My thoughts on our First Three Months in Oz
Mar 13th 2006, 9:16 am
#1
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Thread Starter
Joined: Mar 2005
Location: Bendigo (Vic)
Posts: 136
My thoughts on our First Three Months in Oz
Get ready for a long read!
These are my personal thoughts and feelings on our move to Australia.
Having never traveled any further south than France and never managed to get to Scotland, it was quite a shock to everyone who knew me that I would want to move to Australia! I had only ever been on a plane once and that was only in the last few years. However, we felt that if we didn’t do it now, we would never have the chance in the future and our kids were both keen on going. We started the visa process in June 2004. Our daughter (Zoe) had been offered a free holiday with her friend to Arizona during the October half-term and we decided, with her permission, for myself, my husband (Kev) and our son (Adam) to visit Australia and do a reccie on Bendigo (Victoria). So at the end of October we did the long-haul flight to Melbourne and did a whistle-stop tour of Bendigo in 8 days! After such a long flight and the drive north to Bendigo, I must admit I did think, ‘I don’t like it, how am I going to get out of this one?’ But this was because I was so tired, and after a couple of days, I began to like Bendigo. We looked round new houses and just got a feel for the area, we liked the town, which was so clean, plenty of places to park and little traffic.
So our decision was made and we got our visas in April 2005, house got put on the market, sold and we flew out in December. All through the visa-waiting process, I did have times when I thought, ‘is it going to be worth it, leaving family and friends, leaving a lifetime of familiar places, just for more sun, a bigger house?’ I know that Kev was also worried because a lot of responsibility fell on him to get a job as a mechanic (because we are STNI). At times when I felt myself panicking, I would have a scan on BE and look for anyone who had posted their views on ‘the move’. I must say though, we were lucky in that friends and family were all behind us, there was only one person who poo-pooed our decision and could not understand why we would want to rip our family away from everything that they knew. I suppose that in a way it made us more determined to make a go of it.
We had the leaving party, and it was a great night, but I personally didn’t feel upset; maybe because the party was a couple of weeks before we left and that I went back to work on the Monday. Even though I did a lot of the organizing, i.e. shipper, buying the flight tickets, it still didn’t seem real somehow. Maybe because it was never my life-long dream to ever move from England, I don’t know.
I was bought up in Reading, but had moved away from my family to Swindon about 18 years ago. There was never any family rift, it was just that we couldn’t afford to buy a house in Reading and it was cheaper in Swindon. I love all of my family and Kev gets on very well with everyone, although we were only 45 minutes down the motorway, my family rarely visited us. Which, at the end of the day, worked well, because there was never the opportunity of anyone just popping in for a coffee, so I can’t say that I miss it! Also Kev’s family have all lived abroad within the last ten years and he has not seen his parents for the last three years. In fact, we probably have more contact with family now that we are here than we ever did when we were in the UK.
So, we arrived here on 7 December and stayed at the same holiday apartment that we had in 2004. We had remained friends with the owners, so it was nice to go back and see people we knew. Before we arrived here we had been on British Expats and had been in contact with Hels who phoned us the first day we arrived! We met her and Paul a couple of days later and they have been a great help, thanks Hels & Paul! Zoe had also been in contact with an Ozzie girl and within the first couple of weeks they had met up. We stayed at the apartment for two weeks and in that time we had bought a car, a motorbike, enrolled both kids at school and sorted out a rented house.
There were times when I thought of all the stuff that we had to do and it was easy to get into a panic about it all. But you have to do everything in moderation, don’t try and do everything at once. We had to prioritise everything. Luckily for us, because Christmas was fast approaching there seemed little point in trying to get a job – also we wanted to get into the rental property before looking for work. The property was unfurnished, so that was another job, getting furniture and bits and pieces. Which takes a surprisingly long time.
When we were ready to look for work, Kev found one within a couple of weeks. He is a mechanic and just wandered around the garages and left them with a CV. Unfortunately all the places where he wanted to work didn’t have any vacancies, but he did get employment elsewhere and has been at this garage for four weeks. He’s settled in really well with his colleagues.
I, on the other hand, have found it quite difficult to get office work. I have applied for loads of jobs and been for a couple of interviews; but haven’t got any further than that. The agencies don’t work the same as in the UK, you have to keep reminding them that you are looking for work. I decided that maybe it would be easier to do temp work, but there doesn’t seem to be much about. However, I did have a call from one agency who said they had just taken on a temp job and I started working there the following day. I have now been there two weeks and I think they may want me to stay on a bit longer. At least if nothing comes of it, I will have a referee in Australia.
I didn’t come out here with rose-tinted glasses, I had my concerns about whether we were doing the right thing and my main worry was, what if Zoe doesn’t like it here and in a couple of years she wants to go back to the UK, how would I feel that our small family unit would be torn apart. Obviously, I don’t know if that will still happen, but for the time being I don’t think about it much.
I have yet to find out if the cost of living is more or less than the UK, not having a permanent job yet it is difficult to say. I think that we spend the same amount on everyday food items as in the UK, and we haven’t had many bills in yet to compare on that score.
There are some things that are difficult to swallow, like having to pay for school books; having to pay for doctor’s consultations. But we knew that before we came out here.
I know Zoe misses all her friends in the UK. She has made loads of friends here, (even nabbing herself a boyfriend within a couple of weeks of being here) but it is early days for these new friendships to blossom. Adam has settled in remarkably well.
So after three months of living here, I can honestly say that I don’t miss the UK, don’t get me wrong, I loved living there but I got to the point where I wanted to try something new. I also had this vision of our kids still living with us when they are in their thirties because they wouldn’t be able to afford a place of their own and I would much rather live together here than cramped into our little house in the UK.
I don’t miss family or friends as much as I thought I would (I know I should), but because we text, email and chat to each other regularly on Skype it seems enough for me. I don’t feel like a foreigner here, I like it when people pick up on my accent, because they are so interested in why you are here. For the first couple of months, everyone said ‘Welcome to Australia’ and really meant it. Everyone are so friendly here and helpful. People have time to talk to you and they are all really proud of being Australian.
The weather has been absolutely fantastic, I personally think it boosts your outlook on life. We have a lovely house which gives us all our own personal space, which we would never have been able to afford in the UK. I’m glad that we made the decision and took the plunge to come here.
Thanks for reading this, and I hope this might help any of you that have the usual doubts, as I did, about moving to Australia.
Hazel
These are my personal thoughts and feelings on our move to Australia.
Having never traveled any further south than France and never managed to get to Scotland, it was quite a shock to everyone who knew me that I would want to move to Australia! I had only ever been on a plane once and that was only in the last few years. However, we felt that if we didn’t do it now, we would never have the chance in the future and our kids were both keen on going. We started the visa process in June 2004. Our daughter (Zoe) had been offered a free holiday with her friend to Arizona during the October half-term and we decided, with her permission, for myself, my husband (Kev) and our son (Adam) to visit Australia and do a reccie on Bendigo (Victoria). So at the end of October we did the long-haul flight to Melbourne and did a whistle-stop tour of Bendigo in 8 days! After such a long flight and the drive north to Bendigo, I must admit I did think, ‘I don’t like it, how am I going to get out of this one?’ But this was because I was so tired, and after a couple of days, I began to like Bendigo. We looked round new houses and just got a feel for the area, we liked the town, which was so clean, plenty of places to park and little traffic.
So our decision was made and we got our visas in April 2005, house got put on the market, sold and we flew out in December. All through the visa-waiting process, I did have times when I thought, ‘is it going to be worth it, leaving family and friends, leaving a lifetime of familiar places, just for more sun, a bigger house?’ I know that Kev was also worried because a lot of responsibility fell on him to get a job as a mechanic (because we are STNI). At times when I felt myself panicking, I would have a scan on BE and look for anyone who had posted their views on ‘the move’. I must say though, we were lucky in that friends and family were all behind us, there was only one person who poo-pooed our decision and could not understand why we would want to rip our family away from everything that they knew. I suppose that in a way it made us more determined to make a go of it.
We had the leaving party, and it was a great night, but I personally didn’t feel upset; maybe because the party was a couple of weeks before we left and that I went back to work on the Monday. Even though I did a lot of the organizing, i.e. shipper, buying the flight tickets, it still didn’t seem real somehow. Maybe because it was never my life-long dream to ever move from England, I don’t know.
I was bought up in Reading, but had moved away from my family to Swindon about 18 years ago. There was never any family rift, it was just that we couldn’t afford to buy a house in Reading and it was cheaper in Swindon. I love all of my family and Kev gets on very well with everyone, although we were only 45 minutes down the motorway, my family rarely visited us. Which, at the end of the day, worked well, because there was never the opportunity of anyone just popping in for a coffee, so I can’t say that I miss it! Also Kev’s family have all lived abroad within the last ten years and he has not seen his parents for the last three years. In fact, we probably have more contact with family now that we are here than we ever did when we were in the UK.
So, we arrived here on 7 December and stayed at the same holiday apartment that we had in 2004. We had remained friends with the owners, so it was nice to go back and see people we knew. Before we arrived here we had been on British Expats and had been in contact with Hels who phoned us the first day we arrived! We met her and Paul a couple of days later and they have been a great help, thanks Hels & Paul! Zoe had also been in contact with an Ozzie girl and within the first couple of weeks they had met up. We stayed at the apartment for two weeks and in that time we had bought a car, a motorbike, enrolled both kids at school and sorted out a rented house.
There were times when I thought of all the stuff that we had to do and it was easy to get into a panic about it all. But you have to do everything in moderation, don’t try and do everything at once. We had to prioritise everything. Luckily for us, because Christmas was fast approaching there seemed little point in trying to get a job – also we wanted to get into the rental property before looking for work. The property was unfurnished, so that was another job, getting furniture and bits and pieces. Which takes a surprisingly long time.
When we were ready to look for work, Kev found one within a couple of weeks. He is a mechanic and just wandered around the garages and left them with a CV. Unfortunately all the places where he wanted to work didn’t have any vacancies, but he did get employment elsewhere and has been at this garage for four weeks. He’s settled in really well with his colleagues.
I, on the other hand, have found it quite difficult to get office work. I have applied for loads of jobs and been for a couple of interviews; but haven’t got any further than that. The agencies don’t work the same as in the UK, you have to keep reminding them that you are looking for work. I decided that maybe it would be easier to do temp work, but there doesn’t seem to be much about. However, I did have a call from one agency who said they had just taken on a temp job and I started working there the following day. I have now been there two weeks and I think they may want me to stay on a bit longer. At least if nothing comes of it, I will have a referee in Australia.
I didn’t come out here with rose-tinted glasses, I had my concerns about whether we were doing the right thing and my main worry was, what if Zoe doesn’t like it here and in a couple of years she wants to go back to the UK, how would I feel that our small family unit would be torn apart. Obviously, I don’t know if that will still happen, but for the time being I don’t think about it much.
I have yet to find out if the cost of living is more or less than the UK, not having a permanent job yet it is difficult to say. I think that we spend the same amount on everyday food items as in the UK, and we haven’t had many bills in yet to compare on that score.
There are some things that are difficult to swallow, like having to pay for school books; having to pay for doctor’s consultations. But we knew that before we came out here.
I know Zoe misses all her friends in the UK. She has made loads of friends here, (even nabbing herself a boyfriend within a couple of weeks of being here) but it is early days for these new friendships to blossom. Adam has settled in remarkably well.
So after three months of living here, I can honestly say that I don’t miss the UK, don’t get me wrong, I loved living there but I got to the point where I wanted to try something new. I also had this vision of our kids still living with us when they are in their thirties because they wouldn’t be able to afford a place of their own and I would much rather live together here than cramped into our little house in the UK.
I don’t miss family or friends as much as I thought I would (I know I should), but because we text, email and chat to each other regularly on Skype it seems enough for me. I don’t feel like a foreigner here, I like it when people pick up on my accent, because they are so interested in why you are here. For the first couple of months, everyone said ‘Welcome to Australia’ and really meant it. Everyone are so friendly here and helpful. People have time to talk to you and they are all really proud of being Australian.
The weather has been absolutely fantastic, I personally think it boosts your outlook on life. We have a lovely house which gives us all our own personal space, which we would never have been able to afford in the UK. I’m glad that we made the decision and took the plunge to come here.
Thanks for reading this, and I hope this might help any of you that have the usual doubts, as I did, about moving to Australia.
Hazel
Mar 13th 2006, 9:23 am
#2
Lost in BE Cyberspace
Joined: Nov 2005
Location: at the bottom of a wine glass
Posts: 28,176
Re: My thoughts on our First Three Months in Oz
Sounds like you are sttling in quite nicely. It makes a change from all the doom and gloom of the past couple of days.
Mar 13th 2006, 9:27 am
#3
Forum Regular
Joined: Jan 2006
Location: u.k.
Posts: 184
Re: My thoughts on our First Three Months in Oz
nice post,good to see someone happy .
Mar 13th 2006, 9:27 am
#4
Australia's Doorman
Joined: Jan 2005
Location: The Shoalhaven, New South Wales, Australia
Posts: 11,056
Re: My thoughts on our First Three Months in Oz
Interesting read - hope you get something more satisfying work-wise in the future.
Mar 13th 2006, 9:43 am
#5
BE Enthusiast
Joined: Jan 2006
Location: Australia
Posts: 550
Re: My thoughts on our First Three Months in Oz
Originally Posted by WendyC
Sounds like you are sttling in quite nicely. It makes a change from all the doom and gloom of the past couple of days.
We've been Down Under for about three months ourselves and are loving it. I'm just not prolific enough to write about it on here.
Interested parties can read my blog (click on my name in the signature below) for some of my more recent thoughts.
Thanks for an interesting post, Hazel. Skype and SMS do make the World seem very small, don't they?
Last edited by Johnsyweb; Mar 13th 2006 at 9:44 am. Reason: Correcting typos (Australian wines are that good)!
Mar 13th 2006, 9:48 am
#6
Lost in BE Cyberspace
Joined: Nov 2005
Location: at the bottom of a wine glass
Posts: 28,176
Re: My thoughts on our First Three Months in Oz
Originally Posted by Johnsyweb
Hear! Hear!
We've been Down Under for about three months ourselves and are loving it. I'm just not prolific enough to write about it on here.
Interested parties can read my blog (click on my name in the signature below) for some of my more recent thoughts.
Thanks for an interesting post, Hazel. Skype and SMS do make the World seem very small, don't they?
We've been Down Under for about three months ourselves and are loving it. I'm just not prolific enough to write about it on here.
Interested parties can read my blog (click on my name in the signature below) for some of my more recent thoughts.
Thanks for an interesting post, Hazel. Skype and SMS do make the World seem very small, don't they?
I think a lot of it all is down to peoples attitudes to things. Some people adjust to change fairly well and embrace the differences, other do not.
Whilst there is nothing wrong with not liking something, I think some people on here do tend to think that everyone should feel the same as they do. Of course if everybody liked the same things the world would be a very boring place.
Also you can guarantee the Trolls will be out, in fact I've already found one
Mar 13th 2006, 9:58 am
#7
Happy Member
Joined: Feb 2005
Location: On a rollercoaster
Posts: 1,913
Re: My thoughts on our First Three Months in Oz
fab post!!
thanks for taking the time!!!
im having one of those panic filled days and reading those posts deffo helps!!1
kris xx
thanks for taking the time!!!
im having one of those panic filled days and reading those posts deffo helps!!1
kris xx
Mar 13th 2006, 10:09 am
#8
Living the Dream!
Joined: Sep 2005
Location: Cleveland
Posts: 6,515
Re: My thoughts on our First Three Months in Oz
Oh Hazel thank you for such a fantastic post! I was almost crying reading it, (cos I'm a big softie ) it sounds as though things are really coming together for you all. I sincerely wish you and your family the best of luck with your new lives! My outlook is simelar to yours so I hope my family will get on as well as you and yours have!
Thanks again,
Jackie x
Thanks again,
Jackie x
Mar 13th 2006, 10:11 am
#9
Forum Regular
Joined: Mar 2006
Location: Germany
Posts: 35
Re: My thoughts on our First Three Months in Oz
Great post! Thanx!
Mar 13th 2006, 10:15 am
#10
BE Forum Addict
Joined: May 2005
Location: Bunbury WA
Posts: 1,844
Re: My thoughts on our First Three Months in Oz
Originally Posted by Kevhaze
Get ready for a long read!
These are my personal thoughts and feelings on our move to Australia.
Having never traveled any further south than France and never managed to get to Scotland, it was quite a shock to everyone who knew me that I would want to move to Australia! I had only ever been on a plane once and that was only in the last few years. However, we felt that if we didn’t do it now, we would never have the chance in the future and our kids were both keen on going. We started the visa process in June 2004. Our daughter (Zoe) had been offered a free holiday with her friend to Arizona during the October half-term and we decided, with her permission, for myself, my husband (Kev) and our son (Adam) to visit Australia and do a reccie on Bendigo (Victoria). So at the end of October we did the long-haul flight to Melbourne and did a whistle-stop tour of Bendigo in 8 days! After such a long flight and the drive north to Bendigo, I must admit I did think, ‘I don’t like it, how am I going to get out of this one?’ But this was because I was so tired, and after a couple of days, I began to like Bendigo. We looked round new houses and just got a feel for the area, we liked the town, which was so clean, plenty of places to park and little traffic.
So our decision was made and we got our visas in April 2005, house got put on the market, sold and we flew out in December. All through the visa-waiting process, I did have times when I thought, ‘is it going to be worth it, leaving family and friends, leaving a lifetime of familiar places, just for more sun, a bigger house?’ I know that Kev was also worried because a lot of responsibility fell on him to get a job as a mechanic (because we are STNI). At times when I felt myself panicking, I would have a scan on BE and look for anyone who had posted their views on ‘the move’. I must say though, we were lucky in that friends and family were all behind us, there was only one person who poo-pooed our decision and could not understand why we would want to rip our family away from everything that they knew. I suppose that in a way it made us more determined to make a go of it.
We had the leaving party, and it was a great night, but I personally didn’t feel upset; maybe because the party was a couple of weeks before we left and that I went back to work on the Monday. Even though I did a lot of the organizing, i.e. shipper, buying the flight tickets, it still didn’t seem real somehow. Maybe because it was never my life-long dream to ever move from England, I don’t know.
I was bought up in Reading, but had moved away from my family to Swindon about 18 years ago. There was never any family rift, it was just that we couldn’t afford to buy a house in Reading and it was cheaper in Swindon. I love all of my family and Kev gets on very well with everyone, although we were only 45 minutes down the motorway, my family rarely visited us. Which, at the end of the day, worked well, because there was never the opportunity of anyone just popping in for a coffee, so I can’t say that I miss it! Also Kev’s family have all lived abroad within the last ten years and he has not seen his parents for the last three years. In fact, we probably have more contact with family now that we are here than we ever did when we were in the UK.
So, we arrived here on 7 December and stayed at the same holiday apartment that we had in 2004. We had remained friends with the owners, so it was nice to go back and see people we knew. Before we arrived here we had been on British Expats and had been in contact with Hels who phoned us the first day we arrived! We met her and Paul a couple of days later and they have been a great help, thanks Hels & Paul! Zoe had also been in contact with an Ozzie girl and within the first couple of weeks they had met up. We stayed at the apartment for two weeks and in that time we had bought a car, a motorbike, enrolled both kids at school and sorted out a rented house.
There were times when I thought of all the stuff that we had to do and it was easy to get into a panic about it all. But you have to do everything in moderation, don’t try and do everything at once. We had to prioritise everything. Luckily for us, because Christmas was fast approaching there seemed little point in trying to get a job – also we wanted to get into the rental property before looking for work. The property was unfurnished, so that was another job, getting furniture and bits and pieces. Which takes a surprisingly long time.
When we were ready to look for work, Kev found one within a couple of weeks. He is a mechanic and just wandered around the garages and left them with a CV. Unfortunately all the places where he wanted to work didn’t have any vacancies, but he did get employment elsewhere and has been at this garage for four weeks. He’s settled in really well with his colleagues.
I, on the other hand, have found it quite difficult to get office work. I have applied for loads of jobs and been for a couple of interviews; but haven’t got any further than that. The agencies don’t work the same as in the UK, you have to keep reminding them that you are looking for work. I decided that maybe it would be easier to do temp work, but there doesn’t seem to be much about. However, I did have a call from one agency who said they had just taken on a temp job and I started working there the following day. I have now been there two weeks and I think they may want me to stay on a bit longer. At least if nothing comes of it, I will have a referee in Australia.
I didn’t come out here with rose-tinted glasses, I had my concerns about whether we were doing the right thing and my main worry was, what if Zoe doesn’t like it here and in a couple of years she wants to go back to the UK, how would I feel that our small family unit would be torn apart. Obviously, I don’t know if that will still happen, but for the time being I don’t think about it much.
I have yet to find out if the cost of living is more or less than the UK, not having a permanent job yet it is difficult to say. I think that we spend the same amount on everyday food items as in the UK, and we haven’t had many bills in yet to compare on that score.
There are some things that are difficult to swallow, like having to pay for school books; having to pay for doctor’s consultations. But we knew that before we came out here.
I know Zoe misses all her friends in the UK. She has made loads of friends here, (even nabbing herself a boyfriend within a couple of weeks of being here) but it is early days for these new friendships to blossom. Adam has settled in remarkably well.
So after three months of living here, I can honestly say that I don’t miss the UK, don’t get me wrong, I loved living there but I got to the point where I wanted to try something new. I also had this vision of our kids still living with us when they are in their thirties because they wouldn’t be able to afford a place of their own and I would much rather live together here than cramped into our little house in the UK.
I don’t miss family or friends as much as I thought I would (I know I should), but because we text, email and chat to each other regularly on Skype it seems enough for me. I don’t feel like a foreigner here, I like it when people pick up on my accent, because they are so interested in why you are here. For the first couple of months, everyone said ‘Welcome to Australia’ and really meant it. Everyone are so friendly here and helpful. People have time to talk to you and they are all really proud of being Australian.
The weather has been absolutely fantastic, I personally think it boosts your outlook on life. We have a lovely house which gives us all our own personal space, which we would never have been able to afford in the UK. I’m glad that we made the decision and took the plunge to come here.
Thanks for reading this, and I hope this might help any of you that have the usual doubts, as I did, about moving to Australia.
Hazel
These are my personal thoughts and feelings on our move to Australia.
Having never traveled any further south than France and never managed to get to Scotland, it was quite a shock to everyone who knew me that I would want to move to Australia! I had only ever been on a plane once and that was only in the last few years. However, we felt that if we didn’t do it now, we would never have the chance in the future and our kids were both keen on going. We started the visa process in June 2004. Our daughter (Zoe) had been offered a free holiday with her friend to Arizona during the October half-term and we decided, with her permission, for myself, my husband (Kev) and our son (Adam) to visit Australia and do a reccie on Bendigo (Victoria). So at the end of October we did the long-haul flight to Melbourne and did a whistle-stop tour of Bendigo in 8 days! After such a long flight and the drive north to Bendigo, I must admit I did think, ‘I don’t like it, how am I going to get out of this one?’ But this was because I was so tired, and after a couple of days, I began to like Bendigo. We looked round new houses and just got a feel for the area, we liked the town, which was so clean, plenty of places to park and little traffic.
So our decision was made and we got our visas in April 2005, house got put on the market, sold and we flew out in December. All through the visa-waiting process, I did have times when I thought, ‘is it going to be worth it, leaving family and friends, leaving a lifetime of familiar places, just for more sun, a bigger house?’ I know that Kev was also worried because a lot of responsibility fell on him to get a job as a mechanic (because we are STNI). At times when I felt myself panicking, I would have a scan on BE and look for anyone who had posted their views on ‘the move’. I must say though, we were lucky in that friends and family were all behind us, there was only one person who poo-pooed our decision and could not understand why we would want to rip our family away from everything that they knew. I suppose that in a way it made us more determined to make a go of it.
We had the leaving party, and it was a great night, but I personally didn’t feel upset; maybe because the party was a couple of weeks before we left and that I went back to work on the Monday. Even though I did a lot of the organizing, i.e. shipper, buying the flight tickets, it still didn’t seem real somehow. Maybe because it was never my life-long dream to ever move from England, I don’t know.
I was bought up in Reading, but had moved away from my family to Swindon about 18 years ago. There was never any family rift, it was just that we couldn’t afford to buy a house in Reading and it was cheaper in Swindon. I love all of my family and Kev gets on very well with everyone, although we were only 45 minutes down the motorway, my family rarely visited us. Which, at the end of the day, worked well, because there was never the opportunity of anyone just popping in for a coffee, so I can’t say that I miss it! Also Kev’s family have all lived abroad within the last ten years and he has not seen his parents for the last three years. In fact, we probably have more contact with family now that we are here than we ever did when we were in the UK.
So, we arrived here on 7 December and stayed at the same holiday apartment that we had in 2004. We had remained friends with the owners, so it was nice to go back and see people we knew. Before we arrived here we had been on British Expats and had been in contact with Hels who phoned us the first day we arrived! We met her and Paul a couple of days later and they have been a great help, thanks Hels & Paul! Zoe had also been in contact with an Ozzie girl and within the first couple of weeks they had met up. We stayed at the apartment for two weeks and in that time we had bought a car, a motorbike, enrolled both kids at school and sorted out a rented house.
There were times when I thought of all the stuff that we had to do and it was easy to get into a panic about it all. But you have to do everything in moderation, don’t try and do everything at once. We had to prioritise everything. Luckily for us, because Christmas was fast approaching there seemed little point in trying to get a job – also we wanted to get into the rental property before looking for work. The property was unfurnished, so that was another job, getting furniture and bits and pieces. Which takes a surprisingly long time.
When we were ready to look for work, Kev found one within a couple of weeks. He is a mechanic and just wandered around the garages and left them with a CV. Unfortunately all the places where he wanted to work didn’t have any vacancies, but he did get employment elsewhere and has been at this garage for four weeks. He’s settled in really well with his colleagues.
I, on the other hand, have found it quite difficult to get office work. I have applied for loads of jobs and been for a couple of interviews; but haven’t got any further than that. The agencies don’t work the same as in the UK, you have to keep reminding them that you are looking for work. I decided that maybe it would be easier to do temp work, but there doesn’t seem to be much about. However, I did have a call from one agency who said they had just taken on a temp job and I started working there the following day. I have now been there two weeks and I think they may want me to stay on a bit longer. At least if nothing comes of it, I will have a referee in Australia.
I didn’t come out here with rose-tinted glasses, I had my concerns about whether we were doing the right thing and my main worry was, what if Zoe doesn’t like it here and in a couple of years she wants to go back to the UK, how would I feel that our small family unit would be torn apart. Obviously, I don’t know if that will still happen, but for the time being I don’t think about it much.
I have yet to find out if the cost of living is more or less than the UK, not having a permanent job yet it is difficult to say. I think that we spend the same amount on everyday food items as in the UK, and we haven’t had many bills in yet to compare on that score.
There are some things that are difficult to swallow, like having to pay for school books; having to pay for doctor’s consultations. But we knew that before we came out here.
I know Zoe misses all her friends in the UK. She has made loads of friends here, (even nabbing herself a boyfriend within a couple of weeks of being here) but it is early days for these new friendships to blossom. Adam has settled in remarkably well.
So after three months of living here, I can honestly say that I don’t miss the UK, don’t get me wrong, I loved living there but I got to the point where I wanted to try something new. I also had this vision of our kids still living with us when they are in their thirties because they wouldn’t be able to afford a place of their own and I would much rather live together here than cramped into our little house in the UK.
I don’t miss family or friends as much as I thought I would (I know I should), but because we text, email and chat to each other regularly on Skype it seems enough for me. I don’t feel like a foreigner here, I like it when people pick up on my accent, because they are so interested in why you are here. For the first couple of months, everyone said ‘Welcome to Australia’ and really meant it. Everyone are so friendly here and helpful. People have time to talk to you and they are all really proud of being Australian.
The weather has been absolutely fantastic, I personally think it boosts your outlook on life. We have a lovely house which gives us all our own personal space, which we would never have been able to afford in the UK. I’m glad that we made the decision and took the plunge to come here.
Thanks for reading this, and I hope this might help any of you that have the usual doubts, as I did, about moving to Australia.
Hazel
Now the kids want my attention
We have been here 15 months, love our life here, but if for some reason we had to go back to UK we would be ok there also, life really is what you make it, we have had ups and downs but we would have them anywhere.
good luck hope you still feel the same in your next update.
Denise
Mar 13th 2006, 10:16 am
#11
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Joined: Sep 2004
Location: Wello Point, Bayside, Brisbane & Loving It !!!
Posts: 932
Re: My thoughts on our First Three Months in Oz
Good post, and a story remarkably similar to ours. We arrived 29th December 2005 and have now sorted out jobs, bought a house in a lovely Bayside suburb and enrolled daughter in kindy and swimming lessons.
We do not miss the UK at all, although we do miss friends and family. We have better quality of life and are able to do things we just couldn't in the UK coz of the hours we were working. Our jobs do not pay anywhere as much as ours in the UK, but they cover the bills with enough to spare for our weekends. Yesterday we went 45 mins down the road to Dreamworld and had a helicopter flight and a great days entertainment for the kids.
It's great to get up for work with the sun shining and not to have to worry about coats and scarfs and boots - just get dressed and off you go! It's great to eat outside everynight, whether it's raining or not. It's great to like the rain again!!! It's great that children get the chance to spend so much time outside enjoying the fresh air, even with the sun code meaning they have to stay inside 10-3.
Don't get me wrong, it has been hard at times, and we had all the usual doubts both before we came and while here. But they come and go and all in all we so far agree that we have made the right choice. It's been worth it!!
We do not miss the UK at all, although we do miss friends and family. We have better quality of life and are able to do things we just couldn't in the UK coz of the hours we were working. Our jobs do not pay anywhere as much as ours in the UK, but they cover the bills with enough to spare for our weekends. Yesterday we went 45 mins down the road to Dreamworld and had a helicopter flight and a great days entertainment for the kids.
It's great to get up for work with the sun shining and not to have to worry about coats and scarfs and boots - just get dressed and off you go! It's great to eat outside everynight, whether it's raining or not. It's great to like the rain again!!! It's great that children get the chance to spend so much time outside enjoying the fresh air, even with the sun code meaning they have to stay inside 10-3.
Don't get me wrong, it has been hard at times, and we had all the usual doubts both before we came and while here. But they come and go and all in all we so far agree that we have made the right choice. It's been worth it!!
Mar 13th 2006, 10:31 am
#12
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Joined: Feb 2006
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Re: My thoughts on our First Three Months in Oz
Thanks Hazel for sharing your thought with us, great post.
farideh
farideh
Mar 13th 2006, 11:12 am
#13
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Joined: Jan 2006
Posts: 311
Re: My thoughts on our First Three Months in Oz
Originally Posted by chris and farideh
Thanks Hazel for sharing your thought with us, great post.
farideh
farideh
Mar 13th 2006, 11:35 am
#14
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Joined: Feb 2004
Posts: 987
Re: My thoughts on our First Three Months in Oz
Hazel what a lovely thread and a big thankyou for taking so much time over it.
I have had many doubts along the line especially last year after my Dad died .It has been a long wait for us and are still waiting to sell the house.
It is really imprtant to read about all the little things that are so different than the UK and then you can prepare yourself more for when you arrive.
At this moment in time I just cannot wait to go.
Once we eventually arrive I will try my hardest to make it work after all this time it has taken to get there.
Good Luck may it all continue to work out for you.
I have had many doubts along the line especially last year after my Dad died .It has been a long wait for us and are still waiting to sell the house.
It is really imprtant to read about all the little things that are so different than the UK and then you can prepare yourself more for when you arrive.
At this moment in time I just cannot wait to go.
Once we eventually arrive I will try my hardest to make it work after all this time it has taken to get there.
Good Luck may it all continue to work out for you.
Mar 13th 2006, 11:38 am
#15
Chocoholic
Joined: Apr 2005
Location: Betchworth, Surrey.
Posts: 2,899
Re: My thoughts on our First Three Months in Oz
I love reading these posts.
Thanks for sharing your thoughts Hazel. (And tabby too )
Glad you're enjoying yourselves and settling in ok.
Julie. x
Thanks for sharing your thoughts Hazel. (And tabby too
)Glad you're enjoying yourselves and settling in ok.
Julie. x