My Update
 

We landed in Perth on 8th March, Sam picked us up (thanks for that Sam, that meant a hell of alot to us:o).

Singapore Airlines had left one of Mr PPs suitcases behind, but Customs gave us $100 for the inconvenience and the case was taxied to us a couple of days later.

Gobbyjock had kindly offered to let us stay with her - which was so bloody kind of her, we ended up staying a month by the time we could move into our rental - thanks Gobbyjock, you know how much you helped us and we will never forget it and we never ever stopped worrying about getting in your way - as you kept telling us off for worrying:p.

When the plane landed in Perth I thought 'Jesus Christ what have we done' - and immediately wanted my shabby little flat in West London and everything familiar to me.

We were going to put a deposit on a house in Port Kennedy and when we went to the estate agent in Freo, found another agent who offered to drive us around Fremantle and we saw a house - only from the outside as she hadn't planned on a viewing. Took a gamble, liked what we saw and put in an application.

She was shocked that we did that after peering through the windows:eek: But as there had been over 8 people apply, we never believed we would get it. Several hours later we were informed we had got it - the rent is $370 a week.

Streaks and her SIL helped us move into our house and drove all of our stuff which we had gradually built up and Mr PP was already in the house when we rocked up.:thumbsup:

Well the gamble paid off as the house is really nice and we unloaded everything.

All of our furniture that we had ordered turned up, except the bed and that came the next day - the sofa bed did us well mind you.

The phone was already connected and the internet - thanks to Westnet, and the gas/electric sorted.

Streaks drove me to Byford Kennels after the first weekend in the house and we collected Gordon and brought him to his new home - he took a good week to settle but is now doing well.

Mr PP had been offered a job on the 4th day with a restaurant in North Fremantle, they were shite and still owe him half of his wages and won't pay him.

He is now working somewhere else and is happy.

I had lots of interviews with temp agencies, typing tests etc, the usual. I thought I was helping bringing references with me, I suppose I was but employers still email your references in the UK to back up what you have brought with you - fair enough.

All the phonecalls came in at once regarding jobs and after doing some temp work, I now have a permenant job with more money than I was on in the UK, the job description is more involved and a bit daunting, the people are nice. But I am sure I will be OK once I learn the ropes, confidence in new jobs has never ever been my strong point if you check my blog:(

Everything seems to have fallen into place with us living in Fremantle - Gobbyjock you were right - that's all I am saying.

I miss my friends and family terribly, Dad calls me all the time which is nice and Facebook is a godsend for keeping in touch. I upload video messages for my Dad and photos and stuff.

Mr PP and I have met up with Gobbjock and her family which was brilliant - her daughter is fab (sorry for teaching her the farting finger trick:D
Oh yes, Mr PP saw a Lazyboy chair the other day reduced and said if he had the money he would by it for Lil Stewie!!!!!

Most of the time I feel totally at home/peace with Fremantle/Australia, other times I feel like a stranger - people everywhere yet I don't know any of them - if that makes sense.

It took time, getting used to thongs was torture - blister inducing bastards and I hate them:mad:, only saving them for the house. I wear sandals now!

Even going to the GP for my flu jab and trying to navigate medicare, or sorting out dental insurance/ambo cover was an experience.

We have made suncream 'the new black' and have bottles of the stuff everywhere and are quite good at putting it on each day after a shower.:lol:

Bagone(?) is our best friend and we have four cans of the stuff and I am now the Cockroach Murdering Cowbag and can kill a papa roach at twenty paces - I was phobic of them before.

I also had awful feelings of guilt having Gordon in quarantine, I never anticipated that and thought it would be a breeze - well it isn't and it was very hard for me to visit him and leave him knowing that he was out of my control. Although Gobbyjocks husband drove us up there one day - thanks for that Stewie!

I was brave enough to make my own way to Byford and it took me hours, one nice lady from South Africa who was visiting her dogs, offered to drive me back to Bull Creek - thus shaving ages off my journey.

Talking of Gordon, he is now trained in the fine art of killing silverfish but won't touch the spiders - fair enough and better to be safe than sorry, at least until he has studied what is poisonous to him or not.:lol:

I remember walking through Rockingham shopping centre, every smell seemed alien to me, the money was alien, even the language was alien - pants are trousers? pantyhose for tights?

The slightest thing that didn't go smoothly could have been taken the wrong way, but we just let it wash over because we had to. We learned that things could easily have gone a different way for us had we not been careful.

I have found working the hardest, Mr PP said at his first job the head chef said 'You are not in England now you know!' - Mr PP had found some out of date and stinking beef and wanted to chuck it and Chef wouldn't let him.

For me it was like watching a team that got on well and I was on the outside, not completely clicking and being quite jealous of how they got on yet being realistic that I wouldn't be 'in their circle' because they didn't know me (this was when I did some temping).

Friendships are not built in a day though I guess and I would have felt like that in London in any job and all my friends lived miles away from me and they were more 'phone friends' anyway.

I get absurdly excited each and everytime I see the wildlife - I did that in England as well.

Now for a little bit of info to hopefully encourage others.

We had plans to bring a certain sum of money with us to Australia. With me giving up Uni, being out of work when Mum died and having to pay back the bursary, things didn't quite come off.

Now I have read the 'Is £250,000 enough' type of posts and I have read the responses.

Many are scared to put down the real amount that they emigrated with for fear of being judged.

Well judge me all you like guys because we came with under £10,000 - I won't say anymore than that.

We have bought furniture, settled ourselves and we still have a bit left.

We probably would not have managed it without the help of Gobbjock and her family, or not managed as well - who knows?

It can be done, you have to want it, plan it and be prepared to sacrafice.

Yes, I still need stuff and some of our boxes are not unpacked but we will get there slowly.

Do not be daunted by the amounts of cash that other people have migrated with. It is their money and their situation, their needs could be different to yours.

Be one track minded with the amount that you bring and what you can afford.


Thanks to Gobbyjock and family, Streaks and her SIL, Dorothy (for giving me those contacts;)), Sam and everyone else who has supported us.

Mr PP said to me the other day that he doesn't know how we have managed, he thought we would have to use the tiny bit in our UK account and cannot for the life of him work out how we have done it.


But we have and we are enjoying where we are and long may that continure. Neither of us know what will happen in the future, but as long as we have somewhere to live, a job and are enjoying where we are living - then that is all we can ask for.

Re: My Update
 

Great update :thumbup: You sound like you are settling in really well, glad you have the job situation sorted but most of all pleased that Gordon has settled for you and is enjoying his new home. Does he go outside or is he a house cat?

Best of luck for the future.

Lynn xx

Re: My Update
 

Gordon has always been a house cat, only now he has more space to enjoy it. I throw his ball and he skids along the floor and rolls over - we have no carpets so he skids everywhere.:lol:

We have too many beautiful birds and he would no doubt make them his lunch.:eek:

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great read, i have been worying about money and stuff, as you say normally people have huge amounts of cash, glad to see someone do it on 10 grand,
john

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Magic

good on ya:thumbsup:

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so happy you're so happy!:D:thumbsup:

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Great post PP. After all that waiting over the past two plus years and the hoops you guys had to jump through to get here... and the points where you nearly gave up... I'm so happy you're here and happy. All the things you mention are so totally normal ... feeling like it's all alien will eventually disappear and you'll be a complete local within a few months. Still, saying that, occasionally people come out with things that make me roar with laughter... and vice versa... I think that no matter how much you integrate, you're always still an English person - but they did good letting you guys in. ;)


I totally agree with you about the money... I think it sounds like you've landed on your feet with your job and you're right, you will be ok... just give yourself time to settle in and don't think about anyone in your office going to the toilet. :D

Now we're in the same country, if you're ever over this way, come and say hello.

Best of luck to you and your lovely other half.

x

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sam,
im so pleased its all fallen into place for you and abdul ... no one deserves a happy ever after more than you!!!

love n hugs
sue xxxxxx

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glad all is going well pp:D

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Nice one Sam - despite the fact that we came here with several million quid ( :lol: ) I understand where you're coming from. :)

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yeah us too:rolleyes: makes you feel sorry for sam:), sam i'll post you a cheque of half a mil if you like::lol:

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just gonna say :thumbsup::thumbsup:
S xx

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Brilliant Sam and Abdel....so pleased everything is going well for you :thumbsup:

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Things have run so smoothly for you since you got here. Great success story Sam, long may it continue.

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I wouldnt complain:p

I laugh when people say 'How much did you get for your house sale?'

What house? We rented.:rofl:

Then is the look of horror on peoples faces when they realise you don't have a house AND a car.:rofl:

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I was glad to do my bit in welcoming you to your new country Sam and Abdel


We'll catch up again soon......would have done it sooner but i've had my mum visiting for the last 6 weeks so have been tied up


Give me a call and we'll sort something out, i can always pop into the city for lunch on the days i don't work :thumbsup:

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What a really nice update and you sound sooooooo lovely. :D

Very glad you have Gordon back with you x

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.[/QUOTE]


A heartening update, well done on progress to date. :thumbup:

Dave

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You know what? I reckon you'll be really happy in Oz, youve got a mint attitude and your post was really uplifting, long may the success continue for you, keep us all posted!

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Lovely update, glad your settling in :)

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Great update....i've read some of your other posts recently - am really glad things have fallen into place for you....
Best of luck for the future! :thumbsup:

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Really happy for you PP, you deserve to be happy and settle well....took you long enough to get there:thumbsup:

Really hope that your life over there is a rich and fulfilled one.:)

LibbyX

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Wonderful to hear how well things have gone for you PP. Do you remember those days you were posting sick with nerves before you flew out? You've come a long way in a short time hun!! Long may it continue!:thumbsup:

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Excellent post PP.
J x

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Thank you all for your kind words and wishes.:)

Last night I had a 'lost' moment - being new in my job and still learning the ropes, I get tired easily and easily daunted, although the girls at work said they went through the same thing when they moved.

I had to laugh last night, I was waiting for the CAT bus last night and this tubby Aussie bloke who resembled a fat Teddyboy, came up to me and asked me out. I nearly died, that is two old guys I have pulled in as many weeks.:eek:

As I said most of the time I am at complete ease with everything, no luxuries for us, just as long as we have enough to get us by (still no car!!).

But just occasionally I get these 'Oh God Im in a foreign country' moment, and I feel as alien as I would in Italy.

This settles down and I have to remind myself to be kind to myself and realise that solid foundations including friendships take years to build.

Thankfully the 'lost' days are not that often but are influenced by tiredness/PMT etc.

Sometimes we as new migrants can think far too much and if we let ourselves get totally caught up in the enormity of what we have done, then we become overwhelmed.

Better go, Ive eaten pizza and feel sick.

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Glad you're settling into the house. I'm with Sam...we'll have to get together one day after work in the city. Text me any time.

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Brilliant update.....I'm pleased that you still have great pulling power :)

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Brill to see it can be done, I doubt we will even have that when we go so much crap here that we had to use some of our savings so we wont have much money going over but we are staying with friends and thanks to them we can go sooner rather than wait another year to have loads of money in the pocket to go. :thumbsup:

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Under ten grand - about seven grand (or just over) to be precise.:o

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I think thats great :thumbsup::thumbsup:

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We didn't come with much either. By the time we moved over from Adelaide we had about $50 in the bank and put the $5000 move on our credit card. Thankfully hubby got paid his first month's wages the week after I arrived here in Perth so we could put money down on a house and buy some groceries. No matter, we're happy and that's all that matters. In the past year we've paid off the card and managed to actually get some savings together again. It's hard work, but it can be done.

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Im rather excited because our sofa that we put a deposit on, should be coming this week.

We still have bits of furniture to buy, but it will be satisfying as we buy each thing - you appreciate it more.

How is your puppy settling in? I would like to get another cat for company for Gordon but dare not, having one cat in a rental is tolerated - I cant risk two.

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what a great thread.
it must be fantastic for anyone thinking of moving out here to be able to read threads like this
well done PP:)

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PP, you are a star!!!
its great to read posts like this, really inspiring:thumbsup:
i think its really great that people have helped you out, its the small things that really matter and friends are so important.
best of luck with the future
bec

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Sam I rememeber all the trauma you went through to get here and never thought it would happen, I went through the same process although not as painful as yours.

However you are here now and sometimes you have to pinch yourself to believe it.

I still do it now and nearly a year has passed since we arrived.

Although it feels like home already and have no inclination to go back to the UK.


Hope all goes well and it becomes everything you hoped it would and some more.:)

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Sam, that was a great post & I am really pleased that all is going well for you.
I reckon there will always be days when you feel slightly apart from it but you are so focused on what is good, so you'll get through.
Thanks for the firm words about money. It's my primary worry at the mo but I reckon we just have to go for it. You are an inspiration!;)

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Good on you for being honest Sam! we didn't come cashed up either - can make it difficult but we've coped! On our first move out here to brisbane we came out with........wait for it....... 3000 GBP (no pound sign on my keyboard)! And we are a family of 5! We travelled and camped our way up the east coast - we had fun doing it - no plush hotels for us, just a $19 tent from Crazy Clarkes (that leaked of course) and a membership for Big4 campsites (that we won)! We got down to ooooo less than a $1.00 in the bank - we even had family telling us they'd send money over (we refused as we're very proud - ish)! Well done Sam, and give me a call sometime we've got some catching up to do XXXXX

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I shall give you a ring tonight - is that OK?

I tell you one thing though, never underestimate how valuable expat friendships can be.

I remember going through some of the darkest times of my life, when Mum was given 6 weeks to live, I was sleeping on the floor in the dayroom of Hemel hospital and I remember Gobbyjock calling me almost ever night.

I remember Sorchar phoning me as well - I will never forget that, those two girls got me through that.

And its down to the help of the Expats that I reckon we are as 'ok' as we are, unlike many others, we had a damn good friend to stay with - Gobbyjock who made us feel so welcome and settled.

I loved and still do, her no-nonsense approach to emigrating and reckon I have learned alot from her.

I reckon if homesickness tried to bite Gobbyjock on the bum, she would kick it right back.:thumbsup:

If anyone emigrating has the chance to forge links with other Expats, do so because they have been there, done that and they know what is what.

Saying that friendships take years and years to forge, thinking about it that isn't always so.

I haven't known Gobbyjock or Sorchar for that long really - a couple of years but I already consider them to be good friends.

I suppose it is the person themselves that makes a good friend and a country should be no barrier to that.

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Good stuff PP. Welcome to a great place to live.

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Hi Sam yep give me a call anytime this pm it'll be great to catch up (and yes I may well cry - prewarned)!!!! Off to make Ollie's birthday card and wrap some pressies - we're doing it early as my friend is flying in from Singapore to help us celebrate so we're heading into brisbane to southbank parklands (free pool, free museum) - thats when I've treated him for nits - again!!!!