Hello
This is a long and rambling post.....sorry!!!! When I was back in the U.K I used to love reading these posts, and now it's my turn to give something back!!
Here is an overview of our situation:
Me, nurse, newly qualified job offer and 457 visa at Hollywood (AHPRA experience: another story) my other half, Dave wants to get into property management/development. Has a degree in this area.
We have very nicely been put up at our friend’s house in singleton for free (he works away)
We sent a shipment of pretty much everything over. At the time we were packing, I was of the opinion 'we'll just buy stuff over there'. Luckily, Dave is sensible and insisted on bringing EVERYTHING. I cannot stress this enough.....bring everything, from mops, hoovers, printer cartridges, salt and pepper shakers, knives and forks, bedding, towels, toiletries, washing powder, pots, pans, books, DVDs, beds, bikes, camping stuff, photo frames, rugs, ornaments furniture. Even if you buy new in the U.K (esp. camping stuff and cleaning stuff) and bring out here, it’s worth it. Anything that might be dirty, wash with jays fluid before it’s packed. We shipped with A&D removals they ship via Anglo pacific. It took about a day to pack everything up, and it took 8 weeks to arrive. The guys that unloaded everything took only a couple of hours, and put back together any furniture that had been dismantled. We filled drawers up with light stuff, like clothes, shoes, medicines, toiletries, books, ect to be economical.
We flew with Singapore on 15/11/2011. They were cheap, and good....kept us well fed and entertained. They gave us an extra 5K each
We had already set up bank accounts with ANZ through an expo thingy, so upon arriving we went into branch and ordered our cards, which took a few days to arrive. We also went to the local Medicare office and sorted out the cards for that; it’s pretty straightforward just take your passport and visa in and they fix everything for you.
Used car: Although there is a good public transport system in place, it is quite time consuming to use and in my experience, relies a lot on the bus network. A car really comes in handy in Perth. Second hand cars are expensive compared to the U.K. You can’t really pick one up for less than $1K, and that would get you an absolute banger that would possibly break down. Instantly. We spent $4 on a 2001 commodore, with dodgy aircon and not very economical (4 litre engine and automatic), but otherwise a bargain and reliable. You do not want to be breaking down on the highway in the intense heat and no shade!!! Petrol is cheaper too...it costs us $80 to fill up the car
GP visits: I had to go to the docs to get MRSA swabs done (you need these if you want to work in healthcare). They charged me $60 and refunded $30 back to me upon presentation of the Medicare card. from what I can gather, there is not the same relationship that you have with your GP in the uk, i.e. stay with the same one from conception to grave. However, you don’t feel anywhere near as guilty making an appointment because you know you are paying for a service.
All important shopping: before we came out, I was well researched in horror stories about the price of food here. The first visit to Coles, woolies or IGA will always be an eye opener, when you convert all the prices back into pounds; you just can’t help it. things do cost more than home especially fruit &veg, cleaning stuff (washing powder, OMG) and cheese. The meat however is cheap, and really really really tasty. However, shopping options extend beyond these supermarkets. We go shopping and at a place called spud shed, which consists of a few outlets, and they say that much of the produce comes from the field to the shop. It really is much cheaper and you can get most things from here. I would compare it to shopping at Lidl....you can get most stuff quite cheap, the odd other things you would have to get from the supermarket. In most cases it is cheaper to buy in bulk and be sure to look out for offers in the local paper that gets thrown on your lawn every few days.
Aussie wages are quite good, minimum is $16 an hour I think; I know that for a cleaning or bar job you are looking at $20 an hour....so one you’re earning over here, the prices aren’t too bad; it’s when you are spending your hard earned £’s that it stings!!!
Life: when we first arrived, we had a big boring list of things to sort out (car, Medicare ect). The last 2 weeks before coming out were pretty hard, moving out of our house, leaving work, the feeling of being pulled in 20 different directions, guilt about leaving, guilt about not being able to spend time with loved ones, worries about leaving, the dreaded, emotional goodbyes and I suppose when we arrived we were trying to carry on going a billion miles an hour. Once we accepted that we couldn’t get a car, Medicare, bank, library, explore all in one day we felt much better. If possible, I would recommend to anyone to take a minimum of a week or two (finances permitting) to adjust. Don’t underestimate the stress of upheaval and take some time to make your new surroundings feel like familiar, like home.
I would recommend joining a library; before I came out I thought 'when I am in Australia I am going to have an outdoor lifestyle and I’m going to quit watching TV and spend all my time outside reading'. This has not been entirely the case for me. Don't get me wrong, I enjoy the outdoors much much more now, however, it goes dark at 1930, there are mozzies, and our air con doesn’t work outside!!! Also, TV is very poor. Our local library (mandurah) lends us up to 4 DVDs for 2 weeks for free...this includes films. documentaries and TV series. Blockbuster is quite expensive ($7 per night) and we have made good use of the library. I would suggest bringing over films and series if you enjoy them at home; if you're bothered about space just chuck the boxes and put them in a cd wallet
I have found the aussies to be lovely, and most are proud and respectful of their country. They seem to enjoy making the most out of it, and amongst the western Australians, BBQs, camping, beach, sports, water sports and anything to do with boats is popular. A lot of people have boats, and some of the best days we have had here have been spent on the river in a rusty tin boat with a pack of coronas and some crab nets. They say the best things in life are free, and although some things are expensive, this saying is definitely true of Perth.
Dave and I have had a really good start over here, we have come over to jobs, with friends and a free house to stay in while we get started; I know that for many people, their first few months are not like ours, and this post may not be relevant to people in other situations....I hope there are some useful bits in it though, and to everyone who is like I was and reading PomsinOz hoping to get out here soon, stay positive and keep pushing, it is definitely worth it!!!!!
