Now that we have been here for a whole 12 weeks & 4 days and things have started to settle into a routine, I have had time to reflect on our waiting time last year as we went thro' the process that many of you are going thro' now.
We passed the skills test for a 136 independant in Jan 06. It was sent off on December 21 and we had it back on Jan 3, we were thrilled at how quick it was processed and stupidly thought that the main application would be just as quick
Our happiness was shortlived as our eldest son promptley moved out in protest at our continuation to want to make the move down under.
After many rows and threats of divorce and I think possibly a few threats of violence, mainly caused by the vast amounts of alcohol needed to help us, well me really, sleep at night, the main application was sent off and and acknowleged on march 23.
We then decided to start thinking about getting the house ready to sell as we wanted to be in a possition to be able to up and go as soon as the visa arrived. 2 weeks later we invited three different estate agents round for valuations, although we weren't ready to sell, one of them convinced us to put it up, just to see what the response was. The response was great, we sold by the end of the week!!
We then decided, what the hell, may as well just go for it and front load the meds and police checks. I then promptley developed high blood pressure and anxiety attacks !!
The pc's came back and all was fine. The night before the meds were due we got phone call from estate agent saying our buyer had lost there buyer
Untill that point my BP had been normal for ten whole days! On arrival at the panell docs Paul sent me in first so that I didn't sit and stress, my BP was spot on.......Pauls was thro' the roof
We spent the next week going to the GP untill he got 3 normal readings. Finally a letter with the normal results was sent off to panell docs, after we had paid a £120 fee for the GP to do this!!
A week later we sold the house again. Ten days later it fell thro' again.
The very next day we sold it again and this time things looked promising.
Finally on september 8 we got a case officer, which was a touch really as we had exchanged contracts, with a promise to be out on september 29, all the while our agent was screaming at us NOT to sell house, NOT to get meds done and NOT to send for pc's. Well the house was almost sold, the meds were in Sydney and the pc's were in Adelaide so as if my life wasn't exciting enough, I decide to hand in my notice at work, oh well.
Then came the phone call from agent, not to tell us visa had been granted, but that Pauls pc was missing. Panic then set in as we searched the entire house. This actually took a surprisingley short amount of time as most of its contents had been sold at bootsales, sold on ebay or sent to the charity shop!! Then suddenly it appeared.........in my knicker draw......don't ask. Any way of it was sent to be processed.
Then came moving day, our whole lives were packed up into 30 cartons, 2 ipods and a laptop. The cartons were sent off to sit in the container companys warehouse as there was still no sign of our bloody visa.
We, all then (our number being 5 again as No1 son had changed his mind and had moved back home and was now coming with us) moved into my mums tiny little 2 bed 1 bath bungalow. All of this happening while she was sunning herself in Cypress. We did ask first, honest, I think.
Apart from being homeless with no job and still no visa, life was good, a little cramped but good as I was geting to spend lots of time with my mum and catching up with people before our hoped for immanant departure. My mum, for some reason, had insisted on having her bed back on her return from her hols. This meant that our older 2 were sleeping in a tent in my mums backgarden. Good job it was a mild autumn last year......what do you mean it wasn't!! Any way they didn't complain too much, only about snails in their shoes and frost on their eyebrows.
Then finally on november 20 we got THE email. The following week was a blur........not because we had lots to do , it was all done, we were just very very drunk and 10 days after our visa grant, we left.
To all of you out there playing the waiting game, just remember everything you are going thro' and feeling has been gone thro' and felt by others.
I still have days when I pinch myself and quite often I can't help but feel a little smug because what ever we make of this new life down under, wether we continue to love it or if we decide its not for us and we go back home, atleast we did it, we filled in the forms passed the skills test and the meds, filled in more forms paid out the money, filled in more forms, paid more money BUT more than any of that, we got off our arses and did it. We didnt just sit back and tutut at the latest crime figures or teenage pregnancy rates. At least now us and our kids won't die wondering.
Good luck to you all and hope you all think its worth it when you get here, we certainly do.
Lesley