Background

So what's it all about?

Well it was about July of last year that we made the decision. The kids were at a good age, Our jobs were not inspiring us, and we had always had a desire to spend a few years with the kids abroad as they were growing up. We had hoped that this opportunity might arise through work, but sadly this was becoming less likely as the economy remains tight.

At heart we just felt a growing need to have a big adventure. The cycle ride two years ago was fantastic, but just a few weeks away did not truly satisfy us.

We thought we would go to Canada, but sadly without welding or mining skills we were not going to get in. Australia always felt right in the back of our minds, but the immense distance had kept us from investigating too hard. Inspiration to look closer came from James' sister Emma and her husband Scott who were looking into opportunities to get into Australia, so we thought we'd have a closer look.

It all just looked spot on, an outdoor lifetyle, a climate to envy, a buoyant market for James's skills, english speaking!!, great education, healthcare, so on and so on.

So on the 22nd July we looked each other in the eyes and made the decision, we would give it a go! and so the process of getting a no restriction permanent residence visa began. Not an easy process with a points test  needing to be satisfied with a score of 65, we had exactly 65 as long as James could pass the English test with basically full marks (surely this wouldnt be too tough!!)  and James's skills being recognised by the toughest skills institute with in excess of 10 years experience, and this only being achieved part way through the processing timeline.

9 months later, and after a great deal of stress and pain, we managed to secure our Visa on the 30th April 2012. by this time we had already sold our house 4 times, but with each sale falling through for various reasons outside of our control, we managed to complete the house sale on the 21st June.

Work was settled in April for James giving him plenty of time to devise the adventure to Australia, with the initial plan to get all the way there without using a plane, but after a couple of Youtube documentaries about the Trans Siberian express shown to the kids, they quickly showed a preference for getting to the tropics quickly with a stop over in Dubai to try out the water parks (tough call aye!)... but with this minor alteration we are generally sticking to the original ideal.

So here we are, ready for the off, and looking forward to the adventure of a lifetime!