and visas not an issue - DH parents no longer around. Two DC 10 and 11. We both have secure jobs but we are fed up with nothing but bleakness on the horizon with covid and Brexit. We are considering selling our house in the spring and renting until the borders open and we can go. Have visited lots so know the various places etc and also not looking at it through rose tinted glasses. Would you go?

In a heartbeat yes!

We’re hoping to move to Spain next year. We’re learning the language and dh is job hunting.

I would definitely go in those circumstances.

As long as you've done your due diligence (particularly in relation to cost of living - much higher in Aus apparently), and you know you can find jobs and afford to live the life you want, then sure - if that's what you both want then go for it.

I’m in a similar boat OP and also thinking/planning a move down under. Good luck selling your house hopefully the downturn won’t be too bad.

Without a second glance back! This country is getting worse by the day.

Absolutely not unreasonable , OP. Australia is a lovely country. Australia has its own problems though - look at the effects of global warming in the next few years. Also, Australian friends are a bit worried about its relationship with China especially as it is geographically near. Are you ok to leave your parents ? It can be hard to care for parents who are unwell from the other side of the world. I think as long as you accept that there is no perfect uptopia where life is easier -same sh*t , different country, then go for it!

We’re actually in the process of trying to move out of Australia!

At the moment things are hard, really hard - unemployment is high, job security is very poor, and the housing market is very twitchy. Hopefully things will have settled by the time you are ready to come over (could be 2023 before affordable flights are available) but we won’t be here then.

I’d be keeping an eye on what happens with a China and the Australian export market, no one really knows what will happen and how our economy will react.

I would not move for those reasons no. Australia is also not in the EU and covid is worldwide. I would not move for any political reasons to be honest (well not from one democratic country to another). I have lived in Australia and their political scene is a complete basket case.

I would move for other reasons though and in fact we intend to retire there which we can as we are citizens. At the moment though it is not feasible because where we would need to work the house prices are crazy and also DH is in a very niche occupation and there would literally only be a handful of jobs in Austraila. The position he used to hold was moved to Singapore after he left.

So I would base your decision on affordability and job opportunity, not politics.

Don't they have a right wing Christian government?

I don't blame you reading about what's happening in the northern Hemisphere and in the UK.
Which state/ city are you thinking of?

And I'm glad you have no rose tinted glasses on because we have an equally ineffective corrupt increasingly right wing Federal Government. It was our State Premiers that saved us from going down in Covid flames by and large, left to the LNP we'd be in a similar place to the Northern Hemisphere.

I'd definitely try to secure work before leaving as our jobs market has tanked, and looking to get worse. I would not move without guaranteed employment. Some sectors are in more strife than others.

Our housing market is also completely overpriced, and the rental market in certain areas is impossibly expensive and limited.

We've still got Australians stuck overseas in the thousands because flights are exorbitant, with airlines wedging people into paying for business class sets. It is possible that in the UK spring it may still be challenging to actually get here.

And for Grobagsforever, it's not a Christian government, it's our PM who is a fundamentalist Pentecostal Christian from a church that abides by a Prosperity gospel. Called Hillsong. One of those bloody mega churches of bullshit.

Don't they have a right wing Christian government?

There is federal and state government.

They are not the same.

I'm under no illusions about the state of things over there - the jobs issue is one that worries me - we aren't too niche but if it is a tough market then yes it's a concern as we would need good jobs to match the life we have here. Kids settling is also a worry, location - likely to be either Adelaide or Melbourne - we do have some friends in both places which would be nice!

While we're not contemplating Australia for many reasons (spiders, sadly, your current government, and various other factors including climate and our ages) we are definitely looking to move out of England as soon as we reasonably can and definitely within the next couple of years, assuming we still can.

Scotland was very high on our list but I suspect will be inundated with English people moving in once the reality of Brexit bites, so we now need to look at countries where we can speak the language well enough to get work (we speak several between us, not that they've been all that much use in my life so far) and where our professions will be on the shortage list.

What's happened to England in the last 12 years has broken my heart. Though the way our government is going it won't be long before the Republic of New Dalriada is up and running again, and this time it'll include larger swathes of the north than last time....