Count Down to Emigration...TODAY.

The day has finally arrived, after years of planning, we are about to Leave the UK.  Not that our new life in Australia will begin for a while yet as we still have two months of travelling ahead of us.

When I first started writing this blog, we had just got back from a trip to Australia.  This was the 4th time I had visited the country.  B has always intended to move back to Australia, but I think it was this trip that actually spurred us on to take some action.  To begin with we were unsure of where exactly in Australia we should move to.  Melbourne is a big city where all B's friends live, where he has lived before and where he is familiar with.  Hobart was a relatively new option, a much smaller city, hugely more affordable, and a complete new start for both of us.  In the end Melbourne won, due to the better job prospects.

The two biggest things for me to organise before we could even consider beginning this move were my visa and my professional qualification.  Both involved a long complicated application process, involving police checks, health checks, and most annoyingly statements from other people, who unfortunately did not see the urgency of our request to complete.  The biggest delay in both my visa and APC application were the references I needed from other people.  Still I got all that I needed in the end and I got my permanent visa and passed the whole APC process including the CAOP exam.

While I was busy getting my Australian visa, B was applying for his British citizenship.  By having dual nationality it would make it easier for us if we decided to move back to the UK at any time in the future.  Once his citizenship ceremony was complete he was able to apply for his first British passport.  He now has the dilemma of not knowing which passport to travel on.

This year has been full of a lot of Lasts, including our last Christmas, last Birthday and last chance to run the Bath and Bristol half marathons.  It was also full of goodbyes, human and animal, we had to say goodbye to Goldie our goldfish, who now lives with our neighbour, and Fatso who sadly passed away last spring.  Our final goodbye will be at the airport today when my sister waves us off.  Not that the goodbyes will be for long, as we are coming back to the UK in May for a wedding.

Adam