British Expats - One Year On.......

Well we made it to the one year mark – but to say it’s been a rollercoaster ride is so very true! Here are some of the “Highs” and “Lows”

HIGH - seeing the Sydney Opera House & the Harbour Bridge for the first time…and thinking “Wow – we’re in Sydney!”

LOW – cooking dinner, then seeing a cockroach scurry across the worktop

LOW – seeing my children all excited for their first swimming carnival…………then having to console them when they came last in every race. (Aussies living by the ocean learn to swim at birth!)

HIGH – walking along the beach (Northern Beaches) after school most days

LOW – applying for several jobs I thought I was capable of ……then not hearing anything

HIGH – picnics on the beach, bushwalking

LOW – only being able to afford a rental that was upstairs (20 wooden steps– to be exact) no AC or flyscreen on the door. One door in – one door out. Teenagers living downstairs that enjoyed late night parties!

HIGH – making some great friends in Sydney – Aussie, German, NZ, Brits – even a family of expats* from my hometown in Manchester!

HIGH – ordering Robbie Williams tickets for December in Sydney

LOW – turning up at my first interview for Night fill at Kmart…….to be told “ The interview is tomorrow”…(when I knew it was TODAY)

HIGH – seeing my children make some great friends

LOW – going out on my first “Girl’s Nite Out” since arriving in Oz…….only to return home at 8pm as I didn’t feel confident enough to be out. (I was a very confident person in the UK)

LOW - realising that people in the Uk don't always keep in touch!

HIGH – seeing my children having fun swimming in the many rockpools by the ocean

LOW – seeing my OH happy at work for the first time in ages………………but realising that the wages are not enough for a Northern Beaches lifestyle.

LOW - cockroaches

LOW – nits (that you don’t need a magnifying glass to see!), worms, nosebleeds, impetigo, verrucas (apparently all due to change in weather!)

LOW – more cockroaches!
LOW – getting letters from school requiring money for “this and that” and realising we don’t have any!

LOW – cockroaches!

LOW – deciding we just can’t afford to live in Sydney – so do we cut our losses and return to UK…or try somewhere else?

HIGH – OH finds a job in Brisbane, and a lovely rental – so we decide to give it a go!

LOW – realising I might have to miss the Robbie concert in Sydney

HIGH – getting tickets for the Robbie concert in BRISBANE!

LOW – saying Goodbye to all the great friends I’d made in Sydney

LOW – watching my kids saying goodbye to all their friends

LOW – arriving in Brisbane…..and having no friends (apart from the ones from our hometown (see above*) who relocated in Brisbane just before us!

LOW – attempting to make friends in the playground – only to be “snubbed”

HIGH – not seeing any cockroaches in the rental – Hoorah!

LOW – seeing lots of ANTS…Boo!

HIGH – turning to BritishExpats for help…and receiving an offer to someones house for a BBQ – Thank-you, you were a lifesaver

HIGH – The Robbie Williams concert

LOW – my children saying they’ve got no friends…..why did they have to leave UK?….why did they have to leave Sydney? (Oh the guilt!)

HIGH – parents arriving UK for Christmas, bearing gifts….and lots of love

LOW – saying goodbye at the airport

HIGH – in-laws arriving 2 days later

LOW – missing the ocean on our doorstep

HIGH – seeing the childrens faces of delight at the Theme Parks

HIGH – watching the children enjoy a “Dolphin Experience” at Sea World

HIGH – all enjoying the water slides at Wet n Wild

HIGH – enjoying a relaxing Sunday at South Bank

HIGH – OH “enjoying” (I use the term loosely) his new job

LOW – consoling my son…when he said that all the kids in the avenue have fell out with him because “they don’t play with people who still believe in Santa”

LOW – hearing my son on the phone to his Grandma in the UK….saying he’d had the worst Christmas ever….because of the above (he asked us to tell him “the truth”)

HIGH - seeing my children playing out in the avenue with all their new friends

HIGH - realising that my friends from Sydney can still be my friends....just by fone or e mail

HIGH – getting a job….which I love….with all school holidays off (Yipee)

HIGH – getting letters from school for money….and it’s all so much cheaper than when in Sydney

HIGH – having a romantic meal overlooking the Brisbane river, followed by the Scissor Sisters concert in the open air…….and finally realising…..Life is Great!

And just yesterday…………….

HIGH – eldest son coming home…saying he’s been elected as “Class Captain” (not bad for 8 weeks at the school) …………..and saying he came 3rd in the Swimming Carnival

HIGH – other son coming home ………..and saying he came 3rd in one race….
and FIRST in another…..at the Swimming Carnival

So that’s it………one year in a nutshell. Hope you enjoyed this brief snapshot.

Now …off to wet n Wild to have some fun.

Have a great weekend everyone,

L-j