Dawn&Andy

Well we been here 8 months so thought a quickie was in order, we arrived in april when it was blinking cold, spent 2 weeks at a caravan park, comfy enough but not ideal with 3 kids, was a bit squished with 5 of us and all our worldly belongings(we didnt bring anything but our suitcases) Did pretty well in the first week, brought a car, did the usual medicare, driving licence, TFN etc then started to look for a rental. Looked at so many over a period of about 5 days and finally found the one we are in now. Went shopping for all the basics we needed for the house and settled in just fine once it all arrived.
Kids all settled well into school, we had probs with our 15 year old just before we left, saying he didnt wanna come and was hatching a plan with his mates to do a runner the day before we were due to fly, needless to say we put a stop to that, we just told him if when he turned 18 he hated it we would help him get back to the uk, hes now all settled and its been a big relief to see him happy after those first initial weeks when he sat in all day every day looking miserable. He actually said to us few months ago we had made the right decision and he was glad we had dragged him here,so that was nice, hes just turned 16, got a aussie girlfriend whos lovely and hes happy.
Hubby took 6 weeeks off cos i had some time off from work and as he had worked for the last 20 years of his life we decided it would be as good a time as any to take a break, hes a electrician and found work pretty easy, he was offered 3 jobs in that first week he started looking, hes still with same employer now and he loves the fact he works shorter hours than he did in the uk but financially we are no worse off.
We have just taken the plunge too and bought a house we move in the new year and we cant wait, we love our lives here and cant see us ever going back, only thing that was missing for me was work, trying to find summat that fits in round the kids has been hard, disheartening too when people dont even reply when you apply for jobs, still that last piece in our jigsaw has just been filled and ive just been offered a part time job with hours that fit my life perfectly, i start in the new year.
We have met some lovely people and seen some great sights, i will never forget how excited i got seeing dolphins and kangaroos for the first time, we spend far more time together as a family, even just walking along the beach, the younger kids love going for a walk with the dog and we happily take a walk for a hour and its just beautiful and costs nothing.
Its only been 8 months for us but seems so much longer, we were lucky we felt settled after only a few months here, i was saying to someone yesterday you know when you live somewhere and it just feels right, like you are meant to be there, well thats how it is for us here, like its meant to be. Long may it continue to make us happy

Dawn x

doje6863

Hi Dawn, where is Seaford are you? I wonder if we've met before at any gatherings? I know some Brits around here. Us girls meet up regulary for a cuppa and a natter if you're interested.....

donna (also just bought a house! seaford rise)

ozzieclare2b

nice one dawn and andy, stay away from donna she smells . Only kidding

Great to hear youve got a job dawn blimey that was quick , was it the cafe one? Hope it goes well, i think youve done the right thing buying we feel so much happier now we have own home, gonna do my 6 month update in jan . xx ttfn

doje6863

Clare, stop hijacking threads, its not always about you, you know! And you only come on here cause you aint got no proper friends!

Anyway Dawn and Andy, give us a shout if you want to meet up for a coffee, just dont tell Clare.

donna

ozzieclare2b

s-jmelbournewannabe

Hey lady!

Bloody hell, has it been that long? been over a year for us now, cant believe it! flown by but been here for a lifetime! good to see you are fabulous!!! We are all well too xxxxxxxxxxxx S-j x