bruce 7

If the Sunshine Coast is where you know you will definitely be moving to and your wife has worked in a particular speciality, my advice would be to search and see if you can find the Nurse Unit Manager contact details and send a chatty e-mail with her CV to them - you have nothing to lose.  I did that before we came out, albeit over 10 years ago and had some great responses from managers.  They may not have a job then, but they may communicate if there is a temporary position or something coming up or can even provide some suggestions.

Good luck, Elena

it must be nice to know that you've done the right thing by your parents and are going through life ticking all the right boxes. One of the life boxes I like to tick is the one about being kind to other people and not rushing to judge when you only know half the story. I did the 'right' thing by my parents too, but I was in a position to retire and move homes - not that easy for many people.

What would you do for example, if you had a disabled child in one country who was settled and happy and very difficult to move, and an elderly parent in another? Or suppose your partner was suffering from an degenerative illness with a local care plan it had taken months years to sort out? Or a partner with early onset Alzheimer's? We have no idea what other people are struggling with, so it would seem to me that a request for advice should be met with ... Advice. And if we are unable to offer advice we should keep quiet.

I don't normally comment on these things but this thread has really struck a chord with me. Fisher1 you are so correct that no-one has any idea why people don't/can't move back and we have no right to question. I am in a very similar situation with my elderly mother in the UK and I can tell you it is hell on earth! I can't move back due to circumstances and I can reassure you that none of those circumstances are that I just don't want to move back. My husband and I have discussed this until we are blue in the face looking for a solution - it is a lose-lose situation. I am not sitting in Australia living it up without a care in the world it has greatly affected me mentally - it is really upsetting when people think that you are selfish if you don't go back but have no idea or interest in understanding why you haven't gone back - I have to live with my decision everyday.

Elena

Great post Ali. We have been here 9 years this month, so were applying for our visas and found Poms in Oz when you and Cal were moving. I found both of your posts so helpful and full of a positive attitude. Once we moved here the positive, yet truthful attitude that you both had certainly continued to help me. We are now truly settled and love it here - not so much a better life just a life that suits us and the kids. Elena