Edd
Its obviously up to you but, there is a reason that all us poms come here! the UK just isnt how it used to be... not even 8 years ago... in the cities around where im from, derby nottingham and leicester, its becoming harder and harder to hear someone speak english.. and amazingly there is so many people haning around the city during the day when surely they should be at work... oh hang on thats right.... they dont need to! :)
anyway i'll get off my soapbox
We left 18 months ago the Aus$ was at 2.52 to the pound which was great for us... its gone the other way now which is good for you...
petrol was just hanging under the pound a litre mark
i was earning 31k gbp
i sold a 2up 2 down end terrace for 110,000gbp in a place called heanor (derbyshire) which is a very cheap place to buy (honest) and me and rach sold her ex council house, 3 bed 1 bath, which we had recently renovated for 119,000.
we earned enough money to do what we wanted but couldnt get much in the way of savings and anything extravagent.
every weekend was a struggle as the weather would be crap, we'd be shopping, or doing something we didnt want to do.. all we seemed to do was work and eat and sleep... and we got more and more wound up by the stupid paper laws and nannying that the country was creating. scum got rewarded, hard workers got nailed.
coming here we found petrol was much cheaper, still is..
houses are i think more expensive but then again you get far more for your money here... no way i could of got what we have here for the money... but then again i wouldnt of been able to buy one of these in the UK.
food we find is much cheaper, as we rarely shop at supermarkets, we use the markets etc.. i'd say half the price of the UK supermarkets (as there are few local markets / butchers / grocers left in the UK.
traffic is as bad and i travel slightly further than the UK but only for about the same amount of time as the UK (if that makes sense?) but i also have the option of using my bike along the cycle path (non - existent in the UK) and the train (non existent for me in the UK) we find public transport a load cheaper here too...
general bills are cheaper i think too as you have less gas as you dont have to heat the house, rates are about 3/4 what i paid on a 2 bed house so cheap and car rego and insurance is lots cheaper too...
i'd personally say you need to see the Doc to get this silly notion out of your head :D but like i say its your choice.. i'd be great for a long term tour if you know what you were getting into!
have you thought about looking at Perth? they are always looking for healthcare people and there are that many of us Poms here its practically the UK now! :p
Just for info.. we went back after 9 months and things had got worse, and we couldnt wait to get back here.... we could never go back and live there permanently... alot would have to change to drag us back, and i still dont think it would manage... we love this place.
Thanks
Steve

