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Hi everyone, Well, its true what they say, once you arrive here and are busy settling, you dont bother to go on pomsinoz. It's been 10mths and I thought it was time to post an update. I used to love reading about people arriving and settling in the 4.5yr wait for our visas to be granted, so i thought someone might be interested in our post arrival story! So, after aforementioned long visa wait, and the arrival of our first baby, we finally sold our house in July12, booked our flights for Oct12, shared the love round the rellies with goodbyes for a good 6 weeks and off we flew! We had done a reccie trip whilst I was preggo and to validate our visas, and had visited friends in Melbs then drove to Adels. We decided that Adelaide offered us the lifestyle we were looking for, so here we came. We landed on Oct 19th 2012, exhausted and with a just 12 mth old baby who refused to sleep on the flight! haha We had pre booked into a 3 mth rental with Judi at Roo Rentals, so that was lovely to be able to get straight into a 'home' when we arrived. The first 2 weeks were a blur of jetlag, medicare apps, trying to find a rental, visiting opens on rentals applying and getting nowhere, trying to find a second hand car that doesnt cost the earth and/or is a piece of sh*t....shopping, adjusting to the weather and trying not to be in 'holiday' mode. Those first few weeks are a killer, just soooo much to do. Easier with no kids i would imagine! But still, we managed. We found a car, agreed on a nice rental just 2 mins from where we were (Hallett Cove btw), bought all the new furniture we needed (our larger items in the UK were knackered so we knew we wanted to buy new once here) and tried to settle into everyday life. Its hard, it is soooo different here, but everyone was so friendly when we arrived, 'welcome to Australia' was a regular thing we heard after announcing our recent arrival, which was nice. We met lots of people who jsut stopped for a chat on the beach, on walks etc...it was lovely really. The visa was in my name and based on my job, so after finding house and car, the next port of call was find a job, as it turns out, not as easy as i had expected. Firstly, applying for a job mid nov - it aint gonna happen! People here seem to start gearing down for Christmas in Nov! And its pretty quiet until beginning of feb, as January is the school hols and its seems everybidy who is anybody (decision makers) are on their jollies with their kids! I got a lot of knock backs due to having no 'networks' in Adels. It is quite different here than any other state, so if you work in any kind of communications role, PR, marketing, events,a advertising, charity.....they expect you to know everyone! They love linkedin here, i have had to embrace it wholeheartedly to succeed in getting a job! I worked for a temp agency from Feb-May at the Starlight Children's Foundation which was great as i got to work on Clipsal 500 Adelaide and met lots of influential adelaide people. Its quite incestuaous in a way, although you can see how it works to your advantage when you 'know' people! My contract ended and i applied for heaps of jobs, getting quite a few interviews and never getting the position due to 'networks'! It was so frustrating, surely they could see from my resume that i had only been here since Oct, why the hell interview me? Anyway, after 2 mths unemployment again, I finally landed another contract position in local gov (v hard to get foot in door) and I am hoping this will lead to a perm job. I had worked in charity in the UK for 10 years (and trust me when I say we are 10 yrs ahead on Aus in the charity stakes!) I wanted to stay in charity but the 'networks' issue was my nemisis, plus it turns out that alot of charity workers here are 'jumping ship' so to speak as its getting too hard. Anyway, i know that a more secure future for us now means me staying in local gov. Its strange, I went to some of the free events last yr, that I am now organising. When i applied for the job, through an agency, it was a split second decision, i just rattled off an email and attached my resume with no real hope...i was really quite depressed at this point and didnt expect anything. Two hours aft email, i got a call from the agency, 2 days later i had an interview with the council and by the arvo, they had offered me the job! Moral - dont give up, never give up, the next opportunity can be jsut around the corner, if you're not in it, you can't win it! So, there we are 10 mths that have flown by. Its strange as we feel like we have hardly been here anytime at all, but its like we've only been here 5 mins at the same time. We have family visits booked in for the next few mths, in laws in sept/oct, my folks in december and jan and my sister in feb! So pleased they all coming, but it doesnt feel like we've really had chance to settle ourselves yet. I yearn and dream about building our own house, i cant wait for that to happen! Still, need a perm contract first..... come on council?!! All in all, I dont really miss the UK in itself i dont think, i miss family and friends. Its hard to make new friends, it feels as if oyu are almost like a limpet if you find anyone you can have a bit of a laugh with/have anything in common..at all... and all feels a bit deliberate...'will you be my friend?' Feel like a kid again, its ridiculous! My hubbie struggles a little more as he is daddy day care for our daughter, with no car, trying to get to playgroups to meet other people! For a while, i wondered why we had come, i didnt think getting a job would be an issue, our parents were sad about not seeing their granddaughter, and we were haemoraging money left, right and centre. But, what i can say is, we go out more here, we make an effort at weekends to go to the beach, events, anywhere my daughter can stroke an animal, wineries, lunch, bbq's...we love that aspect, and I know that once we own our own home, I just cant feel settled completely in a rental, and i know i can get to work in under 20 mins (the benifits of working down south and not in the city anymore, no back to back traffic is simply bliss!), and we know where our daughter will be going to school...etc etc.. then i think it will start to feel like home. Moving your entire life to the other side of the world is exhausting, upsetting parents, especially ageing and ill of health ones is kinda devastating, i cry sometimes when i think of how much my folks are missing out on our gorgeous daughter, but i know they support us and are happy that we made such a brave and exciting decision. I said if we were uphappy we woudl go back with our heads held high, but I really want to feel 'home' here, and I think we are now well on our way! Having a job and finding an area you want to put roots in I think is key! When i see how happy my daughter is and I catch a glimpse of the sparkling sea as I turn down my street, I thank my lucky stars that we got our visas and what an amazing chance we have here! To anyone waiting for their visa, feeling like your life is on hold and the dream feels like it is slipping from your grasp, hold tight, keep trying, believe! love and peace, Leanne x:jiggy:

Hi Wrussell, unsure what you mean by 2nd opinion. I have an agent, used for our visas but is quoting a huge sum just to basically check over the application and send off and if i can save some much needed moving money by doing ourselves if relatively simple then i want to do that. Agents will always say its best to do through them wont they? cheers

thanks for reply and info Nerek123. My agent is quoting £2400 to sort visa, who did you use? its so tough with a new baby to get everything moving again isnt it? you've done fab to be goin in march, good luck in brizzle! x

hi all, not been on here in ages, got visa last feb 11 then found out was pregnant, validated in april, and now trying to sort all to get down under for good! so, my agent that i used for visa is asking for £2400 to process child visa. How can i do the application all by myself and how much is it to do this way? Is the medical the full one adults have, ie with x-rays? So looking forward to going but seems so much to do, sell house, get job, blah blah blah thanks in advance x:err: