can1983

This sounds like good old ping ponging to me. UK is a congested basketcase and with young children I would seriously consider no more 'pinging' Presumably you are not talking southern England? obviously many parts of the UK are considerably cheaper to live than Sydney (anywhere outside of London and home counties) I will never leave Australia to live in the UK, and I was the British one initially! I'm from the home counties which probably explains why I am so anti UK

even more reason to be on the hills above the city to the west!

Should have said if you are looking at house prices and thinking they look appealing that sort of sums up the problems in tassie recently. What used to be $250k 10 years ago is $750k now - and mainlanders still think its cheap today! I couldn't believe what we got our place for

if you dont mind hills and sloping driveways Trevallyn or west launnie is the pick for me. lovely view over the city and river and nice recreational space nearby.

can't add value on the single parent side because I'm not one, however... Isn't quality of life about lots of aspects to life all combining to achieve a happy outcome. If you move here i assume you will have no family for support? and also, initially, no friendships etc? i think that could be quite isolating for you both, certainly initially but potentially long term. I gain an enormous amount of satisfaction and happiness from the environment and surroundings living here in Australia but it wouldn't be enough for me to overcome the isolation from the balance of my family if I didn't have almost everyone here.

is that 200k your only family income? I honestly would say its not huge as a family income but probably adequate. Whether it is enough would surely depend on how much of a home loan you need to take out or how much rent you need to pay. 200k would easily pay for day to day expenses with a small mortgage (<300-400k), but $200k isn't going to service a million dollar loan for example (although a bank may well lend it to you) without living very frugally. So i would look at housing costs its everything here.

just dont turn to crime to replace the lost income i suppose thats not such a good idea for pr holders, a least wait until you are a citizen

Is your occupation actually 'project controller' in the eyes of Australian immigration? You normally need formal qualifications and years of experience and if you have just changed career this might be a problem - but an agent can advise. I've held the title 'project manager' for quite a few years but have no formal qualifications in the field having sort of evolved into it from engineering where i have the qualifications.

yep more info is required for sure on their circumstances For us moving to Hobart in 2017 presented a huge increase in quality of life from an inner city deprived area in the UK commuting an hour a day to living at the beach less than 5 minutes from work. But even since 2017 its all changed and we wouldn't be able to do the same move in 2024. People would say Tassie has the worst weather of all states but we love it. Its cold in winter but lots of clear days unlike the greyness of the uk Which state are you thinking, what job etc

There has to be some mechanism when one parent is absent and not contactable.....

Always better to be drawn to a new place rather than pushed away from another. I certainly never liked living in the UK from the start of my adulthood until i left and i am 100% comfortable with my decision to move to Australia. It has given me a lifestyle which is impossible in the UK without being very wealthy. But i think you should look at what you think will improve for you here rather than focusing on what is wrong with the UK

yep, I was in a similar situation parent to Australian children. I knew once I had pr my right to come and go as i pleased was assured so long as i didn't commit a serious crime or leave and not at least visit Australia a couple of times in a five year period. Now a citizen which is even better!

I'm confused why would you not apply for a partner visa? I can't see why you wouldn't get pr straight away given time together and children. Leaving the country every 3 months isn't free either and you can't work to pay for the visa so overall surely its financially better to pay for the visa Once you have pr you can work, get health care etc. If you leave say 6 months after getting pr you can keep coming back for a few weeks a year as you please. You can get a RRV if you need to should your travel facility expire. Holidays would meet the 1 day every five years requirement and you would always have significant ties to Australia having two citizens as children. By not getting pr now you are only going to create the possibility you wont get a visa in the future should your relationship breakdown etc.

Its a shame the UK isn't in some sort of arrangement like that where its citizens can take an opportunity to live and work in another country. Maybe i could suggest it to them?

I guess having two passports is a bit of a burden. Too easy to move, sometimes visas are a good thing!