|
Re: You expectations of Australia
Originally Posted by Professional Princess
Ive been trying to read as much negative stuff about Oz as I have positive. The positive stuff I have pretty much experienced myself on the couple of times I have been, although I have no doubt there will be new experiences awaiting.
Ive read the negative stuff on the site, to try and get a balanced picture. I would be interested to read other peoples expectations of what they think will be when the start their new life. Some of the negatives I have thought of and ideas I have to try and counteract them include; 1. Homesickness/culture shock I have already started to read about culture shock, recognising the signs, how to deal with it. Although I know you dont really know until it hits you, it is nice to be prepared a little. With regards to homesickness, I have started communicating already with my family by email/msn and instead of random phone calls, I have a set time, to get myself into a routine of phoning them as this is what will happen in Oz. 2. Missing the UK and appreciation of things after I have left it. I have started to take in my surroundings, good and bad and make the most of them, so when I leave I wont say 'I never appreciated it'. I am reading our local paper more, to take in good and bad points and measuring it with those of Australia. 3. Not getting a job on arrival As soon as we have our visa, we are making contact with people, hubbys employer is big in Oz, and we have already been told to make contact on arrival. I reckon as soon as we get there, we shall try and do one or two days a week voluntary in our sector. Do this for a couple of reasons because firstly, it gets you into a routine and making friends and secondly it gives you a contact and a chance to prove yourself. You never know where it might lead. 4. Isolation/insecurity of unfamiliar surroundings We intend to take up any offer of a drink etc. All my friends live out of London so I pretty much spend most of my time communicating by phone anyway. But we will make an effort to meet people and take up friendships. 5. Adaptation of new culture and getting use to a different way of doing things We know everything will be different, some stuff for the better and some for not so good. Things might/will annoy us because it wont be done like it is 'back home'. I suppose I shall just treat it the same as what annoys me in the UK that I have had to accept and cannot change. One woman said to me when I was in Oz, she had this English family stay in her apartments, and all they did was moan. And they say it is one thing about the poms, Aussies do not like. So with that in mind, I reckon its a case of accepting what you cannot change. That is all I can think of for me. What do you guys expect out of your migration to Australia - either good or bad? By the way.....what happened to the story you were going to write with us all in it? I can't have missed it can I? :confused: |
Re: You expectations of Australia
Originally Posted by Tiawamutu
Some of those things sound familiar to me also. Especially getting the rellies used to using MSN and Skype :)
By the way.....what happened to the story you were going to write with us all in it? I can't have missed it can I? :confused: No you havent missed it, Im half way through it. My Nan is in hospital and Ive been snowed under with doing work from home and temping. I went to visit her this evening and she was so funny bless her. She told my Dad who is flying to USA next week 'Now dont you go stuffing your hand up any girls dresses' :o Good job the nurses had a sense of humour. Last night she refused to get into bed until one of the nurses gave her a kiss. And at 96, you would think she was past all that! |
Re: You expectations of Australia
Originally Posted by Brisben
I expect to see Big **** off spiders in the my shoes everyday that I wake up half asleep and slip them on.
I expect the sun to shine most days.. I expect the mother in law to be long long way away :) I expect to spend more time as a family unit than spending time with other family units alongside my own. You know dutiful time with the family outside my immediate family. I expect to be more able to plan nice weekends for me and the kids. I hope but not expect to spend more time at the beach because I live about 3 hours away from any beach in the UK.... I expect to spend less money going on holiday, cos I will just go up to deception bay or something and spend time with cousins etc... I expect to be at the botom of the heirachial ladder....STILL Overall I expect to work harder and play harder, just what I am looking for. Jools :D |
Re: You expectations of Australia
Originally Posted by Professional Princess
No you havent missed it, Im half way through it.
My Nan is in hospital and Ive been snowed under with doing work from home and temping. I went to visit her this evening and she was so funny bless her. She told my Dad who is flying to USA next week 'Now dont you go stuffing your hand up any girls dresses' :o Good job the nurses had a sense of humour. Last night she refused to get into bed until one of the nurses gave her a kiss. And at 96, you would think she was past all that! Some older people are funny! I had one of them smack me on the bum yesterday (for no reason) :D, and we have one very odd man in at the minute with black toes, who decided to go to the hospital hair salon, and have his hair died jet black, and then he put some false tan on the other day, whilst lying in the bed!! :eek: :D |
Re: You expectations of Australia
Originally Posted by Tiawamutu
Awww....hope she is OK, bless her.
Some older people are funny! I had one of them smack me on the bum yesterday (for no reason) :D, and we have one very odd man in at the minute with black toes, who decided to go to the hospital hair salon, and have his hair died jet black, and then he put some false tan on the other day, whilst lying in the bed!! :eek: :D |
Re: You expectations of Australia
Originally Posted by wmoore
I expected that I would miss family and friends but honestly - I hardly do. I'm really surprised by this. I do try and keep busy anyway but even taking this into account I really expected a bit more homesickness than I have (almost none). The one time I did get a major pang was when the boys were planning their Christmas p**s-up and I knew I couldn't attend. Mrs M has had some homesickness - a couple of fairly bad episodes actually - but they have come mostly after a bad day at work; a run-in with her boss or whatever.
Jo |
Re: You expectations of Australia
Originally Posted by Professional Princess
Ive been trying to read as much negative stuff about Oz as I have positive. The positive stuff I have pretty much experienced myself on the couple of times I have been, although I have no doubt there will be new experiences awaiting.
Ive read the negative stuff on the site, to try and get a balanced picture. I would be interested to read other peoples expectations of what they think will be when the start their new life. Some of the negatives I have thought of and ideas I have to try and counteract them include; 1. Homesickness/culture shock I have already started to read about culture shock, recognising the signs, how to deal with it. Although I know you dont really know until it hits you, it is nice to be prepared a little. With regards to homesickness, I have started communicating already with my family by email/msn and instead of random phone calls, I have a set time, to get myself into a routine of phoning them as this is what will happen in Oz. 2. Missing the UK and appreciation of things after I have left it. I have started to take in my surroundings, good and bad and make the most of them, so when I leave I wont say 'I never appreciated it'. I am reading our local paper more, to take in good and bad points and measuring it with those of Australia. 3. Not getting a job on arrival As soon as we have our visa, we are making contact with people, hubbys employer is big in Oz, and we have already been told to make contact on arrival. I reckon as soon as we get there, we shall try and do one or two days a week voluntary in our sector. Do this for a couple of reasons because firstly, it gets you into a routine and making friends and secondly it gives you a contact and a chance to prove yourself. You never know where it might lead. 4. Isolation/insecurity of unfamiliar surroundings We intend to take up any offer of a drink etc. All my friends live out of London so I pretty much spend most of my time communicating by phone anyway. But we will make an effort to meet people and take up friendships. 5. Adaptation of new culture and getting use to a different way of doing things We know everything will be different, some stuff for the better and some for not so good. Things might/will annoy us because it wont be done like it is 'back home'. I suppose I shall just treat it the same as what annoys me in the UK that I have had to accept and cannot change. One woman said to me when I was in Oz, she had this English family stay in her apartments, and all they did was moan. And they say it is one thing about the poms, Aussies do not like. So with that in mind, I reckon its a case of accepting what you cannot change. That is all I can think of for me. What do you guys expect out of your migration to Australia - either good or bad? expectations No more dreary English winters Schools - start at a later age/no national curriculum/less testing/more PE/less targets/less crowded/better facilities (than ours) Eldest daughter suffers from anaemia every winter due to seeming to have a 'weak constitution' and picking up every bug going. We hope the sun and more outdoors lifestyle will help her no end. The adventure of living somewhere completely different. A complete break from the rut we have ourselves in here so that we can reorganise our lives to have weekends just for us. wide open roads without having to dodge the cars parked all over the place. No (or less) groups of lager louts careering around the city centre at night - not that we go out that much (lol) and the thought that our girls might be doing this in a few years time... Bad Expect to miss my Mum a lot and have the big guilts about my girls not being around close family BUT we do have my Uncle and family there and my Mum's cousin and family also so intend to make sure we see plenty of them. We've also made a pact that we make far more effort to socialise as a couple (we tend to be quite solitary here) - we've already started doing this by going to meet ups and emailing and phoning fellow future migrants. I'll miss my best mate BUT since we moved in the UK we hardly see each other - we talk on the phone loads though so we'll no doubt continue to do so. I like the British countryside BUT look at the diverse wildlife etc in OZ - won't that make up for it? All in all I do expect moments of homesickness as I did for the first year when I lived away before (Canada and the US for 5 years) but I stick at things and hubby has less emotional ties than me so he'll be fine... Even if I struggle I'm old enough to stick it out until we all get dual nationality thereby giving us numerous options for the future (though I suspect by then that OZ will be home...) Lou xx |
Re: You expectations of Australia
Originally Posted by Professional Princess
1. Homesickness/culture shock
I have already started to read about culture shock, recognising the signs, how to deal with it. Although I know you dont really know until it hits you, it is nice to be prepared a little. With regards to homesickness, I have started communicating already with my family by email/msn and instead of random phone calls, I have a set time, to get myself into a routine of phoning them as this is what will happen in Oz. I suffered massive culture shock when I first came to the UK. I have to confess that my expectations were unrealistically high, but what really got to me was the way that little things slowly add up over time. After a while you realise that what troubles you is not really the big differences, but the little "everyday" things that you used to take for granted but are no longer there - or are there, but in a very different form. Homesickness was not really a problem for me; my family tends to be pretty independent anyway, and I had some friends and contacts over here already. I also had some English relatives; an uncle and a handful of 2nd cousins once removed; that sort of thing. You really do need that support structure, though; things would have been very different without it. That being said, every now and then I get a whimsical "Wouldn't it be nice to be home again...?" feeling, particularly when Australia features in the news. I had a little cry the other night when I saw Perth in a documentary about terrorism which featured a section on the Bali bombings. I have experienced a few bouts of proper (serious) homesickness since my arrival. The first was near the end of my first year. The second was in 2005, when my grandfather died back home. The third was just before my wedding (October 2005), when I realised that most of the people on our guest list were relatives of my fiance. (My own immediate family was represented by my mother, my grandmother, and my little sister.) I've had a few significant twinges this year, particularly since we are currently planning a 3-week visit to Australia in July/August. I am getting very excited about the thought of seeing home again. :cool: |
Re: You expectations of Australia
Originally Posted by Vash the Stampede
Word of warning: don't underestimate the culture shock. :o
Any ideas Vash? Just trying to get as much info really. |
Re: You expectations of Australia
Originally Posted by Professional Princess
Ive been trying to read up on it and seeing if there is any way to at least try and prepare rather than ignore the signs and let them get serious before you self help.
Any ideas Vash? Just trying to get as much info really. Click here. :) |
Re: You expectations of Australia
Originally Posted by Vash the Stampede
There's a terrific site that someone once posted and pretty much everyone has recommended since.
Click here. :) Thanks for the link Vash. I suppose during the visa wait, I just want to find out as much as possible. When I went to oz for 6 weeks on my own, i was desperately homesick for my husband. It was like an ache that only eased when I worked my nuts off in the voluntary job I had and took up every BBQ invite until I had snags coming out of my ears. And you wouldnt believe how those simple things helped me. I missed my husband so much. I know you cant prepare for everything by researching, Im also doing lots of thinking, problem finding and problem solving in a virtual kind of way. It may or may not help, but it cant hurt. Im going to check the link now. |
Re: You expectations of Australia
comfort zones and change is a major factor... dont forget...
new surroundings, no mummy and daddy to wipe your botty, adds to the learning curve of life.. whether its short or long term |
Re: You expectations of Australia
Great link Vash, I liked this one "Allow yourself to feel sad about the things that you have left behind: your family, your friends, etc." You need to acknowledge this but not dwell too much on it. There's been 2 occasions when I have literally burst into tears through missing family, one was when an Aussie was going on about how great it is having the family around, thankfully a good Pommie mate was there. I felt much better afterwards though.
This one is good "Maintain contact with your ethnic group- Newspapers-magazine- TV -email-phoning This will give you a feeling of belonging and you will reduce your feelings of homesickness" lol read BritishExpats. and this "Approach the move with a good attitude. Maximize the good aspects of the new culture-language-. Don’t compare-criticize-complain." I get what they're saying but I think it's about balance and I need a winge sometimes... you can't bottle it up too much or you'll go mad; but if you're a really bad winger everyone will get upset with you. I think the Pommie winger thing is overdone, I've heard Aussies winge, South Africans, you should hear Greeks winge!.. I think the term came about after the 10 pound poms, it was so much harder in those days to adjust... no chance of going back, so you can see how that blew up. I guess the difference with my winging is that it's not really about Aus and Aussie things per se, more about the huge changes brought on by migration. That's probably what's meant by winging though- having a real downer on the country and people which is a big no no. Keep up the research Sam, best to be prepared I think... we did the same and it helped a lot. When you get here there will be so much going on that any familiarity will help... I used to get headaches just going shopping, there was too much new stuff! |
Re: You expectations of Australia
Originally Posted by goldcoastblue
comfort zones and change is a major factor... dont forget...
new surroundings, no mummy and daddy to wipe your botty, adds to the learning curve of life.. whether its short or long term Ive been standing on my own two feet since I was 18. I would be too proud to ask my family for help anyway. |
Re: You expectations of Australia
I'm expecting very expensive lettuce...
|
| All times are GMT -12. The time now is 5:31 pm. |
Powered by vBulletin: ©2000 - 2026, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.
Copyright © 2026 MH Sub I, LLC dba Internet Brands. All rights reserved. Use of this site indicates your consent to the Terms of Use.