Australia is not that hard to get into.....They've got a point system and to be honest they are a boom economy and need people. Applying to countries is all based on points so the more you have to offer the better your chances. The biggest challenge is uprooting yourself, other then that it is just applications and fees.

 

I am about 3 years away until I can move back to Australia again for a couple of years. In the mean time I've got more to do in New Zealand.

Hee hee, moving abroad has always been something I wanted to do Bryan, even more so now. Southern Portugal is my fave idea at the moment. The problem is... what to do? I don't think I would want to turn my back completely on the UK, goodness knows why, but my daugter is still here and so are many close friends. The idea of 6 months in the sunshine in the winter months of Portugal and then 6 months of sunshine in the summer in the UK... oooops, I've just seen a flaw in my plan...

Well we are seriously aiming to move permanently to Central Portugal early next year. Remember that it's only a couple of hours flight-time from the UK, and there are some very cheap deals if you don't take more than hand luggage, so you aren't really cutting yourself off from friends & family to any extent. Working is more problematical as you'd need a pretty good command of the language from the outset, assuming that you could find work in your own field, even as a freelance. We ourselves are retired and so can take a more leisurely approach to that.

 

Having said that, Portugal has its own weather issues, with drought, often extreme heat inland, and forest fires (they went a bit overboard planting eucalyptus all over the hills in the past).

Well we are seriously aiming to move permanently to Central Portugal early next year. Remember that it's only a couple of hours flight-time from the UK, and there are some very cheap deals if you don't take more than hand luggage, so you aren't really cutting yourself off from friends & family to any extent. Working is more problematical as you'd need a pretty good command of the language from the outset, assuming that you could find work in your own field, even as a freelance. We ourselves are retired and so can take a more leisurely approach to that.

 

Having said that, Portugal has its own weather issues, with drought, often extreme heat inland, and forest fires (they went a bit overboard planting eucalyptus all over the hills in the past).

I am very envious my friend :Cry: