giri26

My wife and I along with our 3 month old moved to South Australia about a year ago. I lived in the US for 14 years (Did my masters in the US as well) and my wife lived there for around 8 years. It was a decision based on the fact that I wasn't getting my Green Card (We are from India) any sooner and I had already spent 10 years waiting for one. It was scary for me as I had a stable job in the US and was making good money and I was moving here with out work and with a new born.

1 year on, I think it was a good decision. I was able to find a job within a month and a year later got hired as a permanent employee in the same govt. sector I joined as a contractor.

The things I liked so far:

1. The weather obviously. We lived in Illinois and the winter was brutal there. Even here the winter is little cold for our liking during winters but not as bad as what we faced in Illinois.
2. Not worrying about the visa. I lived in the US for 14 years and there wasn't a single year I wasn't worried about my visa status. It was either appearing for an interview when going on a vacation or applying for H1B extensions every 1-3 years.
3. Less crowded and good transportation.
4. People have been largely friendly. I don't know if this is just in Adelaide but I haven't found any animosity from the locals till now.

Things that could be better:

1. The cost of living is little higher but again SA is not that bad when compared to other states I guess.
2. The internet. I was shocked to learn that majority of places in SA and in Australia are still on DSL with unreliable download speeds. I still get only 5-7 MBPS and the reports of NBN hasn't been very encouraging as well. I always had 20-30 MBPS in the US and even the DSL mostly will hover around 12-20 MBPS there. I am only talking about cities and not the rural areas.

Well even though there are few other niggles, I wouldn't want to harp on that as there isn't any place which is perfect. Living in an alien country for 14 years, I have learnt to adapt and so has my wife. So I don't have too many complaints about where I live. My only expectation when I moved to Australia was a simple and peaceful life for my family. We don't have major expectations and just wanted a stable life for our daughter growing up. I am happy so far here in Australia and hopefully it will stay the same. I have taken lots of help from this site and just wanted to update how we got on after our move.

dasalcedo

Congratulations, I have been in Adelaide for 11 years now. Nice place to live but I wouldn't say that transportation is good though.

Coppock

Congrats on making the move!

GeniB

Sounds like you made a good decision . My sister has lived in Australia for over 40 yrs..so you have a way to go. 27 yrs on Kangaroo Island,the rest in the Adelaide hills. Apart from being called a ' pommy bastard' one time too many ( As a 10 pound British Immigrant) she has been immensely grateful to the life Australia has given her and her children.She has had to relinquish her ties with family in the UK( and now around the world for many of us) which was sometimes a bitter thing for her.. Finding your place in the world once you have left your native country is always going to be a gamble.It pays to look at it from the host countries point of view sometimes,realise you have to make as much if not more effort to integrate and embrace their culture if your going to make it work. Remembering always...It was you who moved there.
I've done it twice now,and learned one language fluently. The second I am still struggling with, but still try as often as possible,despite being surrounded by people who just speak English.
Just been to the USA (via Canada) to visit my elder daughter and new granddaughter.Must say it gets more and more unfriendly towards foreigners.Hours spent at borders and in line at customs. I really hate the thought of visiting now.