We took THE LEAP!

Many of us dream of upping sticks and creating a new life. We talk to two women who have done just that

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"I'VE FULFILLED MY CHILDHOOD DREAM OF LIVING IN AUSTRALIA"

Amy Frain, 41, her husband Rob, 41, and their children Lily, seven, and George, three, recently relocated 9,000 miles from Southport in Merseyside to Perth, Australia.

When I was a child, most other kids chose the USA or Africa for school geography projects, but I always chose Australia. I was fascinated by this far-off land that had incredible wildlife and barbecues on a sunny beach at Christmas.

I often returned to that image during my hour-long commute from my home in Southport to work in Manchester, in the cold and dark at 7am. As high school teachers, Rob and I were spending increasingly less time with our own children. We were arriving home at 6.30pm and spending 30 minutes with the kids before putting them to bed. We were also working at home in the evening and at weekends, and had no work-life balance.

In 2013, we visited friends in Perth. We'd been to Australia before, but this time the sunshine, beautiful beaches and relaxed lifestyle led to us dreaming of living there. It was a slow burn but in 2019 we decided we had nothing to lose by registering our expression of interest for a visa, so we could teach there.

It took four years to get our visas, then one early morning in September 2023, Rob shouted, 'Check your email. Check your email!' I looked and was stunned. Our visas had been granted.