I thought I'd write a quick post to answer a few questions I've been asked since I first told my relatives, friends, and coworkers that we were moving to Australia.
Why are you leaving the UK? Why did you decide to move to Australia?
Tristan and I had discussed moving to Australia but we didn't have a timeline or a specific plan around how or when this would happen. The decision to work towards moving came when I was pregnant with Saskia. I was 6 weeks into my pregnancy and following a four week holiday in Australia, was feeling very overwhelmed and had lots of mixed feelings. I have always felt pretty isolated in the UK - all of my family lives in Estonia and Tristan's family is in Australia. When Saskia was born we knew that this was it - the perfect time to move. I have a few very good friends here (shout out to Marianne and Almu) and Manchester has been our home for almost 10 years now but after weighing all the pros and cons (also considering Estonia briefly), we felt like moving to Australia would be best for our family.
How did you plan your move?
We decided we would not make any rash decisions and instead wait about a year after Saskia was born to see if we still felt so strongly about moving. If we still felt the same, we would start applying for my partner visa. That also gave us the chance to save our money and gather together all of the paperwork we needed for the application. While waiting on my partner visa to be processed, we were slowly getting rid of unnecessary things, selling stuff, researching lots about moving to Australia and reading lots of moving blogs.
Where will you live?
We are moving to Brisbane, Queensland. We had a few other places in mind but on our last holiday we absolutely loved Brisbane. When I visited Brisbane the first time, I didn't think much of it. To be honest, it felt quite boring and lifeless but the second time we visited I liked it better than Sydney or Melbourne. Sydney and Melbourne are both beautiful but Brisbane felt very family-friendly, a perfect place to bring up kids.
What visa did you get / what can you do on this visa?
I am on a Partner visa 309/100. In short, I can stay/work/study in Australia indefinitely, enroll in Australia's public healthcare scheme, travel to and from Australia for 5 years and apply for Australian citizenship. If you are interested in reading more about the visa application process, you can read more about what I went through here.
I am on a Partner visa 309/100. In short, I can stay/work/study in Australia indefinitely, enroll in Australia's public healthcare scheme, travel to and from Australia for 5 years and apply for Australian citizenship. If you are interested in reading more about the visa application process, you can read more about what I went through here.
Do you know how much it will cost to live in Australia?
Yes, we have done our research and I know the cost of living in Australia is higher than the UK, but the pay is also higher so it kind of evens out.
What and who are you leaving behind?
To be honest there is not much we are leaving behind. We don't own property here, therefore only important/sentimental things are coming with us. I am sad to leave my good friends and job I love but we are moving closer to family. We also have a few good friends living in Brisbane and around the area so I am very excited for new adventures. My friends and family in the UK/Estonia are always welcome to visit and stay with us!
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