Jaykay

Well I've finally made it back home and a week has flown by already.

Flew out with Emirates from Gatwick. Only 2 people in the queue (me and one person in front of me) so I had plenty of time to wander around the shops and say my goodbyes to Nick. He's staying in the UK to sell the house, and will be flying over once the money is in the bank.

Emirates were fine. Nothing bad happened and we had prebooked the seats we wanted, the movies on board were good too (although they didn't have Finding Nemo on our flight), and it was a pretty good flight turbulance wise as well. Stopping at Dubai and Singapore definitely made it easier for my 4 year old daughter as each time she got back on board, she had run herself ragged around the airport and just wanted to go to sleep, which was fine by me!!

Arriving in Melbourne I knew it was going to be cool but that biting wind was something that I had forgotten about. It's been very windy since I've been here and there has been quite a bit of rain, but mainly in the afternoons, so I can still go for a run in the morning, get any washing out on the line and have it dry and back inside before it rains. Have had to take a hot water bottle to bed with me every night as it's really cold at night, and my parents aren't into keeping the house really warm and toasty. They like to open all the doors and windows during the day so I'm now wearing 4 layers of clothes and 2 thick pairs of socks, and as I thought the worst of the winter had finished, all of my heavy winter stuff is in 2 very large boxes which are being shipped over next week by Air Freight.

I have had a nightmare trying to get my medicare card though. As I've been out of the country for a long time, I have to prove to them that I've severed all ties with the country that I was living in. Becuase I'm living with my parents, I have no rental agreement, as our house stuff is not being shipped until the house is sold I have no shipping documentation, as I don't have a job yet, I have nothing to prove that I'm here with a job, as I'm not claiming benefits I have nothing from Centerlink, I haven't got round to changing my English Drivers Licence for an Australian one yet either so they wouldn't give me a medicare card. I went back another day with a letter from my parents saying that I was living with them, a letter from my daughter's school saying that she had a placement there and a reference from my boss at my last job in the UK. They still wern't happy with this. So I highlighted to them that I could have just walked in and said that I'd lost my medicare years ago and had never replaced it and could I have another one. I think that shut them up as my application was sent to Head Office for them to make a decision.

I also went to HSBC to pick up my ATM Card which I had stated that I would pick up when I arrived. Seems that if you don't pick it up within 6 weeks of opening the account, they destory it. I had specifically written on the paperwork when I applied for the card that I wouldn't be arriving in Oz until September and would pick it up then. So I go to pick it up from the branch, and they've destoryed it!! Not very happy as I need cash out of my account. So they say that I can have some over the counter but it's going to cost me $5.00 to do it. By this stage I'm not very happy. Still a bit tired from my flight (only landed the night before) had to wait in the queue for about 15 minutes, then to be told that my card has been destroyed, I'd have to wait 2 weeks for a new one and I had to pay them money to get my cash out of the bank, you can imagine that my voice was starting to rise and my temper was starting to come to the fore!! Seems there's nothing they can do about the $5.00 charge, the computer automatically takes it from your account.

So now some good stuff. For anyone who has lived in Australia (especially Melbourne) I went to the Royal Melbourne Show on Sunday. It brought back all my childhood memories of going on all the rides and finding the best showbag that had the most lollies for the least money. Costs have risen a bit since I last went. Had nothing left out of $100 and that was just for me and my daughter (and she got in for free as she is under 5). For anyone moving to Melbourne, here's a link to what I'm talking about:
http://www.royalshow.com.au/index.asp

I've been lucky in that I haven't had to find a car yet as I can borrow either one of my parents (as they've both retired). I'm hoping to get an interview next week with the company that I worked for in the UK.

My biggest concern is child care for my daughter. I would suggest to anyone who is looking to move to Melbourne in the near future to get your name down now (if you know where you're moving to) as places are very limited. So far I have not been able to find any child care places and have my name down at 3 so far. Am now going to have to look further afield to see what's available. If you contact the local council they should be able to help with child care/kindegarten/pre-schools in the local area. I'm now considering looking for a local child minder until the next school holidays start (mid december). Even though I know my parents (well my Mum anyway) will look after her short term, I don't want to burden them as they still have their lives to live as well. She starts school at the end of January so I won't need to worry after then.

I've only been food shopping once since I've got here, and I would have to admit that prices have definitely gone up alot in 10 years, although some things are still quite well priced. Fruit is still very cheap, as are alot of toys. I'm trying not to convert back to English Pounds as I know that wages etc are lower here. Booze is definitely cheaper here too (especially the bubbly!!) Today I bought 6 bottles of Orlando Carrington Bubbly for $26.26.

For any skiing enthusiasts, the ski season has been extended and I heard this morning that they expect snow on the higher slopes until November. Currently most places are offering 60% discount on accommodation and lift tickets, so I am considering dusting off the old skis and seeing if I still fit into my boots.

Well that's my first week back home. I've decided not to look at the local paper for houses yet as I don't have the money (our house still not on the market yet) and with my luck, I'd find the perfect house and not be able to buy it!! Oh yes, house prices have definitely rocketed too. Might have to consider buying a block of land and getting a house built on it rather than buying an existing house. My brother's best mate is a builder so it's an option.

Looking forward to meeting everyone at the Melbourne Picnic whenever that may be??

Regards

hevs

Hi Jay kay

Glad to see you arrived safely. You seem to have had a week and a half, but hopefully it will settle down for you soon. Where are you based? How is your daughter settling down? I also understand fro Jo that you are sussing out a watering hole for us Melbourne girlies to be, any luck yet Take care and thanks for the informative post, keep it up
H xx

suffolkdiva

Good to hear from you Jaykay.

We fly over at the end of the month, but won't be down in Melbourne til mid November. I hope that wind and rain have calmed down a little by then!

see you at the picnic!

Pollyana

Glad to hear you've got there OK, and are settling back in - must be strange, it being your home country yet you've been away so long?
Keep us posted won't you. The Bloke and I are hoping to come down to Melbourne in March, so might be able to meet up?

Take care - keep the news coming!!

Jaykay

Hi H

Living in Kilsyth which is at the foot of the Dandenongs. Alana is doing just fine. She's taken to Melbourne like a fish to water. And she has cousins living in the next street, so she is constantly entertained (which suits me).

Depending on where you all decide to settle when you move here there are plenty of nice pubs to meet up in. I know that Jo is moving to the Eastern Suburbs so if everyone else is based on this side of town, I know of quite a few within a few km's of both suburbs.

See you all soon

Jaykay

I really hope this weather improves soon as I hate the cold weather. I'm sure by November there'll be a bit more sun. May even be warm enough by then to have that picnic.

See you then

Regards

Jaykay

Hi Pollyana

Do you know that I don't feel like I'm home yet. Even though I know that Australia is my home, it's going to take a while to get the UK out of my system.

I've got used to shopping at Sainsburys now, so my first shop at Safeway was very long winded as I couldn't find all of my normal stuff I get when I go shopping. I was in the Supermarket for such a long time, and I came out of there with hardly anything at all.

Look forward to meeting you in March. Perhaps we can work it so there's a Melbourne meet-up while you're here?

Regards

booboo1

Great to hear from you Jaykay, hope Nick can join asap

cheers
booboo

chris hogan

Hi Jaykay great to hear from you ,won't take you long to settle into things again I'm sure,hopefully Nick won't be to far behind you.Igot the good news yesterday visa had been granted
Recieved it special post first thing this morning Postman thought we were all mad until we explained:scared:
Take care hope all goes well
Chris&rowena.

Jaykay

Hi Booboo

Hopefully not too long before you're out here. Hope everything works out for you and all goes smoothly.

See you soon

Regards

Jaykay

Hi Chris

Congratulations on your visa. It's a good feeling isn't it.

Good luck to you and Rowena as well.

Regards

bondipom

How does it feel to be posting from the land down under? My wife noted the change in prices in clothing and is looking for to Next, Zara and M&S.

My wife just pretended she had never left the country when renewing her medicare card. She used to work there so knows the hassle.

What do you have to do to prove you have broken all links?

The Australian driving license is an advisable piece of ID to acquire as it is photo id with an address. I find that foreign ID is looked at suspicously.

The good thing about arriving in the cold is that house and job hunting in the heat can get unpleasant and tiring. You can then enjoy the heat when you are settled.

Looking forward to hearing your insights.

tinaj

Great post. Interesting hearing how you have settled back in.

I hope your house sells soon and you Hubby gets out there asap.

Jaykay

Hi BondiPom

Do you know that I kept asking them (well I might have yelled a little bit!) what did they actually want from me that might make them realise that I had moved back to Australia permanently. They couldn't actually reply with anything resembling an answer, just kept saying "you must show enough information for us to confirm that you have severed all ties with the country you were in". I think that the Australian Drivers Licence would have done it, as well as some shipping documents for our personal effects coming from the UK. I think if I had put myself down for the dole, that may have pleased them too!!

I haven't really been clothes shopping yet, and as Nick says, I've got enough clothes for 10 people (personally I don't agree with this statement!!), and it's not going to get here till next week anyway, so I may have to do a bit of retail therapy. I'm sure that Myer have a good range of clothing to suit all types.

I sat and watched the AFL Grand Final today with a couple of girlies and a glass of champers in my hand. One of my brother's got to watch it in one of the corporate boxes at the MCG, which had free booze and food all day long. Lucky git. Luckily I don't support either Collingwood or Brisbane (go the Dons!!).

Regards

Jaykay

Thanks Tina, I hope it sells quickly too. I want my own house. This living with the parents thing is okay for about a week, but I've now spent some quality time with them and I feel it's time to put some space between us

Regards