Vinny Ankaran from United Kingdom working in Erina, Central Coast, New South Wales

Graduating university:

Birmingham University, UK

What made you consider coming out to Australia?

Around 2005 I travelled along the entire east coast of Australia and really loved it.

Moving to Australia had always been on my mind since that trip, but there was never a practical time.

Then after I had finished my Masters in Clinical Restorative I needed to decide whether I wanted to do more specialist training. The economic situation in the UK started looking pretty dire and was just getting tougher so it seemed like a good time to seriously look into alternatives.

I always saw the DJS ads and read the e-newsletters and started to think about coming out to Australia. The main reason that I left was in search of a lifestyle change.

What was your previous job in the UK?

I was an endodontist working in specialist practice in the UK. But before that I had my own practice. I worked mainly in Birmingham, but travelled around to Bath and Sherbourne doing Endodontics there too.

Where are you based in Australia?

Initially we started in May 2011 in Kiama near Wollongong, NSW (2 hours south of Sydney). The Kiama practice was great - it was really nice around there, but it was a quiet town and we wanted to be able to be closer to Sydney.

Now we are on the central coast of New South Wales in a town called Erina (1.5 hours North of Sydney). Erina is a much quicker commute to Sydney and is a great area.

Describe your work?

One of the practices I work in is 5 minutes from where I live, the other is about 30 minutes drive away. But it is not like a UK commute, it is a scenic drive and quite enjoyable.

I work from 8:30am till 5pm and I average about 10 patients per day. The patients are generally very nice. They are used to paying privately and are generally more accepting of treatment and options.

In Australia I get at least 30 minutes with a patient and get to chat more and find out more about what is happening in their mouths, and why. Back in the UK I would see about 15-20 patients a day, and I would have only half the time per patient.

What can you do in Australia that you couldn't in the UK?

Generally speaking, the day to day life is not culturally different, which made the transition so easy, but the weather just makes such a massive difference. Every day is a nice day in Australia. You can really plan things, because you know almost with certainty that it is going to be a sunny day. It is so seldom rainy. Even your winters are like a UK spring.

We have spent some time biking around, I hit the gym a bit, which is close to work... And with communication so cheap and easy, we are not so homesick. We Skype with family regularly and you still feel a part of life in the UK.

The pace is just so much more stress-free, both working life and general life.

How have you settled into Australian life?

The people we have met have been very friendly and sociable. Everyone we meet seems to be happy to meet new people. Also, we had some friends out here before us, so we have fitted in relatively smoothly.

What has the process been to move to Australia?

We started the ball rolling in around October 2010, but everything had pretty much gone through by December in terms of visa. We then had to sit some health checks, but after passing these, it was smooth sailing. It was pretty painless with DJS's assistance.

My wife is out here on my visa as well, which is great. When we came out, I was able to start work within 2-3 weeks and we had my job all sorted back in January, which gave us great peace of mind about coming out here. The great thing is you can actually be quite choosy with your jobs as there are lots available.

It has been great to have DJS checking in on me every month. It feels like I have a career support network. They just check in to make sure I am happy. I know I can always email them and DJS is always happy to help me out. It's nice to know someone is available to give you advice.

What are your plans from here?

Really just to settle in. Wouldn't mind travelling a bit to see where we would eventually like to settle, but where we are now is great too. Once my specialist registration comes through, we will see what options are available.

But we have no plans to go back- none at all. At this stage of my life, coming out here was like our mid-life crisis, but without the crisis part. I can't stress enough what a difference it makes to your general happiness when everyday is blue skies and sunshine...