Count Down to Emigration...1 year!

It was exactly 1 year ago today that I started work as the clinical trials pharmacist at the RUH, but more importantly it is exactly 1 year before I finish.  On the 23rd November 2011 I will officially be unemployed, and ready to move to Australia - all else permitting.

So now seems like a good time to sit back and take stock of where we are and what we still have to do.

My main issue is ensuring my visa is processed in time.  Because B and I have been together so long I am applying for partner migration rather than a skilled migrant visa.  Even though the Australian government do not yet recognise civil partnerships, they do acknowledge de facto relationships.  This has many benefits; it's quicker to process, it costs less money and it is easier to get permanent residency.  On average it takes 6 months to process the application and once issued there is a time limit by which you have to enter Australia, this time limit is set by the date of the health and character checks, which are both only valid for 1 year.  This means the very latest I can afford to send off my application is June 2011.

My second biggest issue is looking for a job.  I am still in doubt as to whether I even want to work as a pharmacist when I get there.  Whether I do or not, it seems a waste not to at least give my self the choice and so I still hope to be able to apply to the APC to transfer my qualification before we leave.  As well as pharmacist jobs though I am seriously considering looking for jobs in the pharmaceutical industry or with a contract research organisation.  This leads quite nicely into our third big issue, where in Australia will we end up living?

As you are all probably well aware, we are considering two main options when it comes to where we want to live: Hobart or Melbourne.  In the past, when the whole 'Moving to Australia' was still just a pipe dream, we were always thinking we would end up living in Melbourne.  It is where B lived before and it is where all his friends live.  During our last visit in May this year however, the idea of living in Hobart became a distinct possibility.  I think B decided too much had changed in Melbourne, a lot of the old buildings and character has gone.  The cost of living has sky rocketed in the past 9 years, and suburbs which were down right daggy, are now ridiculously expensive to live in.  The cost of living in Hobart on the other hand is a fraction of that in Melbourne, it is a much smaller city with plenty of natural beauty surrounding it.  The other big potential benefit of living in Hobart is that it would mean a fresh start for both of us, not just me.  The biggest concern with Hobart however is the availability of work, and for this reason I believe we will probably move to Melbourne (but keep an eye on employment opportunities in Hobart), after all we can always move again once we get there.

We also need to consider how we are going to get to Australia.  The current plan is to use a round-the-world ticket, allowing us to spend one or two months travelling on our way out to Australia.  It also leaves us with an escape route if things don't work out when we get there.  We went to a travel agent to enquire about our options but unfortunately round-the-world tickets only go on sale 11 months before the planned date of first use, so we would have to wait until January before we could look into obtaining one.  If this works out we will be able to spend some time in South America travelling around for as long as we can afford, before heading up to stay with B's friends in LA where we will be able to get a flight to Australia via New Zealand.

As well as getting ourselves there we will also have to get all our stuff there.  Shipping companies such as Pickford's will take approximately 3 months to deliver to Australia according to B, so we will need to time the shipment right so that it arrives just before we do.  We don't want to spend the first few weeks living in Australia out of our backpacks!  Just as important as the timing is reducing our worldly goods down to a more manageable amount, especially if we do end up in Melbourne as we wont be able to afford to rent somewhere as big as we are currently living.  We have set up an eBay account, in fact, we did this a long time ago when one of B's Australian friends Rae, sold him on its merits.  We have been too scared to use it, after all, what if someone actually wanted to buy something!  Some of the hardest things to leave behind however, are the things we can't even sell.

So this is where we are.  I do not think I have written anything today that I haven't already mentioned at some point in this blog already (the pictures are all recycled for a start).  We still have a long way to go, this past year seems to have disappeared so fast.  I fear that if this year goes by just as quickly, there is no way we could possibly be ready in time.  Still fate has set us this deadline, and we will continue to do everything in our power not to miss it.  If we do not make the move to Australia now, we may never do it.

Adam