6 Weeks in - the story so far!

So, here we are in sunny Brisbane! We (OH and daughter) landed on 29th June and to be honest I've not had time to itch since we arrived (so glad it's not mosquito season!).....

It all started when, after a fleeting visit to Oz last year, I was offered a job in February with Guide Dogs Queensland. Visa arrived in April and GDQ wanted me to start 1st July, so we spent some hectic months sorting out our house to rent, selling two cars and gleening lots of helpful information from this website. We opend a bank account with NAB who have been fab, before we came, and used John Mason for our shipping. It's yet to arrive, but the UK side of things were faultless so I would highly recommend them.

The weekend before we left was my Mum's 80th birthday. It was a fantastic family affair and so good to be able to say goodbye to everyone without all the attention on us (as it had been at a fair few farewells!) We had a driver to Heathrow (present from my Mum) which was great, he knew all the back roads when there was a traffic jam and we arrived in plenty of time, calm and rested.

A little hicup at heathrow when they seemed to think that my daughter's visa was not valid..:arghh: I went a whiter shade of pale, so when the lady came back she just asked how many bags we had (8) and said "just keep them coming", not weighing them at all (and they were over the 30 kgs each - ooops!). Then we were through security and on our way with the wonderful Singapore airlines who were SO helpful (we had flown with Etihad last year, and although ok, SA were MUCH better).

We arrived in Brisbane in the evening and joined the long queue for passport control (note to self and others - next time go to the loo before landing so you can just go straight to queue). All bags arrived safely, we declared our Marmite which they laughed about (but thanked us for declaring it) and waved us through the quick line, and out to our friends who scooped us up and took us to their home in Ashgrove.

The following day we sorted our bank cards out and did some shopping and then recovered before I started work full time with Guide Dogs at Bald Hills 3 days later! Since then we have changed our licences (apparently our birth cirtificates did not count to our points as they are not australian??????:wacko:). We needed two bank cards (signed), we had one aus card and one uk card, drivers licence, and our friends signed a form to say that we were resident at their address.

TFN (tax file number) can be applied for on line and takes about 10 days to come through. Medicare, just take passports, proof of residence and visa to Medicare shop and they give you temp cards and then send others through post.

Schools were on holiday when we arrived, but having been in touch with a couple of schools in UK, we went to visit them the day they opened. The one that we really liked was Bardon Primary, so when the Pricipal asked my daughter when she would like to start, she said "Now?". So they opend up the uniform shop for her there and then, she got changed and off she went without a backward glance - :biggrin: It's a small school and she has really settled well. She is the youngest in her class, being a June baby, but is doing fine and has made lots of freinds - phew!

We have spent many hours looking for a house to rent; this area is expensive and some of the houses are quite grotty (bit frustrating when we think of all the sweat and tears we put in to getting our house up to scratch in UK). Anyway, we have found one in The Gap, been accepted and move in next weekend - sadly our shipping wont have arrived but friends are lending us beds etc - thank Goodness for friends! Ours have lent us their home while they are in UK, and their car (cars are very expensive here!); I really don't know how we would have managed without them.

So, we still have quite a 'to do' list left.... buy a car, OH to get a job etc but I am loving my job, my daughter is happy and the sun is shining (well it was when I started this epic account). Last weekend we met some friends at a beach, lit one of the many bar-b-qs available and enjoyed a lovely afternoon - and this is winter :wink:

I hope this may have been useful to one or two of you about to embark on this journey - good luck to you all, and to those of you already ensconsed in the Sunshine State, a date for your diary for any dog lovers - October 2nd Strathpine Park - October Fetch with GDQ. Be lovely to see you there.

Best wishes, Nikki

Welcome to Australia Nikki.

What a lovely post, and your job sounds wonderful as well.

Susie x

Thanks for your post sounds like your settling well.

Really good post... and a lovely read.

Thank you. All the best for your life in Australia.

Loved reading your post Nikki, thankyou for giving us some insight how it went for you's.

What type of work is it you do with the guide dogs ? sounds interesting !

Lynn

Hi Nikki

What a great update it sounds like you will be able to have a rest soon lol.

Can I ask what you are doing for GDQ?

Kate

Awesome post! You sound so happy, it is so encouraging to hear how well you have done in such a short space of time. Thanks for the advice re airlines and shippers too x

Clare :biggrin:

Fantastic read!!! Put a smile on my face reading about your settling in, especially regarding your daughter's excitement at starting primary school! Bless! :hug:

Tracey

Hi Nikki

What a great update it sounds like you will be able to have a rest soon lol.

Can I ask what you are doing for GDQ?

Kate

Thank you for all your good wishes. The role I have within Guide Dogs Queensland is Puppy Development Supervisor. My job is to place 10 week old puppies with families who then bring them up and socialise them until they are a year old, before coming in to the centre for more formal training. I visit the families regularly and support them to keep them and the pups on track. A challeging task for the Puppy Raisers but very rewarding.

I have travelled all over Brisbane (with the aid of a sat nav) and to both the Sunshine coast and Gold coast with my work, so I consider myself very lucky. :yes:

Thanks again for reading that mammoth report:chatterbox:

have a lovely day, Nikki

I am so glad you arrived safely. We arrived the day after you and have settled quite close to where you are staying now.

I am so glad you arrived safely. We arrived the day after you and have settled quite close to where you are staying now.

Hello Fashionably Late, how have you settled in, and where are you living? Hope all going according to plan.

Best wishes, Nikki

Congrat B2B

! i too, have just been settling in to life in Australia, here in Townsville. Went to the hospital to sign on to my new job today, fill out forms, tour the unit, etc. feeling a little overwhelmed. I've just been here for 2 weeks but I am really enjoying it. Moving into 3 weeks free accommodations near the hospital tomorrow. The weather is perfect this time of year.

Best wishes! girlinOZ

Wow, you sound busy too! Are you here on your own or with family? Good luck to you x

Hi Nikki,

I really enjoyed reading your post and thinking that will be us soon. My husband, daughter (12) and I will be arriving in Brisbane Feb 2012.

I'm looking at Wavell Heights, or Carina at the moment - what do you think? I'll be working at the Mater Mothers Hospital on the Southbank.

Good luck in you're new life

Lisa

Sounds like you have settled in very quickly! And what a fab job to have, training guide dog puppies has always been one of my dream jobs, I'd imagine it is so rewarding seeing the pups go on to help others.

Will definitely put that date in my diary, waiting on my 457 visa to be finalised so will definitely attend if I'm in Brisbane by then... I'll need a doggy fix when waiting on my pooch come out of quarantine.

Hi Nikki,

I really enjoyed reading your post and thinking that will be us soon. My husband, daughter (12) and I will be arriving in Brisbane Feb 2012.

 

I'm looking at Wavell Heights, or Carina at the moment - what do you think? I'll be working at the Mater Mothers Hospital on the Southbank.

 

Good luck in you're new life

Lisa

Hi Lisa,

I'm not familiar with either of those suburbs; it's really best to drive around and get a feel for a place before you commit. Just make sure you stop and get out of the car when you look to rent or buy as some places have a lot of barking dog which can be really annoying. I love dogs but I don't want to hear them day and night, and most dogs here live out all the time.

Good luck wherever you go, Nikki

Wow your job sounds very rewarding, In my pre children life where I was a VN we dealt a good bit with guide dogs.. most of them make wonderful patiets & also a couple of "puppy walkers" as they were called but the ones who kept them pups for a year till official training, must have been very hard for them to say goodbye but they felt it was a very worthwhile job (which it is)

Hey I applied for a job at the Guide Dog centre - wonder if it was the one you got!! Never mind I now have a nice job in Lawnton. Well done to you for getting offered one even when you were still in England. I will think about you as I drive past the guide dog place every day to work and may even see you on the 2nd !! all the best Carey

All the best... should be arriving me self soon in Brisbane, so anything you thinks useful please post.....

Thanks in advance..... :hug: :wubclub:

What a fantastically beautiful post! Thank you for taking the time to let us all know how you are getting on.

Sounds like you have it all sorted! I hope you're new life in Australia is everything you ever dreamed it would be.

Best of luck! X:wubclub:

Fabulous story, hope you are still with the Puppys.

B

Hi Nikki, This is such a lovely post to read. We (my OH and 7 year old son) arrive in Brisbane in December and I am in such a state thinking about how on earth we will settle, find a rental, get my son settled into a good school, find work (neither of us will have jobs - we're coming on a PR visa). It was so heartening to hear your story of having made the move in such a short timeframe and how well everything has worked out for you so far. So thank you for posting it. I am feeling much better as a result.x

So, here we are in sunny Brisbane! We (OH and daughter) landed on 29th June and to be honest I've not had time to itch since we arrived (so glad it's not mosquito season!).....

 

It all started when, after a fleeting visit to Oz last year, I was offered a job in February with Guide Dogs Queensland. Visa arrived in April and GDQ wanted me to start 1st July, so we spent some hectic months sorting out our house to rent, selling two cars and gleening lots of helpful information from this website. We opend a bank account with NAB who have been fab, before we came, and used John Mason for our shipping. It's yet to arrive, but the UK side of things were faultless so I would highly recommend them.

 

 

The weekend before we left was my Mum's 80th birthday. It was a fantastic family affair and so good to be able to say goodbye to everyone without all the attention on us (as it had been at a fair few farewells!) We had a driver to Heathrow (present from my Mum) which was great, he knew all the back roads when there was a traffic jam and we arrived in plenty of time, calm and rested.

 

A little hicup at heathrow when they seemed to think that my daughter's visa was not valid..:arghh: I went a whiter shade of pale, so when the lady came back she just asked how many bags we had (8) and said "just keep them coming", not weighing them at all (and they were over the 30 kgs each - ooops!). Then we were through security and on our way with the wonderful Singapore airlines who were SO helpful (we had flown with Etihad last year, and although ok, SA were MUCH better).

 

We arrived in Brisbane in the evening and joined the long queue for passport control (note to self and others - next time go to the loo before landing so you can just go straight to queue). All bags arrived safely, we declared our Marmite which they laughed about (but thanked us for declaring it) and waved us through the quick line, and out to our friends who scooped us up and took us to their home in Ashgrove.

 

The following day we sorted our bank cards out and did some shopping and then recovered before I started work full time with Guide Dogs at Bald Hills 3 days later! Since then we have changed our licences (apparently our birth cirtificates did not count to our points as they are not australian??????:wacko:). We needed two bank cards (signed), we had one aus card and one uk card, drivers licence, and our friends signed a form to say that we were resident at their address.

 

TFN (tax file number) can be applied for on line and takes about 10 days to come through. Medicare, just take passports, proof of residence and visa to Medicare shop and they give you temp cards and then send others through post.

 

Schools were on holiday when we arrived, but having been in touch with a couple of schools in UK, we went to visit them the day they opened. The one that we really liked was Bardon Primary, so when the Pricipal asked my daughter when she would like to start, she said "Now?". So they opend up the uniform shop for her there and then, she got changed and off she went without a backward glance - :biggrin: It's a small school and she has really settled well. She is the youngest in her class, being a June baby, but is doing fine and has made lots of freinds - phew!

 

We have spent many hours looking for a house to rent; this area is expensive and some of the houses are quite grotty (bit frustrating when we think of all the sweat and tears we put in to getting our house up to scratch in UK). Anyway, we have found one in The Gap, been accepted and move in next weekend - sadly our shipping wont have arrived but friends are lending us beds etc - thank Goodness for friends! Ours have lent us their home while they are in UK, and their car (cars are very expensive here!); I really don't know how we would have managed without them.

 

So, we still have quite a 'to do' list left.... buy a car, OH to get a job etc but I am loving my job, my daughter is happy and the sun is shining (well it was when I started this epic account). Last weekend we met some friends at a beach, lit one of the many bar-b-qs available and enjoyed a lovely afternoon - and this is winter :wink:

 

I hope this may have been useful to one or two of you about to embark on this journey - good luck to you all, and to those of you already ensconsed in the Sunshine State, a date for your diary for any dog lovers - October 2nd Strathpine Park - October Fetch with GDQ. Be lovely to see you there.

 

Best wishes, Nikki

A lovely post to read - we are nearly 22 hours into our arrival and it feels very very surreal although I have a feeling that this was the best decision we ever made!

Theresa x