jojo1310

I have been so touched by everyone's responses to my post. Thank you so much Lancslass for sharing your story. The way you have explained how you felt 5 years ago just sounds like me now; you feel selfish and selfless all at the same time. You know you have to be selfish to do what you have to do and you feel selfish because you're leaving loved ones behind. But it;s a selfless act; although we don't have children to think about now, we hopefully will do one day. Ifwe can stay there for a while and gain citizenship then we hope to come back with our children and show them how we lived. But who knows what will happen as you say, we may go there and be there for a year and not like it? (I highly doubt thats the case, but you never know how things pan out!) We have a rough plan of going out there for 4 years (I think this is how long till you can gain citizenship) and then come back to the UK. I am so sorry to hear of your circumstances; it must have been an equally large decision to return but understandably one that is necessary. You are an incredibly brave and adventurous family- who says we have to stay in one place for the whole of our lives anyway! Like you said, life's too short and you have to do the msot you can in the time you have! I really hope that everything works out for you and your family and that your mum recovers. It is a shame that she hasn't mastered the art of skype and facebook because it really has made the world a smaller place. I guess this is one saving grace as I have quite tech savvy parents who I am sure will love keeping in touch that way, just beign a super close family, it's a shame you can't send the odd real hug via the internet! Thanky uo so much for your wonderful post; it's given me a real boost of confidence. Keep in touch xx

Hi odies, thank you for your reply. My relationship is very close to my parents and it breaks my heart to think that they'll feel abandoned. I can't bear to think that I will be causing them such unnecessary pain and upset when they have both had a particularly tough time over the last few years. I know that my mum and dad would love it in aus and i only hope that one day they could live with us (if we chose to stay) Odies, what's your story? xxx

Oh wow! that's amazing Pea! And after 20 years you made the dream a reality! I guess we all have to make scary and tough decisions in life. Sometimes it takes time to develop into a reality, but I'm certain your dad would have been extremely proud now that you are ozzie citizens! Big hugs and thanks, always, for your lovely posts xx

I like this thread! Great idea to make you feelpositive and appreciate the good things. OK, here goes: -at the moment, I am LOVING my shiney new engagement ring and my amazing NEW fiance! My bf propose on christmas day and I couldn't be happier -my family. I have the most loving parents, brother and nan. And my friends. -I love the fact that I am in the process of starting a new adventure. I am so happy and excited; if I try and forget my more negative feelings and start thinking positively, it makes me realise how unbelievably lucky I am that I have this opportunity to live in Australia - I look outside and think that although I dream of Australia and I hate the commute into London, I have a great job with some lovely people and will be sad to leave it an them behind. -Nandos....I love Nandos and could quite possibly eat one now. I can't think of any more loves, btu I know I am pretty happy for a lot of things that I take for granted in life. happy Thursday everyone, it's nearly the weekend!

Oh Peanuts, thank you. I nearly cried when I read this! I went to my mum and dads last night and we had a lovely night, but nothing was mentioned about Australia. I am worried that they think if it's not mentioned then it wont happen? I promise I wont use the 'd' word any more. xx

If his job isn't on the SOl (Skilled Occupation List) then you won't be able to come over on a Skilled Visa (189 or 190) unfortunately. Have you tried doing the visa wizard? http://www.immi.gov.au/Visas/Pages/Find-a-visa.aspx Try this....it should help you define what kind of visa you could aim applying for! x

Hi Jane! Welcome to PP! This forum has been absolutely invaluable to me. I, too, am in the first stages of visa application. My words of advice; keep doing what you're doing, research, research, research! This forum is awesome for advice and tips and when I get doubts in my mind, I come on here for a little confidence boost! As redsquare above mentioned http://www.immi.gov.au is the official Australian Government website which is where you will find the most up to date information on all the different types of visas, how to apply for them, who can apply etc. etc! I am looking at PA/admin work in Perth and there is SO much stuff out there! Good luck with your research and always ask on here if you need help xx

Wow Gaz! Amazing! I felt so excited for you reading your message! HOW EXCITING! Have a safe flight and keep us informed on how your move goes and how you settle down x

Hi Kirsty, So strange you post mentioning telling your parents as I just mentioned that in my reply to VeryStormy. It's an extremely daunting prospect; I mentioned it in a conversation a few weekends ago and my mum seemed fine, but I think she was tryign not to let her emoptions show. Then the next day, my dad called me saying that mum was so upset and we spoke ton the phone for an hour mulling it all over. It was the worst weekend as I felt so down and depressed; I cried solidly for the whole of Sunday. As I'm recently engaged we keep on talking about a potential wedding in Perth which would be a dream come true to get married o the beach, but then I know that my nanny wouldn't be able to come....SO many thoughts buzzing round my head. I feel like a disappointment, I feel I will be abandoning my parents and I know it will devastate them. I feel terribly guilty, but I can't not see this dream through. I fear, if I don't go, I will regret it for the rest of my life and resent those that I felt so guilty about leaving. Is it just you and your partner going Kirsty? When you say your parents ignore the situation, are they sad/angry or just indifferent? Keep your chin up too, your visa has been granted and the hard leg work is nearly over!!! xx

Hi Very Stormy, I can imagine that wobbles on arrival and once you're there being very common. When I went for 7 months, my fiance and I both got the wobbles because we missed home and friends so much that we returned (a little too prematurely now I come to think about it!) It must be so easy to give up but I think when you know there's a lot at stake, you just have to persevere. I'm looking out at this grey day and really feeling a bit more positive today. But also thanks to all you lovely people. One niggling worry is approaching the visa subject with my parents. I'm so scared of telling them and keep on putting it off. My fiance has to tell his dad soon, as he works for him and I'm feeling nervous about that two as I'm not sure either sets of parents will be happy about our decision. wobble xxx

thank you Bean... Ill most definitely check out the wobble threads! Sounds like I've definitely suffered from the wobbles the last few days! sometimes you can feel so alone but it's great to have somewhere where people share their experiences and are so helpful and nice x

Thank u aligard! I'm trying to think of the positives and trying not to get too stuck on the heavy stuff. Today was not a good day, and being at work didn't help either. Everyone is extremely helpful on PP... It's becoming my go to for everything and I'm sure it'll be even more invaluable when we start the process! X

Thanks Odies! x

Wow. What can I say. Last night wasn't a good night but I have woken up to some truly lovely messages. Thank you all so much SJT, Portlaunay, Tayloal, Pea and Rossmoyne! It's definitely going to be a tough journey; I keep on trying to remind myself that it's exciting and it's an adventure, that we are brave to do something like this and that there are so many others that are going through what we are and many who have made the leap and are living their lives in Australia! Elfie, you're right 'Life is certainly "what you make of it", as you say and I know we have to take this opportunity with both hands and do what we gotta do! And Portlaunay, you're right, we've got nothing to lose. It really is just a case of being brave and dealing with my emotions in the best possible way. As Pea so rightfully said, thank you so much for your honesty Tayloal. This forum really is a wonderful place to meet people who are so lovely and willing to share their stories. I really hope that your mum is on the road to recovery and you hear good news soon. One thing that is a saving grace is how amazing technology is these days; skype and facetime I am sure will be a godsend and in times of need or when you want to feel 'close' to your family, I am sure that they are invaluable to keeping in touch. To answer your question Taloal, my now fiance and I, went to Australia in 2010/2011 on a working holiday visa. We both had the best time of our lives; obviously there were ups and downs and we both came home because we missed family and friends so much. Now, looking back on our experience, although we had a wonderful time travelling up the west coast, going to the beach every weekend, seeing family and having bbqs and evening walks in the park, we kind of regret caving in and coming home when we did. I suppose we both feel as though we have 'unfinished business' in Australia; we both want to live that lifestyle again. We want to spend more time together and enjoy the aussie way of life; we don't have it too bad here don't get me wrong! But when you know what you can have in Australia, it's tough to think positively about life in the UK with the wet and windy days we keep on constantly having here! Sorry for moaning and rambling on; thanks everyone for your kind words and great advice!

Good evening everyone, I'm seeking solace in my fellow Perthpom buddies. We're at the very beginning of our journey; we are about to tell parents and loved ones of our plans to move to Australia. We literally talk about Australia, Perth, my finances step family and the life style we could live out in Oz nearly everyday; we think about how much it will change our lives for the better and we talk about how exciting our future will be if we move there. It's now all about taking that leap and committing. Ive never felt more certain about wanting to do something but at the same time I have never felt more scared. I range from one day feeling excited and beyond comprehension at what were about to commit to; I feel so happy to think I could one day live in, what I consider, to be the most amazing place in the world! To the next day feeling so sad, worrying if it's the right thing to do and the most intense feeling of all, is guilt. How can I think about leaving my family and friends and travelling to the other side of the world just to satisfy my selfish needs! I suppose, what I'm trying to ask in a round about way is, how on earth do I over come this roller coaster of emotion? Maybe it's something not to over come but maybe just learn to tackle. Sorry for the deep topic of conversation but I'm hoping that talking about it with people that are experiencing and have experience what I feel, may be able to help. Thank you, from a rather tired and emotional pom xx