jtct
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Everything posted by jtct
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Good luck Moira - nearly there now. It still seems like a holiday to us 18 months in and we absolutely love it! Bye the way Phoebe - our arthritic knees are so much better now - Clive plays bowls and I go to the gym and do aquaerobics. We even managed to go kayaking with the family last week (bit difficult getting out of the boat but managed OK ) I love the heat - even 10 day in a row of 34+! Autumn is on its way now with sunny 24 days and 16 nights. Glad we had gas ducted heating put in last winter.
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We were lucky - ours took 13 months from the first acknowledgement and we didn't book out medicals until our CO was appointed! Can't believe that was so long ago now. We have been here for almost 15 months and just enjoyed our second Christmas in the sun. It was a very special time as our son is out on a visit from England and it was the first time in 6 years that the family had been together.
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Christmas has come early for you - congratulations
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That's fantastic news Phoebe - good luck with the rest of the test results - onward and upward ..............
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We had (and continue to have) excellent service from NAB (head office in King William Street and the smaller local branch at Blackwood) We change our I-Saver every 4? months to get the highest savings rate. This involves closing the account and reopening another new one. A simple transfer and a couple of signatures and its all over - worth it for the extra 1% on our savings.
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Many congratulations - I seem to remember posting this only a few hours ago "Hang in there all of you still waiting - it will happen sooner than you think!"
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This time last year, lunchtime on 3rd October, we were on our way to Heathrow having said all our goodbyes and were off to start our new life in Adelaide, Australia. How time flies - we're still having a ball! Hang in there all of you still waiting - it will happen sooner than you think!
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What a fabulous birthday present - you'll be here in no time! CONGRATULATIONS
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<p><p>Try finding me on FB again - I added 3 others today without a problem but I still don't get the option to add you - maybe check your settings?</p></p>
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I remember it well - I've watched anything to do with OZ including Home and Away and Neighbours. Even stayed in Sydney where they film H&A a few years ago. Met Alf at the Surf Club too ............... Never imagined I would be living here back then. Noticed a few previous comments about Medicare. Works fine for us. I had a nasty virus a few weeks ago with all sorts of scarey symptoms. Saw our doc (free) and had blood tests the next day (also free) and full scans 4 days later (got 2/3s of the cost of it back) Very thorough and it turned out the virus was on the way out and I had gall-stones! Had sheets of photos and comprehensive list of the state of all my internal organs (re-assuring) Would also recommend taking out Ambo cover. I came close to needing it! Haven't bother with medical insurance. Shame we have to pay for prescriptions but not nearly as much as I was expecting and they are capped. Will get a big reduction when we are entitled to our Commonwealth Seniors cards in just over a years time! Chemist's own brands and discount warehouses save a fortune too. At least we get free travel and lots of other perks being 'Seniors'
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Still living the dream and very upbeat in spite of the coldest wettest winter in adelaide for 30 years! We bought a house 2 weeks after we arrived in early October (not as foolhardy as it sounds as we had been looking on line for months and had narrowed down the areas on previous holiday visits) We moved in just a month later and had fun refurnishing (we brought very little stuff with us and it didn't arrive until Christmas). Clive has joined Probus and the local Bowls Club and I have taken up quilting and aquaerobics - new country, new life and new hobbies! We don't see the grandchildren as often as we thought we might but have meals with the family every couple of weeks, do the odd school run and babysit occasionally. We look after the girls more in the Summer holidays and make use of their pool too. I expect we will dog sit/walk too as they now have a new puppy. We joined a local church and they made us so welcome - we had many offers of meals in the early day and have made many good friends there - Aussies and Brits. They have a cafe which serves up to 500 meals a week and I help in the kitchen most Fridays - its great fun and I get a free meal and lots of Lattes to keep me going. We walk most days and there are lots of footpaths near our home - its a bit hilly but it keeps us fit. The beach is only 15 minutes away too and we make frequent trips to nearby McLaren Vale for winetasting and the great Farmer's Markets. We've had short breaks (thanks to travel Auctions) to Clare Valley where we cycled the Reisling Trail - not bad as we hadn't been on a bike for 50 years!, Victor Harbour - whale watching, Goolwa - boat trip up the Coorong and are off to the Yorke Peninsular in a couple of weeks and Barossa in early October. Our son is coming out for 5 weeks in December so the family will be together for Christmas for the first time in 7 years. I still pinch myself when I wake up on a sunny morning or drive round the beautiful Adelaide Hills seeing Koalas and Kangaroos. We've seen and done so much more but I won't bore you with all that. If you want links to picture albums/blog or Facebook please PM me. So yes, we are still living the dream and have no regrets ....... good luck to the rest of you still waiting to get over that last hurdle.
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I know what that feels like! - think I'll open a bottle too and join you
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We use NAB and they've given us great service so far. On-line is easy too and any glitches are easily sorted out at our local branch even though its not where our account is held. Another step closer - won't be long now!
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This is the method we used and it worked well. My daughter is an accountant here and very good at getting financial things organised
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Someone said "Australians will not come and knock on your door an bring you into their circle. You have to get yourself out there and introduce yourself". That is so true - well 99.9% of the time. Something very unusual happened to us (the 0.1%) The father of the lady we bough our house from was a similar age to us and a week after we moved in he knocked on the door and invited Clive along to the local Probus group and Bowls Club at Happy Valley. Clive is a member of both now and has made loads of new friends. I have been on a couple of their organised day trips and even a 3 day camping holiday near Victor Harbor. Certainly helped us to settle in quickly!
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Fond memories - 'twas just over a year ago we were in Maidenhead for our medicals. I had 'white coat' sydrome and the doc asked me to lay down on the couch and he held my hand, used the manual 'thingy' rather than the automatic one which really squeezes your arm and makes me tense up even more, he chatted away to reasure me. Had the lowest ever reading!
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Definately agree - not absolutely necessary when travelling but nice to look at in your passport and helpful for Medicare, Driving Licence etc.
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My BP meds are cheaper than I thought - 3 different ones at around $30 a month for all of them - not too bad and this is from my local chemist - the warehouse could only save me $2 - $3 but involved a 20 minute drive there and back. (on a 143 and have basic Medicare - qualify for a seniors discount after 2 years)
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http://www.immi.gov.au/media/fact-sheets/31parents.htm this might help
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Thanks Phoebe Still can't believe our luck and we're loving every minute. Don't see the family all that much but we're making a good life for ourselves and have lots of lovely new friends. Clive is doing well at the bowls club (been asked to join the club and play in matches) and I've started quilting! I also hope to start running card making classes after Easter and using that lovely new craft room of mine. Several friends and neighbours have already expressed interest so I could be busy (and make a few dollars to cover my expenses and treat myself to the odd bottle of wine) Had a great afternoon lounging in a comfy deckchair at McLaren Vale (with a glass or 2 of wine) watching a free Jazz Concert surrounded by beautiful vineyards
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What food have you found in Oz that you hadn't tried before?
jtct replied to Harpodom's topic in Aussie Chat
Pie floaters and Balfour's frogs (both Adelaidian 'delicacies') -
.... but some of us pop on occasionally. You can get 'shot down' sometimes for saying one area is 'better' than another. Depends what you are looking for. House prices in coastal areas can be a little more expensive but a few streets in and that changes. There seems to be a north/south difference of oppinion but many more Britd seem to favour the souther suburbs now. Good schools in just about every area and sports facilities too. (soccer less popular than aussie rules but there are loads of other clubs to join if that's your thing) We live in the foothills at Aberfoyle Park which has a large High School. There is a TAFE (further education college at O'Halloran Hill) The beaches of Brighton/Seacliffe/Somerton Park and Glenelg are about 20 minutes away and there is a good bus service. Our children are grown up so we prefer the wine regions and Fleuriu Peninsular for day trips/farmers markets but if you want the 'city life' you may want to be a little closer to the CBD. This is a good site if you want more details of size/occupation/demographic info of each suburb. http://www.adelaidesuburbs.com.au/
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Haven't been on this site for a while but PIA is a bit 'up and down' recently. Good to see forward movement on some familar names. We thought our time would never come round but unbelievably we've now been in Adelaide for nearly 6 months and in our own home for 4 1/2 - hang in guys, it will come round sooner than you think. Good luck with all those house sales, hopefully things will pick up now winter is over and Spring is casting a more favourable light for new buyers.
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Figure differ widely - depends where you get your info. SYDNEY (MarketWatch) — Australian house prices fell in the latest quarter and are likely to remain soft through the next year, a survey out Wednesday showed. House prices fell 2.4% in the September quarter of 2011, accelerating from a drop of 2% in the June quarter, according to a survey by National Australia Bank, released Wednesday. By state, prices fell 3.8% in Victoria, 3.2% in Queensland, 2.9% in South Australia and the Northern Territory, 1.1% in New South Wales and 0.8% in Western Australia, the survey showed. Who knows what the future will hold! We bought a lovely house in Adelaide and although the price may drop further we should have enough to live on for a few more years before we need to move to a retirement village or downsize!!!!! Kids won't worry what their inheritance will be then - they're managing OK and anything we leave will be a bonus.
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Its tough starting again when you are over 60 - we have come out as a couple (married for over 40 years) and plan to remain 'retired'. For social company we firstly joined a local church (have made good friendships with about 5 couples of similar age and younger) who really helped us to settle in to a new culture. We've also joined the Bowling Club - Night Owls - Monday Night Informal Club Night ( meals and a game followed by drinks and raffle and less than $20 for the 2 of us) Seniors Aquaerobics at the local swim centre, PROBUS group (Separate Ladies group for me and Men's group for Clive) - we've got day trips planned and a joint short Autumn holiday in Goolwa Beria group - meals and walks planned PIA - meet-up at Noarlunga (haven't managed to get there yet but hope to make one of the meets) Australia Day celebrations Our council has arranged/organised a free picnic and sausage sizzle for the community (family away on holiday this year at that time) We've got to know many of our neighbours in the small cul-de-sac and plan to arrange some picnics/BBQs together at the local reserve just 100m away. Clive has tickets for various cricket matches at the oval and i hope to book some craft classes (card making and scrapbooking) soon. Haven't seen much of the family for at least 2 months - just Christmas lunch, a meal out and 3 lots of baby sitting! Also check out the front of your telephone directory (yellow pages 9-13) for upcoming events
