Adrian and his family visited Australia for a six week holiday in January 2005 and within weeks of returning home to Cheshire, began planning the move to Australia permanently.

"We returned to England and asked ourselves' What are we doing here?'" said Adrian.

"The decision to move to Australia was easy for me. My wife is Australian and although she had lived in the UK for 20 years the timing was right," he said.

"The children were at the right age. My eldest daughter was about to start senior school and I knew if we were going to move, we should do it before she started high school."

For Adrian the main reason for the move was the lifestyle benefits and the career challenge.

"I did a lot of market research prior to the move. I looked at the Australian economy, cost of living, standard of housing, education and lifestyle. It all added up."

Adrian found that he could comfortably afford a four bedroom detached home with a pool only 10 kilometres from the Brisbane CBD.

“The kids helped us pick the house, and we couldn’t be happier,” said Adrian.

Adrian and his family enjoy the relaxed outdoor Aussie lifestyle and on weekends get away for camping and beach trips.

"I have also been very fortunate in my employment, and am enjoying the challenge of working for Cardno," he said.

Adrian is a Senior Manager within the Cardno group. He leads a team of 36 engineers and designers and is currently Project Director for engineering infrastructure planning for one of the largest new town developments in Australia.

"It's an exciting time to be here, the growth is phenomenal,"; he said.

Adrian had previously worked for British Waterways, a public corporation, so found the prospect of working for a consultant challenging.

"As an organisation Cardno is very client focused, has outstanding technical knowledge and a great reputation, so it was great to join such a group."

"Cardno is very people focused. They really look after you."