Petals

I think Wilsons Park will have to check on Life in Victoria the details are there

Just to remind people to join up with the Life in Victoria Forum there is a link at the foot of the page. There is a meet up happening in Berwick soon that people may like to pop along to. Also friendships are easily formed being a smaller forum.

Mount Eliza is a nice place to live. There is the beach side where the village is, not really a fan of the village as its so disjointed because of the road system. The other side of the Nepean Highway is very bushy and there are larger blocks of land. Its pricey because a lot of the homes are built on larger blocks of land and they are larger homes. Its ten minutes away from where I live and we pop over for coffee some times. Travel to the city is an hour on the train from Frankston and a lot of people drive to Frankston and leave their car at the station and take the train. If you drive its an hour depending on traffic and I used to drive via Beach Road rather than the Nepean Highway. Beach Road is only 60 kmh now however as there are only a few sets of traffic lights its an easier run. Of course most people take the Frankston freeway White Street at Mordialloc and then up the Nepean. Parking in the city is very expensive unless work is paying. A lot of people are now traveling from Mornington to the city and Mornington is a very nice suburb as well and has more shopping opportunities than Mount Eliza. South Frankston runs into a Mount Eliza and its a nice area to live also, lots of nice homes and some have views over the bay. Most areas on the Peninsula are very nice and its a popular place to live. Lots of bike paths, wineries, horse riding, surf beaches and bay beaches, something for everyone. We live on the western side which is less inhabited and hope it stays that way, but not holding my breath.

I am very fussy about fish, and I never buy Basa, mainly because it fish farmed in Asia. I tend to only buy tinned fish form Canada, USA etc. Also not a fan of the warm water fish mainly because some of them have the food poisoning thing that is hard to detect and kills people, not a lot of people mind but I do not want to be one of them lol.

Sorry fish is different here. Blue Grenadier is nice, Gem Fish is also nice. We buy smoked haddock from South Africa its in packets in Aldi or you can buy similar at Coles. I tend not to buy fresh fish from the supermarket, would go to as fish shop or the market for fresh fish. I buy frozen hoki from New Zealand its ok as well. You just have to get used to different tasting fish. My neighbour goes fishing and often gives me a gummy shark, also snapper and flathead. I do not like Mullett would not recommend. Flathead is ok but has quite a lot of bones.

Some prescriptions even with a pension card are more expensive however, and some if not on the list have to be paid for in full. I have a prescription which costs me over 40 dollars a month and a couple of others where I have to pay more than the $5.80. If you take a lot of medication you will reach the threshold, however if you are just taking standard stuff then its unlikely that you will meet the threshold and if you do it will be about November every year so you only have one month free and they are very strict will only allow you the one prescription. A lot of doctors do not bulk bill but they do charge a lesser amount to pensioners. We pay $55.00 where we go and the full paying pay $65.00. We get thirty odd dollars back, never remember the amount. Been tghe same for yonks though, docs prices go up but not the rebate. All extras have to be paid for like Physio unless it is done in a public hospital as part of treatment. With private health there is gap to pay for any operation. Surgeons charge more than the medicare rebate when operating in a public hospital, if you have gap insurance on your private health then it may cover it however depends on the fund and the private hospital you use. Check that any private hospital you are going to use is on the list for your private health before going ahead with a booking.

I am a Zim Pom too but from a long while ago also lived in Wanke and Bulawayo, went to high school in Bulawayo and then move north of the border and went to school in Lusaka. My brother is a zim he was born in Wanke/Hwange Lots of South African people living in Aus these days, a lot are farming up in Queensland around Perth. Generally its fine people probably fit in better if they have been in Africa as there are similarities.

I have started a group in Life in Victoria forum for people to join and hopefully meet up with other new arrivals and people already here. Threads requesting contact often get lost in the forums so thought this might help, the link is at the foot of this forum to Life in Victoria.

Just a reminder about the different forums for each State which are at the foot of the page. Often easier to find what you are looking for and get info from people already in Aus.

Those of you who are coming to Victoria please do not forget you have a forum all to yourselves with lots of information. Also easier to find the threads you are interested in and meet people who are already here or coming over. http://www.lifeinvictoria.com/forum/forum.php