WelcomeIf you are new to Poms In Oz and migrating to Australia or currently living in Australia feel free to say hi to all the other either in or moving to Oz.
Like all the other newbies I have been reading this site for months, found it by accident when I was looking for an Expat/Irish site which I found but it was all irish dancing costumes and stew recipes an' I'd look real stupid in an dancing costume with my arms stuck to my sides when I'm making the dinner!!! so I figured I could be the token Paddy on this site if you'll have me.
We originally tried for Oz but didn't make the points and our agent suggested NZ which at first we wern't interested in but decided it was fate and we should give it a go. We all agreed (kids and' all) we would give it 3 years anything less would'nt be giving it a fair
crack.
The story so far is this: Dysfunctional family that we are we arrived one by one in New Zealand in March, June, July and October of 2003.
OH and me in our 40's I'm being diplomatic okay, Daughters were 20 and 18. Number two daughter who arrived last took one look at the place said "You're having a laugh" and headed home on Christmas Day - well she had to have her presents and her dinner first!!! Number one daughter really missed her sister and trust me that was a first so she high-tailed it back to Erin's green isle and left Ma an' Da in NZ.
Sticking to the plan we have now been here 4 years and to say it's been hard yakka is an understatement. The NZ dream is over and the possibility of work for the OH in Oz is beckoning, we haven't given up totally on the idea that the girls will find Oz more appealing but at this stage we are considering giving it a go for a year.
So if being a Paddy doesn't rule us out (we're from Belfast N Ireland so we are British) I'd love to be part of a great family who really care about each other.
Hi Anne , welcome to pio and the family, you will love this site and be addicted in no time , hope all goes well with move to oz and i hope your girls decide to move over ... take care karen
Good luck with moving to Oz & I also hope your daughters come over & settle with you both.
Janette
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TRA SENT 29TH MARCH 07 APPROVED 27TH APRIL(BRICKLAYER)
25TH JUNE X RAYS & MEDS DONE
9TH JULY 457 LODGED & TRN RECIEVED
11TH JULY X RAYS & MEDS SENT
16TH JULY X RAYS & MEDS RECIEVED AT LCU
26th July OUR DOG FLEW TO PERTH
3RD AUGUST 457 GRANTED
11TH AUGUST BILLY & MARC ARRIVED IN PERTH
14TH AUGUST THE SHIPPERS ARRIVE
23RD AUGUST ME & GARY FLY TO PERTH CAN'T WAIT YAY
BILLY(45) JANETTE(36) MARC(17) GARY(13)
Thanks Karen, Janette and Deb for the BIG WELCOME it's made me feel all warm and fuzzy.
I suspect that life in Oz is a lot like NZ - 70,000 Kiwis can't be wrong with 30,000 of them in Queensland so if we get there is shouldn't be too much of a shock to the system but I'll keep you posted on that score.
I can't do any of that fancy stuff yet but I'll get there in the end.
Yes yes and yes you're quite right but in hindsight I would have done at least two things:
1. Get the kids in to the country before age 11 so that they started Intermediate School on a level pegging with the other kids which would have made intergration much easier. If your kid is not sporty they're in for a hard time.
2. Have brought everything including the "kitchen sink" with me as affordable quality is hard to find. Everything here is made in China to a much more inferior standard than basic UK standard.
Job wise we have been lucky as we are both paid pretty good wages by NZ standards but the cost of living is high relative to wages for staple groceries. Job opportunities for my OH are non-existant and he is completely bored out of his tree in the job he's doing now so something's got to give.
Oz, if we get there will be a "last stand" for us so this Christmas there'll be a big pow wow to work out the next move.
We did the same - rejected by Oz, we migrated to NZ and stayed there four years until children came along and we decided to hop over the ditch to Oz to bring them up - this time possible thanks to our NZ Passports.
We didn't find NZ a struggle - in fact the lifestyle in Auckland was probably more pleasant than our hectic urban existence in inner city Sydney. I can imageine regional NZ would be different, but depends what line of work you're in, I guess.
We're in NZ too - Taupo, which I think is a couple of hours from PN - been here just over a year and totally agree that cost of living in NZ is ridiculous ! Winter blooming cold too... Our dream is to get to OZ - we're in our 40s too and as we haven't been here long enough to get our NZ Passports we are having to go down the 457 Sponsored route (if we can ever find an employer to sponsor my OH !). Whilst we have loved living here, we feel that Oz is where we want to settle - climate, lifestyle, etc seem great to us.
Good luck with your plans - I hope your daughters get the taste for Oz when you get there and you all live happily ever after in the sun !!!
karen 
to Poms In Oz.
to PIO. Good luck with your move to Oz and hope the girls come too!!
