Expats abroad: Kim Straub in Australia
Kim Straub is one Shropshire's more recent expats, having only flown out to Australia in May.
Kim, 28, and her fiance Carl Jones, 29, who is also from Telford, moved to Sydney on one of the Australian government's "457 visas", allowing them to work Down Under.
Kim said: "I am working as a theatre scrub nurse and Carl is a civil engineer. We decided in December 2012 that we wanted to move to Australia for a couple years, as this is something we have always wanted to do."
The couple say they are loving the Sydney life, the weather, and the number of things to see and do. Kim added: "It has felt strange walking around the shops which are full of Christmas decorations, while wearing shorts and T-shirts.
"The weather is about 26C to 28C at the moment. December is the start of summer and people here have said that most summer days are around 35 degrees, whereas back home it's starting to get cold now and winter has begun.
"One big difference living here to the UK is the number of spiders, bugs and other animals you see on a daily basis when you're just walking down the street. There are so many."
For Christmas, Kim and Carl plan to travel to the east coast of Australia with some of their Shropshire friends, who were flying out for a visit. "We will be spending Christmas day at Byron Bay, and Christmas dinner will be a barbecue on the beach," said Kim. "We want to wish our amazing family and friends a very merry Christmas and a happy new year. We miss you all."
