Sorry to hear about your hubby's redundancy, what a good opportunity to make the change tho'.

We moved here in Jan 09, love it. The hardest thing we found is missing family and freinds, skype and facebook have made this a whole lot easier.

I would suggest you read and research loads, some parts are quiet and you will need make a big effort to make friends (primary and kindy is a great way to meet people tho'), it is a different lifestyle and you need to make sure it is the lifestyle for you.

It is a big place and very diverse, good luck with your thoughts.

Ask any questions, I will be happy to help.

Take care, Ian