Well, having sold the house everything has been in the hands of the solicitors, estate agents, etc. Needless to say I have had to be on the phone to them every day to make anything happen. It seems that they just sit on things until you phone them and get them to do it. I made the mistake of leaving it for 2 weeks before phoning to find out how the sale was progressing only to find out that nothing had happened - not even a piece of paper had been sent!!! So i've been hassling people every day....

Well, out of the blue we have recieved another offer on the house. It was less than the previous buyers but they have sold and can move any time. So we have accepted.

I'm beginning to look at getting the wheels turning again, but am being a bit more cautious about committing to anything this time just in case it all falls through again. As soon as they have signed I will book the flights and hand my notice in - not a minute before!

Our friends round the corner sold their...

Merely 90 minutes after my last posting things have changed completely. I had a call from the estate agents saying that the person who was buying the house of the person that is buying our house has pulled out. Apparently they were buying it for her mother who hadn't seen the house until today and she told them she didn't want a house with steps in the garden! What makes it even worse is that someone else was going to put an offer in on the house on the same day as they did and it looks to me like...

Well, after all the months of waiting, suddenly someone put in an offer on our house. The strange thing is it's the people who live 3 doors along from us! They have sold their house to a cash buyer so there is no chain. Couldn't have worked out better!

The first 24 hours following this were surprisingly normal.... but then it eventually sank in. The first thing to hit home was the amount of organising that needs to be done. But then came the "are we doing the right thing"!...

Well, the story so far has been a bit of a bumpy ride. We (myself, wife Nicky, and 3 boys all under 5) were granted our 137 (STNI) visas in March and have been making efforts to get over to Australia since then.

I work as a Software Developer and Nicky is a Nurse. We have been planning this move since 2003. Nicky only worked part time so we had to apply for a visa under my name. We were lucky enough to be sponsored by the Victorian government under the STNI scheme which meant that...