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Any Irish ex Pats/soon to be ex pats?
Aug 18th 2006, 11:36 am
#391
Forum Regular
Joined: Nov 2005
Posts: 139
Re: Any Irish ex Pats/soon to be ex pats?
Originally Posted by koonyungdi
Hi everyone!
I was wondering whether you all had moments before you left when you thought you were doing the wrong thing
Since we got back from holidays I've been having a rethink about everything and wondering are we mad to head off into the unknown but maybe this is normal? My Aunt is also putting me off Brisbane as she's convinced we won't survive the heat (it was 39 in Italy and we managed that!) and recommending Melbourne instead so my head's all over the place 
Rant over..hope everyone is well..some really great posts on life down under..keep them coming!
I was wondering whether you all had moments before you left when you thought you were doing the wrong thing
Since we got back from holidays I've been having a rethink about everything and wondering are we mad to head off into the unknown but maybe this is normal? My Aunt is also putting me off Brisbane as she's convinced we won't survive the heat (it was 39 in Italy and we managed that!) and recommending Melbourne instead so my head's all over the place Rant over..hope everyone is well..some really great posts on life down under..keep them coming!
Hi Koonyngdi
I think this is all natural. It is a huge worry not knowing what we will be letting ourselves in for. We have never been to Oz before, but have to say that the people we have been in contact with on here and in Oz are so helpful. As we are going in September, I have been onto the schools. You would not believe how helpful the secretaries and principals of the schools are. Gosh us Irish could learn and thing or two from the Aussies about how to deal with people over the telephone. I have to say I am as nervous as could be, but feel if I don't give it a try I will always regret it. I keep saying to myself what's the worse thing that could happen, you don't like it and return, perhaps a few quid worse off.
I think from research by enlarge the weather is Brisbane is very comfortable. I think it is only from January to March that is becomes pretty hot. I know for me I would prefer that than damp, cold weather of Dublin.
Hope there is going to be a meet up before Yafoley leaves on Saturday.
Talk soon
MK
Aug 18th 2006, 11:36 am
#392
Forum Regular
Joined: Jun 2006
Posts: 44
Re: Any Irish ex Pats/soon to be ex pats?
Originally Posted by koonyungdi
Thanks for that ammer! I guess I'm just panicking as we had a really good summer with family and friends (probably our best one to date) and it got me thinking that we'll be so far away..kids began to get upset as well but I got some brochures in and they're beginning to come around again....I guess it's just nerves.
Whereabouts in Melbourne are you?
Whereabouts in Melbourne are you?
Aug 18th 2006, 11:40 am
#393
Forum Regular
Joined: Nov 2005
Posts: 139
Re: Any Irish ex Pats/soon to be ex pats?
Originally Posted by propblast
Hi folks! Irish and new to this site!
I'll be leaving Ireland on the 25th October 2006- for Melbourne initially and eventually Queensland(Townsville).Never been to Australia before and would appreciate any tips/advice anyone has to offer! D-day is so close now it's getting tense- I'm going with my partner of 12 years and her family( all Australian citizens)we're also taking our two dogs with us!
I've heard their stories about oz but they've been in Ireland for approx. 15 years now and things change and differing opinions and advice is healthy! So if anyone has any advice on things like what items to ship, places to settle,climate, goods prices etc it would be greatly appreciated!
I'll be leaving Ireland on the 25th October 2006- for Melbourne initially and eventually Queensland(Townsville).Never been to Australia before and would appreciate any tips/advice anyone has to offer! D-day is so close now it's getting tense- I'm going with my partner of 12 years and her family( all Australian citizens)we're also taking our two dogs with us!
I've heard their stories about oz but they've been in Ireland for approx. 15 years now and things change and differing opinions and advice is healthy! So if anyone has any advice on things like what items to ship, places to settle,climate, goods prices etc it would be greatly appreciated!
Just welcoming you on here. We are heading to Brisbane mid September. Can't offer you any advice as never been there before. Good luck with your move.
MK
Aug 18th 2006, 11:41 am
#394
Tra second timer
Joined: Apr 2006
Location: Emerald Isle
Posts: 111
Re: Any Irish ex Pats/soon to be ex pats?
Originally Posted by Paul Fitz
Hi Koonyngdi
I think this is all natural. It is a huge worry not knowing what we will be letting ourselves in for. We have never been to Oz before, but have to say that the people we have been in contact with on here and in Oz are so helpful. As we are going in September, I have been onto the schools. You would not believe how helpful the secretaries and principals of the schools are. Gosh us Irish could learn and thing or two from the Aussies about how to deal with people over the telephone. I have to say I am as nervous as could be, but feel if I don't give it a try I will always regret it. I keep saying to myself what's the worse thing that could happen, you don't like it and return, perhaps a few quid worse off.
I think from research by enlarge the weather is Brisbane is very comfortable. I think it is only from January to March that is becomes pretty hot. I know for me I would prefer that than damp, cold weather of Dublin.
Hope there is going to be a meet up before Yafoley leaves on Saturday.
Talk soon
MK
I think this is all natural. It is a huge worry not knowing what we will be letting ourselves in for. We have never been to Oz before, but have to say that the people we have been in contact with on here and in Oz are so helpful. As we are going in September, I have been onto the schools. You would not believe how helpful the secretaries and principals of the schools are. Gosh us Irish could learn and thing or two from the Aussies about how to deal with people over the telephone. I have to say I am as nervous as could be, but feel if I don't give it a try I will always regret it. I keep saying to myself what's the worse thing that could happen, you don't like it and return, perhaps a few quid worse off.
I think from research by enlarge the weather is Brisbane is very comfortable. I think it is only from January to March that is becomes pretty hot. I know for me I would prefer that than damp, cold weather of Dublin.
Hope there is going to be a meet up before Yafoley leaves on Saturday.
Talk soon
MK
Talk soon !
Di
Aug 18th 2006, 11:46 am
#395
Tra second timer
Joined: Apr 2006
Location: Emerald Isle
Posts: 111
Re: Any Irish ex Pats/soon to be ex pats?
Originally Posted by ammer
we spent first 3 weeks in beaumaris and now we are in sanctuary lakes.we plan on going back to the other side!!! my kids dont miss anyone but they are young 7,4,3,1 but it is early days !!! there is so much to do here for them they dont have as much time to sit around complaining
Di
Aug 18th 2006, 11:54 am
#396
Forum Regular
Joined: Jun 2006
Posts: 44
Re: Any Irish ex Pats/soon to be ex pats?
Originally Posted by koonyungdi
Is that far from the CBD and coast..don't know my Melbourne geography yet as have been looking at Brisbane. My youngest is 7 and then I have an 8 yearold and a 10 year old and I am so worried about them settling but I guess it'll be ok. I hope all continues to go well for you!
Di
Di
both are about 15-20 kms from cbd but on opposite sides of the bay!!you kids will love it here .we moved for the kids,to give them more stuff to do than watch TV and drag them around liffey valley!!we looked a Brisbane too but it came down to the fact that i dont like the heat(i know...) so at least here it has a colder spell.Yet the last few weeks the weather has been fab. i worried more about hurting the people i left behind..but you have to live for yourself and give it a go!!i am off to do the ironing now(pitty i didnt leave that behind
) talk later
Aug 18th 2006, 11:55 am
#397
Just Joined
Joined: Aug 2006
Location: northern ireland
Posts: 9
Re: Any Irish ex Pats/soon to be ex pats?
Originally Posted by Paul Fitz
Hi Propblast
Just welcoming you on here. We are heading to Brisbane mid September. Can't offer you any advice as never been there before. Good luck with your move.
MK
Just welcoming you on here. We are heading to Brisbane mid September. Can't offer you any advice as never been there before. Good luck with your move.
MK
Good luck
Aug 18th 2006, 12:01 pm
#398
Tra second timer
Joined: Apr 2006
Location: Emerald Isle
Posts: 111
Re: Any Irish ex Pats/soon to be ex pats?
Originally Posted by propblast
Hi folks! Irish and new to this site!
I'll be leaving Ireland on the 25th October 2006- for Melbourne initially and eventually Queensland(Townsville).Never been to Australia before and would appreciate any tips/advice anyone has to offer! D-day is so close now it's getting tense- I'm going with my partner of 12 years and her family( all Australian citizens)we're also taking our two dogs with us!
I've heard their stories about oz but they've been in Ireland for approx. 15 years now and things change and differing opinions and advice is healthy! So if anyone has any advice on things like what items to ship, places to settle,climate, goods prices etc it would be greatly appreciated!
I'll be leaving Ireland on the 25th October 2006- for Melbourne initially and eventually Queensland(Townsville).Never been to Australia before and would appreciate any tips/advice anyone has to offer! D-day is so close now it's getting tense- I'm going with my partner of 12 years and her family( all Australian citizens)we're also taking our two dogs with us!
I've heard their stories about oz but they've been in Ireland for approx. 15 years now and things change and differing opinions and advice is healthy! So if anyone has any advice on things like what items to ship, places to settle,climate, goods prices etc it would be greatly appreciated!
Good luck with move! Look foward to hearing about Townsville as we had heard they're was a lot of work there for carpenters. Hope all goes well for you and your family and the dogs!
Di
Aug 18th 2006, 3:52 pm
#399
BE Enthusiast
Joined: Nov 2005
Posts: 324
Re: Any Irish ex Pats/soon to be ex pats?
Hi Di,
Welcome back. Been feeling some doubts myself every now and then but I think its the norm. Go with your gut feeling and as Mk said there's nothing stopping you from coming home. Melbourne is supposed to be nice and a little bit like Dublin (or so I have heard) so maybe you would feel more at home there. Do a little bit of research and see how you feel. Hope your ear is better by the way. Talk soon
Welcome back. Been feeling some doubts myself every now and then but I think its the norm. Go with your gut feeling and as Mk said there's nothing stopping you from coming home. Melbourne is supposed to be nice and a little bit like Dublin (or so I have heard) so maybe you would feel more at home there. Do a little bit of research and see how you feel. Hope your ear is better by the way. Talk soon
Aug 18th 2006, 4:06 pm
#400
Tra second timer
Joined: Apr 2006
Location: Emerald Isle
Posts: 111
Re: Any Irish ex Pats/soon to be ex pats?
Originally Posted by macker
Hi Di,
Welcome back. Been feeling some doubts myself every now and then but I think its the norm. Go with your gut feeling and as Mk said there's nothing stopping you from coming home. Melbourne is supposed to be nice and a little bit like Dublin (or so I have heard) so maybe you would feel more at home there. Do a little bit of research and see how you feel. Hope your ear is better by the way. Talk soon
Welcome back. Been feeling some doubts myself every now and then but I think its the norm. Go with your gut feeling and as Mk said there's nothing stopping you from coming home. Melbourne is supposed to be nice and a little bit like Dublin (or so I have heard) so maybe you would feel more at home there. Do a little bit of research and see how you feel. Hope your ear is better by the way. Talk soon
Ear infection gone after 5 courses of anti-biotics but I'm as deaf as a door post as the canal's blocked..kids think it's hilarious! Did your legs go down eventually??
I'm feeling really bad .....haven't been in touch with anyone (yourself, MK or Yafoley) so hopefully we can meet up before Yafoley leaves..have you heard from her?
Talk soon!
Di
Aug 18th 2006, 10:17 pm
#401
BE Enthusiast
Joined: Nov 2005
Posts: 324
Re: Any Irish ex Pats/soon to be ex pats?
Hi Koonyungdi,
God help you on 5 antibiotics. Poor thing. Yes, my legs are fine now!! Thanks. Haven't heard anything from yafoley - think she's offline now for a while.
Talk soon
God help you on 5 antibiotics. Poor thing. Yes, my legs are fine now!! Thanks. Haven't heard anything from yafoley - think she's offline now for a while.
Talk soon
Aug 19th 2006, 7:30 am
#402
Forum Regular
Joined: Jan 2006
Posts: 53
Re: Any Irish ex Pats/soon to be ex pats?
Originally Posted by ammer
interesting...we have noticed the dollar starting to strengthen which is not good for us as our house sale has not completed yet.are you going back to Sydney?
My thinking is to use the likes of Deltaindex to offset curreny hikes
Let me explain:
Exchange rate currently at 0.59, ranges up to 0.62, and down to 0.57 (going on last 4 years).
Take €100k @ current 0.59 = $169k
Take €100k @ possible bad 0.62 = $161k
so you stand to loose $8k / €100k if exchange rate goes pearshaped
Go to Deltaindex (tax free!!!!) and buy AUD @ 0.59. indexing will yield for €1 placement is €100 per 1% rate increase. Scale up your "put" to suit you lump sum. e.g. €300 would yield €30,000 if the rate hits 0.62. The downside is if the rate drops you loose you stake, but in our position we gain due to benifiting from a better exchange rates on our house equity transfer
due to the fact that your using currency futures, it's all tax free so easier still!!! Deltaindex have a "play area account" where you can go in and try it out, It's definitely worth a look. I've got a €100 buy @ 0.586, which is up money already ( €146), will be worth €3,400 if rate hits 0.62.
I think it's worth looking at!
Aug 20th 2006, 3:12 pm
#403
Just Joined
Joined: Aug 2006
Location: northern ireland
Posts: 9
Re: Any Irish ex Pats/soon to be ex pats?
Originally Posted by koonyungdi
Hi propblast!
Good luck with move! Look foward to hearing about Townsville as we had heard they're was a lot of work there for carpenters. Hope all goes well for you and your family and the dogs!
Di
Good luck with move! Look foward to hearing about Townsville as we had heard they're was a lot of work there for carpenters. Hope all goes well for you and your family and the dogs!
Di
Cheers for the welcome!
Wish to hell i was a brickie from what I've been reading i could do well enough!
I'm excited about the possibilities but i'm still going with no preconceptions at all.
We'll spend about a month touring around Melbourne,Sydney and Townsville. By that time our dogs will be out of quarantine and we'll need to have something dog-friendly rented by then- here's hoping! There's probably no way of gaining a feel for a particular place in such a short time scale, so we'll have to just see when we get there! Haven't heard a bad word about Melbourne so far and sounds like my kinda place!
P.S Anyone out there involved in the aerospace industry that could give any advice on jobs/locations???
Aug 20th 2006, 6:07 pm
#404
Just Joined
Joined: Jul 2006
Posts: 10
Banking::
Hey there,
Just a quick note on opening bank accounts. When I first arrived in perth two years ago, I opened a bank account with the CommonWealth bank, within six days of arrival.
You have a six week time frame to do this. All that was needed was your passport & an address. no need for untility bills or proof of address.
If your new to the country this is all you need to do, so setting up accounts now from ireland is not worth while, just walk into a bank when you arrive in OZ. It's that easy.
As for transferring money, I done it on line with my bank in Ireland & paid a small fee with a good exchange rate. It took about 5-7 working days....
You can check this out in the lonely planet guide...
Just a quick note on opening bank accounts. When I first arrived in perth two years ago, I opened a bank account with the CommonWealth bank, within six days of arrival.
You have a six week time frame to do this. All that was needed was your passport & an address. no need for untility bills or proof of address.
If your new to the country this is all you need to do, so setting up accounts now from ireland is not worth while, just walk into a bank when you arrive in OZ. It's that easy.
As for transferring money, I done it on line with my bank in Ireland & paid a small fee with a good exchange rate. It took about 5-7 working days....
You can check this out in the lonely planet guide...
Aug 21st 2006, 4:10 pm
#405
Forum Regular
Joined: Oct 2005
Location: arundel, gold coast, australia
Posts: 136
Re: Any Irish ex Pats/soon to be ex pats?
Hi everybody,
I've just posted off the visa application, I don't know is it relief or more worries now!!!
And if nothing goes wrong we have sold our house and will be free to go in october, really looking forward to the longest summer of our lives!!!
We are hoping to go to the gold coast and wait for our visas over there and validate through New Zealand, anybody done that?
I've just posted off the visa application, I don't know is it relief or more worries now!!!
And if nothing goes wrong we have sold our house and will be free to go in october, really looking forward to the longest summer of our lives!!!
We are hoping to go to the gold coast and wait for our visas over there and validate through New Zealand, anybody done that?