mark 'n' joe

Great thread, thanks for sharing.

Joex

woogle

More of the same from us
All settled in fine, have made a great circle of friends & getting our social life back on track. Kiddies ( 3& 4) love it, especially now they're back in the pool every day. Hubby doing same job, but no Saturdays, so thats a plus.
Mortgage a bit bigger, but hey, so is the house
MIL asked me the other day if I was missing UK, told her not one bit, "not even family ?" she asked, Yes of course, but not enough to come back
Think she was a bit miffed !
Wouldn't change much, biggest thing I miss is the free childcare from the Grannies, now that's the only downside, especially now 1 will start prep in Jan 08 Time flies when you're having fun

railman2404

excellent thread keep it going

kez81

In the 2.5 years weve been here things that have changed for us-

weve lost a few members of our family

We have a new baby a wee aussie

We dont drink as much

We spend more time together dont know if thats a good thing!!

we appreciate our family a lot more a realise how much they did and still do for us.

Hubby has started up his own plumbing business.

hubby has bought a jetski something he's always wanted .

My dad has got over his fear of flying by flying here for the birth of my daughter

became an auntie

booked our first flight back to the uk at xmas cant wait!!

BadgeIsBack

Pretty much the same for me, almost 4 years in. Including the year here on my own, I've amassed enough time here to have completely forgotten what it was like to be permanently resident in the UK which is now almost 10 years away! Long enough to feel like a different life.

hevs

Our lives have changed beyond all recognition, but would have if we had been in the UK too.

I can definately say 100% that the health system here rocks and wouldn't have felt half as confident with near death situations back in the UK!

Financially we are at the lowest ebb of our lives, but thats not Australias fault.

Overall the move has been great, but I really do miss the family support from my hubbys side, something I wouldn't have dreamed I'd ever say in a million years (not because they are horrible, but because at times I really needed them!)

The only thing that concerns me is the prices of flights to leave this place. Sometimes that can be claustraphobic.

But I do love our new lives and we are always busy with doing things (Melbourne is BUSY!) or seeing friends, my kids are really happy here to

northernbird

Great to hear that, how about a little update piccy of Flynn.

Sheff_Sparky

YAY!

Dorothy

In just over 14 months...

1) I have worked at 3 fabulous jobs, 2 of which are totally new career choices for me. I worked as an ophthalmic technician in Canada for 19 years before moving to Australia. My first job was working for a recruitment agency in Adelaide in the training department. I was responsible for setting up a program which helped long term unemployed get training to get back to work. I also helped coordinate a VERY large recruitment drive by Centrelink for their SA call centres. While working there, my boss was absolutely wonderful and placed me part time at the local children's hospital doing admin work in 2 areas I was particularly interested in. I did a too short stint in palliative care, which was the most inspiring place to be, and another 5 months in paediatric neurology, where I learned so much. I'm now working for a migration agent here in Perth who I met a few years ago and told me if we ever come to Perth to look him up. I'm now thinking of applying to uni so I can get my own MARN number.
2) My husband has experienced his first ever period of unemployment after working for the same company since graduating from university 18 years previously. It was very disenheartening for him.
3) We moved interstate from Adelaide to Perth where my husband was offered a fabulous job making more money than he asked for.
4) We spent all our savings living for nearly 9 months on my wage alone and moving interstate. We're now broke, but working on getting our savings built up again.
5) Shortly after moving to Perth we found out my father has colon cancer and is now undergoing chemo. He's got a really good attitude about it and has asked me not to waste my money coming to visit while he's having treatment. I've decided to go back for a visit next October for Canadian Thanksgiving. It's my favorite time of the year.
6) We've made really good friends in Adelaide and are working on making friends here in Perth. We've got really fabulous neighbours on both sides of us and I've met some really nice people through work, meetups and by joining things.
7) My kids now surf regularly and just finished a one week surf school down in Scarborough. They've both joined Quinn's surf lifesaving as well. My son's Tourrette's symptoms have become far less noticable since we moved to Australia which has resulted in his becoming a more outgoing friendly nicer kid. It was tough watching him being teased for having tics he couldn't control. The tension of being teased made the tics worse, which made the teasing worse, etc. It was a really vicious circle for him and us. He is so much more relaxed here that his brain and body don't feel the need to react.

Over all our lives have changed mostly for the better. Financially we're really worse off than had we not moved here at all, but if we're going to be stuck in a rut we may as well do it here. We're not sure that we'll be here the rest of our lives, but I can't ever see me moving back to Canada. Once the kids are finished school we could look at an intercompany transfer to Europe with my OH's job but I've seen North America and it doesn't interest me anymore.

Wow! I can't believe I typed that much!

chels

3.5 years on...

The first 3 years weren't great for me. I didn't feel at home in Sydney, I didn't enjoy the jobs I did, and couldn't settle. I felt very homesick for England, didn't go out as much as I used to blah blah

I moved to Brisbane a few months back, feel much more settled, I like the lifestyle, people and area much more and my job, although stressful and problematic, is much more satisfying and rewarding. I am enjoying life again and no longer feel like a freak because I'm not settling in Australia. Some more friends and better shops would be good - those are the main things I still miss from England.

I think the move has been worth it, although my partner isn't enjoying it so much here (mainly because his new job is a disappointment) and would move back to Sydney if he could. But then, I would move back to England if I could. So this is our compromise.

The Crow

For me:

In the UK I worked four half days a week, so was always rushing between work and nursery - often stuck in traffic. Only one big supermarket close - the hell that is ASDA. On Sundays we visited my parents or inlaws - which although lovely (esp for kids) I found it too much of a routine. If it was a nice day, we couldn't be bothered to sit in traffic for 2 hours to get to a beach.

Here - I don't need to work at the moment. I don't get stuck in traffic. I don't need to rush. I go to the gym, I have lots of friends to meet up with, I have my OH home a lot, as he works day shifts. Shopping is easier - seven large supermarkets within 10 min drive (never busy). At the weekends, we are spoilt for choice with what to do. The school holidays are packed full of events for the kids - many free.

For OH:

In the UK he often worked 60 hours a week, in a job he didn't enjoy. His cricket was often rained off!

Here - he is in a job he enjoys and doesn't need to do overtime - he's on day shift so sees more of us. He gets to play cricket almost every Saturday!!

Environment
UK - Bristol & Bath to visit, two decent parks within 15 mins, only one pub within walking distance that was decent (even then you never knew if there would be swearing yobs there!). Nearest 'beach' Weston-super-Mare - 45 mins. One swimming pool - packed with very limited kids' pool. Nice walks on doorstep.

Here - Dandenong Ranges National Park on doorstep. Beautiful villages of Olinda & Sassafras - 10 mins. Good proper pub within walking distance - no yobs! Lake with beach - 20 mins, Bay beaches - 45 mins, too many good parks to list. Skiing - just over 2 hours away. Leisure centre with five pools - 10 mins. The city - 45 mins by train.

Other changes
For me the biggest change is from working with 28 guys to now being surrounded by mums. That's strange. However, my new friends are extremely supportive and have been so welcoming that it has been quite a revelation for me.
Another fantastic change is having so much to explore. I was too comfortable and had too much familiarity in the UK, so that's been turned on its head and it's great to discover new areas, streets, shops - you name it!

Negative changes
OH really misses the social side of soccer. He has joined a 5-a-side team here and has just managed to encourage them to go to the pub afterwards!
I struggle with missing European breaks/holidays - however, we're off to Lygon Street for the Italian Festival soon (so I can pretend!).

Hutch

I feel your pain! Don't forget Brean though!

hevs

I'll do it on his birthday

northernbird

That would be lovely, will look forward to it H

hevs

No worries Be prepared for a shock!