I'm a new member, so I thought an introduction and summary of my history and plans might be of interest.

I have been following peak oil issues online for about six years now, after growing up with a sense of unease about the foundations and future of our society. My whole family are superficially fairly normal, but always shared the same concerns over modern inefficiency and unsustainability. Like my parents I will keep wearing a bit of clothing until it literally falls apart.

I am trained as a research biochemist, and I am just winding up a year of post PhD research. I always questioned why I took the degree so far. I find science fascinating but I have always been deeply sceptical about its ability to really understand much, let alone bypass human nature and actually make the world a better place. Sniffing the winds of change the career prospects in research science in Australia are dead in the water. Another asian economic crisis will close half our bloated Universities overnight. And there is no real industry to speak of here. And both are very vulnerable to general economic crises.

My main requirements for work were:

1. Stable yet flexible. A job that is unlikely to be outsourced or evaporate. That doesnt need discretionary spending. One you can take a year off and go back to again if need be.

2. Portable. This was a major problem with overspecialising in science. I considered joining a government department. On reflection I couldnt convince myself that I wanted to live most of my life in an office in a polluted, crowded city. I needed something that fitted into a semirural region.

3. Compatible hours with running a small farm for at least partial self sufficiency.

I am luck in that I have gardened obsessively from a small age, thanks to encouragement from my Aunt and Grandmother. My parents are now similarly obsessed, and my two sisters are coming along nicely too. The idea of having a manageable sized property to grow at least all our higher quality food is heaven to me. I believe perishables like fruit, veg and eggs are the place to start since staples like grains are more likely to be available and affordable for longer.

Earlier in the year I surveyed the climate and soils in Australia and took a trip to south west Tasmania, and the Gippsland region east of Melbourne. Both have reliable rains and good soil, and reasonable access to a city and local towns. Tassie was too isolated, but I got serious enough about Gippsland to bid on a lovely 20 acres with a spring running through it, only 2km from a small but thriving town. I accosted my friends to collaborate on the project and reduce the financial risks involved, but despite their universal enthusiasm none were in a position to contribute to getting things of the ground. The project came to a close.

Then, whilst visiting my family back in SE Qld, I visited my sister who had recently moved to the Sunshine coast hinterland. I hadnt been that far out since I was little, and had wrongly assumed it had become as semiarid as the rest of Brisbane since climate change started. Instead I found thriving towns with a good continuous cross section of environmentally aware types and locals (not so much "us" and "them" mentality) and a seemingly fertile environment. Rainfall was as good on average as Gippsland, if a little more variable.

During my study of Gippsland my parents had suggested I could do the property somewhere in Qld with their support, but the idea of temperate farming seemed easier, and more science/gov job opportunities were down south. Once I knew I wanted out of the lab/office prison that took down half of my resistance. And once the effects of oil depletion and economic instability started coming on faster than I had anticipated the faster growth rates in the subtropics won out as I think conservatively we have 3 years to be settled and productive.

Over the last year I picked up highschool tutoring work during the evenings to help accelerate my saving for the gippsland property. But I quickly rediscovered my love for helping people understand new concepts. Reexamining the sunshine coast I decided to take that talent further, and I plan to do a graduate diploma of education next year so I can minimise my need to commute and teach highschool science and math locally. The job fits all my major criteria, and the working hours leave daylight for keeping the farm running smoothly.

At this point I suggested that my parents and I join forces and basically act as each others life boat. They save me from wage slavery, and I support them to keep them out of a nursing home. I sent them a few articles about the state of the economy and peak oil. And I sent them piles of real estate listings from the likely areas. Things have progressed quickly since then. Their old house (choked in the suburbs) is up for sale and we have signed a contract on a lovely house on 2 acres close to the village of Cooran. My sister luckily lives on the other side of town, and we plan to do our dip eds next year (she wants to teach primary school). My other sister has plans to escape the city also in time. I realised earlier as each of my friends dropped out from the gippsland initiative that family is the best immediate network to rely on, and I am grateful that I have got all of mine on board in one form or another.

Two acres in that climate should produce enough for the three of us year round, probably with some excess to sell at the friendly weekly markets too. The year of studying will give me plenty of time to plant out the block also. Ill take a chance on the economy not completely tanking and set up a small nursery to make a little spare money too. Small business possibilities abound, but connecting with the wider community is a higher immediate priority.

Ill be back in Qld to help pot and pack everything up in three weeks, and moving to the sunshine coast should happen a month or two later. My relocalisation plan has started, and though I dont like to boast, I think it is as good as anyone could ask for. A property with no debt. Dependable collaborators. A friendly wider community. A pathway to a reliable, "safe" job.

I would love to hear from other people already relocated in the Pomona area....local networking is high on my to do list.