Here are some or our thoughts and experiences relating to our recent migration to Australia.

When our son Daniel was born in May 2000, we were both living and working in Edinburgh. It became apparent to us after the first winter that opportunities to spend time with Daniel in the fresh air were few and far between. It was impossible to plan any trips outdoors at the weekends because we would never know what the weather was going to do.

We decided in early 2001 to apply for migration to Australia because a) English speaking, b) Better climate, c) Good chance of qualifying for skilled migration, d) Enough time to return to UK before Daniel started school.

As both of us are IT managers, we applied to the Australian Computer Society (ACS) for accreditation under the Skills on Demand list. After this was received we submitted our full migration application. At this time IT managers were still on the MODL list, so we gained additional points. Since our application I believe that these have been removed.

A few months later we were requested to go for medical checks and provide "defacto-spouse" supporting documentation with our application, which was duly submitted.

In February 2002 (initial application to ACS in June 2001) we were granted Permanent Residency visas and given 12 months to travel to Australia to register with the migration authorities. We took a holiday in Sydney in August 2002 to register and to check out places to stay.

We finally moved out in early 2003 and have settled in a suburb about 20km north of Sydney called West Pymble.

The only problem we encountered with our move was the shipment of our furniture and stuff from the UK. It arrived in Sydney as scheduled in January 2003, but then waited for 2 full months before being cleared by Customs. I am sceptical wether this was indeed a delay by Customs, or just an excuse by our shipping company.

We have settled in quite well and are very much enjoying our time here so far. I would recommend it to anyone.