pata

Hi
I have PR for myself, daughter and teenage son ... visas already validated.
However, although they have said that they do still want to go, both have mentioned that they might remain for longer in the UK.
One is finishing a uni course and wants to work for a while first and the other just doesn't want to leave his mates I think!
I plan to go out end of 2007 and the thought of going on my own is quite daunting.
Just wondered if anyone else had been in a similar situation?
Alison

sparkley23

I did it on my own. Love it here. No regrets. What are your main concerns?

Swerv-o

Me too. I came on my own, and so far it's exceeded all my expectations!

Initially I found making friends to be harder than I imagined, but I think I have it cracked now. You really have to make a big effort, and keep it up. Sitting around at home waiting for friends to show up doesn't work - you need to pro-actively seek them out by joining clubs and doing stuff. I found that some of the meets organised by BE members were really useful for this, and have made some great friends.

S

suebrennan

Hi Alison

You will find that there are quite of few "lone rangers" here. Oz is friendly and I have found it very easy in terms of meeting and getting to know people. In some ways it is probably easier if you are on your own as I have a few friends here who have struggled due to the kids and/or partner finding it hard to settle. I would recommend doing as much homework as you can on the job front though. That is where I messed up big time.

Good luck!

Sue

Dirk1971

Im on my way to Brisbane alone. Did the same thing to NZ five years ago. Along the way i've had a number of friends come and go. Right now my friendometer is pointing to empty. It's been fairly tough to make any really good mates, but far easier to make drinking buddies.

If your coming by yourself, try and bring as much as you can that will help you settle.

-=|MisterY|=-

I'm also trying to envision the first month after arrival, especially since I can't arrange anything from overseas.
So, approximate order of priorities would be - short term accommodation (for the first couple of weeks), paperwork, long term accommodation (rent), job, school.

Did anyone go without any pre-arrangements?

Swerv-o

I didn't have much arranged - Just a bank account a place to stay with a friend. This really helped though, as I had unfettered access to the internet, which was an absolute bonus when it came to job hunting. In the first 3 weeks I treated job hunting as my job - get up normally, do some stuff, then finish at a sensible time in the evening. Makes it more manageable, and it doesn't start to consume you.

I applied for a TFN pretty much the first day, which took about a month to come through. Get this in place quite quickly, as if you luck out on a job quickly, then your employer will have to take witholding tax from your pay until it arrives.

I would recommend that you try to sort out Medicare quite quickly - I had massive problems with my registration as they wanted all kinds of documentation. If they are going to play silly buggers with you, then at least you know what they are looking for and can save it as you go. In many ways, already having a bank account really worked against me, as I didn't have to open one, so I was missing quite a weighty piece of ID/Documentation for other things, like Medicare.

I still havn't sorted out my driving licence, but living in Sydney's inner west I don't really need a car so it's not too much of an issue. In retrospect that may have been a sensible thing to organise first, but now the RTA are asking for two pieces of documentation confirming your address, so this may be tricky on first arrival too now. It's on the list for the new year though...

I got a credit card after 3 months with no hastles. A super fund is easy to start, but wait until you have a job first. I havn't looked at a mortgage yet, as I'm not planning to buy just yet.

Not much else too it. That was pretty much the sum of my first weeks here.

Hope that helps...

S

DrWho

Yeah, I remember the postings about it... You had the real runaround... Weird 'cos we went to register for medicare yesterday and filled in one form and were out of the Warriewood office within 15 minutes... Just took our passports and driving licences... Guess it depends who you get...

aries

I came by myself . . . not certain if I like it yet though, only been here since 1960! I've had a few trips back to the UK, so although I'm torn between the two and have family members on both sides of the world, it's cheaper to live down under.

-=|MisterY|=-

Thanks for so many information!

Yep. I'll try to see if there are some friends or friends of friends to help. Otherwise, a hostel or something similar could do for some time. Some of those places have internet, meaning bringing own computer is a very good idea. (On the other hand it takes valuable space.)

Phew, fortunately managed to do that on my validation trip last year. The number came in mail in exactly a week.

Will do. I also went to Medicare last year but it looked straightforward (on paper) and a residence address was required so I didn't apply then. Thought that it would be simple after I arrive.

Too bad. I've been reading about banks, like WestPac, which allow one to open an account online and transfer funds. I'm thinking about doing that one some time before reserving a ticket.

If I'm gonna do it, it has to be within a month after arrival. I might go for car and motorcycle license. But how sensible is to get a car soon after arrival, though? I'm targetting Melbourne and it seems that most suburbs are up to 30 minutes from the city via public transport.

It sure does. Besides all these formalities, I'm glad to see there are people I may have tea with sometimes.
Thank you very much for sharing your experience. It does not sound as difficult as I thought at first.

Alen

lollyno1

Im also going on my own..and will be miles from anywhere...thats whats worrying. Im going to a very small community so hopefully it will be full of friendly people.

Im hoping to join in with some of the BE meets when i get settled, however, it may involve overnight stays in Adelaide..but it will seem like a little holiday then...

Swerv-o

I really need to get it sorted out. I did go car shopping when I first arrived, but it started to become apparent that I really didn't need one. I live 2 minutes walk between two stations and have a 25 minute train/bus ride to/from work every day. also have a great supermarket 10 minutes walk from here.

The only time I felt I needed a car was when the TV I bought didn't work and I had to take it back to the metro in a taxi. And it was only $20 in a cab.

I may buy an old nail, and see how much I use it, though I largely suspect very little!

S