Welcome! There is much advice & moral support to be found by dredging through this (and other) forums, and lots of friendly souls willing to help. Good luck with pursuing it on your own.

We considered an immigration consultant, thinking that the process would be too complex to handle ourselves. After getting a quote of $9000US and vague hints at what that fee would get us, we decided to save our money and do it ourselves. The time spent on just the application process wasn't that much, and thankfully I have the time to investigate the other aspects, such as shipping household goods & pets, job possibilities and real estate. And my rates are much lower!