WHAT WAS IT LIKE??
 

Just wondering what it felt like when you first got off the plane in Australia with your kids and bags standing at the exit of the airport following the whole emigration process. Was it like wow oh my god, or s##t what have we done?
The wife and I were talking about this the other night and it will seem strange to.......not have a set of keys!

Re: WHAT WAS IT LIKE??
 

Was so jet lagged by the time we arrived, the immediate sensation was one of relief - that and a desire to get the hell out of the terminal building and have a ciggie. :lol: Next morning, waking up and realising we'd made it was a nice feeling though - and being an aussie citizen by descent I didn't have to do the visa thing, so I imagine the feelings would be intensified somewhat. ;)

Re: WHAT WAS IT LIKE??
 

Thats true... no keys !

I like that idea :thumbup:

Re: WHAT WAS IT LIKE??
 

Yep, exactly how I felt too, right down to the ciggie bit!. I remember thinking that I'd landed in the wrong city though, it was nothing like I thought it would be. :D

Re: WHAT WAS IT LIKE??
 

We were so over tired we were giddy. Like Wendy, though, it felt nothing like what we expected.

Re: WHAT WAS IT LIKE??
 

It was like I had come home.

Buzzy

Re: WHAT WAS IT LIKE??
 

I went straight from Arrivals to the Royal Brisbane Hospital to visit my pregnant future wife who was admitted with high blood pressure.

And the madness hasn't really stopped since.

Re: WHAT WAS IT LIKE??
 

I have been in the position of doing this twice.

I am an Austrlian who moved to England in 2003.

It was really wierd to be stading in Heathrow with no keys, no phone, no address, no car, no job, no nothing - just me, my guitar case and a suitcase full of clothes.

We moved back to Australia in August last year....

Same sorta thing.... although it did really feel like I was home.

Re: WHAT WAS IT LIKE??
 

I don't think many people will think 'wow', not after such a long flight.

We were just so tired. Took us days to come round. Then it felt like a holiday for a month or so. Then when we bought a house and bills came flooding in:lol: it felt like reality.

Re: WHAT WAS IT LIKE??
 

A bit deflated, partly due to jet lag and that there were no fanfares when we went through customs!!!!!!
jacqui

Re: WHAT WAS IT LIKE??
 

did some travelling en route so it just felt like being on holiday but when we landed in Tasmania it hit me, I went into a deep depression and just wanted to get back on the plane and go home.

Re: WHAT WAS IT LIKE??
 

A non-event

We'd done a 'dry run' 6 months previously (when we came out here to validate our visas) so in a way we knew what to expect.

Because of the above, and the fact that we knew where we'd be living and working, there was a sense of 'we're back!' as opposed to 'we've arrived!'

It was an overcast, early Saturday morning. No fanfares, no bunting, no welcome to Brisbane signs - just a slightly numb feeling, mild trepidation and the knowledge that a lot of hard work lay ahead of us.

Re: WHAT WAS IT LIKE??
 

I felt tired, smelly and a bit scared to be honest. Scared because I had no return ticket and no money to buy one.:unsure:

Re: WHAT WAS IT LIKE??
 

The keys thing is so true! We've just bought our first car here and finally I have somewhere to hang my bottle opener :D

It's very disconcerting at first, like going on holiday - but not, as you're looking at everywhere like it's supposed to be home - but it isn't.

We travelled round when we first got here and when we got back to Adelaide after 5 weeks that was a lovely feeling, that was the wow moment. I think you'll get both feelings at different times and to different degrees but that's part of the adventure. As long as there's more 'wow' than 's##t' you'll be fine :D

Re: WHAT WAS IT LIKE??
 

I remember looking out of the plane window as it flew over and into Melbourne in the dark thinking "This is my new home". Very exciting.

Then wheeling my case down St.Kilda Road seeing the MCG and having those fake parrots fly past me in Botanical Gardens I was just in awe.

10 months later and I still feel the same - this is the place to be, no mistaking!

Re: WHAT WAS IT LIKE??
 

I popped back to England last week and thought when I got to heathrow how bloody awful it must be for someone arriving there for the first time. It's the biggest, busiest airport with thousands of people everywhere, and when you see the surrounding area you must thing 'what the hell have I done!" :eek:
It's hardly a welcoming place to arrive, unlike the Aussie airports which as least seem relatively sane and calm :thumbup:.

Re: WHAT WAS IT LIKE??
 

My main thought was how long can we last before my eldest starts crying again:rolleyes: 2 hours I think it was :eek:

Re: WHAT WAS IT LIKE??
 

Was it being married to you that caused the High Blood Pressure??? :rofl:

Re: WHAT WAS IT LIKE??
 

We both said that when we left the UK, no house keys, no car keys, just a silly little key that would open the locks on the suitcases!!

Same as most posts, didnt feel anything really, wanted a shower, knackered, glad no more travelling, little dissapointed that there was no "Welcome To Adelaide" fanfare, just a miserable looking bird obviously in need of a major personallity transplant!!

Re: WHAT WAS IT LIKE??
 

glad to get off the plane, DD was sweet sleeping baby on the first leg, but not the 2nd.
Then, can we get all this stuff (suitcases, baby stuff & us) into a taxi.
Then it was to admire the wonderful harbour views from our 5star hotel room, and think this city is now our home city.
I would have then gone to the lounge for a drink, but instead flopped out on the BIG plush bed given the jet lag & early stages of pregnancy tiredness.

If you can, then I would recommend the bit of luxury upon arrival - see it as a reward for getting through all the stresses of visa/moving and chance to appreciate Australia before the mundane reality starts

Re: WHAT WAS IT LIKE??
 

The prospect of it probably :)

I wouldn't mind some actually, I could do with some help down there :D

Re: WHAT WAS IT LIKE??
 

Very much s##t what have we done (my thoughts not Hubbys)

Apart from the physical symptoms....being grimy and dirty, ridiculously tired and fantasizing about lying horizontal :)....I felt this immense sense of responsibility towards my children....taking them away from all they had known....whatever their future was to be was because of what we had decided for them (still true if we had stayed in the U.K I know but somehow so much more poignant at that moment) I felt alone...we were a relatively large family (3 kids) in the U.K, but suddenly we were insignificant.

The key thing is a really weird one and I'm rather impressed that you've 'imagined' the feeling as it wasn't something I'd really thought about up until a week or so before departure...having no keys makes you feel like a nobody almost weird feeling :blink:

When we arrived (possibly whilst in mid-air; speeding further and futher away from 'home' at an alarming rate) I realised just how REAL and vast a thing emigrating was. I was scared, so scared. I didn't want to be the adult with all the decisions...I wanted my comfort zone back.

That was 3 1/2 years ago now but that day is etched forever in my memory. I have grown as a person (maybe even grown up!) as a result of this whole experience, but I'm not honestly sure if I'd do it again if I had the time over :(