never too late to make a sea change I was 48 when we made the move...

54yrs of age,37yrs so far in the mining game I'm afraid my career is coming to an end for change.

I thought there was a 45 years old age limit to emigrate to Aus, if there's a way around that I'd love to know it

get Headhunted... Works a charm:D

Had chance to go when in my 20s but like an idiot turned it down, im 66 now still having to work but maybe ill get over when i retire(if i ever do retire) for holiday. Any young uns out there if you get chance just go for it.

A word of advice, it's not for everyone with far more coming back than staying.

At the age of 40 or above you really need to think - Australia is not a welfare state with no NHS - good care is on offer but it costs good money. If ever there was a country where what you earn total dictates your quality of life Australia is it - being poor in the sun despite what you might think is even worse than being poor in the cold and damp.

The heat after a time becomes utterly destructive and you will find yourself yearning for English weather.

Of course no one will listen to me even when the stats back me up and of course you'll always find someone who will tell you it's wonderful - and for them it is.

Still if you must then give it a go I say, but lower all expectation and then you should be ok - if they let you in of course

Have right go abode that's even easier

Vasty I have a friend who lasted 6 months out there - he said the exact same things.

After two weks the "holiday heat" became overbearing ad made his wife really ill - they then paid out a fortune for health care and had to scrimp and save enough for a flight home and start again with nothing.

Like you say, it's not some kind of nirvana

I know a family and two girls who have each (independantly) gone to oz, loved it and stayed.
You could tell each one of them were exactly the right character for making it work.
I also know some just like Vasty and Dave describe who came back by 1-2 years.

For me, its a great place to holiday and I love the sport, but I love England more.
I like a country with seasons, with hardly any poisonous creatures, apart from the occassional flood, or strong wind (no disrespect intended) there are no natural disasters. There are buildings here 100s of years old and an extensive history. And whether it could be better or not, we have the NHS.

Australia has a heck of a lot going for it, but I like it here better.

PS......and if you just want to go meet some Aussie girls (or boys) we have loads of them here too!?!?!

I've spent ths week in central London, and I am absolutely in love with the place.

I always say, everyone in the world wants to be in London - it ain't the capital city of the world for nothing.

Often the grass is greener, we don't appreciate what we actually do have in merry old England.

I have to say, I don't offer much sympathy that go and come back - my friends had no idea about the lack of a health service until they were made painfully aware - so some of the time I think ignorance plays a big part in the negative experiences (not always, just occasionally)

I,m starting to feel better about not going now, (all you young,uns forget what i said, think twice before deciding).

Thanks for the advice Vasty and Dave

I've had two cast iron offers to go in my life so far, one in my early 20s and another when I was 34. On both occasions the offers were superb but I just didn't feel like my own circumstances were right.

I now have an open ended offer to go and do a dream job and I'm considering it seriously