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Perth has once again been rated among the world's top 25 cities.
Australia had three cities in the top 25; Sydney at 10th place, Melbourne at 18th place and then Perth, at 21st place.
Australian cities outside the top 25 were Adelaide at 30 and Brisbane at 34.
The 2009 Worldwide Quality of Living Survey by Mercer ranked 215 cities against a criteria that included subjects like politics, economics, the environment, personal safety and public service.
We are now officially eligible to start the process to become Aussie Citizens.
Although we've been here for over four years now, we arrived on a business visa that gave us four years temporary residence. After two of those years we were allowed to apply for permanent residency which we did, but had to delay the process a little because of expecting youngest son.
So after getting the perm residency we've now had to wait another 18 months before we can apply for citizenship (no, they don't make it easy!)
I've just sent off for the official book "Becoming an Australian Citizen" and then we can do our homework, apply for the test and hopefully pass!
I'll let you know how we get on...
According to The Economist, a UK magazine, Australia is third in a table ranking the quality of life in 20 different countries.
The magazine's Pocket World in Figures 2008 guide puts Norway top with Iceland and Australia making up the top three.
According to this BBC article, the number of British moving to Australia to start a new life has shot up from
8,749 in the year from 2001 to 2002 to 23,290 in 2005 to 2006.
And from the beginning of this month it just got easier, as a change to the points system will award five extra points for people who can pass a standard English language test.
And by the latest figures to come out of the WA cencus last year, it seems that most are choosing to live within the Joonalup area, in particular Iluka and Mindarie.
THE cost of a UK passport is set to rise from October 4 adding £6 to the current £66 fee for a standard adult passport, bringing the new fee to £72.
The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) say the changes have been made in order to cover the increased cost of providing consular assistance overseas.
The upshot is that wannabe Australian citizens will need to know the value of mateship, what having a go means and explain the "dinkum" phrase amongst others.
If you're confused by some of the language used in the article, try this link to explaining Aussie slang that I was prompted to write because of our initial bewilderment.
The number of older Britons living abroad is expected to hit 3,325,000 - or one in five - by 2020, a new study reveals.
Figures from the Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) claims that currently one million pensioners, or one in 12 of Britons over 65, already live overseas.
"Wanted Down Under" will air on the BBC in the UK in January 2007 with Perth having a large role in the series. Five families will be given a five day look at what life could be like in Perth if they decided to emigrate.
Australia now values skills over family and humanitarian settlement.
In an article in the Telegraph Newspaper in the UK, new skills assessment centres are going to be set up for fast tracking workers who can fill the gap.
The report evaluates the success of Australia’s current migration program in delivering maximum benefits to Australia in terms of selecting migrants who will find jobs quickly and also in regard to the increased international competition for skilled migrants and our performance against established immigration countries, Canada and New Zealand, and the UK which is a relative newcomer writes Amanda Cooke of Stepping Stone Relocations.
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