Andycroswell

I emigrated to Melbourne i 2002 after meeting my Australian wife in the UK in 1999, we kept in touch, having holidays in each others countries and in 2002 I bit the bullett and decided to move to Australia and make a life out here.

I originally came out on a working holiday visa, I had only ever spent 3 weeks at a time with my now wife, before I came to settle here, so I felt that the prospective marriage visa was a little " full on" and would maybe put too much pressure on the both of us.

Well it all worked out, it 2003, we were married at a beatifull place in the Dandenongs, with my parents and friends having flown out from the UK to be with me.

We now have a 1 year old son and life is great
The conversion from a WHV to a spouse visa is not too difficult as long as you have evidence of the relationship, which means cards, photos, email, bills etc. To be honest I found Melbourne Immigration helpful and very easy to deal with.

It is not a bed of roses living out here
I hate that my parents do not get the chance to see my son growing up ( their only grandchild), they come for hoildays, but i am sure it upsets my mum that she is missing the daily contact with him.

I miss quality TV, believe me, when you come to Aus, expect loads of imported trash on the tv, loads and i mean loads of Ads in the shows and no BBC !

I also miss daily reference to the places i used to grow up in the local news, for the first 12 months here, i recognised none of places in the news and felt a little alienated.

Also It is weird not having the usual "celebs" in the papers and news, it takes ages to get to know who are the Australian tv and music stars as they get no publicity in the UK, so if you go anywhere and say jokingly
" nice to see you, to see you nice", or "tonight matthew" or " suprise, suprise " or " shut that door" peolple have no idea, where as in the UK, we all know the old time celebrities.

Be prepared to get to know a whole lot of music that never gets played in the UK, Cold Chisel, Skyhooks, Men at work, Daryl Braithwaite and believe it or not John Farnham is a huge star and can fill out stadiums, in the UK we used to call him a one ht wonder.

I miss the little villages, the local pub and being able to walk to places in the community.

Here, I love the open spaces, the friendlyness of the people, the weather, having bbq's often, being offered beer and wine when you go to visit a friend or relative, not just the quaint english cup of tea.
I love the parrots, cockatoos and possums that live in my garden.
Melbourne is a great place to live , the public transport is 200 times better than UK, my train has only been late about 3 times in a year of travel.
the city is friendly, easy to navigate and it's possible to walk to where you want to go in the CBD withn 20 mins.

When you arrive, on a nice day, go down to the rowing boat sheds by the Yarra river, open a bottle of wine and enjoy the sunset over the city, trust me, a little tingle will go down your spine, look at your partner, no words will be neccessary, you will know, you have made the right decision.

Hels

Wow...what a lovely post!!

I am an Aussie and moved to London for 4 yrs. A week after arriving I met my Hubby and 2 yrs later we were married. I bought him back to live in Australia just over 1 year ago and he has really struggled.

I am really looking forward to showing him this post tonight at home as even though he says he is over the homesickness and feels at home here in Australia...I sometimes wonder. I hope this does show him that their is light at the end of the tunnel. I know its different for those coming over as spouses as they would probably never have thought of moving their lives across the world except that they met someone.

Thanks for that Andy and hopefully, if this meet comes together I can introduce my Hubby to you and you can let him know how things are after 3 yrs

Andycroswell

That would be great, i am looiking forward to the meet, to hear peoples experiences, and there thoughts and the chance to drink warm beer and cold pies.

Shellfish

You obviously don't take the Glen Waverley line. I wish I was that lucky

Your final paragraph is very apt, I couldn't agree more

Bordy

I tried that but after 25 years married she said WTF are you looking at.

woodyinoz

PMSL I could just picture it

Lindsay Clan

A great post which gives up to all of us who have only been here for a few months. Thanks

Lorraine

galloping gaijin

...last nights curry is having it's revenge
:scared: :scared:

ozzieeagle

Great post, I feel "right" about this city as well, it can really grab you when you look at it from certain angles. From the Bolte bridge looking east is great as well, and anywhere central from South of the Yarra.

Hels FYI, When I first arrived here, I spent a bit of time with the wifes family in Bendigo, I really didn't feel comfortable at all up there, I put this down to being city born and bred, it was all too quite and so very different, at least around these Northern subs, especially around Carlton and Fitzroy, you can almost imagine sometimes you are in a really good part of London.

ROBnCAZ

'kin hilarious and can totally relate!!

Issie

Excellent post....i hope one day i will be by the Yarra river too.

Glad you made it ...glad your happy

The Johnstons

What a lovely post, you've obviously put everything into perspective . Glad you're happy and hope you continue to be so for a very long time .
TJ