Moving To Australia - The Idea • Aussian

This is the first post in the series on moving to Australia. In this series, I am going to write about how I conceived the idea of moving abroad, my experiences, challenges I faced as a visa applicant and later on as a newly arrived immigrant, tips to overcome them and staying sane throughout the whole journey. All the posts are written in chronological order and will make more sense if read in that order. It is my sincere belief that by sharing my experiences, other aspirants will become more aware of the challenges that lay ahead, ways to tackle them and make better decisions.

Back in early 2000s, when I started my career as a software professional, unlike others I was not crazy about “onsite opportunity” and living outside India. Let’s say I never gave enough thought to that idea. I was busy shaping my career and in general, content with my small little world.

All that suddenly changed in mid 2007, when I was sent by my employer, Merrill Lynch to the US on a business trip. I instantly fell in love with the lifestyle, the infrastructure, weather, opportunities and overall energy level in the people there. In my next trip in 2008, I visited a lot of friends across different states in the US and though people complained about many things, nobody ever thought of coming back to the home country. That’s where I started contemplating the idea of moving to the States.

But then the disaster struck! 2008 introduced us to a new monster called “subprime crisis” and the whole world saw how few crooks can bring the world economy to its knees. It affected me on a more personal level. My dream of getting H1B visa and living in the US seemed unreal. Next few years brought a lot of changes to my personal life with marriage, new jobs, migrating to different city, arrival of baby and I had to put my “living abroad” plan on the back-burner for a while.

Foundation of an Idea

Then came the day of awakening. One late evening, while discussing with friend about different experiences we both had abroad, I suddenly asked him “Would you like to move to a different country? now?” He and I both knew the answer to that question. That discussion revived the idea I was contemplating for so many years. Next day, we decided to play the biggest and the most riskiest gamble of our life.

We went to a visa consultant in Pune to see if we are eligible to file for H1B. As it turned out, due to smaller quota, higher chances of rejections and bigger competition, the US was already out of question. Out of the choices I had, Australia seemed like the place to be, in terms of visa process, employment opportunities, weather, public safety and proximity to the Indian sub-continent. This was the start of a long journey ahead which was going to be fun, adventurous, hard and fulfilling.

Moving To Australia Series