igual

Hi everyone!
Well the last 2 months have been a little mad to say the least! We flew out from the uk on the 17th August to Perth (where we originally intended to go).We decided to start in Perth as my husbands family really wanted to go there, His parents had dreams of a big house and lots of land.We went for a holiday in Feb to validate our visas visting Perth, Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane. On return we were unsure where we wanted to be, we knew we loved Sydney as we had lived and worked there previously on a working holiday, but felt it was a bit of a cop out not to try somewhere else, so when we returned and the parents in law said they would like to retire to Perth, we said we would try there as well.We are the first ones out here, the rest of the family are still waiting on visas.When we arrived in Perth, we rented a short term appartment and picked our car up which we had preordered on the internet.This all went smoothly, and we preceded to look around at places to live.We both quickly realised that Perth wasn't the place we wanted to be, it just didn't feel right!We were not ready to lay back that much! Don't get me wrong it has some lovely places and the people are friendly etc, but we both felt that once the novelty of beaches had worn off we would be bored! I know that people are going to say, well you hardly gave it ago as we were only there 2 weeks, but we had to look carefully at what we wanted out of our life in Oz, also we had our stuff being shipped over which we put on hold.We felt the scenery just didnt compare to Sydney, we knew straight away really where our hearts were in relation to Oz! I know we are in crowded expensive Sydney, where house prices are very high, but whats the point of leaving friends and family for a big house in a place you dont want to be, on the other side of the world! Much rather be happy in a small one. The decision we made didn't go down very well with the rest of the family, but none of them had been to Australia before, and we had to decide for ourselves, as originally we were coming out on our own.We are not even sure how long we will stay, we have just got the attitude , see how it goes! After making our decision to go to Sydney instead, we set off on our 4000 km journey across the Nullabor, we had previously made this journey 4 years ago on our around Oz adventure in our campervan, didnt plan to do it again so quickly!It took 6 days of constant driving, meeting some great people and seeing some lovely places on the way!
Unfortunately this change of mind has set us back a little in settling in to our new life in Australia, and has proved quite costly, but not as costly as probably having to ship our stuff also from Perth to Sydney.
We have rented a house in Frenchs forest that backs onto the bush, we have great views, and the birdlife is fantastic! It is very peaceful, and we feel quite lucky to find such a nice relaxing place so close to the city.Our nearest beaches are Dee why and Manly which are fantastic! The only thing that bothers us about the area is the lack of pubs, so maybe in the future that may be something that drives us closer to the beach areas.This time around is totally different to when we were here last as backpackers.Last time we were here we shared a flat in Elizabeth bay, so had instant friends, this time is a little harder on the social front, as some of you may also be feeling. We plan to join clubs , do a climbing course at the local indoor climbing wall( as im quite crap), so hopefully will meet people through that.We took wind surfing lessons the other day which was also good fun.When our stuff arrives it will be a bit easier as we will have our mountain bikes then, read that there is a brilliant mountain bike route in the blue mountains!I start work next Tuesday, im a nurse, so if its like my previous jobs it should be quite sociable, we will see My husband Nick works from home, so a little less sociable!
We don't know how we will feel about Australia in the future, but we intend to definately make the most of it ! We both still love England and especially its close proximity to Europe, Along with Family this is something that I will really miss! If my time here is half as happy as last time then i will be really happy! Made some great friends last time, unfortunately, have left Sydney now.
Anyway thats what we have been up to the last 2 months, look forward to meeting other expats at the next Sydney meet
good luck everyone
Fiona

hubbard

Great to hear someone else heading to Sydney, so many expats seem to avoid it. We are moving to Sydney from auckland when our PR comes through. Having visited Sydney many times I think it is an excellent city, loads happening (socially and careerwise) plus nice beaches and bush for more rural pursuits. We are thinking of buying in Sutherland shire or Northern beaches. The job market seems to be pretty good at the moment in what my husband and i do (IT programming and business analysis) so we are thinking that securing good career oreintated work should be ok. I guess what puts alot of expats off is the cost of living in Sydney - you really need to have lived in a similiarly priced place elsewhere to afford a nice house. Although we have been in Auckalnd 2 years we were never sure of staying there, so never sold our place in central London, so hopefully when we do that will equal a nice place in Sydney. Plus my husband and I both know that the idea of living mortgage free in Sydney at the moment in our lives is but a dream, we will have a mortgage and will work hard but hopefully in a wicked city. Having browsed this forum it seems that most expats finfd Perth the hardest place to settle (mortgage free but work hard to come by and isolation) maybe potential migrants should not put so much store by a big house and being mortgaeg free, look at other places where you may get work quickly and have loads going on to combat those first homesick months / years.

Pej

Exactly. And most of us haven't.

SydneyStace

I must also welcome you to Sydney. I love this part of Australia, despite having a lot of family here, I couldn't settle for a too laid back lifestyle. There will be a meet up soon, so it's a great chance to meet loads of people who have newly arrived in Sydney. I met my husband while backpacking in Sydney, so it also means a lot to me.
I definitely think that if you've made the move across the other side of the world, leaving friends and family, then you definitely have to be happy in the place you're living. Who cares if you have a mortgage to pay - the quality of life is far better than living in the UK. My job is so laid back & stress free that I quite enjoy it as far as work goes.
All I can say is well done on doing what's right for you as you can't keep everyone happy!!!