h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

I'd like to get them because we're very much daylight people now - so we'd have not much on after dark except in winter, and my garden is south facing with no trees nearby. I just can't afford the outlay.

We now have the package information, so the nitty gritty is being gone through...

Apparently we could choose Sydney if we wanted, too. Anyone got any views on that?

Well, the most active Aussie researchers I've seen around (that I know of, there might be more) are Ivan (the terribly average) and Feisor, you could try checking with either of them.

This is so exciting!

Kelli, taralome U198131 lives in Melbourn. You'll need to know a librarian there.

King Cthulhu (U145910), cafram (U43948) and Evil Roy (U175884) at least were Melbournians when I met them there - no clue if they still are or whether they're hootoo-ing anymore... Caframs tag reads "in the States". Brilliant people!

Ivan is a canberian, which is close to Sydney, and I am a Perthian, which is about as far from both Melbourne and Sydney as you can get.

Personally, I love the shopping in Melbourne, I am not much of a Sydney fan, although they do have a rather loverly zoo.

Where ever you choose, you will be fine, just be aware that distances here, can be deceiving,it takes several hours of travel to go from one side a city to the other, so find out where J's job is and what living is available in that area, unless he doesn't mind a commute ...

Kelli, I'm really excited for you guys. I'm sure the boys will take it all in their stride and if you do decide to come back in a few years they'll probably even have picked up a funny accent by then! Would you be looking at getting work there for yourself?

MC

(sorry for the blank post)

Sounds like a fabulous opportunity there Kelli. Mr Vip may have had the opportunity to go out to the States, but things didn't quite pan out at the time.

Well, frustratingly it looks like J is going to have to go on his own to have a look because we tried to get my mum and the in-laws to take turns looking after the boys - mum was happy to do as much as she could around work and preparing for hosting what is going to be a difficult christmas. She said she could do the 14th-18th and the in-laws would have to take over until the 22nd when she could have them back again. They won't do that because J's brother is having a minor op and she says she needs to be 'on-call' to a grown man with a partner and baby. Mum has booked to go away for four days over the new year as she isn't looking forward to it no longer being a year dad was alive in and her friend is very kindly going on a little spa holiday with her but she could have done 6 days after she got back if J's folks did the 6 days before....but....you've guessed it....they won't! Turns out J's brother's op was a cover story - they think it will be too hard to look after them for more than 2 days.

So, J is probably going to go on his own, which he needs to do to decide to commit to this - I'm already committed in my head and can't think of a reason not to go (well, my mum, my friends, T being so happy in school - there are reasons to stay too!) at least for a few years just to try it. It makes sense not to try and take the boys - it will be a stressy long couple of flights and not a holiday but a rush round to do things when they are there that would probably put them off wanting to go long term. J needs to go long enough to scope things out and feel comfortable, I just don't know what we'd do if he comes back and says he doesn't fancy it - I will not be able to discuss it having not seen it.

Has J been here before at all?

No, never. He is such a naturally cautious man I'm surprised he is as keen as he is without ever having been to the country. He needs to see it to reassure himself it isn't awful, and that the office is ok, and that there are nice, affordable places to live and schools for the boys.

He'll have an awful lot to take in if he's only here for a few days. I hope the first impressions are favourable - and that the weather's OK. I mean, if he gets off the plane and it's 42C (which is quite possible in January), will he just want to leave again?

Maybe! I think he'll be on the ground for about 8 days, depending on flights, and will just visit the office he'd be working at, then travel down to some of the eastern suburbs to see what each burb feels like and gather information on housing availability and cost. If we do a little bit of forward planning he might be able to visit a couple of schools in areas that we like the look of just from the internet, or that his potential boss might be able to suggest to us.

Would have been better for us both to go, but at least he needs to to feel ok about it.

In the meantime, the real estate bit of The Age might provide interesting reading; it will at least give you an idea of what style of housing is available. http://www.theage.com.au/

For the record - The Age is the vaguely sensible Melbourne paper. The other main one, the Herald-Sun, is a right-wing Murdoch rag, as is The Australian.

Incidentally, schools will be shut from around 18 December to sometime in February.

Yes we saw that, so he would be going a week earlier than they close - at least he will if flights etc ca be sorted out.

I will have a look at The Age, thanks!

I know you've already done a lot of research - but here's a link to a BBC series.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b006s5v8

Funnily enough, the ex-colleague who is recruiting James was on one of these programs - maybe not this one because I can't see his name there but something similar!