oidara

Some of you may know from one of my other threads that I am freaking out about snakes having arrived here in Oz. Well, last night we found a redback hiding in my 2-year-old's tricycle, which has done nothing to allay my fears of the native wildlife! We've both been to Oz many times before and never worried about any of this, but I guess it's because we have kids now. I'm just so petrified of something happening to them. I know there have been no deaths caused by redbacks since the anti-venom but it still freaks you out holding one in your hand and knowing it could kill you (in a tupperware tub, by the way, not just crawling about in the palm of my hand!). How do you cope in this country where a simple trike ride with your little one could result in sudden death!?!

I have suddenly developed a fear of snakes, which is rather inconvenient as I now live in Australia! Can anyone talk some sense into me!?:embarrassed: It's funny - when we told people we were moving here, a lot of them said "Ooh, but what about the spiders and snakes?". We laughed it off because we've been to Oz several times before and never really given snakes a second thought. What's got me started is finding out that someone in our local village died after being bitten by a snake a few years back. Now I knew before we came that 2 or 3 snake bite deaths happen each year, but this kind of brings it home to me. I've since read scary stories about people who died on the spot before getting to hospital, and lots of sad stories about children losing their lives after being bitten. I have 3 children aged 5 and under, and one silly and curious dog, and now I am so irrationally worried about them. I have mugged up on snake bite first aid and bought some crepe bandages, but this has only allayed my fears a teeny bit. The vet has told us not to let our dog off the lead and it seems crazy to me, although I imagine it's sensible. So now we can never let her walk off lead? What a waste of all that good weather and lovely countryside! :arghh: And how can we relax when the kids are in the garden (we are quite rural) or when going for a walk in the countryside? It seems like I will always be on tenterhooks, or do people just forget about the threat after a while and get on with it? I imagine the threat is a lot less in suburbia, but we have always been rural people and I don't think I would compromise on that just to stay in Oz. I know everyone says snakes aren't aggressive etc, etc, but I'm worried about the freak occurrences when you tread on one or corner one by mistake, particularly if the kids do so. I don't know how I'm ever going to relax in this place, and now I feel daft for not realising this before I came!!! Help!

Thanks for the replies, especially to Ian for the detailed info on Devon. I am interested in Devon because my parents live there and we have visited many times. We are self-employed and get our work over the internet, so lack of jobs there won't be an issue, thankfully. The only thing that worries me is the crowds in the summer and other holiday times. By the way, I totally agree with those of you who have said we haven't given Oz a fair go! Absolutely. And I never imagined I would be even toying with the idea of going back. But I am just having a case of the collywobbles and it has struck me that we never gave England a go. It just didn't appeal. We tried over several years to look around the UK and find a place we felt we could settle, but we always came away feeling like we couldn't. We never actually took the plunge and lived there, though. Now I wonder if it was a mistake and if, before giving Oz a fair go, we should in fact try England. Stupid thing to realise at this stage, I know! But once we are settled here in a few years, it will make it all the harder to ever try the UK and perhaps we owed it to our families to at least try the UK first. I don't know - rambling here as I am confused!

Is it true that there is nothing for kids to do? That they hang around the streets drinking alcohol and being menacing!? What about in small towns and villages (especially in the south)? And is crime a big concern if you live in a slightly nicer area? Where we lived in Europe, we would leave our house and car unlocked. Is there anywhere in the UK (or Oz for that matter!) where you can still do that?

I haven'tlived in the UK for 12 years. We lived in Europe before coming out to Oz acouple of months back. Now I am wondering if we made a mistake by not giving the UK a fair go first. Sincebecoming an adult, I have never really liked England or felt at home there.We've spent 2-3 months per year visiting, and the bad weather, crowds, chavs,etc, have all been very off-putting. We havekids now too, and I must admit that people's opinions on PIO about how bad itis for kids in the UK have also put us off. People seem to think kids in Ozhave a better chance in life, better lifestyle and that they don't grow up sofast. Now I amwondering how bad the UK really is. It's different for us than for a lot of youas we haven't lived there as adults and therefore have never really given it achance. We don't know what life there would be like! If wecould make it work then we would love to as it would make our families so muchhappier, but we can't imagine how it would be and we worry about the stories ofEngland going down the pan. Anythoughts? For what it's worth, we would be moving to Devon or Somerset, soperhaps an area not so touched by the problems other parts of the country maysuffer. PS. Sorry for the odd formatting. Pasted this in from a text file and I've no idea why it's gone like this!

Thanks, everyone. I feel a bit better today (despite the wind, rain and hail battering the house - so much for better weather!). About the rentals, it was just annoying because it wasn't like we put in applications that didn't get through or anything. We had actually agreed terms with the owners and everything. And I guess you start to get all excited and imagine your new life until you get a phone call saying "Er, actually...". Once was disappointing enough, but 3 times!?!?! And we are feeling the pressure because our daughter will be starting school and we don't want a huge commute. That coupled with the fact that we have a dog seriously limits the options! Anyway, it looks like we *may* have found somewhere now, although the agent told us today that someone has come along offering to buy it! Looks like they are an investor and will let us rent nonetheless, though perhaps only for 6 months and not 12. Still, it's a start! To answer W8ENN, we just booked ourselves into a holiday let for 12 weeks to allow us time to find a longer-term rental. We thought 12 weeks may be a bit of an overkill at first, but now I'm glad we didn't just opt for 4 weeks or so, as that would have really added to the stress. I guess it depends how tied you are to an area and how easy it will be to find your longer term rental. Good luck!

Just wanted to add that I really wouldn't be bothered about snakes for myself, but I am just so worried about my kids (and dog!). Kids are all 5 or under, so I worry that they will forget to be careful. Of course we don't let them out unsupervised, but it could only take being distracted with one of them to not spot another putting their hand in a bush to fish out a football or something. Plus, we did used to let the older two play in the garden for a minute or two unsupervised while we went to get something inside. I don't know if I'd dare do that here. I know I am probably being silly, but this fear has suddenly grabbed me!

Thanks for the replies so far, and for being gentle with me despite my hysteria! I've read with bemusement of people coming out here only to decide within a month or two that they're going home, and I never imagined I would feel that way after all the effort and heartache it took to get here. The traffic fine was daft. We went through a red filter arrow. The main light was green, but the arrow was red. We did stop at it, but then doubted that we were doing the right thing and wondered if it was actually okay to proceed with caution. Stupid really, but felt the pressure of people waiting in the queue behind, having had a few experiences with impatient drivers at other times. Won't be making that mistake again! Oh, and my daughter was bitten at a wildlife park, just in case I have scared anyone about wombats running around the countryside with a grudge against Poms!

We have been in Oz for about a month and a half. Moving here is something we'd been thinking of for a good ten years. When we finally took the plunge and decided to apply for the visa last September, everything happened a lot faster than expected and kind of took on a momentum of its own. We had some reservations, but felt we had to give it a go lest we always wondered what it would be like. We've had a tough time for these first few weeks. We've lost out on 3 rentals that we basically had in the bag (various reasons - eg. the owner deciding to move back in, another owner deciding to sell).Our eldest daughter was bitten by a wombat and we had fears that she may have tetanus. All the banks turned us down for a home loan because we're self-employed. My mother had a health scare that we thought might be very serious. We got a $500 traffic fine for not understanding a road rule, etc, etc! We are now considering a 4th rental and, because of its location, we have been looking into the issue of wildlife. Snakes and spiders never really crossed our minds before, which seems a bit daft now. But we'd been to Oz on holiday several times before and never had any problems so we kind of dismissed it as a non-issue, figuring that if the Aussies manage then so will we. The thing is, we want to live in the country and we're now wondering if most Aussies manage because they live in suburbia where the threat isn't so huge. People in the country say they encounter snakes all the time and they worry every time their kids are outside. I read of a 9-year-old girl who died after being bitten in her backyard. I know its a rare occurrence, but the thought of that happening to one of my kids just terrifies me. What's the point in moving to a place with better weather so the kids can enjoy being outdoors if we're going to worry sick every time they're in the garden? I am also a homebirther and have read with horror about the homebirth witch hunt here and how one lady had her baby taken away from her because she opted to leave hospital against a doctor's wishes (http://www.homebirth.net.au/2011/10/free-for-all.html). I am rambling here because I am panicking! I just wonder if it's all worth it. Moving all this way to be afraid when my kids go outside, fearing that the authorities will take my baby away if I have a home birth... I know I am probably being irrational. But I also wonder if I am cut out for living so far away from family. I haven't lived in the UK for 10 years now (been in Europe) and have just never really liked the UK, but now I wonder if we should just suck it up and make the best of it there so we can be close to family. At least the kids can play safely in the garden (when it's not raining!). I don't know...is this just something people go through when the honeymoon period ends? Not that we really had a honeymoon period as it's been one stressful thing after another! Is this just a natural reaction to a huge overseas move? Thanks for listening if you made it this far!

A gummy shark?? That sounds like a wuss of a shark if ever there was one! Still, the dog has only been out of quarantine for 2 days so it would be good if she could avoid any deadly wildlife for a while yet to offset the cost of bringing her out here. ;-) I guess even a great white is safe if it's lying on the beach, mind you...

Snapped in SA, Moana this afternoon. What is it? I have no clue, but I want to say it's a shark - obviously The dog thought it was great!

Thanks!

Thanks. We're a large family (3 small kids) so we were hoping to get it sorted soon after landing and just wondered if there was a way to do so before arrival as the first few days will be so hectic as it is!

Does anyone know if it's possible to get ambo cover before arrival (to start upon arrival)? I tried to get it with Medibank, but they ask for your Medicare number which we won't have until a few days after arrival.

Hi folks, Just wondering if anyone has an infant car seat from Australia for sale in the UK? Thanks!

Good to know someone else got similar figures! I agree that you need to be flexible - not too hard for us as we haven't lived in the UK for the past 8 years anyway. I should have noted down what the exact products were in Sainsburys to help people see the comparison, but I am pushed for time and just wanted to get finished. Still, hopefully it gives a general idea.

Well, this may not be overly scientific but perhaps it will be of use to some of you... I have just carried out a weekly shop at Coles online and then, because that was so much fun, I did the whole thing again at Sainsburys! I was determined to get to the bottom of whether it really does cost almost double over there. (I know people point out that once you get there and earn Aussie dollars then it doesn't matter, but we'll still be earning in EUR, so it really does matter to us!) I compared 69 items of equal quantities and tried to find like for like (in other words, no Sainsburys Taste the Difference So Organic blah blah blah vs Coles own-brand scraped off the storeroom floor!). Although it looked like a lot of goods in Oz were more expensive and that the Coles bill was going to be by far the highest, amazingly the amount turned out to be exactly the same!!! I rechecked my calculations several times and had to get my husband to check them too, as I thought it was far too much of a coincidence! You can see the figures here: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0AoWEhFNpJ1ludEVFRVlTNS1zal9LSmFJdmN1blZGcFE#gid=0 As I said, pretty unscientific - I guess fresh produce is cheaper there at this time of year, for example - but still very reassuuring to see that it's most certainly not twice the cost when it comes to a fairly average grocery shop. I am still flabbergasted that it is exactly the same, mind you! If anyone can spot a mistake in my calculations, please let me know! I can think of better ways to spend a Sunday evening, but there we are...

We have a double luggage allowance because we have an unstamped permanent resident visa, so 40kg per person.

Funny you should say that - have been spending a lot of time with my scanner for the past 2 days and expect to be doing so for some days to come!

Hi all, This will have to rank as the most boring forum post I've ever made, but I'm going to make it anyway... Coming from Europe, we're going to need to rewire everything of course. So the question is, how much can we expect to pay for an Aussie mains plug, both the three pin type and the two pin? Second question, where would you head to in Australia for DIY basics like that? What's the equivalent of, say, Homebase, in Oz? There, I've done it. Don't tell anyone I asked... Cheers,

I agree! But with 3 kids under 5, our hand luggage is pretty chocker already! ;-)

Thanks for the input, everyone. It's amazing how much "sentimental" stuff you can accumulate by your mid-30s, especially once you have kids! pintpot - Not sure what you mean by this: "I think - without trying to be offensive - that you seem to worry a lot about risks that have a very low frequency of occurrence". Sounds like you're referring to some other post?? Anyway, I'm not particularly worried about this. Just in the throes of packing and wondering what to put where. Thought it would be interesting to hear what other folk did, that's all.

Thanks for the input! Flying on 2 July, but leaving our house on the continent on 20 May and we're self-packing a lot of things, so it's all systems go!

You know...old photos, yearbooks, love letters, baby footprints...those kind of things. Given the double baggage allowance and the fact that there are 5 of us, I was planning to take some of our more sentimental belongings on the plane for safety's sake. Now I'm having doubts and wondering if they'd in fact be far safer in the container than in a suitcase that may well go missing. A silly question, I know, but any thoughts!? Was hoping to create a poll, but I'm not sure I know how to!

Thanks! I don't think we'll bother with insurance for the journey. The quarantine period slightly worries me as you have to sign an agreement to private vet fees, but it doesn't seem like most pet insurance companies in Oz can/will insure a dog in quarantine. I guess we just have to hope she can't get into too much mischief when she's behind bars for a month!