Vash the Stampede

wanderingwombat

So we dont mention the snake threads??

Sammy T

Nice to see the before and after piccies, Vash

You sure have used a lot of paint!!

Sam

Sally Simpson

He's doing his bit for the Australian economy!

Wendy66

Great before and after pics, good thread We have a 'do up' house as well, the kitchen was shocking looking back at pictures it's horrible but just finally finished it today when new range arrived and slotted into place! although it's damaged on right side and Good Guys are replacing it, for us next week

Vash the Stampede

Two coats of undercoat on everything, followed by two coats of top coat. Gives a very nice, longlasting finish - but it all adds up!

LOL! When it's all finished, I'll tell you how much we spent.

Thanks Wendy. Renos are great fun, but they do take a lot out of you. We are relieved that the only thing we need to do in the kitchen is plaster and paint. In fact, that's all we need to do in most rooms.

BadgeIsBack

I'm impressed at how fast you both have progressed this so soon after landing, and with an infant too.

Your average Brit would be barely through their TFN and stroking dolphins..your wife has just picked up the gear and is getting on with it!

Geelong Gent

Tells you alot about the person, now doesn't it?

Like people who get up and do their own water irrigations. Life is not for sitting and moping.

Wonder if the japanese immigrants complain about no pickled dolphins in the supermarkets?

Vash the Stampede

Thanks guys. We're both highly motivated people, and my wife in particular is simply fantastic. I cannot say enough about how positive and supportive she has been. Numpty Bub seems at home with any number of different environments and copes well with ambient noise; she can sleep though a surprising amount!

I need to stay active while I'm not employed, partly to avoid laziness and inertia but also because of my arthritis. It's very painful in the mornings at the moment and if I don't stay active during the day I'm walking like an old man by the evening. So the reno is healthy for us in a number of ways.

34°C today; our hottest yet. Feels like an oven outside and I know it'll only get worse as summer kicks in.

Been in our house for a full 2 weeks now. Will post another update later today.

BadgeIsBack

You're a lucky bloke mate.

What's her general view on this Australian lark? Do you expect her to have any wobbles? Have you discussed this - and any tactics you might use? I'm genuinely quite interested in how a couple with an Australian in it would go - you're not the first - but you are a prolific poster.

Vash the Stampede

Since Mrs Stampede reads this thread, I'm reluctant to speak on her behalf. Instead I'll invite her to add her 2p when she's ready.

Let's just say that I expected these first two weeks to be more difficult than they have been, so I consider us to be well ahead of the game right now (except for the fact that I'm still unemployed ). I don't have any "tactics" per se; my aim is simply to be supportive at all times, to the best of my ability.

We would like to visit the UK at some stage next year (if we can afford it) and Mrs Stampede is encouraged by the fact that her mother is talking about a possible flight Down Under at some stage. In the meantime it's just a case of taking life one day at a time.

Vash the Stampede

Part #9: settling in.
Our air freight arrived on Friday! It was sent from the UK by Allied Pickfords and handled at this end by Bell Total Logistics.

At the start of the week I received a phone call from a girl called Kate O'Conner at BTL, informing me that our freight had arrived and should be cleared by the end of the week. She wanted to confirm the number of boxes we expected to receive, and requested a new statement of contents list (the original had been lost somewhere between the UK and Australia somehow).

Kate was not able to open our boxes herself, but helpfully took photos of them, which she emailed them to me so that I could check the details on the labels. She also emailed me a new air freight declaration form which I filled out and faxed back immediately. I was pleased and impressed by her attention to detail.

On Friday, "Air Freight Kate" (as I now thought of her) phoned to inform us that our freight had been cleared by Customs and AQIS. She emailed an invoice which I paid immediately via direct transfer.

Here follows a breakdown of the invoice:

• Destination airline document fee: $40
  
  
• Handling fee: $50
  
  
• Destination cargo automation fee: $25
  
  
• CMR/EDI fee: $30
  
  
• Destination international terminal fee: $65
  
  
• AQIS inspection fee: $55
  
  
• Total: $265

Talk about a classic case of everyone wanting their finger in the pie!

Despite the appearance of an "AQIS inspection fee" on the invoice, Kate explained me that our boxes had not been opened by Customs or AQIS, nor had we been charged or penalised in any way by these two departments. The "AQIS inspection fee" is simply a document inspection fee (the cheeky swines! ) and does not refer to a physical inspection of cargo (which usually costs $155!)

Once the invoice was paid Kate advised that our boxes would be delivered within three hours. To my delight, they arrived dead on time. They had been well packed, and absolutely nothing was damaged; even my delicate computer gear was unharmed. So that's our air freight sorted. Top marks to Allied Pickfords and Bell Total Logistics for a good job well done. And if you ever deal with BTL yourself, ask for Air Freight Kate!

Vash the Stampede

Part #10: poking around.
We've now had time to properly acquaint ourselves with our surroundings. There's a tiny shopping centre down the road which provides three essentials: a post office, an IGA supermarket (open until 21:00) and a Thai takeaway. These are all within easy walking distance.

A 4km drive takes us to the nearby shopping centre, which is absolutely massive and has everything we need under one roof (Myer, Target, Big W, Woolies, Coles, Dick Smith, at least three dozen hairdressers, etc.) It also has a Civic Centre which incorporates a local library (of which I became a member during our first week). Further down the road we have a slightly smaller shopping centre with Bunnings, Spotlight, a Chinese restaurant, another library and all the other usual stuff.

Local facilities also include our medical centre, a child healthcare clinic, a maternity hospital, a large aquadome with indoor swimming pools/gym/waterslide/aerobics, personal trainers, cafe, etc., an 8-theatre cinema and a Rivers discount store where we have started to do most of our clothes/shoe shopping. (Mrs Stampede bought a fancy pair of sandals and four blouses for $110 last week! Not too shabby! )

One excellent feature of our suburb is the underground power; no tacky telegraph poles for us! It really makes a difference when you look down the road and see nothing but trees and smart lawns. The street lights are so unobtrusive, we don't even notice them.



We also appreciate the local parks and ovals, which seem to be all over the place. I drove out to one of them and took some photos this afternoon, which you can find here. It was overcast and raining (!!!) so you might see some smudgy raindrops on the lens occasionally. Check out the grubby gas bbqs in the picnic area! They are totally free of course, and although they always need a good clean before you use them, I have never heard of one being vandalised.

We have not cast ourselves upon the mercy of the SA public transport yet, preferring to use our car: an early 90s Nissan Pintara Superhatch (with aircon!) which is currently on permanent loan from my mother. It's only a 1.8 slushbox, but surprisingly spacious and very practical. I'd like to buy my next car with cash, so it looks like we'll be using the mighty 'tara for a good while yet.

The neighbourhood is very quiet and our neighbours are friendly; one of them came over to introduce himself yesterday. We do have a small bunch of bogans living in a house down the road, but they have been no trouble at all except for a week ago on Saturday night, when they had a big party with some sort of idiotic DJ. It kicked off in earnest at 19:00 and was earth-shatteringly loud until midnight, when the cops arrived and told the bogans to shut up. The volume instantly plummeted from +300 to -56 and we heard nothing for the rest of the night.

Who dobbed in the bogans? Well... let's just say I happen to know that someone with a young baby had called the local cop shop and raised a complaint...

Sally Simpson

Your street looks really lovely Vash!
& yet another entertaining instalment!

Vash the Stampede

Thanks!

The street only looks lovely because I carefully took a photo which doesn't show the bogan house...