Are you the sort of Person
Who will settle successfully in Australia?
The Australian government is very keen to attract skilled migrants to Australia
- migrants are good for Australia's economy. This isn't new.
For over two hundred years Australia has been trying to attract new people to its shores.
Economically, it's very much in the Australian government's interests to paint the best possible picture of the country.
The continent conspires with the Government to this end. It's difficult to resist the prospect of warm weather, beaches, barbecues and the vast open spaces.
The reality is that unless you've won the lottery you're probably going to have to work in Australia.
The relationships you and your spouse have with colleagues at work and the relationships your children form at school will affect the outcome of your migration considerably more than your proximity to the Great Barrier Reef or Sydney Opera House.
In their excitement at the prospect of making a new life in Australia, many people forget the importance of relationships - both the relationships left behind when they move to Australia, and the new relationships they form in Australia.
To see how relationships affect the success of a migration, it's helpful to break migrants' personalities down into three basic "types";
- self-sufficient,
- sociable / extrovert and
- sociable / introvert.
These "types" are really broad generalisations but they help
us see why migration can go wrong.
Self-sufficient Migrants
Self-sufficient personalities have little need for close friendships
with other people, couples, or families. This does not necessarily mean
that self-sufficient types are unfriendly. If self-sufficient types
like the new environment, they tend to settle well in new countries.
Sociable / Extrovert Migrants
Sociable / Extrovert types like to form close friendships with other
people, couples, or families. They may suffer badly from homesickness
in their new country because they miss their families and old friends.
Provided they are willing to endure the initial homesickness, most will
form new friendships in Australia, the homesickness will fade and they
will settle successfully.
Sociable/ Introvert Migrants
Sociable / Introvert types like to form close friendships with
other people, couples, or families. They can find it difficult to do this
though and it can take them a long time to form fulfilling friendships.
They will suffer quite badly from homesickness in their new country because
they miss their friends from their home country. Homesickness for family
and friends will be the dominant emotion. A return to the old
country is likely.
Summary
Despite Australia tugging on your heartstrings, be aware of your own and your spouse's personality in determining how likely you are to settle successfully in The Land Down Under.