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6 months and our experiences of Oz
Six months ago on the 4th July 2006, Sara and I landed at Adelaide airport. A lot of experiences have been had since then, some bad, most good. I think a review is in order!
To date we have had two addresses, bought one car, received two bouquets of flowers, celebrated one birthday (Mine 21st Sept), celebrated one anniversary (17 years of marriage :-O), looked at 25 houses (approximate because they all seem to merge into one!) with a view to buying, had no visitors from the UK - yet, seen the start of about a half dozen good friendships and the failure of one (very sad), mastered juggling several conversations on MSN at the same time, learned that we don't always want to chat on MSN, coped with the feelings of rejection when those in the UK don't respond when they see we've logged in, panicked over a suspected spider bite, taken heaps of fantastic photographs, been adopted as uncle and aunt by a couple of lovely lasses -you know who you are, stroked a couple of koala, fed kangaroos and wallabies, been growled at by a kangaroo (weird to say the least), seen wild dolphins leap from the water, fallen in love with lorikeets, galahs, corellas and cockatoos, got used to having a couple of buckets in the shower with us, got the hang of remembering to fill up the filter jug, wander how we managed without a seperate laundry room, accepted that our mail will be creased (small mailbox means that cards, etc are folded to fit through the slot, grrr!), Sara had one x-ray to check no bone damage to her knee caused by the fall in Florida, booked a photographic safari to Africa, bought around 12 slabs of beer, both of us have been breathalised by the Police which had never happened before in the UK, getting used to the Aussie way of driving, seen whales with their calves at Victor Harbour, been blown away by the beaches (except on Christmas day when we were nearly blown away at the beach), been shouted at for driving at 54Km on a 60Km road, been confused on a bus, watched England lose at one of the most beautiful cricket grounds in the world, laughed at the Barmy Army, seen U2 in concert, dealt with a red-back spider without wetting ourselves, seen a blue-tongued lizard in the garden, both of us have our first Australian employers (must update the CV), Sara has cried heaps over missing family, made the decision to have a house built for us after failing to find one we both liked, found a block of land with a view of the sea from the garden, signed on the dotted line to buy the aforementioned block of land - two days ago. In the next few months we will visit the Riverlands, explore more of the state, visit heaps of display homes in our search for a design to have built, find another rental to move to while the house is being built (we want to be closer so we can keep an eye on things), make more friends, have more bbqs, get less unfit, welcome other UK bound bods to Adelaide, have our first visitors, and heaps of other things! We have had many positive and only a few negative experiences since arriving and have had no cause to have any regrets. Homesickness has been fleeting and for me its been only when thinking of our nieces and nephews and other family members. We do miss them and really cherish any contact we have from family AND friends in the UK, although to be honest it has been less frequent than we would like. All in all we've loved the first six months and can't wait to meet what the next six months bring our way! If you are here already you know what I mean and if you are coming here don't worry, you'll love it too! Graham & Sara |
Re: 6 months and our experiences of Oz
Originally Posted by Gravyman
(Post 4254746)
Six months ago on the 4th July 2006, Sara and I landed at Adelaide airport. A lot of experiences have been had since then, some bad, most good. I think a review is in order!
To date we have had two addresses, bought one car, received two bouquets of flowers, celebrated one birthday (Mine 21st Sept), celebrated one anniversary (17 years of marriage :-O), looked at 25 houses (approximate because they all seem to merge into one!) with a view to buying, had no visitors from the UK - yet, seen the start of about a half dozen good friendships and the failure of one (very sad), mastered juggling several conversations on MSN at the same time, learned that we don't always want to chat on MSN, coped with the feelings of rejection when those in the UK don't respond when they see we've logged in, panicked over a suspected spider bite, taken heaps of fantastic photographs, been adopted as uncle and aunt by a couple of lovely lasses -you know who you are, stroked a couple of koala, fed kangaroos and wallabies, been growled at by a kangaroo (weird to say the least), seen wild dolphins leap from the water, fallen in love with lorikeets, galahs, corellas and cockatoos, got used to having a couple of buckets in the shower with us, got the hang of remembering to fill up the filter jug, wander how we managed without a seperate laundry room, accepted that our mail will be creased (small mailbox means that cards, etc are folded to fit through the slot, grrr!), Sara had one x-ray to check no bone damage to her knee caused by the fall in Florida, booked a photographic safari to Africa, bought around 12 slabs of beer, both of us have been breathalised by the Police which had never happened before in the UK, getting used to the Aussie way of driving, seen whales with their calves at Victor Harbour, been blown away by the beaches (except on Christmas day when we were nearly blown away at the beach), been shouted at for driving at 54Km on a 60Km road, been confused on a bus, watched England lose at one of the most beautiful cricket grounds in the world, laughed at the Barmy Army, seen U2 in concert, dealt with a red-back spider without wetting ourselves, seen a blue-tongued lizard in the garden, both of us have our first Australian employers (must update the CV), Sara has cried heaps over missing family, made the decision to have a house built for us after failing to find one we both liked, found a block of land with a view of the sea from the garden, signed on the dotted line to buy the aforementioned block of land - two days ago. In the next few months we will visit the Riverlands, explore more of the state, visit heaps of display homes in our search for a design to have built, find another rental to move to while the house is being built (we want to be closer so we can keep an eye on things), make more friends, have more bbqs, get less unfit, welcome other UK bound bods to Adelaide, have our first visitors, and heaps of other things! We have had many positive and only a few negative experiences since arriving and have had no cause to have any regrets. Homesickness has been fleeting and for me its been only when thinking of our nieces and nephews and other family members. We do miss them and really cherish any contact we have from family AND friends in the UK, although to be honest it has been less frequent than we would like. All in all we've loved the first six months and can't wait to meet what the next six months bring our way! If you are here already you know what I mean and if you are coming here don't worry, you'll love it too! Graham & Sara Nick |
Re: 6 months and our experiences of Oz
Hi what a great thoughtful read. Glad things have been so good for you both. You seem to have welcomed all the new experiences and enjoyed them. Can't wait til it's our turn. Many thanks for sharing. :) :)
Donna & Neil |
Re: 6 months and our experiences of Oz
Originally Posted by Gravyman
(Post 4254746)
Six months ago on the 4th July 2006, Sara and I landed at Adelaide airport. A lot of experiences have been had since then, some bad, most good. I think a review is in order!
To date we have had two addresses, bought one car, received two bouquets of flowers, celebrated one birthday (Mine 21st Sept), celebrated one anniversary (17 years of marriage :-O), looked at 25 houses (approximate because they all seem to merge into one!) with a view to buying, had no visitors from the UK - yet, seen the start of about a half dozen good friendships and the failure of one (very sad), mastered juggling several conversations on MSN at the same time, learned that we don't always want to chat on MSN, coped with the feelings of rejection when those in the UK don't respond when they see we've logged in, panicked over a suspected spider bite, taken heaps of fantastic photographs, been adopted as uncle and aunt by a couple of lovely lasses -you know who you are, stroked a couple of koala, fed kangaroos and wallabies, been growled at by a kangaroo (weird to say the least), seen wild dolphins leap from the water, fallen in love with lorikeets, galahs, corellas and cockatoos, got used to having a couple of buckets in the shower with us, got the hang of remembering to fill up the filter jug, wander how we managed without a seperate laundry room, accepted that our mail will be creased (small mailbox means that cards, etc are folded to fit through the slot, grrr!), Sara had one x-ray to check no bone damage to her knee caused by the fall in Florida, booked a photographic safari to Africa, bought around 12 slabs of beer, both of us have been breathalised by the Police which had never happened before in the UK, getting used to the Aussie way of driving, seen whales with their calves at Victor Harbour, been blown away by the beaches (except on Christmas day when we were nearly blown away at the beach), been shouted at for driving at 54Km on a 60Km road, been confused on a bus, watched England lose at one of the most beautiful cricket grounds in the world, laughed at the Barmy Army, seen U2 in concert, dealt with a red-back spider without wetting ourselves, seen a blue-tongued lizard in the garden, both of us have our first Australian employers (must update the CV), Sara has cried heaps over missing family, made the decision to have a house built for us after failing to find one we both liked, found a block of land with a view of the sea from the garden, signed on the dotted line to buy the aforementioned block of land - two days ago. In the next few months we will visit the Riverlands, explore more of the state, visit heaps of display homes in our search for a design to have built, find another rental to move to while the house is being built (we want to be closer so we can keep an eye on things), make more friends, have more bbqs, get less unfit, welcome other UK bound bods to Adelaide, have our first visitors, and heaps of other things! We have had many positive and only a few negative experiences since arriving and have had no cause to have any regrets. Homesickness has been fleeting and for me its been only when thinking of our nieces and nephews and other family members. We do miss them and really cherish any contact we have from family AND friends in the UK, although to be honest it has been less frequent than we would like. All in all we've loved the first six months and can't wait to meet what the next six months bring our way! If you are here already you know what I mean and if you are coming here don't worry, you'll love it too! Graham & Sara Thanks for sharing it all with us, best of luck in the future :D |
Re: 6 months and our experiences of Oz
Thats a fantastic post....must have took you a while to write though !!:D
Good luck for all that comes your way in the next 6mth's :) |
Re: 6 months and our experiences of Oz
Graham and Sarah, that was nice to read, sorry to hear about your one failed friendship, they're hard to forget...
your post is great reading... thank you Bonny |
Re: 6 months and our experiences of Oz
Originally Posted by Gravyman
(Post 4254746)
Six months ago on the 4th July 2006, Sara and I landed at Adelaide airport. A lot of experiences have been had since then, some bad, most good. I think a review is in order!
To date we have had two addresses, bought one car, received two bouquets of flowers, celebrated one birthday (Mine 21st Sept), celebrated one anniversary (17 years of marriage :-O), looked at 25 houses (approximate because they all seem to merge into one!) with a view to buying, had no visitors from the UK - yet, seen the start of about a half dozen good friendships and the failure of one (very sad), mastered juggling several conversations on MSN at the same time, learned that we don't always want to chat on MSN, coped with the feelings of rejection when those in the UK don't respond when they see we've logged in, panicked over a suspected spider bite, taken heaps of fantastic photographs, been adopted as uncle and aunt by a couple of lovely lasses -you know who you are, stroked a couple of koala, fed kangaroos and wallabies, been growled at by a kangaroo (weird to say the least), seen wild dolphins leap from the water, fallen in love with lorikeets, galahs, corellas and cockatoos, got used to having a couple of buckets in the shower with us, got the hang of remembering to fill up the filter jug, wander how we managed without a seperate laundry room, accepted that our mail will be creased (small mailbox means that cards, etc are folded to fit through the slot, grrr!), Sara had one x-ray to check no bone damage to her knee caused by the fall in Florida, booked a photographic safari to Africa, bought around 12 slabs of beer, both of us have been breathalised by the Police which had never happened before in the UK, getting used to the Aussie way of driving, seen whales with their calves at Victor Harbour, been blown away by the beaches (except on Christmas day when we were nearly blown away at the beach), been shouted at for driving at 54Km on a 60Km road, been confused on a bus, watched England lose at one of the most beautiful cricket grounds in the world, laughed at the Barmy Army, seen U2 in concert, dealt with a red-back spider without wetting ourselves, seen a blue-tongued lizard in the garden, both of us have our first Australian employers (must update the CV), Sara has cried heaps over missing family, made the decision to have a house built for us after failing to find one we both liked, found a block of land with a view of the sea from the garden, signed on the dotted line to buy the aforementioned block of land - two days ago. In the next few months we will visit the Riverlands, explore more of the state, visit heaps of display homes in our search for a design to have built, find another rental to move to while the house is being built (we want to be closer so we can keep an eye on things), make more friends, have more bbqs, get less unfit, welcome other UK bound bods to Adelaide, have our first visitors, and heaps of other things! We have had many positive and only a few negative experiences since arriving and have had no cause to have any regrets. Homesickness has been fleeting and for me its been only when thinking of our nieces and nephews and other family members. We do miss them and really cherish any contact we have from family AND friends in the UK, although to be honest it has been less frequent than we would like. All in all we've loved the first six months and can't wait to meet what the next six months bring our way! If you are here already you know what I mean and if you are coming here don't worry, you'll love it too! Graham & Sara |
Re: 6 months and our experiences of Oz
Originally Posted by Gravyman
(Post 4254746)
Six months ago on the 4th July 2006, Sara and I landed at Adelaide airport. A lot of experiences have been had since then, some bad, most good. I think a review is in order!
To date we have had two addresses, bought one car, received two bouquets of flowers, celebrated one birthday (Mine 21st Sept), celebrated one anniversary (17 years of marriage :-O), looked at 25 houses (approximate because they all seem to merge into one!) with a view to buying, had no visitors from the UK - yet, seen the start of about a half dozen good friendships and the failure of one (very sad), mastered juggling several conversations on MSN at the same time, learned that we don't always want to chat on MSN, coped with the feelings of rejection when those in the UK don't respond when they see we've logged in, panicked over a suspected spider bite, taken heaps of fantastic photographs, been adopted as uncle and aunt by a couple of lovely lasses -you know who you are, stroked a couple of koala, fed kangaroos and wallabies, been growled at by a kangaroo (weird to say the least), seen wild dolphins leap from the water, fallen in love with lorikeets, galahs, corellas and cockatoos, got used to having a couple of buckets in the shower with us, got the hang of remembering to fill up the filter jug, wander how we managed without a seperate laundry room, accepted that our mail will be creased (small mailbox means that cards, etc are folded to fit through the slot, grrr!), Sara had one x-ray to check no bone damage to her knee caused by the fall in Florida, booked a photographic safari to Africa, bought around 12 slabs of beer, both of us have been breathalised by the Police which had never happened before in the UK, getting used to the Aussie way of driving, seen whales with their calves at Victor Harbour, been blown away by the beaches (except on Christmas day when we were nearly blown away at the beach), been shouted at for driving at 54Km on a 60Km road, been confused on a bus, watched England lose at one of the most beautiful cricket grounds in the world, laughed at the Barmy Army, seen U2 in concert, dealt with a red-back spider without wetting ourselves, seen a blue-tongued lizard in the garden, both of us have our first Australian employers (must update the CV), Sara has cried heaps over missing family, made the decision to have a house built for us after failing to find one we both liked, found a block of land with a view of the sea from the garden, signed on the dotted line to buy the aforementioned block of land - two days ago. In the next few months we will visit the Riverlands, explore more of the state, visit heaps of display homes in our search for a design to have built, find another rental to move to while the house is being built (we want to be closer so we can keep an eye on things), make more friends, have more bbqs, get less unfit, welcome other UK bound bods to Adelaide, have our first visitors, and heaps of other things! We have had many positive and only a few negative experiences since arriving and have had no cause to have any regrets. Homesickness has been fleeting and for me its been only when thinking of our nieces and nephews and other family members. We do miss them and really cherish any contact we have from family AND friends in the UK, although to be honest it has been less frequent than we would like. All in all we've loved the first six months and can't wait to meet what the next six months bring our way! If you are here already you know what I mean and if you are coming here don't worry, you'll love it too! Graham & Sara Thank you for a fantastic post, reassuring for many viewers I am sure. Do you know Nicki and Lar and their two girls by any chance. They are friends of ours, they moved over late 05 and now live in Belaire in their own house. They are very happy over there and have both found jobs and seem settled. There seems to be a fantastic community in Adelaide. Cheryl |
Re: 6 months and our experiences of Oz
my god I nearly ran out breath reading that one;) , all good though.
hope things continue to be as exciting for you both bec and egg:) |
Re: 6 months and our experiences of Oz
Originally Posted by Gravyman
(Post 4254746)
Six months ago on the 4th July 2006, Sara and I landed at Adelaide airport. A lot of experiences have been had since then, some bad, most good. I think a review is in order!
To date we have had two addresses, bought one car, received two bouquets of flowers, celebrated one birthday (Mine 21st Sept), celebrated one anniversary (17 years of marriage :-O), looked at 25 houses (approximate because they all seem to merge into one!) with a view to buying, had no visitors from the UK - yet, seen the start of about a half dozen good friendships and the failure of one (very sad), mastered juggling several conversations on MSN at the same time, learned that we don't always want to chat on MSN, coped with the feelings of rejection when those in the UK don't respond when they see we've logged in, panicked over a suspected spider bite, taken heaps of fantastic photographs, been adopted as uncle and aunt by a couple of lovely lasses -you know who you are, stroked a couple of koala, fed kangaroos and wallabies, been growled at by a kangaroo (weird to say the least), seen wild dolphins leap from the water, fallen in love with lorikeets, galahs, corellas and cockatoos, got used to having a couple of buckets in the shower with us, got the hang of remembering to fill up the filter jug, wander how we managed without a seperate laundry room, accepted that our mail will be creased (small mailbox means that cards, etc are folded to fit through the slot, grrr!), Sara had one x-ray to check no bone damage to her knee caused by the fall in Florida, booked a photographic safari to Africa, bought around 12 slabs of beer, both of us have been breathalised by the Police which had never happened before in the UK, getting used to the Aussie way of driving, seen whales with their calves at Victor Harbour, been blown away by the beaches (except on Christmas day when we were nearly blown away at the beach), been shouted at for driving at 54Km on a 60Km road, been confused on a bus, watched England lose at one of the most beautiful cricket grounds in the world, laughed at the Barmy Army, seen U2 in concert, dealt with a red-back spider without wetting ourselves, seen a blue-tongued lizard in the garden, both of us have our first Australian employers (must update the CV), Sara has cried heaps over missing family, made the decision to have a house built for us after failing to find one we both liked, found a block of land with a view of the sea from the garden, signed on the dotted line to buy the aforementioned block of land - two days ago. In the next few months we will visit the Riverlands, explore more of the state, visit heaps of display homes in our search for a design to have built, find another rental to move to while the house is being built (we want to be closer so we can keep an eye on things), make more friends, have more bbqs, get less unfit, welcome other UK bound bods to Adelaide, have our first visitors, and heaps of other things! We have had many positive and only a few negative experiences since arriving and have had no cause to have any regrets. Homesickness has been fleeting and for me its been only when thinking of our nieces and nephews and other family members. We do miss them and really cherish any contact we have from family AND friends in the UK, although to be honest it has been less frequent than we would like. All in all we've loved the first six months and can't wait to meet what the next six months bring our way! If you are here already you know what I mean and if you are coming here don't worry, you'll love it too! Graham & Sara |
Re: 6 months and our experiences of Oz
Great post, i'm lapping up all these post from the kind people who have been in oz for a while who are sharing their experiences, it makes it seem a little less daubting for me. This one made interesting reading particularly the bit about ....."got used to having a couple of buckets in the shower with us," if I'm not being too cheeky, could I ask what that means ?
thanks ddm |
Re: 6 months and our experiences of Oz
Okay Graham
Have not dared ask before but need to know now - who was the failed friendship? Can you PM me and let me know before I get there and put my foot in anything :o :p Lou and Chaz xxxx |
Re: 6 months and our experiences of Oz
Originally Posted by Gravyman
(Post 4254746)
Six months ago on the 4th July 2006, Sara and I landed at Adelaide airport. A lot of experiences have been had since then, some bad, most good. I think a review is in order!
To date we have had two addresses, bought one car, received two bouquets of flowers, celebrated one birthday (Mine 21st Sept), celebrated one anniversary (17 years of marriage :-O), looked at 25 houses (approximate because they all seem to merge into one!) with a view to buying, had no visitors from the UK - yet, seen the start of about a half dozen good friendships and the failure of one (very sad), mastered juggling several conversations on MSN at the same time, learned that we don't always want to chat on MSN, coped with the feelings of rejection when those in the UK don't respond when they see we've logged in, panicked over a suspected spider bite, taken heaps of fantastic photographs, been adopted as uncle and aunt by a couple of lovely lasses -you know who you are, stroked a couple of koala, fed kangaroos and wallabies, been growled at by a kangaroo (weird to say the least), seen wild dolphins leap from the water, fallen in love with lorikeets, galahs, corellas and cockatoos, got used to having a couple of buckets in the shower with us, got the hang of remembering to fill up the filter jug, wander how we managed without a seperate laundry room, accepted that our mail will be creased (small mailbox means that cards, etc are folded to fit through the slot, grrr!), Sara had one x-ray to check no bone damage to her knee caused by the fall in Florida, booked a photographic safari to Africa, bought around 12 slabs of beer, both of us have been breathalised by the Police which had never happened before in the UK, getting used to the Aussie way of driving, seen whales with their calves at Victor Harbour, been blown away by the beaches (except on Christmas day when we were nearly blown away at the beach), been shouted at for driving at 54Km on a 60Km road, been confused on a bus, watched England lose at one of the most beautiful cricket grounds in the world, laughed at the Barmy Army, seen U2 in concert, dealt with a red-back spider without wetting ourselves, seen a blue-tongued lizard in the garden, both of us have our first Australian employers (must update the CV), Sara has cried heaps over missing family, made the decision to have a house built for us after failing to find one we both liked, found a block of land with a view of the sea from the garden, signed on the dotted line to buy the aforementioned block of land - two days ago. In the next few months we will visit the Riverlands, explore more of the state, visit heaps of display homes in our search for a design to have built, find another rental to move to while the house is being built (we want to be closer so we can keep an eye on things), make more friends, have more bbqs, get less unfit, welcome other UK bound bods to Adelaide, have our first visitors, and heaps of other things! We have had many positive and only a few negative experiences since arriving and have had no cause to have any regrets. Homesickness has been fleeting and for me its been only when thinking of our nieces and nephews and other family members. We do miss them and really cherish any contact we have from family AND friends in the UK, although to be honest it has been less frequent than we would like. All in all we've loved the first six months and can't wait to meet what the next six months bring our way! If you are here already you know what I mean and if you are coming here don't worry, you'll love it too! Graham & Sara |
Re: 6 months and our experiences of Oz
Originally Posted by ddm
(Post 4255666)
Great post, i'm lapping up all these post from the kind people who have been in oz for a while who are sharing their experiences, it makes it seem a little less daubting for me. This one made interesting reading particularly the bit about ....."got used to having a couple of buckets in the shower with us," if I'm not being too cheeky, could I ask what that means ?
thanks ddm Hi ddm The buckets in the shower are there to collect 'grey water'. With the current water restrictions we thought we would recycle the water onto the garden, as keeping the lawn green is part of the rental agreement. We just empty the buckets on the grass or on the few remaining plants that are stile alive:D Graham |
Re: 6 months and our experiences of Oz
Hi Graham,
You've been here just 3 days longer than us, well done to us all for making 6 months :beer: I can relate to most of your post. Adelaide is a lovely place and I feel so lucky to be here. Here's to the next 6 months ( and the next 6 years ;) ) :beer: |
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