awakening

Some common sense at last. I'm an Auzzie who having lived in the UK and other places for the past 19 years is returning home. I live in Cornwall and love it, especially the beach lifestyle and coastal walking. However jobs are a nightmare, there just aren't many. Also I miss home, family, the smell of the bush, the colour of the blue skies, eating outdoors and the delights of sun kissed skin rather than being mumified in layers and layers of clothing. My philosophy is you can choose to be happy anywhere and I am happy where I am but I am following my heart on this one. As for some of the other comments. I'd like to add my two cents worth. Australians can be very defensive about Australia as from birth it is drummmed into us that it is the lucky country. They can also be: in your face, cocky, sarcastic, biggoted, racist. However you could also see a few national characteristics in the UK that aren't that flattering. I say just accept the differences and let it go. We will always find things we like and don't like no matter where we go. A special mention needs to be made about 'Pom bashing' making jokes at the expense of the 'poms'. Another not so nice behaviour perhaps stemming from being former colonies but it exists. If we accept these things and let it go it can't hurt us. I say this from the perspective of having an English accent and my own countrymen assuming I'm a 'pom'. Enough of my preaching. In regard my experience of Brisbane. It is hot and sticky in the middle of summer,(in fact I found it unbearable) as it's slightly inland. Personally I would be heading for a coastal location as it is more comfortable in the summer. That's not to say you can't enjoy yourself there and have the time of your life as an expat. It probably compares to learning to aclimatise to the winter in the UK as an Auzzie

Thanks Dan, it is good to know that it is so simple to apply from there. I have found that A levels are well received in Australia but it is down to the individual universitites and courses as to what they accept. It is made a little less straight forward as my daughter doesn't know what she wants to do yet so not sure as to how complicated the process might be from this end. Its also good to know that science is essentially the same. That is the kind of information that this forum is so good at and a very big thankyou.

Thankyou for your lovely supportive replies. To answer your questions. I have always suppported the children to have contact or not to have contact with their dad as I believe it is their best interests to be free to make that choice. In terms of the emotional impact on the kids, at the end of the day he is their dad and there is worse in this world, he doesn't drink, take drugs, hit etc, just totally controlling and manipulative so that you always find you don't have the space to be you. My daughter rightly so at 16 has decided she can't stand being with him anymore. As you can imagine a 14 year old boy desperately needs/wants a dad in his life. The issue with the move is not about removing them from dad. I support contact and have always done what I feel is best for the kids. The dad can easily relocate for a couple of years, he works at sea more than 50% of the year, doesn't want to be living in Cornwall, blames me for that, and last summer was looking to buy a flat in Sydney. I will continue to support contact. I have just finished 4 years retraining so that I can be economically self sufficient. For those of you that know Cornwall you'll know that jobs are difficult to come by. The combination of well paid jobs, extensive family, and simply we all want to live in OZ is the reason for the move, all equally important. Trouble is once a court order exists for contact I have to provide an air tight case for going and Ex-husband is fighting it. He is manipulative enough to half aggree, ie in 2 years from now, to look good for others and the court, but I have 20 years of experience of his behaviour and he has already suggested that at that time ( after 2 yrs) he will offer my son to stay in UK and finish A levels here. The point being none of it is about my son's best interests. It is and has always been simply about him getting the uppper hand. I could go on about all the things he has done/said to support what I'm saying but I'd be here forever. My own mother even finds it hard to see his behaviour or to understand it as my ex is such a smooth operator you need to be on the recieving end of it usually to see/ experience what he does. So basically I need solid tangible reasons to present to court on why educationally it is better for the kids to get there by the end of this year ready to start school.

She would start yr 11 in 2013

My children are 14 1/2 and nearly 17 yrs old. Basically in australia the first year of school is called kindergarden then they are numbered 1, 2 etc. So year 1 in Oz is the same as year 2 in the UK. This applies to nsw. The school year starts in January so effectively if my son does year 10 from Sept, ie now, then in Jan he would go back to year 9 in Oz and be in an age equivilent class and he would redo the three months that he does between now and Jan. Hope this helps you understand the difference. In Queensland it is different.

Thanks for your reply. Apparently because of the court order the courts scrutinise everything not just the kids points of view although that helps. That is why I need to provide evidence about how they will be affected with their education. Emotional abuse is just about impossible to prove but i can provide the court with documentation showing the I attended counselling with a domestic abuse charity for a year. My daughter refuses to see him now as she has a high enough sense of self worth to reject his controlling behaviour and she simply doesn't like who he is as a person. My son at 14 has a good relationship with his dad and sees his dad when he is in the country But my husband if he chooses at no expense to himself can be flown to any country he chooses as a base with his job.

Hi I am Australian who has lived in the UK for 15 years. Both my kids have duel nationality. My question for teacher professionals or otherwise is when would be the best time to immigrate in regard to children moving from UK system to Australian system. I would ideally like to have the children start school in January 2013. The eldest would start her HSC, years 11/12. The youngest would slot into year 9 and have a year before his SC. Both will have completed a term in the UK then repeat that again in Australia. The other option is that we delay two years and eldest goes ( hopefully) straight to Uni and the youngest would start HSC in yr 11. This may sound like a daft question but the background is as follows. I am divorced from their father (5 years)who was emotionally abusive. As a control freak he refuses to agree to a move now. Thus I am taking it to court to get permission to leave the country. His angle is it is better to delay, however, I am pretty wise to his behaviour and it is an issue of control rather than best interests of the children. We have an extensive family in Australia and jobs are better and pay a lot more. Both children want to live in Australia. As i am taking this matter to court I need as much information as I can get to show that emotionally, educationally, etc things will be in the best interests of both children. My ex has Australian citizenship and a job that allows him to relocate where he chooses so he will still have the ability to have contact with the children. I would appreciate any information and help even if it does not support my viewpoint.