Hi. I live in Melbourne and have done for almost five years now - this is our third move here (back to the UK in between times).
My kids are all grown up, but were 5, 3 and 1 when we first moved to Australia (Perth). Our philosophy was that we couldn’t regret trying it, but would regret missing the opportunity.
Melbourne is a fabulous place to live - great city with lots of cultural events, the countryside is beautiful with good walks, cycling places etc. The views from the mountains are stunning. There’s snow in the mountains in winter, so plenty of snow sports, including dog sledding. The beaches in the bay are more ‘British’, which is great for children (the Indian Ocean in the west used to scare me when my DDs were small), but there are ocean beaches to visit fairly nearby if you want some crashing surf.
I don’t really know much about schools in Victoria, but we were happy with the education ours received in WA and people I know have been happy with theirs here (I know a lot of expats/immigrants who have moved around the world).
You should be ok on that gross salary (many many people live on a lot less!), depending on where you want to live and what kind of lifestyle you expect. Will you have to pay for your own health insurance or will that be paid for by your DH’s employer? That can be quite a big consideration, but there are different levels of cover, so you can choose depending on your budget. Will you want to use public schools or private? How many cars will you want to run? Public transport is pretty reliable and cheap in comparison with the UK (not sure about Ireland). I rarely drive into the cbd because the trains are frequent and affordable.
i think coming out in November is a good idea because it’ll almost be the summer holidays, but be aware that it can be very lonely when you don’t know anyone. We moved to Perth in the August, so our eldest DD was at school for a term before the long summer break, but I still didn’t know anyone really and that six weeks of holiday was the longest and loneliest of my life! However, there will be lots of things going on here to keep the children entertained and there are lots of expat groups to join these days, so it’s probably less isolating these days.
Do you have an idea when or if PR will be granted? We came in as PRs, but it took probably nine months to a year to get all the documents sorted out.
i would say, definitely come if you can - it’s a great experience for children. Even if you don’t stay. I remember my Dds teachers in the UK saying that they could tell they’d lived somewhere else and were well travelled because they brought a different perspective to the classroom. They’re also very adept at making new friends and not worrying about new situations because they’ve done it so many times.
Good luck! It’s scary, but exciting!