Hi Laura
We are loving it here and are very happy with our choice of Newcastle.
Ok, sooo....We were originally trying to get into Perth, WA but after two years of exams, assessments, waiting, moving goalposts and more waiting, we were informed WA had once again reduced their intake and processing times!! Our super agent then suggested we try a different state. After much research we settled on NSW and in particular, Newcastle.
At the end of January 2016 we lodged EOI for NSW and TWO WEEKS later received our invitation to apply for state sponsorship, which we did. THREE WEEKS later we received our invitation to apply for the visa. We completed our medicals, police checks and dreaded Form 80 then submitted. Then on MAY 20th we received our visas!! We gave ourselves a couple of months to get ready then arrived September 1st. Its probably different for everyone but once we changed state, everything went smooth and fast!
We chose Newcastle area as we didn't want to be big city types and it looked awesome. Newcastle is undergoing major regeneration in several areas so plenty of work for trades. I've finally managed to get full time work after three weeks, its very laid back here!
Stay strong, save up and research.