We received our visas a couple of weeks ago and to be honest the excitement of it all was marred slightly by the realisation that it was now a reality and no longer a romantic notion of "living near the beach".
More than ever now, my wife and I are pondering the impact of such a move on my parents and her parents as well as the loss of friends and familiar surroundings and lifestyle. However, our determination to move to Australia to give ourselves and our new son a better life has not been undermined as the reasons for going are still there. It's still a case of "goodbye apathy, hello pride!!" but at the same time scares the bejeesus's out of us.
The bottom line is that if people in our position didn't feel a mix of emotions at this stage of the application then they would be quite naive in their expectations and their perceptions of the realities that their new chosen life in Australia will provide them with.
I think it's a good thing to show a keen awareness of what's to come as this serves as good preparation for what I can only buttume are a few turbulent years. Going into this experience with your eyes wide open will serve us all well.
This is of course a subjective answer and I don't imply that everyone else will feel the same but I stand by my reasoning none-the-less.
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