Move to Australia WWYD

[Easterbunnytimenow]

My husband has the opportunity of a job move from uk to Australia, they will pay for visas and relocation and costs etc.
I love the idea of a big adventure but not sure if brave enough to do it.
we have three children 3,7and 9 and I feel so guilty pulling them from their schools and friends.
we have family but my side is fairly strained and we don’t see a lot of my parents or my brother and his kids.
we have a great relationship with his parents and his sister and her wife.
we have friends good friends who we would miss.
just for info we would rent out our house in uk just in case.
I’m not sure what I need, I guess I’m just after opinions on whether you’d up root your whole life or not if this opportunity came along… thanks

i work part time but don’t particularly enjoy my job after 15 years so would obviously have to quit.

Where would you be moving to?

Along the coast Brisbane

Go for it. The weather and lifestyle is fantastic. You would fine another job easily as everyone is looking for staff but childcare places are hard to get so you would need to put your name down asap depending where to locate to.

Ask for advice in "Living overseas" here on Mumsnet. Many knowledgeable people there.

Go for it, I know family who left 30 years ago and never looked back! Health system, education, lifestyle all very good. Rent your UK property as a potential life raft.

Where exactly are you looking at? We're visiting friends at the moment on the Gold Coast and they have a lovely life, 2 mins from the beach, great jobs etc...

But they rent a house and cannot afford to buy here, there is very little housing stock available to rent and their house is now too small for them but they can't find anything else they can afford.

Schools are good, you get allocated your nearest school so no catchment areas. But you need to make sure you live near a school youre happy with. Private school is much cheaper here so a much larger percentage of kids go privately.

Health care seems better but my friend has been told she'll never get to the top of the waiting list for a surgery she needs (unless it becomes urgent) so is having to go privately.

They say they've really struggled to make friends here. Neither can really explain why, cultural maybe, different values, not sure.

I'd also struggle with the weather. In the height of summer it would be too hot for me! We're here now in Autumn and it's perfect 25 deg ish most days, I'd find it unbearable any hotter but that is just me!!! The kids would love to move here for the beach and the sunshine!!

Go for it.

Apply for secondaries in Uk too - tell the school / authority you’ll be coming back yo your house.

Plan to come back / decade whether to come back before your eldest starts secondary.

It’s a big adventure and the advantages outweigh the risks.

You know otherwise your grandchildren will say to you - Granny is there anything you regret? And you’ll say yes I didn’t try living in Australia when I had the chance.

Flight prices have gone a bit bonkers, are you going to want to come back regularly and if so is the salary high enough to cover the cost? By regularly I mean once per year, it's not a flight you want to do too often! I think as prices have gone up so much in the UK it doesn't seem as pricy in Aus as it used to for me especially the food shopping is less shocking.

OP I live in Brisbane, it's a lovely safe area. Summers are brutal but the other seasons are gorgeous, Winter temps are in the low 20's and beautiful blue skies.

Cost of living is sky high and rentals are in short supply. I believe our average income is higher than the UK which may help balance it out but people are struggling financially. I don't think that's different to most other countries at the moment though.

Brissie is beautiful as is all of Queensland. It's a lovely place to raise a family, lots of outdoor adventures and swimming, good schools and hospitals and huge green spaces.

Oz is very isolated from the rest of the world though, it takes 24 hours to get most places so you are not getting back home in a hurry in case of an emergency.

It's currently 8am here with a temp of 24.5 reaching a high of 30 on a beautiful autumn day. As much as I love it I understand that the lifestyle here isn't for everyone, though I do have many friends from the UK who love the Aussie laid back way of life. Give it a go OP, life is too short to have regrets.

They are on the Gold Coast, of course they can't afford to buy. There are far cheaper places to live.

What visa would you be on a temporary one or permanent? If temporary one have you looked into pathways for permanent visa?

it is expensive living in Australia but wages are generally higher.

flights are expensive for flying back to the uk but they are coming down.

I don’t have any experience for Brisbane, but I did come over to Australia in similar circumstances with school age children and it was the right move for us.

Hi, did you end up making a decision? We are in a similar situation too but from my research so much, we will give it a go. Both myself and hubby are engineers and have already secured jobs so income wise, we don’t have anything to worry about. Our only challenge now is convincing the teenagers. Wishing you all the best for your move. You will not have many regrets.

Re making friends, I've heard this time and time again that it's hard to make friends in Australia. Or, at least the type of long-term, deeper friendship you might have a home.