Paula31

What a frank and honest post. It's good to see you giving a realistic view of things. Keep the updates regular, it's like a mini soap.

geordie mandy

Thanks.

im now trying to get my head around bulk billing drs, getting to grips with needing private medical insurance, if need pet insurance and other such mundane stuff.

Just forked out a fortune for school uniform, $106 for 4 school shirts and 2school hats for sons 2&3 and a further $120 for their school resouce pack. Son 1 has just had $80 spent on 2 shirts then ive had to buy his school exercise books and other stuff for him.
Thanks god they are back to school tommorrow and i can get started on my cv and job hunting as i certainly need to be working t afford to live in Darwin.

5 weeks are over and hopefuly in 2 more weeks our sea freight will be here. Im so looking forward to that.

My OH is still not enjoying work but is just getting on with it the best he can.

Not impressd that ive not got a home phone at the moment, as ours wasnt working and the shop we bought it from told us to send it to the company. WE sent it off saturday and wecould be with out a phone for up to 2-3 weeks now. Great eh!!!.
Ive no got a prepaid mobile, but havent managed as yet to activate it as they system is busy. So i feel as though im all isolated apart from geting on line.
Off to walk the dog now as he ha just dragged his lead to me and is giving me those puppy dog eyes that spaniels do. so best go
Mandy xx

torren

Hi Mandy

Really enjoying hearing about your settling in. We are moving to Darwin from Scotland in December/January. We are expecting heat and flies etc so it's great to hear your balanced accounts of it all and that it is possible to adapt.

GreenMan72

Mandy,

All the best for you. I know how unsettling it is not to have your possessions with you, but hang in there

Very keen to hear your views and thoughts about living in Darwin - the place has always fascinated me (I prefer the tropical temperatures as well - definitely planning a winter break there next year).

Best of luck and keep posting

myrtle1

Hey Mandy ...

Really enjoyed following your progress. As others have said - good to read a balanced post! Will enjoying reading about your adventures to come

geordie mandy

Everyone we speak to say we have arrived at the right time with it being the dry season. It has been around the 32c mark everyday, down to about 20 at night. I often hang my washing out late at night and bring it in around 9am. AS i often burn my back hanging clothes out in the heat of the day.

When you arrive it will be the 'wet season', something ive not expereinced, but going by what people tell us, you go out of the aircon home/office and with in seconds you have sweat dripping of you. Not looking forward to that personally.

I am enjoying my expereince of Darwin and it is far better than what i could have imagined.
The children only had 3 days in school last week due to the teacher training on Monday and the Darwin show on the friday.
The Darwin show was very expensive, but interesting. I got to see the argricultural/ WI type of stalls that you would see in a 'show' in places like Harrogate or other countryside towns in the UK, something i do enjoy seeing. They had fairground rides that cost way too much money and so many diffferent food stalls it was unbelivable.
So far the boys have had mixed views of the schools. My youngest was moved class on his second day and got into a fight on his first day, not a great start, but some older boy was picking on him and he stood his ground. By Thursday he had new freinds and seemed happy. The middle boy made freinds straight away. The eldest is finding his new school a little over whelming, he is the only 'POM' in his class and people are either being nice to him because of it or are teasing him because of it. He has made freinds with a boy from the philipines and a few girls from the UK.

As for me, well im just plodding along, got my driving licence sorted, feel more comfortable driving an automatic now and have started to venture further from home in the car. I finally managed to get contact lenses sorted, have got the papers to register with a Gp surgery.
OH is sorting out the health insurance tommorow while at work.
We still have no home phone, but at least ive got a mobile to use now lol.
Ive been thinking of volenteering at the boys primary school as i noticed they need help with the 'transition' year group with the PE lessons. I like keeping fit so im sure its something i could manage.
WE got a patio set yesterday, got a bargain too, which in Darwin is a bit of a rareity lol. It felt good sitting out on it today when freinds popped round for a cuppa. With out our geordie freinds who came out as the advance party, i wonder if we would have settled in as well.

For any one who is moving to Darwin, come with an open mind for new expereinces, be prepared for it to be expensive and hot and you wont get a shock lol. We had hoped to move to Victoria and one day we will but for now, this is our home and we will make the most of it, through the good times and will suffer through the bad.
Its been 6 weeks since we arrived and at times i feel like we have been here for ever.
I chat to everyone i meet, the checkout assistant, neighbours, the postie, as people are so freindly its hard not too.
It may even suprise a few people that ive also spoken to the aboriginals that i pass as well, many people are so negative towards, the indigenous population. Im trying to teach my boys that we are all equal so it costs nothing to smile and say hello to everyone no matter what the colour of their skin. However, ive also taught the boys not to encroach on their land in the woods near our house, as i realise they may not welcome prying boys in to their home.
From the libary i took a book out about aboriginal society and culture, it really has been an eye opener and has helped me understand them.
I feel living in Darwin is a great opportuntity to learn about Australia, both the modern and the traditional.
im off now for a glass of wine to go with the barbie tea
Mandy

Julzi

Hello Mandy,

I'm glad to hear you are enjoying Darwin. We are also laterals who moved from Germany to Darwin last October (worst time to arrive, the build up and wet season truly is awful). From what I read I think you live in the same estate as ourselves and many other laterals, so if you are ever in need of a cuppa or chat please message me.

My eldest is at school but I'm at home most days with the two younger ones.

Take care,
Julzi

geordie mandy

Sent you some Karma, always good to hear from someone closeby
Mandy

Sally Simpson

Sounds like you are starting to get settled Mandy. Hope it continues well.
Wet season in the tropics can be very sweaty but you will survive. Just make sure you check that the A/C is working before you really get into it!

soapy©

i just love this thread. its a real update on how a family settles. really detailed and quite fun to read

im still not sure your in Oz though. i think you are sittin at home pretending to be here lol
im still shocked you got here in the end

good luck pal and keep up the updates while they are fresh.
i tend to leave mine too long and cant remember what the hell i have done

moneypenny20

Imagine what it'll be like when Sue arrives!

geordie mandy

i think we will all be celebrating when Sue gets over
Mandy

soapy©

lmao. im sure you PM will turn out to welcome Sue lmao

geordie mandy

Its 8 weeks now(tommorow) since we arrived, and our furniture was delivered on Tuesday. The past few weeks have had its ups and downs and some of it really stretched our comfort zone but we got through it.
2 weeks ago our youngest son (8) developed an infection on his big toes, appeared over night, he went to school on monday and got sent home with in an hour. I took him to a local dr who gave us some anitbiotics and asked me to come back on the wed. By wed, he was in so much pain and the swelling was pus filled and very nasty, we wondered whether he had been bitten by a spider or some other creature. The dr lanced one of his toes and took a swab and my son screamed the place down, he then gave me a needle and told me to do the other one at home when he was a sleep. I was so upset and shaking when i left the surgery i was really cursing being in Darwin at this stage. It took me a couple of hours to calm my son down, eventually after advice from freinds on facebook i took him to the local A&E and what an amazing expereince. We were seen within a few mins of arriving by the triage nurse and were taken into the paeds dept within 15 mins, they used entenox and lanced his other toe and dressed both of his toes. we were on our way home with in the hour. The relief i felt was immediate, my son was groggy from the gas and finally got a good sleep.
He was kept off school for the week. On Fri i went back to the surgery to see the same dr, still not happy with him but he was more approachable and apologised for the Wed. He asked us to see the nurse to change his dressing at a local family clinic, which we did.
On tues, we got a phone call from the drs surgery asking us to bring my son in asap, so i went in yesterday, we got the results back and the dr was very concerned as it showed up MRSA, not good news. He wanted him to have a blood test done to check for diabetes, as he now has infections breaking out on his thumb and a finger.
He got the bloood test done today before school and the staff were fantastic as he was terrified of the needles and is definatly getting white coat syndrome.
In between the dramas with our youngest, we did manage to have some fun.
We went to the Northern territory wildlife park about 45 mins away from home, we had a fantastic day it cost us $71 for a family of 5 which at the time we thought was expensive but as we are 'local' we now have a free years pass which we are pleased with as we didnt manage to see all what the park offered.
I can honestly say hand on heart we have not once been homesick, we have missed the familiarity of a system that we are used to and have at times struggled with the strangeness .
On the whole i am coping with living in Darwin, no matter where we lived, i still have to do the school run, shopping and housework the normal mundane things. My kids still argue and fight with each other like they did in the UK.
while typing this my youngest shouted me to come outside as there was a cane toad, which are very prevalent in Darwin, i donned my disposable rubber gloves, doubled baggged a carrier bag and caught it, it is now sitting in my chest freezer. This is the first time ive had to do and my heart was thumping getting this creature.
My husband the other day expertly caught a redback spider with the use of a plastic cup and card and let it go away from the house in the bushes on the outer edge of our court. These are things we never thought we would ever do.
I am surrounded by chaos at the moment, with boxes that need un packing which i will do when the kids go to bed. We got the youngest one's bed sorted out today and have 2 high sleeper beds to build over the weekend. Something we never considered when we bought the beds in the UK, were ceilling fans, so we are going to have to position those very carefully so we dont have decapitated boys on our hands lol.
Somethings never change, but it is nice having warmth and sunshine while doing the normal stuff.
Well i think ive burbled enough about the past 2 weeks , time to get a brew and chill out after i get the boys sorted for bed.
Mandy

Bigaitch

Hi Mandy, This is a great thread, very encouraging for those of us who are still 'in transit' so to speak. Hope your boys infection get better soon. Thanks for the updates. H.