Hey, cool! Congrats! The next logical step after PR
acquisition is, of course, citizenship. Is that the path you'll be
following? How long do you have to remain in PR status before
becoming eligible for citizenship status?
I think it's a good idea to hold off on the Deakin course until
you've had time to build up some financial reserves to weather
the drop in income when you do enroll. What are the chances of the
fees increasing next year, though?
Hmmm... I don't feel that much has changed now that I'm
naturalized. Blame being a PR for 15 years for that! I'll probably
travel a bit more, now that I have more vacation hours accumulated
on account of my seniority with the organization. Not that I need
to be a US citizen to do that, though! 
I'm looking forward to a regulation to be enacted here that
allows us to transfer our vacation days in terms of years of
service to be transferred to our new employers if we choose to work
elsewhere. That way, we won't lose any vacation benefits from
a change of employer! 
Once I hit the 15 - 20 year service mark, biangz... I think I
get almost three months of vacation days a year!! Happiness, sia!! My colleague,
who's a Ward Clerk, has been with the hospital for 25 years, and
she only works 2 days a week, choosing to retreat to her beachside
home for the rest of the week in her fully-paid-up home, tending to
her newly-bought chooks, gardening, reading, taking hikes,
etc! What a life!
I love the work flexibility here too! I can choose to cut
down on my workdays with my current employer, and work the
remaining workdays in another hospital or with a nursing
agency! Or I can choose to work X no. of days in one ward,
and Y no. of days in another. Or X no. of days as an RN, and
Y no. of days as an administrator or trainer or clinical specialist
or what-not! 
Good, innit?
I'm not worried about the fees increasing... I'm holding
out because I have a feeling the hospital might improve their
sponsorship scheme because the current batch of students are living
a hand-to-mouth or a deficit situation and if there are dropouts or
if more are discouraged from taking this up in future, then they
will HAVE to improve the conditions. I'm biding my time and
playing my cards right because afterall, I become a fully-certified
ICU RN upon completion of my course, which ends before
November. I don't really need the Post-Grad Dip to find work
in any ICU then!
Learning how to drive and owning a car is pretty much the top
priority after my course because with a car, I can consider moving
to the outskirts, where I can purchase a larger property for
less.
So what are your plans now? You already have your car and
house! What next? A second property for rental?
House prices are so hot there right now, they are good
investments... or maybe wait for it to drop even further. I
am! 
