The exodus is on as Brits head to Oz

The spiralling cost of living is driving many Brits to consider a move Down Under. Interest in heading for a new life in Australia is at record levels with well over 100,000 annually applying and an estimated 30,000 set to make the break in 2008. Resources such as website nextstepaustralia.com are seeing an unprecedented demand for their services!

The exodus is on - the clamour to escape these shores is growing according to a new website that was recently set up to help people interested in moving Down Under.

NextstepAustralia.com, established back in January, has been swamped with applications from Brits looking to escape rocketing fuel, food and petrol prices.

“We’re getting 100's of enquiries and around 80 CV's through each week and we were expecting far less when we set this up,” explained Leeds-based Dave Roberts who established the site with his wife Joanne and Sydney-based son Dominic.

“It’s taken us all by surprise,” added Dave “but the current economic conditions are persuading many to look for a new start in Australia where life isn’t quite as expensive.”

The website assists potential émigrés with job searches, accommodation help, visa consultancy and the myriad of other issues associated with such a life changing shift.

Hazel Green from York is a good example of somebody looking to make the life changing transition. The 28-year-old Architect commented: “You feel as though we’ve had the best of it here and I can’t see an end to spiralling prices. Just surviving is proving a struggle and I feel there has to be more to life!”

Management consultant Gay Flashman and her IT manager husband moved to the northern suburbs of Sydney with their two young children in September 2006 and the family, who hail from Islington, have not looked back since!

Gay explained: "We'd always said that we wanted to live abroad, and when my husband was offered the position with Macquarie Bank it seemed like too good an opportunity to miss.

"I was working at Channel 4 News as Managing Editor and felt it was also time for a change, and at the time our son was young enough to be easily moved.

"The bank flew us to Sydney to take a look at the city and we felt it was a fantastic place to live with kids - we hadn't actually visited Australia at all before that."

"We made the decision to go in the May of 06, bought a house in London to keep a foothold in the UK property market, and moved in the August,” added Gay who found the whole process relatively simple.

"The move itself was fairly straightforward - although waiting a couple of months for all our furniture, clothes and worldly possessions to turn up was hard.

“Sites such as NextstepAustralia.com can play a big part in easing the stress levels of such a shift especially in finding accommodation and that’s where a one stop web-based service can really come into its own,” she added.

The quality of life is another big factor for Gay and her family.

She added "My husband John especially loves the outdoors life as he's a keen road cyclist and is into sport and fitness; the beach life is brilliant for children and there are clean, well-equipped playgrounds seemingly on every corner.”

The Australian economy has identified a number of key skills and trades such as architecture, finance and recruitment consultants which are in demand

Amongst the workers also needed Down Under are teachers, doctors, accountants, plumbers, nurses, carpenters, dentists and IT managers.

Over the last five years the number of UK residents opting for a life in Australia has grown by 300% with just over 23,000 making the move in 2006. That stream of emigration looks set to continue with the Australian Government increasing its annual target figure for skilled workers coming in to the country to 102,500.

Will the last person to leave please switch off the lights - if only to save on the electricity bill!