Petals

Just a reminder to also join the Life in Victoria forum link at the foot of this one. A lot of the members are recently arrived and will be able to help with worries that us long term residents may not be able to answer.

http://www.robsukproduce.com.au/order.html Have a look at this web site its in Melbourne Another one for Melbournites http://www.pacdon.com.au/ they do farmers markets etc

There is a butcher in Hastings Vic who will cure pork etc as he has facilities to do it. Just have to go and order from him. If in Victoria I would phone the British Butcher in Dandenong and ask him where you can get hold of gammon in your area bound to know.

I arrived the first time with three friends in 1968 and loved it from the very first day, it was a wonderful sunny day and we came by ship. Loved living in Sydney at the time and getting the ferry to work each day absolutely marvelous. My friends and I decided to move on and we moved to Melbourne, completely different but easier on the pocket so suited us at the time. Met my oh who was at sea and we got married and I returned to the UK to live. We then returned here in 1975 and all we had to do in those days was have a chest xray and get our passports stamped. I got a job no problems as I had worked in the city of Melbourne before and knew people and oh was at sea so he was sorted. We had it very easy as my oh was on high wages as a chief engineer at sea , just lucky I suppose that he picked the right occupation. When he cam ashore he took a wage cut but not that much so he fell on his feet and got superannuated right away which was not the norm in those days. We took out citizenship in 1977 or thereabouts as we wanted to be citizens before we had our children as they would be Aussies. When we went to the ceremony they asked us why we were bothering as we stuck out like a sore thumb the only Brits there. Anyway we wanted to do it and we did. We have had a wonderful life here and I have some wonderful friends. One of the friends I came here originally with lives not far away after all these years. I also have another friend who is the sister I never had and that has been wonderful. My parents continued their nomadic life moving around here and there and eventually settled in Melbourne when they had to and Mum is still alive and kicking but going back to the UK she has been going back for fifty years or so, did go back on two occasions and stayed and then returned, as her dream of what she was returning to was nothing like reality. Now I am a widow and so I will never return as my oh is here and we are meant to be together for ever and ever. Kids are fine and both doing very well, although they have been to the UK neither has bothered to go over and work, their friends break their neck to go but not my kids. I have family in USA, England, New Zealand and we all visit one another when we can. So Aus has been very very kind to us, if we had stayed in UK my oh would have stayed at sea all his working life and that would have meant separation for longish periods and he did not want that. Aus is different to everywhere else because its Aus and I just love the diversity of the landscape, the clear clear skies in the bush, nothing like it. The animals, the people, salt of the earth.

But seems to have died a death in Victoria thank goodness, it really got to me at work and it got to other Aus people as well, it something the young were doing and we used to pull them up about it. Another tip, we pay rates here for the house we own, to the council and the water board and anyone else who might have a finger in the pie i e a planning thing. We do not pay poll tax. Only landlords pay the rates however a tenant pays for the water usage at a property if there is a separate meter for each property ie a block of flats with one meter you would not get charged or should not get charged. If renting a commercial premises the tenant pays all the outgoings, i e the rates, land tax etc. Just makes business that bit harder.

If you want to renew your British Passport download the forms and make an appointment at the post office same for Australian passports. Can pay a lot of bills at the post office if people prefer Can buy stamps and other postal items on line. Can get myki which is for Melbourne transport on line and top up on line. 24 hour chemists are available in a few suburbs of Melbourne and open every day of the year. Used to be more of them but since people decided to knock them off its not that popular. Most hospital in Melbourne run an after hours clinic for use for non urgent medical problems. Usually open at 9 and close at 10 or 11 at weekends and after hours in the evenings during the week. Ventolin can be purchased over the counter for asthma sufferers.

Depends where you live our supermarkets are open from 7 am to 12 midnight in Melbourne and only shut on Good Friday, Christmas Day and Anzac Day morning. Late night shopping is on Thursdays and Fridays and most shops are open all day Saturday and Sunday. Plastic bags are free.

Bingle - motor accident Ueee Uturn Grundies - underwear Each State has different sayings as well which makes it interesting for new comers.

Much easier to just buy a house in the Frankston High area like my sons friends have done. No pressure for their child, just moving house.

If you want Frankston High School you do have to live in the area, have not heard of anyone getting in otherwise. They are very very strict on placements there. As for Mount Eliza and Mornington and other schools you say have lower results, there are also a lot of children who do very well at these schools and go to university and do very well. I know some of them. So you cannot just send the children to scholl for the results. I sent my two to Flinders College and we they were happy there but then they went to top Tyabb Primary which is across the road. So they just went from one corner to the next. Flinders is big on debating. My daughter took music to grade 7 independently for both violin and piano and the Peninsula has a lot of young people who are playing music. They have the Peninsula Youth Orchestra which my daughter used to play in for years. Peninsula and Toorak have scholarships and they are highly sought after and there is a lot of competition for them. I did not send my children to Flinders for the results I sent them there because it was close to where we live and we could afford it and some of their friends from primary school were going there. As we live not far away my son rode his bike to school. Fllnders also has a Carrum Campus but that is probably just as hard to get into. When my children went to Flinders I had their names down for about four years.

For all the recent posters pop across to the forum for Victoria you may find someone who can help you there.

All new comers to the Victoria forum come on over to the Life in Victoria forum there is a link at the foot of this one, very lovely helpful people are members there.

Just a reminder for people visiting the Vic forum, join up with the Life in Victoria forum, its a nice forum, very friendly and everyone is happy to help. Lots of meet ups etc which is very helpful when you first arrive.

Looks as though this is a special drug in Aus and not on the Pharmaceutical Benefits List, has to be approved by the hospital etc. http://www.medicareaustralia.gov.au/provider/pbs/drugs2/rheumatoid.jsp These drugs are very expensive usually. My oh is on a drug that was financed by the hospital, hence he had to go to that specific hospital clinic to get it. My friend was also on a drug that cost her $200.00 a month. Its not cheap for medicines in Aus even on prescription.

Just bumping the thread

I would check out jobs unless you are going to work privately. My friend told me the other day that another friend of hers daughter cannot get a job as a Dietician, there are none around. She was trained here in Aus and she is very disappointed. Just be careful and check it out. What's on the list and what is reality is often two different things.

Just giving this thread a bump for Newcomers, not always noticeable at the top, the forum is great for new arrivals and there is quite a good little community on it. Very helpful for you.

Yep we try to stop them but they keep on coming lol

Actual access will be best if people live in Ballam Park, Lakewood in Frankston, Baxter which people now call South Frankston and Somerville. We have an on ramp very close by but not close enough to give us noise. Mount Eliza, Mornington and Mount Martha will have to cross the Moorooduc Road to get access to it so not really worth it if just going into Frankston. There is a good web site giving all the on and off ramps. Its mainly been built to bypass Frankston as there are seven sets of lights from Cranbourne Road to Frankston Flinders Road and it causes a huge bottleneck at the present time.

No, I don't believe it will if you are taking the train from Frankston. You will still take the same amount of time to get to the station. The off ramps are not near the station, one is at Robinsons Road and the other is next to Karingal Shopping Centre. It will take less time if you were driving to the city every day. A lot of people do travel from Mornington and Mount Martha but I personally would find it too far. Its an hour on the train, so add the getting to the station, then getting to the work place and its a long commute. If you wanted to live down this way I would look at South Frankston, easier to get to the station. My friend traveled to Port Melbourne every day from here and did it for years, however she left at 6.30 every day and got home about 5.30 to six. So its a long day. Frankston Station car park gets full earliest in the mornings as so many people use it to access the city. Where I live in Somerville we have a train so a lot of people take the train to Frankston and change trains, this way they avoid the car parking problems. Only way to find out is to do the trip and see how you go.