Pollyana

Well, I've now been here 4 months.
My version of the unvarnished truth.....nost of the time I love it. I would certainly not want to go back to the UK. I do have my moments, but I'm not sure you can relate them just to being in Oz, as they are caused by a mixture a living with a new Bloke, in a new house - thats stressful in itself, without the new country, new job, new life bit thrown in.
We have both lived alone for years, being thrown together means lots of change on both sides, and he is probably less amenable to change than I am.

However,.....to get back to the point. Australia is different. Its Australia. Its not the UK, or Germany, or the Netherlands, or America. Thats why we've all come here. But we're all looking for different things, and I guess a reason why people don't post anymore is because once we get here we start different lives, and wonder whether the people still waiting are really interested in those lives?
A lot of posts by newcomers do get "rubbished" by others telling us we haven't been here long enough to know what life is really like, or by UKers saying "Of course you're homesick, what did you expect, it'll drive you home in the end".
I frrely admit I'm homesick, though I never ever expected to be, and I don't even really know what I'm homesick FOR. I didn't like my life in the UK particularly, apart from some of the people in it. I think I just miss the familiarity really.

Leaving friends - and family if you're close - is the hardest thing and NOTHING prepares you for that. But you start to wonder whether the people still waiting actually want to hear that. They know it, they think they know what it'll feel like, but thinking back to when I was that side of the world - we didn't read those posts cos we thought we knew better. Maybe thats what makes a lot of people reluctant to post - they think they may say what people cna't really cope with reading.
Probably truer for the Partner visa applicants than for the skills ones - we know that whichever country we live in, one of us will always be "the foreigner".

I guess we are all probably better at answerring specific questions, once we are here, rather than just posting "experiences of life" threads....... Ask and we'll tell you!!!

Oh and by the way, the beaches here are good, the TV is awful, and the bread is expensive......next question?!!!

Florida_03

Whew...for what it's worth...thanks pollyanna.

Pollyana

Well Dotty was moaning that none of us ever said anything..... and I got a bit carried away once I got started!

Lettuce is a bit pricey too......

Florida_03

We are all born in; a time, a place, an environment, by happenstance. The rest is up to us.

dotty

Here watch it woman or I wont give you my red hot tip that coles has reduced the price of milk and bread, 2.87 for 3L milk and 95 cents for bread. With those kinda savings we can all afford lettuce.

Actually I was not moaning, I seriously cant believe that so many arrive and never a peep out of them. I dont think its cause they think people arn't interested, of course people are interested thats why they read here. Look at the famous life in the sun docos, people are totally obsessed with every detail, nope they are interested all right.

Sure a few people have pointed out posts that read like an holiday itenary are a bit unrealisic, which probably just means they want more info on day to day stuff. On the other hand I dont think people who post its not going fabulous are bagged either, sometimes their posts are pretty much ignored which is a bit rude but more often they get a lot of sympathy and good advice.

I think you and florida have a good point, some stuff is a bit hard to post, like homesickness for fear of upsetting others. But at the end of the day people are on here looking for info, yet what must be the most interesting posts of all "What happened when we got there" rarely appear.

karawara88

Pollyanna I think you are right. But I also think people are scared of saying that its not everything they expected, like with you we get to see all the build up to getting here, the stress, the moving giving up a life in UK, we see the expectations. you (and some others) have continued to post, which gives a valuable insight to the stress and strain of being here, you give the bad bits and the good bits which from my personal point of view is far more useful to migrants than those that post and say, "been here 4 years and loving it" in answer to every post, the one that drives me mad is ?????? who sends PMs if you say anything negative, telling you what a great place Perth is.!!!

Maybe I am just a nosey bugger and like to know what people are up to. Its good to know that for some its working out especially after laying their lives open for months / years prior to getting here. So thanks Pollyanna.

For those that are here and posted prior to leaving, tell us how it is for you, good or bad, for what you might think is irrelavant information it may help someone on the way out to make a better choice or think twice about location or take a better look at things they overlooked.

As for Dotty, keep up the good work, we have said it before and we will say it again, had it not been for Dotty and PB we wouldnt have stepped back and re avaluated our plans before leaving the UK which as it turned out saved us a lot of cash.

For those that keep asking where Donna is (Jirrupin) she won't post any more, she got fed up with the constant attacks (some personal) from the multiple id brigade. Which I think is a bit sad as she had / has a lot to contribute.

Pollyana

Karawara,
I'm really sorry to hear that Donna won't post any more. I didn't agree with everything she said, but I doubt she agrees with all my posts either! However, both of you have always posted relaly honest stuff, and I just find it a shame when people can't just read it, and if they don't like it they can just ignore it.
(What is all this "personal attack by pm" business - for goodness sake people, thats not what its there for, its for making personal contact, swapping phone numbers etc, not for attacking each other!)
I hope things work out for you when you go back, and as you have the option to keep travelling, I feel in a lot of ways you have the best of both worlds.
You're spot on when you say that people are scared to admit its not everything they expected it to be. I think thats why some returning migrants suddenly become very abusive about things in Oz. Its fear and its human nature and its all just so "normal".

Anyway, I'm like you and I'm a nosey bugger, so I hope you'll keep posting so we can see what you're up to elsewhere. Most annoying thing about you leaving is that you now become two people I would've liked to meet, but won't get the chance!


=====================

Meanwhile, 95c for bread Dotty, OMG, I'm off shopping quick! (still hurts after years of paying 19p a loaf in Sainsburys though!)

karawara88

I often disagree with her, but after a year of marriage I am starting to realise that agreeing leads to an easy life, it does appear I have two faults, everything I say and everything I do.

Its not my fault, I get nagged so often its difficult to know which nag to concentrate on.

Only kidding shes a star really.

ABCDiamond

Woolworths have done the same with bread, also 95 cents. Next thing you know they will both be reducing the price of lettuce !!

karenvirginia

i agree with all of the above!
we arrived at end of september, stayed with brother in sydney first for 10 days. a big help having a proper address for stuff like driving test, bank account, tax file and medicare applications etc. btw i have citizenship (but always lived in england, aussie mom died when i was 4) and alan is here on spouse visa, which took about 6 months start to finish to arrive. our 20 foot container with all our worldly goods had left 15th august and was on the way.
we knew we wanted to actually live on the nsw/qld border as on previous visits (holidays) this was the area we thought most liveable for us. alan is a builder, had his own business for years so we planned to buy, renovate, and sell, a few times to make money for a few years. well, we drove up here having picked up new ute in sydney we'd ordered from england, and stayed at a resort in the area which we'd also arranged months before. we knew we would have to rent first, found a 2 bed duplex, privately owned and took a 6 month rental at $200 per week. we are still here and leave april 14th. very comfortable and owner kind enough to let us use some of her stuff till our shipment arrived. this was a HUGE help fridge, tv, sofa, microwave etc. as to rent these things for a short time was expensive. when our stuff came it was like christmas and birthdays all together, nothing missing or broken, though evidence of boxes being examined as they were re-taped up, so very pleased no extra charges only the normal customs as expected. i would advise people to bring everything they own, tools, cooking stuff, sewing things, books, office stuff, clothes etc. it really does help you settle and would be horrendously expensive to replace. its more the little things than big things i think that mean so much.
we also started looking to buy somewhere in the region of $250k - this was hard, everywhere was being snapped up at that time and there was very little in our price range which needed renovating or extending. we started to panic, all the talk of property prices going up almost daily :scared: etc. then an agent suggested murwillumbah, which is about 15 minutes inland along the tweed river and we went to see 4 properties at the right price. to cut a long story short, we did buy an "uphouse" (old queenslander type, bricked in at bottom) for $245k and got the keys december 15th. during this time i'd been half heartedly looking for work, i have an admin background, telephony etc. there is not much about down here, seems to be mostly franchised businesses who employ family! i took a telesales job but only lasted 3 weeks, it was purgatory! i am not a saleswoman at all and was useless! then i got a job at a new oap home to start in february. so, christmas came and went, we flew down to sydney for a few days and started on the house straight after. all this time we are enjoying ourselves btw! we have made a few friends, al has a golfing partner and we all get together at least once a week for nights at the club, swimming, barbies (yes dotty plenty of those, but i'm not bored yet!) i even saw bryan ferry at twin towns a couple of weeks ago. we have a little tinnie (boat) and go fishing on the river quite often, too.
alan is ploughing on in the house, ripped out most of what was there inside, the horrid old bathroom, kitchen etc. we have redesigned it and moved walls etc. it is to be completely reboarded in gyproc, insulated and we have created 3 ensuite bedrooms, office blah blah blah. al is frustrated by the licences required to do some of the plumbing and electrics, all of which he is perfectly capable of doing himself. they are licence mad here! other posts discuss this more fully.
anyway, i help al and do the garden, the grass seems to grow a foot a week. there are bigger and scarier bugs to contend with, i wear boots and gloves in the garden after al nearly stepped on a brown snake! numerous cane toads -bad, green frogs - good, galahs, lorikeets etc. love it. all the time thinking that i'll be working soon at the oap home. well, it has fallen through as builders well behind schedule, surprise surprise and it could be months so i began to search again. "proper" jobs require a cv written just so, i took advice and had to completely revamp mine. i have a few applications in at the local council (waiting to hear now)and have had a few letters where i did'nt even get an interview. but..... the week before last i saw an ad in a window at the drycleaners in murwillumbah for a dressmaker, i applied, had a three day paid trial and they have taken me on! four days a week, i do the alterations and book in the cleaning which is picked up daily by a driver. its really very relaxing, never dreamt i'd sew for a living. suppose i could earn more elsewhere but money is not everything. it is just a five minute walk to our new house.
basically, we love it here, maybe too soon to say its forever, but i hope so. what i miss: the usual, family, friends, familiarity and my cats!
what i don't miss: the traffic, the cold, the dull grimness of the sky, the monotony
what bugs us: speeding fines! al has had two
licences, not supposed to even wire a plug without one! the australian internet search engines work differently (seems hard to find things we are after)
what we love: the weather - mostly ( a bit hot last week!)
the space, the scenery, the clubs, the laid back lifestyle, meeting people, chatting with expats
so, plans changed a bit, we have decided to live in the house we are doing for a few years probably, and hopefully borrow against the added value to buy the next one, and that will just be a quick reno to sell. we have to remember the capital gains tax etc but sure it will be worthwhile. we would like to be nearer the coast within the next five years.
hope this little story of everyday expat life is helpful to someone!
karen

karenvirginia

lettuce down to $1.99 in scotts today, you could even have a floppy type for $1!

dotty

Great post, I cannot see how this sort of stuff could not be totally fascinating to anyone contemplating coming out here.

Must apologise tho, got this vision of poor new arrivals getting RSI from having to type such long posts.

karenvirginia

did'nt actually realise how long it was!
anyway dotty, will we see you march 21st?
karen

Pollyana

Wonderful account Karen; I guess I'm luckier than most cos I came out a live with a guy who already has a unit/job etc. But until my own shipping got here 2 weeks ago, I just felt unsettled, like a fish out of water. Bit better now, but now HE feels I am taking over with all my gear - he can't just leave his things around the way he used to! But I feel at lot more at peace - even having things like my own incense sticks, my own frying pan, it all sounds really stupid, but every little taste of familiarity makes a strange place feel like home.
Does make a big difference having an address to use before you get here, a contact to put on resumes, etc. I'd advise anyone who knows people here to ask if they may use their address temporarily.
The job thing - takes persistence, doesn't it, but I came here with the attitude that I would take ANY job to start with, I'll pick and choose later. And with that attitude, I managed to get one.
Karen, your miss/don't miss list sounds very like my own, but if I'm honest, its no worse than I expected.
I have some of my pictures on the wall now, I wake up and have my own table-lamp. Its starting to feel like the "home" I want it to be. Next week I shall swap some of the curatins for mine, with the Bloke's blessing, that should make it more homely still.

Very strange thing I've found though - I am now finding that I use the British words more than the Aussie ones, for things like doona/duvet. The Bloke says "you're in Oz now, talk Aussie, you've been saying doona for years" - but I want to hang on to that last bit of being British! It feels like a kind of schizophrenia.... time I had another beer I think, this is getting a bit deep!!!

dotty

Coochie Mudlo is really nowhere near us at all Husband knows it says we would be looking at 2.5 hours each way all up. Pity really I like a bit of a do