naomilondon

So we arrived just over two weeks ago and all seems to be coming together.

Knew this would be stressful and it really has been. Flight over was great we came with Emirates, had bulk head seats as five of us (two adults, 6 year old, 2 year old and 8 month old baby) had a bassinet for our daughter which was great as didn't have to hold her the whole time. Shouldn't of packed so much hand luggage though, that was a nightmare trying to carry everything and the kids were only interested in the tv (loads of disney movies) or the kids packs that they were given.

We were met at the airport by a transfer company that I had pre booked, he was quite possibly the rudest man that I have ever met! Until he discovered my husband is Australian then he wasn't too bad.

Came to the house in the dark, kids were all hungry so phone the local pizza place whose number I had bought over from the UK, it's about 2050 but it's already closed!!! Phone a dominoes a bit further away and have to wait 1 and a half hours for delivery. Really not a good start!

We collected the hire car the next morning and the car seats from a baby shop around the corner, after an hour and a half spent fitting the seats we were ready to go. Food shop was first on the list (very expensive!!!!) Maybe it's the rubbish exchange rate though!

Next stop Medicare to enrol us all. Straight forward for me and the kids but not for my Australian husband! His punishment for having left the country for 6 years was that he had to prove he had come back permanently and gather a list of documents and get a stat declaration done (such a pain!!)

Then we go car shopping deciding when looking at the cost of user cars (again massively expensive!) to purchase a new Kia with 5 year warranty.

Onto the long term rental hunt, that was scary, viewed loads of houses along with about 10-15 families, we ended up getting the first one that we applied for though which was a relief! Had vision's of being homeless with thee young children - not good!

My husband has landed a job after his first interview and starts next week (had hoped he would be home with us till Jan but no such luck) - next week will be fun, moving into the house and taking furniture and appliance deliveries etc whilst trying to entertain the little ones.

Will enrol our 6 year old at school next week when we have our lease, looking forward to getting some kind of routine going again with school runs and activites. The next task is to find things to keep me and the little ones occupied during the day.

All still feels very new, looking forward to getting out and about and making some new friends. Update more soon!

SKIPPI79

nice post... nice to hear that things have gone quite smooth for you guys. Your husband managed to find work fairly quick, did he have anything lined up before you arrived? what sector is he in?

Alfresco

Congrats! Sounds like you're almost there.

naomilondon

He works in purchasing, he applied for a few before we left the UK but the general response was negative. Much better once we were here with an Australian phone number and address. They rang at 10 in the morning asking him to interview at 3 the same afternoon! Not much preparation time so might be worth preparing for interviews. Has seen recruitment agents too, they were a bit slower as said that CV'S submitted to them take 2 weeks to go through their checks.

carolinephillips

Well done for getting through all that with small children in tow.

One tip....stop comparing prices as soon as you can...it can be a bit soul-destroying. You have a new life in a new (for you) country, so move on and appreciate what it can offer you- or grumble at it!!! But comparing isn't really productive. It took me about 6 months to stop thinking in pounds. Make your budget in dollars as soon as you know what your monthly income will be, not in pounds. Find the times when stuff is reduced, go to farmer's markets and not always Coles/Woolworths/IGA. Try to buy petrol on the low points of the cycle too.

We did the same as you, that is bought new, as it was cheaper to bargain hard for a new car than for a second hand one.

Kapri

Where in Aus are you Naomi?

PrincessPicklenose

Congrats on settling in so easily and quickly! Which city did you move?

naomilondon

We are in Perth.

kacan1

Great post, good luck

caronandrod

Best of luck to you all. I agree with the post about stopping comparing dollars and pounds. It took us a while to do that too. It might seem at the moment like everything is hugely expensive but honestly when you work out everything overal and look at the bigger picture it is definitely cheaper to live in Oz. We've been here 5 years now and have just become Aussie citizens. I wouldn't swap it for anything

naomilondon

Now two months in! Where has that time gone?

Still enjoying this gorgeous city and am visiting beaches or parks everyday with the children, this is why we made the move. They all love being outdoors so much, the tv is rarely on and we are making the most of our family time.

Planning a beachside bbq for dinner tomorrow when my husband gets home from work! Wouldn't be doing that in Essex!

There is alot that still frustates me. Customer service is appalling on the whole. Ordered a trampoline for the kids for christmas guaranteed to be pre christmas delivery. Jan 6th still not here! The companies response, oh well couriers get busy over christmas. I know stuff like that happens in the UK too but you usually at least get an apology!

Internet service provider is rubbish too, internet drops out every ten minutes, have spoken to so many different people in call centres now to try and sort it out. Still no closer to a resolution. They were meant to send a technician yesterday, instead got a text to say they have had to reschedule the technician to the 11th Jan instead! So glad i'm paying them $105 a month!! I was used to virgin in the UK, if there was a problem a technician would attend the following day not a week later.

Seem to be getting charged for loads of things that we don't in the UK too, there are alot of set up fees!!! Electricity account, internet/house phone connection fees etc.

Important to know re schools to is that although the state schools are free (you pay a voluntary $40 per student) you have to provide all stationary, they provide you with a list as the end of term of what is required for the following year. Something else to budget for. The list for my son came to about $140, he goes into year 2 in Feb. Not sure about the education system yet as he only did two weeks and it was coming up to christmas so they were mainly just doing craft activities. The class sizes are smaller than what we were used to in the UK, but they don't have teaching assistants. Don't seem to do any reading to the teacher as there is only one and she has 20 children to care for. Will update more once he has settled into year 2 and I can see the differences.

Employer benefits are different here too, my husband has a salary and super (pension) but that's it. No medical insurance, life cover etc provided by the employer. He also is contracted to a 45 hr week! Expect this will differ amongst employers though and certainly govt roles that I have looked into applying for have better benefits. Gives you all something to think about though, higher salaries but when you factor in paying for benefits that you may have been used to like medical cover and life insurance it may balance out?

One final tip, register with Medicare as soon as you get here. You need to card to change your UK driving licences over, you only get three months to do this is WA anyway. My husband registered for his in Nov and we still don't have the card!! It's sent from Sydney and normally takes three weeks. In this case i think they may be walking it over!

caronandrod

Hi naomilondon,
Just to let you know that states differ on school requirements. As a teacher in NSW (primary) students are not required to provide any stationary, we have a teaching assistant in each classroom (in my school anyway), students read to a teacher on a daily basis through guided reading sessions so not all doom and gloom. There are a lot of changes in all aspects of living here to cope with but you need to go with them and try to avoid comparing to the UK. Best of luck

naomilondon

Thanks Caronandrod, hopefully teaching assistants will be put in WA classrooms soon then too, must be really difficult to have a class of 20 and just one adult in the room. Am trying to stop comparing and adjust to this more relaxed way of life just taking a little while!!

Fathead

Hiya, glad it's going well, we're looking to do the big move to Perth around July time with two little ens (4 and 6). Where did you set up in the end? The actual logistics of getting a new life set up are worrying me the most!!!

Jon

Gunner71

So glad that you have settled OK!

How far away from the beaches are you? Thats a big attraction for us but when we look at rental/property prices it looks like we'll be a long way away!!

Are you getting about by car or local transport?