CommanderMaxil

Of all the threads i've read on this website this is the one that has touched me the most I think. I am in the opposite situation, being the son who is about to leave (next wed) to go to Hong Kong for a week and then on to Canberra in mid-march. Am now back at my parents for my last few days and they are taking me to the airport next wed for my flight, which I know my mum will find incredibly difficult, but I feel is an important part of the process. Its strange but its only in the past few weeks I've realised just how upset my family members are, they have always been supportive of the stuff I have done but somehow I never saw the cost to them personally. I'm 37 now and have lived abroad a couple of times in my 20s but this seems to be tougher for them somehow. Perhaps its because I had to apply for a permanent visa despite having no intention of permanently relocating to Australia. Its strange because for the past 11 years I have lived in London and my mum in Scotland so we didn't see each other very often anyway but this feels different for everyone nonetheless. I've come to realise that for all the positive exciting parts of the move there are also downsides and the effects on family members are amongst the main ones. I tell myself that I will make it up to my parents and in 2 or 3 years I will come back and try to be closer to them (than Australia or London) and I do mean it but in reality its impossible to predict what will happen. Anyway it helps to know other people are going through the same stuff. Stay strong everyone!

i'm moving to Canberra next month as well and i have been looking solely at shared places, as it feels like a good way to get to meet some people. In London i have mainly lived on my own as already have a social circle but in a new place its hard to underestimate the benefit of having people to talk to each day when you don't know anyone

Thanks, that's the plan, renting my place in London and not shipping out most of my possessions. I took Voluntary redundancy to fund the move but have continued to work in my field sine I left my permanent job so work opportunities back in London will never be a problem. I always saw this as a couple of years away building up my CV and having a new adventure and I still feel that way (though of course will depend on how I like it out there). I've lived abroad before in more challenging places than Canberra so its not that I doubt my ability to actually survive out there. I think its more about the transition from Australia as an idea to Australia as a lived experience. For the past couple of years every time it rained, or the train was late, or I was stuck in a boring meeting, I always had the thought at the back of my mind "at least you'll be in Australia soon!" to get me through the day. Now the reality of it is here for some reason I've started to feel nervous. Am sure its a transition though. In any case it has helped a lot being able to articulate my feelings here, which is one of the things that makes this website so useful. Having made such a song and dance to friends and family about how much I want to move to Australia it feels churlish to really share my nerves with them as I approach D-day!

Thank you very much for your reply Breezer, I shall certainly follow up with the agency you recommend. At the moment any information like this is really useful, both in term of what i'm going to do when I get there but also in terms of making me feel better about the nerves of the actual move!

Thanks for the comments, I think my nerves are more generally about the largeness of the step I am about to undertake in terms of moving to a new continent, leaving behind friends family and my flat in London, as well as giving up a reasonably successful career in the UK to try this out rather than any specific nerves about the actual city of Canberra or the country of Australia, both of which I have no doubt will be very nice. Basically its the move from the idea of "maybe I could move to Australia" which was in my mind 3 years ago when I began to think seriously about this, then going through all the stages to get to this exact point and then actually going through the move and establishing myself in a new place. In any case I appreciate the comments!

This is really useful as i'm moving to Canberra from London in mid-March. One question I do have is if you could elaborate on your experience with recruitment agencies. I'm technically coming out as a policy advisor after 10 years in Whitehall advising UK govt but of course no chance of initially getting into the australian govt service due to the restrictions you mention. Have had some initial contact with agents in ACT (which have also been a bit of a mixed bag so far) but any insights you may have would be really valuable am sure.

I got my ACT state sponsorship last year and you are correct about the job advertisements but I was able to use temporary job advertisements from agency websites like Hays (am going as a policy advisor and permanent roles in the Australian civil service are restricted to nationals). In terms of pay I got a letter from HMRC which listed all my pay over a number of years and who paid it, it's essential unless you have your P60s. only takes a couple of weeks and I was able to use it again at the final, national stage so worth giving them a call

Well its taken a couple of years to get her but finally I shall be moving from London to Canberra next month on the 190 visa. Now that I am so close to arriving I am starting to feel the nerves but this website has helped me a lot with useful info so thanks to all who contribute!