Record number of Birmingham families emigrate to Australia

Aug 8 2010 by Christina Savvas, Sunday Mercury

RECORD numbers of Midlanders are quitting the region for a life of sun and adventure Down Under.

And experts have described Birmingham as an emigration hotspot as thousands look to get away from the city and start afresh.

The UK has seen the greatest exodus of its own nationals in recent years, with Australia as the most favoured destination.

In 2008 alone, 427,000 people decided to leave the country – one person every three minutes.

In the past six months Birmingham residents sparked the largest number of enquiries to one of the country’s leading migration companies.

Paul Arthur, director of the Emigration Group said: “Birmingham is the emigration hotspot in the UK and we have seen huge levels of enquiries month after month.

‘‘Residents want a better quality of life and better job opportunities – and many are looking overseas to achieve it.

“Australia and New Zealand are two of the most popular choices to emigrate to, because of the quality of life they offer and the fact that there is still a demand for skilled British workers.

“The economies in both countries have remained more buoyant than the UK, with Australia seeing accelerated growth over the last quarter which is fuelling demand for skilled labour.”