Jen28

This Saturday marks our one year arrival in Australia to start up our new life over here so I thought I’d put some thoughts down on how it’s all gone.

Getting here: Now this was the easy part, we had enough points from a recent round the world trip to fly business class with Singapore Airlines on our air points! A wee treat for the start of our new life. It was amazing!!! Not sure how we’ll survive the long haul back in cattle class next time but hopefully we’ll have forgotten the glorious comfort and first class service by then… We had a nightmare getting our stuff shipped over, used a great company J.A Coles from Manchester who packed everything up great. It got here fine then a certain delivery company took hold of it and it all went wrong - missing boxes, smashed goods, unbelievably bad service but a strongly worded letter to the MD saw a refund for the damaged goods but still every time I see an orange truck I want to scream! But all in all it wasn’t as hard as I thought it might be and now it’s a very distant memory.

The visa: With my Kiwi partner we went for a de-facto 461 visa, being British I’m covered by reciprocal health care and it was a nice, easy, quick and cheap visa to get granted. In all honesty, not the best long term visa to be on. You can’t progress to permanent residency on this and there are a few other niggles that get in the way. But since we’re not sure if we’ll settle in Australia or New Zealand it’s fine for now… Plus it lets you work wherever or not work if you have that luxury so no stress on getting kicked out of the country on the 457 visa which in the end worked well for us!

The job: I moved with my company to their Sydney office so was lucky to have a job secured when I came out here and an income all lined up. This helped with securing a flat etc. But in the end the job sucked and I was working for a bunch of morons so I quit after 9 months!! I’m now settling in to a new role at a great company where there are definitely less morons! I’m glad that when things got really hard I wasn’t tied into my visa and scared to leave. A colleague was in that boat but managed to change onto a partner visa and quit without a new job to go to and remain in the country (really that’s how bad the morons were!! ).

The city: We LOVE Sydney. It’s a big city but feels pretty small. We rent a lovely wee house in Balmain which is a very quick ferry commute into work. The suburb feels safe and homely but is lively with bars and restaurants a plenty. You feel so out of the city when you’re there – not like George Street that’s for sure! We get out and about most weekends; mountain biking, surfing, dinner with friends, the beach, camping, hiking, weekends away to relax – the possibilities are endless. It’s the middle of winter at the moment and yesterday I spent my lunch break in pretty quiet park enjoying the 20 degree sunshine and blue skies. It’s hard to hate this life when the weather is this good. Saying that we’ve just come through the worst Sydney summer in years and it didn’t dampen our mood (pun intended!). So it rains here as well, big deal it rains a heck of a lot more in the UK and is a lot colder and that’s in summer too!

The guilt: Now I must admit, I’m having some mixed feelings regarding home. I love my family and really get along with them, my folks came over this year for 3 weeks and I spent every day with them and only wanted to kill them once!! It was great seeing them and I was sad to see them go. My gran’s poorly at the moment and it’s been tough on the family and I wish I was there to give my mum a hug. But all in all, I feel the most guilt because I don’t want to go home, I don’t miss it and I don’t see myself going back… I Skype my parents every weekend – at their request, I’d rather it was more once a month with a phone call thrown in but I’ll wait the full year before I try and ween them off! Again – guilty! But really I know I’m just being hard on myself, my parents are happy that I’m happy and I’m happier than I’ve ever been.

The verdict: So even with the up and down year we’ve had, changing jobs, removal company issues, current concerns over job security and an appendicitis scare… We couldn’t be happier. It was definitely the best thing for us. Since we’ve moved here one of our best mates from work has moved out and another good friend too. We were also lucky to already have a couple of really good friends here which has helped us endlessly with getting out and about and getting to meet new people. I’ve heard it can be difficult to crack into some friendships but most people I’ve met have been super friendly and we’re always expanding our circle of friends. I not sure what the future holds but this year has passed so fast it’s crazy – I see us here for at least another two years but can also see it running into two decades!!

Everyone in the world will have a different reaction and experience in any encounter or adventure – we’re lucky we’re on the side that paid off.

Jen

Mazza12

Very positive, upbeat post! Just what I want to hear given that I'll arrive in Sydney next month I'm having major wobbles at the moment as the move draws closer so it was really great to read that you love Sydney and that the move so far has worked well for you. Cheers

carolinephillips

Great update- Sydney is fantastic, and like you I don't really want to go back to the UK. My OH says this is where he was meant to be- he doesn't think of the UK as home now.
4 years next month, then we go for citizenship.

blondiefee

Great positive post... thanks for the update.

Still Game

Really glad things are working out for you. Sounds like you don't let things get you down - take charge of them and move on. Optimism in the face of adversity is a great thing to have. Guilt is hard, different for every person and sometimes attached to no rhyme nor reason. You can say to someone "don't feel guilty" which doesn't mean tot, you feel what you feel. You're living your life and in constant contact with your parents and it's lovely they are able to visit. They'll be happy if you're happy.

All in all wish you all the best for the future & keep smiling!