renth

We've been here exactly a year.

And it's great!

kez

tell us more? how did you find settling it etc - is there anything you would have done differently - what are your favourite things etc. not nosey just intrigued

HiddenPaw

congratulations...how are you celebrating your anniversary?

plumber

All you need to say really.

Good on ya Renth!!!

bondipom

Great excuse for a cold one. Heres for many more years.

Vegemite Kids

yeah I would like to know this too

We are moving over in April so any info will be good to settle these panic attacks I'm having

renth

We have settled in very well. The novelty has now worn off and we just get on with life day to day.

I was fortunate to have got a job pretty quickly and the kids enjoy their school.

The boy, who is 6 has had to step back, I would say 2 years in his formal education. When we arrived he was already a fluent reader but here has only just started learning his ABCs.

In the UK he was 2 years above his sisters but here only 1.

The public education system is in crisis and we might have to look into going private which I've always resisted for ethical reasons but, like every parent I don't want my kids to miss out on a decent education and I'm not talking about "buying them a head start".

The health service here is all about cutting services and my boy missed out on state funded occupational therapy for his dyspraxia. So like for most things here we had to dig deep into the pocket.

I'd recommend getting private health cover as soon as you arrive, particularly if youre over 30 as it goes up 2% for every year of age you are over 30. It's bloody hard to understand the system, it's all about scheduled fees, gaps, gap cover. My wife still gets Medicare and Medibank confused, and I'm not surprised.

I wish we'd brought the lawnmower because I'm pisses me off with paying "Jim" $25 every 2 weeks when I'm also paying a gardener in the UK 50 quid a month to mow the grass and do the hedges at my UK property.

I was surprised how crap the winters are here, but apparently last year was a bad one (or good one if you are a farmer). But for the other 8 months of the year the weather is simply amazing.

I like the fact that, unlike the South East of England not everyone drives around in a flashy BMW, right up your arse, and I've not once been given the w*nker sign for obeying the speed limit, or for any other reason for that matter.

Before we came out I worried about how we might fit in with the Aussies but when you get here you realise that there are so many British people that you are definitely not a novelty to the Aussies you meet.

I don't miss the UK at all and have not been homesick once. My wife found it harder to settle but decided a while ago that she likes it here and doesn't want to go back. I don't care if I ever go back.

Finally Commonwealth bank is such a rip off it borders on the criminal. I worked out they charge us $600 a year for our, always in credit, banking. We've opened an HSBC account but just need to get to the city to show them our IDs before we can start using it.

So don't go converting that $600 to pounds because we get paid less here. That would be the equivalent of a UK bank charging 600 quid for a year's banking.

So that's the long and the short of it. This time next year we'll be on the verge of becoming Australian Citizens. A day I've looked forward to for years.

DianeOZ

Happy anniversary renth!

We had ours in January and it's a good feeling to reach the year mark.

hevs

My son has dyspraxia and i have been given the number of a health care center that, after the initial consultation ($55) bulk bills to medicare. They specialise in spacial awareness activities etc.

I have also found that him being able to do year one all over again has helped him emmensley and he's begining to feel proud of his work cos its just like the other kids his age! Also the less pressured enviroment is really great for him too.

renth

It used to be free in WA untill they cut it a couple of months ago.

karawara88

Renth,

As always another tell it as it is post. Good on ya, hope the next year treats you just as well. even though we are bailing out, its good to see that some people make it work for them.

All the best.

jandjuk

I'm glad I'm not the only person who dislikes this (and the wider implications of what this comment represents).

Nothing wrong with having a nice car - fair play - but I'm afraid the materialist & competitive culture of the South East does my head in.... the world of league tables, good postcodes, trendy holiday destinations, trust funds, & BMW's and those other things (that nobody needs) which are mentioned in the lifestyle sections of the Sunday broadsheets baffles me.

I read something recently about taking your hired help (chef etc) on holiday with you, to prepare meals for you! That's another world to the one I live in! I mean, come on.... give me a camping trip and BBQ any day....

That type of thing can be found in parts of Oz and NZ too, but it's just not for me.

(except, I really would like an iPod!) see, even I've been corrupted!

tinaj

Congrats on making such a big event a success.

We have only been here a couple of months, but already feel it is the best decision we ever made.

Hope we will be just as happy on our anniversary as you are.

Slater

Great post, we've only been here for 4 months but are loving every minute. We started off with the HSBC as we have a local branch in Southport on the Gold Coast, we do most of our transactions by credit card, they give a generous points system, also it's good to keep the money in the bank a bit longer as we are getting 4.85% interest on our money in an instant access internet account that also has an EFTPOS card, we also have a cheque account which is free if balance remains over A$2000, only 5 free cheques per month though.


Slater

simbacat

I don't want to hijack this thread but I would like to know, did you have your sons dyspraxia assessed in the UK? Well my son has it as well and the UK school doesn't seem to be very interested. What kind of help do you get in Australia? Any help would be appreciated.