Cruella2949

Bugger - just saw this! Will there be another one this year?

HIya all! We arent Irish but Welsh if thats close enough? My mum is 100% Irish though! We've been here 3 years and are in Port Kembla. I work with a Northern Irish guy and 2 Southern Irish guys, 1 of whom is originally from the Philippines I think (so you can imagine his crazy accent right)!! We have a very social 6 - nearly 7 year old if yous are looking for play dates

Hiya! We were in your boat 3 years ago. We did a rekkie trip to Melbourne and decided we didnt want to be there. We came home and a recruiter rang and said "How about Wollongong?" We shrugged out shoulders an said "what the heck - lets give it a go'! The problem is that everyone is different and has different expectations. For us, this is just the place we want to be. We love it. 7 mins walk to the Beach, Port, Train station, school and Mall. We have everything we need. Sydney is far enough away not to drive the cost of living through the ceiling but close enough to be able to jump on the train and go for a day out there. On the down side, while my hubby waltzed into his job, I found it very hard to get work initially. After over 40 applications for bog standard admin jobs, I ended up going back to the motor trade (I really didnt want to do this) and since then, I have even been head hunted to work at places! To be honest, its not what you know but who you know as it really is a small place at the end of the day. We even found this when trying to get a rental property. A long chain of 'No's', and as soon as we name dropped a well known person here we got a phone call in less than an hour after a viewing offering us the house!!! Happy to answer any questions you might have. This forum was my bible when it came to moving here and I havent really given a lot back to it yet since we have been here. Spending far too much time living and loving life

Newport boy, bassaleg / Castleton family here. How'd u go with ur taffy search butt?

Hiya!!!! We are a family of 3. Been here 3 years today HURRAH!!! Send me a mssg if u like. We are in Port Kembla. We're Welsh but happy to bury the hatchet!!! Lol

It was absolutely fine - there was nothing to worry about at all. Whwn you fill in your TRA in the beginning, you tick all the boxes that apply to what you do in work - e.g. abs systems, diff rebuild. You leave out what you dont do so they only ask you about what you know. Simples Think he was in there for 2 and a bit hours. Its just like having a chat. Hurrah - now he has a cert 3 in automotive veh technology!!

woo hooo! Where theres a will theres a way

lol - glad its not just me. For the record, after being in Oz for 14 months, guess what surfaced inbetween pages of a scrap book....????

True that Skippy! We have million dollar views of the ocean and the lake, great neighbours and a wonderful life. I have to remind myself every day how blessed we are!x

off the top of my head I think 10.30. I havent been since last year. They were very welcoming and all ages from bubs to preschool. A girl I went with had a 3 month old. Also another lovely one is at Church of Christ, figtree. I cant remember exactly what days but you can ring them - http://www.wgongcoc.org/ministries/children/mops/

Hey, how are you going with your research? We've been here for 13 months and loving it. PM if theres any info I can help you with. For the record I agree - the shopping situation here is dire but its such a small price to pay for a lovely life! If only the weather would hurry up and improve!!!

Port Kembla is beautiful. I live here and I wouldnt change it for the world. Every area has its bad parts no matter how good the rep. The best thing you can do when you get here is drive around and get a feel for what you would call home. Personally I'd stay away from Cringila as it has views only of the steel works. PM if I can give you any other info. We have been here for 13 months now.

Have you fixed anything up yet? If not google beach park motel or bel mondo apartments in wollongong. They are run by a lovely couple Mario and Gabriel who helped us when we got here.

Theres a lovely group in the church across from Woolies in Wollongong that meets on a Tuesday morning. Thats where I started off.

Hi all, Can any one please please tell us about the technical interview at Vetassess? Hubby is flying to Melborne to take his this week and all of a sudden we are a little bit paniced about it as no one else seems to have any advice! Hubby has been a mechanic since he left school (16 years ago) and he's confident in his abilities but I cant find any sort of idea as to what he can expect on the day. Now we are both afraid of what will happen! Can anyone shed any light on the interview process? :confused:

i have those dates free too

Im quite flexible. We are at the Footie this Sunday though so I wont be free on a Sunday till next Sunday? I like the North Gong but I've been there several times so I'm open to suggestions? Are we meeting minus children btw?

Hmmm - agent says will do for extra $$$$$$ that we dont have to spare! She advised us either Vetassess or TRA. No one seems to know or want to know!!

???????

Hi Liz, We are in Wollongong and be happy to catch up if you are free? I have one 4 year old and am working full time but we are always available on weekends

Im in Wollongong. Miss my buddies back home heaps. Have yet to find someone my age that gets me. I LOVE gigs, speaking of...hubby and I have scored tickets to the Foo fighters in Sydney if any of you going? We love a good drink, hubby an I both fanatical WRU supporters but love all rugby union and now we have adopted League as well and are Dragons supporters. I miss girlie nights out heaps so if anyone thinks we might get along would love to hear from you

Hey all, We are currently in NSW on a 457 visa. Hubby is a mechanic and we are sponsored by his employer who he has worked for since Nov 2010. We recently submitted our Form 80 to our migration agent who told us that we need to get hubbys skills assessed first. So, we contacted immigration who told us to contact Deewr who told us to contact tra who told us to contact vetassess who told us to contact immigration...etc...etc...etc..! Having made about 800 phone calls and being told something different every time, I am now on the verge of screaming! Does ANYONE know who we need to pay to get hubbys skills assessed? We are from the UK and he needs to be assessed as a motor mechanic. TRA say its vetassess and vetasses say its TRA as we are already in Aus. TRA say that we are classed as 'offshore' as we only have a temporary visa??? :arghh::arghh::arghh::arghh::arghh::arghh::arghh::arghh::arghh::arghh::arghh::arghh::arghh:

Hi all, After 3 trips and a lot of sarcam courtesy of the RTA, I can confirm that in NSW, you are not eligable to apply for a licence unless you have lived here for a minimum of 6 months. Yes, after my final attempt to hand in forms and money, the very 'nice' lady behind the counter waggled my perfectly filled out form under my nose, rolled her eyes and kindly told me that 'The rules have all changed recently'. On the flip side, my friend who also lives in NSW arrived 5 months before me and was given a licence - no questions asked. She said a couple of her friends were told they had to wait 6 months but she assumed it was because they were from America. So to summise, I would say it depends on the mood in the RTA office on the day you go and find out

Hi all, I just moved into my rental property. I was given an old analogue TV to use. When I plud the aerial into the TV, the reception is ok - snowy on occassions though. I boughta PVR ready settop box from Kmart yesterday, plugged it in and scanned for channels. Its only came back with about 5 channels altogether and each one was pixalated and poor reception. Ive been all over forums and cant seem to figure out if its the aerial thats too old, cable too old, if I need a signal booster, a signal reducer etc etc? Does anyone have any advice? I just want to be able to get freeview so my DD can watch ABC2 childrens tv but its like a minefield of information overload. Failing that, can anyone recommend a pro in the Illawarra that may be able to help!! I would really appreciate as I am boggled!! :wacko: Oh and can anyone tell me if it is the landlords responsibility to sort or will i be digging deep to pay for this. Thanks.

Its a bit of a long commute for a hair cut though good to know. Can anyone recommend a hairdresser in the Illawarra thats good? Salon or mobile?