There are 2 Portlands in Australia that I know of, are you moving to New South Wales or to the Portland in Victoria? People will be able to give you more information if we know which one.
Test drive as many machines in your price range as you can, what suits some people might not feel right to you. I started with a pretty basic Brother that I learnt to FMQ on, and I found it was too much of a struggle to wrestle a large quilt through the small throat, so now I have a Janome Horizon. I don't think I could have justified buying such a machine 3 years ago when I started quilting, but I know I am hooked now LOL, so to me the expense was worth it.