Diary of a stressed-out, soon-to-be ex-pat.
Jan 10th 2008, 7:53 pm
#1
BE Forum Addict
Thread Starter
Joined: May 2006
Location: In the tree across the road, watching you with binoculars.
Posts: 1,556
Diary of a stressed-out, soon-to-be ex-pat.
We fly to Perth in 9 days.
After over 2 years of talking, planning, going on a recce, agreeing it's what we wanted, then it's not, then it is again, the arguments, the job offer that built our hopes up but never came off and cruelly dashed them, and oh-so-many other ups and downs, we now find ourselves visas in passports, flights booked for Saturday 19th January 2008, 3 nights in Singapore, then on to Perth for 23rd Jan.
The flight arrives in Perth at 23:45 ........
No matter - at least we'll be there !
We've been buying clothes for months. Thanks to the fact that the UK had no summer at all in 2007, all the summer clothes were on sale by July so we bought loads of shorts, t-shirts, swimming cozzies, etc, etc. Mrs E has also bought lots of bedding, lots of table lamps ( you can never have too many, apparently .......
), lots of handbags ( ditto as lamps ), oh, and a three piece suite.
We've packed millions of plastic crates and loaded the attics to the rafters
( well, above the rafters 'cos it's the attic ) BUT .... the house and garage are STILL full !! We have Pickfords coming next Tuesday and we still have about 95% of the house & garage to sort out. Aaaarrgghhhh !
We were trying to sort stuff out this morning inbetween making numerous frustrating calls to India ( banks, credit card co's, etc, etc - we told them all we're going on a long holiday, to keep things simple ) and we just looked at each other with a weird combination of dread, despair, helplessness, angst, twisted colon, wasp-chewing and little-sleep-for-days looks .... and had lunch at about 10am. Hot chicken tikka bites with mayo on white sliced bread. It made us feel heaps better and gave us the energy to attack the task in hand again.
Anyway, Elmtree junior has been taken to see High School Musical on ice, Mrs E has nipped out to the shops again to get a few more clothes, handbags and lamps, so I thought I'd jot a few ramblings before opening a cold bottle of Becks.
I sold our cars today ! A neighbour's daughter is a car dealer so I spoke with her and she's agreed a decent price and said we can keep 'em right up until we go. Nice one.
We had a skip delivered this afternoon, which will be collected on the day we go, so the spare bed is in there now to make room in the spare bedroom for whatever Mrs E comes back from the shops with tonight < sigh >
The house hasn't sold. In fact, we haven't even had one viewer. We'll lower the price ( again ) and leave it in the hands of the estate agent, the solicitor and the Gods.
Been trying to find homes for lots of the stuff that is too good to throw but that we aren't taking. Have found takers for the trampoline, the garden tools, the Karcher and some other stuff and I'll ask around the neighbours to see if they want to have a look in the garage and help themselves.
We'll take some stuff to the charity shop and skip the rest.
I'll be sad to say goodbye to my beer-fridge, Dave, in the garage but I know I'll meet a new one in Australia and take him home and make him an integral part of the family.
Decided to go with the Commonwealth Bank. Mainly 'cos it has the word 'wealth' in it. Haven't transferred any funds yet as the Aussie guy in London told me the rate was "crap at the mo" and advised me to hang on until it's past $2.40 before transferring the bulk ( hardly an appropriate word
) of my money to Aus.
In a quandary regarding this pc. Pickfords come Tuesday and I don't want to be without a pc until we leave. It's probably too big to go in the case as it's not a laptop and it's not compact. The whole thing is the size of a Fiat Panda. So ..... I think I'll hang on to it, download all I can to discs, then skip it ( after destroying the innards - don't want any scallies getting their hand on my personals ). Then buy new out there.
Need to decide about car hire. How long for, what to get, whether to get from the airport or not ( will I really feel like driving about 40kms across Perth at about 01:30 ?? )
We have ended up flying with KLM, rather than our first-choice of Singapore. As we are on a student visa we don't get any extra luggage allowance. They said it'll cost 40 euros per kilo over the standard allowance so we'll probably take one extra case and hang the expense !
Getting nice rentals ( yes, plural - we couldn't find just one to cover the whole period ) in Perth is a nightmare, but after many late night phone calls and a whole wedge of money, we now have three lovely houses that will take us up to June. After that we're out on the streets on our arses !
The bro and sis-in-law and two kiddies are following us out a month later. We're all in it together. We might all be in the same rentals together, too, as they're having problems getting any ( we beat them to all the nice ones - ha-ha ).
I'm a bit worried about Mrs E. I'll be starting my TAFE course early Feb, the same day our daughter starts school, so after that Mrs E will be left 'Home Alone' most days. She'll have a car and will doubtless be out and about getting her bearings a fair bit but I don't want her to get lonely and want her to meet some other BE ladies for coffee mornings/ritual sacrifices, or whatever it is they get up to. ??????
I also want to get a job a.s.a.p. The student visa is a route in
( long story ). What I really want is an Employer Sponsored, so I'll set about that on arrival and hopefully get something permanent within a few months.
Hopefully our daughter will settle into school and make a few friends quickly. It's all a worry, isn't it ? But I know it'll all work out in the end.
Anyway, time to open that bottle of Becks and stare at a full wardrobe or cupboard for five minutes before thinking "F@&k it"
After over 2 years of talking, planning, going on a recce, agreeing it's what we wanted, then it's not, then it is again, the arguments, the job offer that built our hopes up but never came off and cruelly dashed them, and oh-so-many other ups and downs, we now find ourselves visas in passports, flights booked for Saturday 19th January 2008, 3 nights in Singapore, then on to Perth for 23rd Jan.
The flight arrives in Perth at 23:45 ........
No matter - at least we'll be there !
We've been buying clothes for months. Thanks to the fact that the UK had no summer at all in 2007, all the summer clothes were on sale by July so we bought loads of shorts, t-shirts, swimming cozzies, etc, etc. Mrs E has also bought lots of bedding, lots of table lamps ( you can never have too many, apparently .......
), lots of handbags ( ditto as lamps ), oh, and a three piece suite.We've packed millions of plastic crates and loaded the attics to the rafters
( well, above the rafters 'cos it's the attic ) BUT .... the house and garage are STILL full !! We have Pickfords coming next Tuesday and we still have about 95% of the house & garage to sort out. Aaaarrgghhhh !
We were trying to sort stuff out this morning inbetween making numerous frustrating calls to India ( banks, credit card co's, etc, etc - we told them all we're going on a long holiday, to keep things simple ) and we just looked at each other with a weird combination of dread, despair, helplessness, angst, twisted colon, wasp-chewing and little-sleep-for-days looks .... and had lunch at about 10am. Hot chicken tikka bites with mayo on white sliced bread. It made us feel heaps better and gave us the energy to attack the task in hand again.
Anyway, Elmtree junior has been taken to see High School Musical on ice, Mrs E has nipped out to the shops again to get a few more clothes, handbags and lamps, so I thought I'd jot a few ramblings before opening a cold bottle of Becks.
I sold our cars today ! A neighbour's daughter is a car dealer so I spoke with her and she's agreed a decent price and said we can keep 'em right up until we go. Nice one.
We had a skip delivered this afternoon, which will be collected on the day we go, so the spare bed is in there now to make room in the spare bedroom for whatever Mrs E comes back from the shops with tonight < sigh >
The house hasn't sold. In fact, we haven't even had one viewer. We'll lower the price ( again ) and leave it in the hands of the estate agent, the solicitor and the Gods.
Been trying to find homes for lots of the stuff that is too good to throw but that we aren't taking. Have found takers for the trampoline, the garden tools, the Karcher and some other stuff and I'll ask around the neighbours to see if they want to have a look in the garage and help themselves.
We'll take some stuff to the charity shop and skip the rest.
I'll be sad to say goodbye to my beer-fridge, Dave, in the garage but I know I'll meet a new one in Australia and take him home and make him an integral part of the family.
Decided to go with the Commonwealth Bank. Mainly 'cos it has the word 'wealth' in it. Haven't transferred any funds yet as the Aussie guy in London told me the rate was "crap at the mo" and advised me to hang on until it's past $2.40 before transferring the bulk ( hardly an appropriate word
) of my money to Aus. In a quandary regarding this pc. Pickfords come Tuesday and I don't want to be without a pc until we leave. It's probably too big to go in the case as it's not a laptop and it's not compact. The whole thing is the size of a Fiat Panda. So ..... I think I'll hang on to it, download all I can to discs, then skip it ( after destroying the innards - don't want any scallies getting their hand on my personals ). Then buy new out there.
Need to decide about car hire. How long for, what to get, whether to get from the airport or not ( will I really feel like driving about 40kms across Perth at about 01:30 ?? )
We have ended up flying with KLM, rather than our first-choice of Singapore. As we are on a student visa we don't get any extra luggage allowance. They said it'll cost 40 euros per kilo over the standard allowance so we'll probably take one extra case and hang the expense !
Getting nice rentals ( yes, plural - we couldn't find just one to cover the whole period ) in Perth is a nightmare, but after many late night phone calls and a whole wedge of money, we now have three lovely houses that will take us up to June. After that we're out on the streets on our arses !
The bro and sis-in-law and two kiddies are following us out a month later. We're all in it together. We might all be in the same rentals together, too, as they're having problems getting any ( we beat them to all the nice ones - ha-ha ).
I'm a bit worried about Mrs E. I'll be starting my TAFE course early Feb, the same day our daughter starts school, so after that Mrs E will be left 'Home Alone' most days. She'll have a car and will doubtless be out and about getting her bearings a fair bit but I don't want her to get lonely and want her to meet some other BE ladies for coffee mornings/ritual sacrifices, or whatever it is they get up to. ??????
I also want to get a job a.s.a.p. The student visa is a route in
( long story ). What I really want is an Employer Sponsored, so I'll set about that on arrival and hopefully get something permanent within a few months.
Hopefully our daughter will settle into school and make a few friends quickly. It's all a worry, isn't it ? But I know it'll all work out in the end.
Anyway, time to open that bottle of Becks and stare at a full wardrobe or cupboard for five minutes before thinking "F@&k it"
Jan 10th 2008, 8:16 pm
#2
a bit nearer
Joined: Feb 2007
Location: s.wales old not new
Posts: 70
Re: Diary of a stressed-out, soon-to-be ex-pat.
wow, good on ya mate an all that!
great post, and keep us up to date as you go.
btw you can have too many lamps!
great post, and keep us up to date as you go.
btw you can have too many lamps!
Jan 10th 2008, 8:29 pm
#3
Banned
Joined: Jan 2004
Location: Morayfield - The Posh Part
Posts: 10,138
Re: Diary of a stressed-out, soon-to-be ex-pat.
Great post !!!
Packed to the rafters is ok, they are the slopey beams, the joists are the flat fellas
Keep us updated
Packed to the rafters is ok, they are the slopey beams, the joists are the flat fellas
Keep us updated
Jan 10th 2008, 10:25 pm
#4
Joined: Dec 2003
Posts: 7,834
Re: Diary of a stressed-out, soon-to-be ex-pat.
We fly to Perth in 9 days.
After over 2 years of talking, planning, going on a recce, agreeing it's what we wanted, then it's not, then it is again, the arguments, the job offer that built our hopes up but never came off and cruelly dashed them, and oh-so-many other ups and downs, we now find ourselves visas in passports, flights booked for Saturday 19th January 2008, 3 nights in Singapore, then on to Perth for 23rd Jan.
The flight arrives in Perth at 23:45 ........
No matter - at least we'll be there !
We've been buying clothes for months. Thanks to the fact that the UK had no summer at all in 2007, all the summer clothes were on sale by July so we bought loads of shorts, t-shirts, swimming cozzies, etc, etc. Mrs E has also bought lots of bedding, lots of table lamps ( you can never have too many, apparently ....... ), lots of handbags ( ditto as lamps ), oh, and a three piece suite.
We've packed millions of plastic crates and loaded the attics to the rafters
( well, above the rafters 'cos it's the attic ) BUT .... the house and garage are STILL full !! We have Pickfords coming next Tuesday and we still have about 95% of the house & garage to sort out. Aaaarrgghhhh !
We were trying to sort stuff out this morning inbetween making numerous frustrating calls to India ( banks, credit card co's, etc, etc - we told them all we're going on a long holiday, to keep things simple ) and we just looked at each other with a weird combination of dread, despair, helplessness, angst, twisted colon, wasp-chewing and little-sleep-for-days looks .... and had lunch at about 10am. Hot chicken tikka bites with mayo on white sliced bread. It made us feel heaps better and gave us the energy to attack the task in hand again.
Anyway, Elmtree junior has been taken to see High School Musical on ice, Mrs E has nipped out to the shops again to get a few more clothes, handbags and lamps, so I thought I'd jot a few ramblings before opening a cold bottle of Becks.
I sold our cars today ! A neighbour's daughter is a car dealer so I spoke with her and she's agreed a decent price and said we can keep 'em right up until we go. Nice one.
We had a skip delivered this afternoon, which will be collected on the day we go, so the spare bed is in there now to make room in the spare bedroom for whatever Mrs E comes back from the shops with tonight < sigh >
The house hasn't sold. In fact, we haven't even had one viewer. We'll lower the price ( again ) and leave it in the hands of the estate agent, the solicitor and the Gods.
Been trying to find homes for lots of the stuff that is too good to throw but that we aren't taking. Have found takers for the trampoline, the garden tools, the Karcher and some other stuff and I'll ask around the neighbours to see if they want to have a look in the garage and help themselves.
We'll take some stuff to the charity shop and skip the rest.
I'll be sad to say goodbye to my beer-fridge, Dave, in the garage but I know I'll meet a new one in Australia and take him home and make him an integral part of the family.
Decided to go with the Commonwealth Bank. Mainly 'cos it has the word 'wealth' in it. Haven't transferred any funds yet as the Aussie guy in London told me the rate was "crap at the mo" and advised me to hang on until it's past $2.40 before transferring the bulk ( hardly an appropriate word ) of my money to Aus.
In a quandary regarding this pc. Pickfords come Tuesday and I don't want to be without a pc until we leave. It's probably too big to go in the case as it's not a laptop and it's not compact. The whole thing is the size of a Fiat Panda. So ..... I think I'll hang on to it, download all I can to discs, then skip it ( after destroying the innards - don't want any scallies getting their hand on my personals ). Then buy new out there.
Need to decide about car hire. How long for, what to get, whether to get from the airport or not ( will I really feel like driving about 40kms across Perth at about 01:30 ?? )
We have ended up flying with KLM, rather than our first-choice of Singapore. As we are on a student visa we don't get any extra luggage allowance. They said it'll cost 40 euros per kilo over the standard allowance so we'll probably take one extra case and hang the expense !
Getting nice rentals ( yes, plural - we couldn't find just one to cover the whole period ) in Perth is a nightmare, but after many late night phone calls and a whole wedge of money, we now have three lovely houses that will take us up to June. After that we're out on the streets on our arses !
The bro and sis-in-law and two kiddies are following us out a month later. We're all in it together. We might all be in the same rentals together, too, as they're having problems getting any ( we beat them to all the nice ones - ha-ha ).
I'm a bit worried about Mrs E. I'll be starting my TAFE course early Feb, the same day our daughter starts school, so after that Mrs E will be left 'Home Alone' most days. She'll have a car and will doubtless be out and about getting her bearings a fair bit but I don't want her to get lonely and want her to meet some other BE ladies for coffee mornings/ritual sacrifices, or whatever it is they get up to. ??????
I also want to get a job a.s.a.p. The student visa is a route in
( long story ). What I really want is an Employer Sponsored, so I'll set about that on arrival and hopefully get something permanent within a few months.
Hopefully our daughter will settle into school and make a few friends quickly. It's all a worry, isn't it ? But I know it'll all work out in the end.
Anyway, time to open that bottle of Becks and stare at a full wardrobe or cupboard for five minutes before thinking "F@&k it"
After over 2 years of talking, planning, going on a recce, agreeing it's what we wanted, then it's not, then it is again, the arguments, the job offer that built our hopes up but never came off and cruelly dashed them, and oh-so-many other ups and downs, we now find ourselves visas in passports, flights booked for Saturday 19th January 2008, 3 nights in Singapore, then on to Perth for 23rd Jan.
The flight arrives in Perth at 23:45 ........
No matter - at least we'll be there !
We've been buying clothes for months. Thanks to the fact that the UK had no summer at all in 2007, all the summer clothes were on sale by July so we bought loads of shorts, t-shirts, swimming cozzies, etc, etc. Mrs E has also bought lots of bedding, lots of table lamps ( you can never have too many, apparently .......
), lots of handbags ( ditto as lamps ), oh, and a three piece suite.We've packed millions of plastic crates and loaded the attics to the rafters
( well, above the rafters 'cos it's the attic ) BUT .... the house and garage are STILL full !! We have Pickfords coming next Tuesday and we still have about 95% of the house & garage to sort out. Aaaarrgghhhh !
We were trying to sort stuff out this morning inbetween making numerous frustrating calls to India ( banks, credit card co's, etc, etc - we told them all we're going on a long holiday, to keep things simple ) and we just looked at each other with a weird combination of dread, despair, helplessness, angst, twisted colon, wasp-chewing and little-sleep-for-days looks .... and had lunch at about 10am. Hot chicken tikka bites with mayo on white sliced bread. It made us feel heaps better and gave us the energy to attack the task in hand again.
Anyway, Elmtree junior has been taken to see High School Musical on ice, Mrs E has nipped out to the shops again to get a few more clothes, handbags and lamps, so I thought I'd jot a few ramblings before opening a cold bottle of Becks.
I sold our cars today ! A neighbour's daughter is a car dealer so I spoke with her and she's agreed a decent price and said we can keep 'em right up until we go. Nice one.
We had a skip delivered this afternoon, which will be collected on the day we go, so the spare bed is in there now to make room in the spare bedroom for whatever Mrs E comes back from the shops with tonight < sigh >
The house hasn't sold. In fact, we haven't even had one viewer. We'll lower the price ( again ) and leave it in the hands of the estate agent, the solicitor and the Gods.
Been trying to find homes for lots of the stuff that is too good to throw but that we aren't taking. Have found takers for the trampoline, the garden tools, the Karcher and some other stuff and I'll ask around the neighbours to see if they want to have a look in the garage and help themselves.
We'll take some stuff to the charity shop and skip the rest.
I'll be sad to say goodbye to my beer-fridge, Dave, in the garage but I know I'll meet a new one in Australia and take him home and make him an integral part of the family.
Decided to go with the Commonwealth Bank. Mainly 'cos it has the word 'wealth' in it. Haven't transferred any funds yet as the Aussie guy in London told me the rate was "crap at the mo" and advised me to hang on until it's past $2.40 before transferring the bulk ( hardly an appropriate word
) of my money to Aus. In a quandary regarding this pc. Pickfords come Tuesday and I don't want to be without a pc until we leave. It's probably too big to go in the case as it's not a laptop and it's not compact. The whole thing is the size of a Fiat Panda. So ..... I think I'll hang on to it, download all I can to discs, then skip it ( after destroying the innards - don't want any scallies getting their hand on my personals ). Then buy new out there.
Need to decide about car hire. How long for, what to get, whether to get from the airport or not ( will I really feel like driving about 40kms across Perth at about 01:30 ?? )
We have ended up flying with KLM, rather than our first-choice of Singapore. As we are on a student visa we don't get any extra luggage allowance. They said it'll cost 40 euros per kilo over the standard allowance so we'll probably take one extra case and hang the expense !
Getting nice rentals ( yes, plural - we couldn't find just one to cover the whole period ) in Perth is a nightmare, but after many late night phone calls and a whole wedge of money, we now have three lovely houses that will take us up to June. After that we're out on the streets on our arses !
The bro and sis-in-law and two kiddies are following us out a month later. We're all in it together. We might all be in the same rentals together, too, as they're having problems getting any ( we beat them to all the nice ones - ha-ha ).
I'm a bit worried about Mrs E. I'll be starting my TAFE course early Feb, the same day our daughter starts school, so after that Mrs E will be left 'Home Alone' most days. She'll have a car and will doubtless be out and about getting her bearings a fair bit but I don't want her to get lonely and want her to meet some other BE ladies for coffee mornings/ritual sacrifices, or whatever it is they get up to. ??????
I also want to get a job a.s.a.p. The student visa is a route in
( long story ). What I really want is an Employer Sponsored, so I'll set about that on arrival and hopefully get something permanent within a few months.
Hopefully our daughter will settle into school and make a few friends quickly. It's all a worry, isn't it ? But I know it'll all work out in the end.
Anyway, time to open that bottle of Becks and stare at a full wardrobe or cupboard for five minutes before thinking "F@&k it"
Jan 10th 2008, 11:22 pm
#5
BE Forum Addict
Joined: Oct 2004
Posts: 1,672
Re: Diary of a stressed-out, soon-to-be ex-pat.
She might have enough bags to bring but will she have enough shoes!!!!!!!
great post, good luck
jacqui
great post, good luck
jacqui
Jan 11th 2008, 12:23 am
#6
Forum Regular
Joined: May 2007
Location: Perth
Posts: 175
Re: Diary of a stressed-out, soon-to-be ex-pat.
Great post! Love your laid back attitude.
As you said xxxx it - it'll all work out in the end.
Good luck
As you said xxxx it - it'll all work out in the end.
Good luck
Feb 17th 2008, 12:58 pm
#7
BE Forum Addict
Thread Starter
Joined: May 2006
Location: In the tree across the road, watching you with binoculars.
Posts: 1,556
Re: Diary of a formerly stressed-out ex-pat.
Thanks for your good wishes, y'all.
Well, we finally made it to super sunny Perth.
I've started my TAFE course ( on a student visa to get in initially ) and it's a lot harder than I first thought and lots of homework and thinking and learning and stuff, so I really need to pull my finger out and get on with the job-hunting. I'll start tomorrow. Probably.
Our daughter is settling into her a new school and even got a merit award in her first week ! We're so proud. She has also made a nice friend in her class who has been here for dinner and we've met her mum and brother and sister and we'll be meeting them again. The OH is enjoying the weather and going to new shopping centres but is a bit bored and is missing her sister/best friend, who arrives in about 10 days.
We have met and made friends with some really nice people from this site
( I won't go overboard as they might read this !! ) and we went to their house this afternoon for a fabulous barbecue with lots and lots of lovely meat, but no salad. The nippers played in the pool all afternoon and us oldies talked shite. It was good.
We have met lots of really nice people and are hoping to meet more. I'll try and persuade Mrs E to go to a couple of the weekly meet-ups and we'll probably go to the Kings Park meet in March.
How do we find it so far, after 3 weeks ? Well, in short, we love it. We love the weather, we love the place(s), we love the friendly people, we love the open spaces, even in the city, we love the cleanliness of the place, and the cleanliness of the public transport. We love being so close to the warm, blue Indian Ocean and its' lovely white beaches. We love knowing that it'll be a 'shorts and t-shirt' day tomorrow, just like every day. We love going to new places at weekends. Yanchep lagoon yesterday - so very beautiful, and what a lovely place to spend an afternoon. Great beach, great sea, lifeguard on duty, nice cafe and facilities on hand, too. We then drove the long way home via Two Rocks, which seemed very rural and 'in the middle of nowhere', even though it's not that far from Perth. A great afternoon. Next weekend we'll go somewhere different - perhaps even two new places. There are so many to choose from around here.
Mrs E thinks the food shopping is a bit more expensive than the UK, and the clothes and accessories shopping is poor, but I reckon the extra we spend on food will be clawed back by the less we spend on petrol. and clothes and accessories !!
Our first rental had a pool. This one has none, but we're only here for two weeks, then the third rental has a pool. I now really, really want to have a pool when we are in a position to buy our own house.
There was loads of stuff that went un-sorted when we left the UK and, frankly my dear, I don't give a damn. I still have a few direct debits to cancel and a few calls to make but I'll get around to them when I've nothing better to do.
I'm off to the immigration office tomorrow to get permission to work and to ask them a few questions about getting an ENS visa. Then it's back here and start applying for jobs/making phone calls.
In short, I think this is the best thing we've ever done. I know we're still in holiday-mode and it's all fresh and new, and I haven't got a job or a permanent visa yet, but I just know it's all going to work out for the best. We're going to be really happy here. Advance Australia Fair, indeed.
Well, we finally made it to super sunny Perth.
I've started my TAFE course ( on a student visa to get in initially ) and it's a lot harder than I first thought and lots of homework and thinking and learning and stuff, so I really need to pull my finger out and get on with the job-hunting. I'll start tomorrow. Probably.
Our daughter is settling into her a new school and even got a merit award in her first week ! We're so proud. She has also made a nice friend in her class who has been here for dinner and we've met her mum and brother and sister and we'll be meeting them again. The OH is enjoying the weather and going to new shopping centres but is a bit bored and is missing her sister/best friend, who arrives in about 10 days.
We have met and made friends with some really nice people from this site
( I won't go overboard as they might read this !! ) and we went to their house this afternoon for a fabulous barbecue with lots and lots of lovely meat, but no salad. The nippers played in the pool all afternoon and us oldies talked shite. It was good.
We have met lots of really nice people and are hoping to meet more. I'll try and persuade Mrs E to go to a couple of the weekly meet-ups and we'll probably go to the Kings Park meet in March.
How do we find it so far, after 3 weeks ? Well, in short, we love it. We love the weather, we love the place(s), we love the friendly people, we love the open spaces, even in the city, we love the cleanliness of the place, and the cleanliness of the public transport. We love being so close to the warm, blue Indian Ocean and its' lovely white beaches. We love knowing that it'll be a 'shorts and t-shirt' day tomorrow, just like every day. We love going to new places at weekends. Yanchep lagoon yesterday - so very beautiful, and what a lovely place to spend an afternoon. Great beach, great sea, lifeguard on duty, nice cafe and facilities on hand, too. We then drove the long way home via Two Rocks, which seemed very rural and 'in the middle of nowhere', even though it's not that far from Perth. A great afternoon. Next weekend we'll go somewhere different - perhaps even two new places. There are so many to choose from around here.
Mrs E thinks the food shopping is a bit more expensive than the UK, and the clothes and accessories shopping is poor, but I reckon the extra we spend on food will be clawed back by the less we spend on petrol. and clothes and accessories !!
Our first rental had a pool. This one has none, but we're only here for two weeks, then the third rental has a pool. I now really, really want to have a pool when we are in a position to buy our own house.
There was loads of stuff that went un-sorted when we left the UK and, frankly my dear, I don't give a damn. I still have a few direct debits to cancel and a few calls to make but I'll get around to them when I've nothing better to do.
I'm off to the immigration office tomorrow to get permission to work and to ask them a few questions about getting an ENS visa. Then it's back here and start applying for jobs/making phone calls.
In short, I think this is the best thing we've ever done. I know we're still in holiday-mode and it's all fresh and new, and I haven't got a job or a permanent visa yet, but I just know it's all going to work out for the best. We're going to be really happy here. Advance Australia Fair, indeed.
Feb 17th 2008, 1:19 pm
#8
BE Enthusiast
Joined: Jan 2003
Location: Brisbane
Posts: 378
Re: Diary of a formerly stressed-out ex-pat.
In short, I think this is the best thing we've ever done. I know we're still in holiday-mode and it's all fresh and new, and I haven't got a job or a permanent visa yet, but I just know it's all going to work out for the best. We're going to be really happy here. Advance Australia Fair, indeed.
Mike.
Feb 17th 2008, 2:19 pm
#9
visa holder
Joined: Jan 2006
Location: Thornlands, Bayside
Posts: 1,964
Re: Diary of a stressed-out, soon-to-be ex-pat.
Really glad your settling in well, all the best for your future, good luck finding work.
Joex
Joex
Feb 17th 2008, 3:11 pm
#10
BE Forum Addict
Joined: Sep 2005
Location: Gold Coast
Posts: 1,343
Re: Diary of a stressed-out, soon-to-be ex-pat.
I don't know about stressed-out, what a fantastic positive attitude! I hope that I can play it so cool when I am faced with the big move. Thanks for sharing all that with us, it made great and humorous reading. Keep the updates coming and good luck with the job hunting. 
Keep the updates coming and good luck with the job hunting.
Feb 17th 2008, 3:22 pm
#11
BE Enthusiast
Joined: Jan 2008
Location: Balgowlah, NSW
Posts: 664
Re: Diary of a stressed-out, soon-to-be ex-pat.
All the best elmtree, I hope I can post a similar diary entry come June/July!
Feb 20th 2008, 4:16 pm
#12
BE Forum Addict
Joined: Nov 2006
Location: Where the sun always shines
Posts: 3,627
Re: Diary of a stressed-out, soon-to-be ex-pat.
Great to hear you are all enjoying and the little en has settled well in school fingers crossed for you on the job hunt may you continue to enjoy
Feb 20th 2008, 6:47 pm
#13
Forum Regular
Joined: Jan 2008
Posts: 177
Re: Diary of a stressed-out, soon-to-be ex-pat.
Fantastic posts elmtree! Great to see someone with so much enthusiasm, like someone said in a previous post you can't go wrong with that attitude!!
It certainly makes a change from the whinging, moaning, groaning banter that normally occurs.
Life is what you make it, we all know it isn't going to be an easy ride especially for those of us who are taking the student road, but where there's a will there's a way!
Good luck to you and Mrs E, hopefully we may speak again and when we eventually get out there Mrs E can tell me (Gilly) where all the best shops are I happen to like the odd lamp or 10 myself! 
Regards Gilly & Scott.
It certainly makes a change from the whinging, moaning, groaning banter that normally occurs.
Life is what you make it, we all know it isn't going to be an easy ride especially for those of us who are taking the student road, but where there's a will there's a way!
Good luck to you and Mrs E, hopefully we may speak again and when we eventually get out there Mrs E can tell me (Gilly) where all the best shops are
I happen to like the odd lamp or 10 myself! Regards Gilly & Scott.
Feb 20th 2008, 7:13 pm
#14
Account Closed
Joined: Jul 2005
Posts: 1,693
Re: Diary of a formerly stressed-out ex-pat.
.[/QUOTE]
Hope you keep on enjoying it, maybe see you one day on the othe side.
Hope you keep on enjoying it, maybe see you one day on the othe side.
Feb 20th 2008, 8:02 pm
#15
Forum Regular
Joined: Feb 2007
Location: Butler/WA
Posts: 121
Re: Diary of a stressed-out, soon-to-be ex-pat.
.Cheers,
Morko