Expert: Ian Smith - 7/3/2007

Question
QUESTION: hi me and my husband want to move to Australia from the UK but we haven't got a clue where to start, we have 2 small children and are both in our 20's i am qualified to take care of horses and my husband is currently looking for another job to give him a good qualification, can U please give me some pointers on how to get started we want to move within the next 5 years before our children get to old we have family out there, (aunties,uncles,cousins)
anything you can tell me would be appreciated

ANSWER: I'm going in at the deep end here because I haven't got a clue what your likes and dislikes are and all I know is that you obviously have an interest in horses.
The Hunter Valley (where I live) would certainly offer opportunities with horses as there are many thoroughbred studs here as well as equestrian centres.  Due to the mining boom in Australia there are also many job opportunities in that field but I have no idea what qualifications your husband has.
The Hunter also offers no problems with schooling.
Outside of here I would think rural Victoria might also be somewhere you should consider, particularly the Gippsland area, and south east N.S.W.
Another rural area you might look at is the Tamworth/Armidale area where you have a country community but strong cities as a base.
If you can handle heat then that opens up Queensland as an option but, be warned, it can get very hot in summer (40 degrees plus - 105 in the old scale).
Your kids should enjoy the lifestyle out here once they get settled in and find some new friends.
I'm sort of surprised that your relatives haven't been able to give you enough information.  Anyhow, that's the best I can do so far but, if you want further help, please do not hesitate to ask.
I also have a site on "virtualtourist.com" under "iandsmith" and there is some information on some of the places mentioned there.
Cheers from down under

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: hi ian thank you gfor your answer it all sounds great, i dont know my places around australia, we want to be near our relatives they live in mount eliza and dandenong do you know anything about the points system how many points you need and that sort of stuff, as for my husband he is hopefully starting a job in household secirity i dont klnow the demand for home alarms in australia, or the jobs that are avaliable within both sectors,
thanks for giving the time to answer my question.

Answer
Right, the Dandenongs are on the outskirts of Melbourne so Gippsland would be an option for you.
As for points, you need to contact the Australian Consulate in London and they can give you all that information and will also be able to guide you much better than I about job possibilities although with less than 5% unemployment things are fairly good down here at the moment.
If your husband plans to sell home alarms then it would be fair to suggest that living in some sort of proximity to Melbourne would be an option you might want to consider.
Hope this helps you a little more and, if you need anything further, don't hesitate to ask.
Also, have you tried "Google" for further information?
Cheers, Ian