jasperyogi

Hi everyone, So sorry I haven't checked in for ages ? doesn't mean I don't think how your all doing though ? How are you all? Hope all is well. It's 2 years today since we left the uk!!! Where on earth did that go? It's been a rough year for us with Justin (hubby) loosing both his grandmothers and his dad but we are getting there. We are all doing ok. Both the children are doing great in school and loving life here. Justin is still in the same job. We bought land and then pulled out ? so still looking for somewhere to settle but it will come!! I hope your all still around be great to catch up with everyone! Ok off to read the last few pages of the thread now to catch up on everyone's news. Byeeeee ?? xx

Hi everyone!!! It's so lovely to hear from you all, and fantastic that your all settled and loving life the wrong way up :laugh: Nishi we are Sooooo pleased for you, that's brilliant news.... Yahoo!!!!! Are you here yet??? :wink: Leanie I am guessing the little one is here?? If so huge congratulations from us!!! :yes: Tooz be sure to look us up if ever your down this way, always a beer in the fridge here :cool: Keep smiling and enjoying life peeps, keep in touch ok :wubclub: xxx

We brought our two dogs over to melbourne with us and we wouldn't have it any other way. Our old English sheep dog is a big baby and although he was very nervous when we first laid eyes on him in quarantine, as soon as he seen us he went nuts and has never looked back. Our Siberian husky, was absolutely fine, I don't even think she missed us at all :-) We visited every time we were allowed ( I think it was 3x a week) picking them up and bringing them home just put the icing on the cake for us. They absolutely love it here and I would do it all again in a heartbeat :-) we worried about finding a rental after searching for pet friendly homes, but luckily another member on here told us to apply for homes even if they didn't say pet friendly, we did and got accepted for the first one we applied for, despite the house being a brand new build, very expensive, solid wooden floors downstairs, plush carpets upstairs etc So don't let the fright of not finding somewhere put you off bringing your beloved pets with you. There are always plenty of homes to rent with your furries. They have also helped us make loads of new friends by coming up and talking to us about the dogs :-)

Hi everyone :biggrin: Just wondering how everyone is doing? Hope your all settled into oz life now. Its almost a year for us now (June 27) and I know some of you have been here for over a year :wink: Thought it would be great to catch up with everyone and see how they are doing and what the 1st year has thrown at us all!! Well our year has gone pretty well. Hubby is still in his job. Children are settled and doing really well at school . Our son has even been elected to be a guardian there and nominated to be the captain of the school (head boy) even has a girlfriend now!! not quite sure what's got into him to be honest :laugh: but we are so proud of him . They have both thrown themselves into ozzie life and have a great bunch of friends it was worth the move just to see them finally happy!! We did have a death in the family 2 months ago now and we were unable to travel back home due to work commitments which we found hard to cope with, but I guess it goes with the territory :sad: We are still in the same house we moved into when we arrived, our landlord is super. We have bought a plot of land now and are starting to build our home in August. We cant wait to finalyl have our OWN place, the first in 16yrs due to being in RAF housing in the UK and then renting here. I have made some super friends and feel so at home here. So really starting to feel like we belong now. So enough about us what been happening with you all xxx

I hate having inspections although fully understand why they are carried out. We had one at 3 months then our second last week (9 month point). Both were fine and they are really pleased. I say they because on both occasions the manager and the landlord has turned up for the inspection!! :rolleyes:

I was going to suggest a move to another state too. We are in melbourne and it's very multicultural so we have never experienced the cultural divide you have experienced. Failing that, maybe stay with family in the UK for a little while would help, look at the job prospects and see how you feel being back in the UK. I am sure you will make the right decision. Good luck and be happy whatever you decide x

Hi there, we put our two dogs in the kennel with our pet shippers. They followed us over a few weeks later so we could secure a rental in the meantime. We needn't have bothered holding them in the UK though because we found a rental within 2weeks of landing and moved in days after the dogs landed, but of course we didn't know that at the time. But at least we were all settled into our new home so we could visit them in quarantine at every allocated time. One piece of advice we received from members on here was to apply for any rental that didn't specifically say no pets. Our landlord didn't state that pets were allowed but was more than happy to accept then in his brand new, very expensive home... Gulp :-) so don't get too stressed, like we did!! There are rentals out there. Good luck with the move :wink:

Hi there :smile: We moved to point cook (sanctuary lakes) almost a year ago now. We have a 14yr old son and an 8 year old daughter. They were worried about making friends and fitting in here too. However, we needn't have worried at all. The children in their school were fantastic at helping them settle and have all been a godsend. Our son went from being bullied really badly in the UK (so bad that we removed him and home schooled him for the last 6 months we were there) so he was really worried about settling back into the school environment. He absolutely loves it, has heaps of friends now and has just been selected to be one of 7 school guardians in his school here and is loving life :-) he would be more than happy to chat to your son about school life here, just drop me a pm if we can help at all. Good luck with your move, and trust me your doing the right thing x :yes:

Eeek exciting times, good luck for the future, you will love it here :biggrin:

Firstly big :hug: I know most people (if not all) go through what your going through right now. Saying goodbye to everyone is the worst feeling ever. Just try to remember why your doing this. Your little boy will love it here. We find it so much more sociable here, cant walk anywhere without someone stopping us for a chat :-) even if you don't manage to find a placement for him immediately there are loads of clubs for little ones and having lovely weather ( been 26 here today in melbourne, and its autumn!!) means you can get out and about daily. We picked the children up, and went for a lovely walk along the beach today watching the pelicans :-) with the Internet, skype, Facebook etc you can keep in touch regularly with family and friends. It really isn't as bad as your expecting I promise. Just think of the life your heading for and smile :biggrin:

It's really not that bad :smile: We flew out here this time with a 13yr old and a 7yr old with singapore Airlines. Flew out from Heathrow at 6.30pm spent a few hours watching films then slept the rest of the way. Touched down in singapore, had organized a 6hr touchdown so we could take a swim in the pool in the airport and jump in the jacuzzi. The kids absolutely loved watching the planes take off and coming into land while we had a swim :laugh: We then had a nice shower, changed our clothes, had a bite to eat then shopped till it was time to leave. We all felt great getting on the plane for the last leg of our journey, feeling fully refreshed. So it can be great if you make it great :wink:

Hi there, just to let you know that you can use an agent just for the tricky parts ie getting your job/qualifications assessed :-) then do the rest yourself. When we applied we went through state sponsorship. We used an agent for the assessment then did the sponsorship and actual visa application ourselves, saving thousands of pounds in the process :-) ​goodluck, you can do it!!!

Dougle our Old English Sheepdog :wubclub: Kaya our Siberian Husky :wubclub:

Aww I know just what your going through. We brought our 2 dogs over to melbourne last June. Our Siberian never missed us for a second, looked at the whole thing as one big adventure, our old english sheepdog took the move quite badly. As we entered the kennel in spotswood he seen his carer open the door and he just stood there and wet on the floor :sad: it broke our hearts to see what WE had done to him. But as soon as he seen us he went mental, jumping all over us. We visited at every opportunity as I dont think he would have got through it if we didn't and with each visit he slowly got back to himself. As we got them home they settled back like they had never even been away from us. Its been almost a year now, and life has never been better, they have loved the summer months and are now enjoying the cooler walks too. So hang in there, they do get over the ordeal, even if they make us pay for it for a while!! having them here with us now has more than made up for all the worry and heartache and it will be for you all too, I promise :yes:

Hi Ya :wink: I have replied to your pm and popped my mob number on there. Would be great to meet up. Hope to hear from you soon Ali xx

Geelong is lovely, fantastic coast down that way :yes: torquay is stunning, we absolutely love Whites beach, especially as the dogs can come with us all year long too!! We are in Point Cook at the mo. Hope your holiday plans are going well (or the hol itself if you are here already hee hee) Alison x

Hi pauline, So sorry for the late reply, only now checking this thread :biggrin: We currently live in Sanctuary Lakes, Point cook but have just bought a plot of land in Eynesbury, ( only popped up for a drive, totally fell in love with the place) so will be moving there within the year :wink: How are your plans going for the big move? hope its all going smoothly :yes: Alison x

Hi there, We moved to Melbourne last June (our son was then 13, turned 14 last Aug) and he was worried about the move too. He had been bullied in his UK school to the extent that we home schooled him for the last 6 months we were there, so you can imagine what his feeling were about coming over here. Although he was looking forward to leaving all that behind he was anxious about fitting into a school in a different country. But.... he is loving every minute :laugh: as Ste5hk has said, the girls cant leave him alone, they think he sounds like hugh grant, and even now, having been here almost 8, months he gets asked to say potato over and over again. He has also made loads of friends, now has a social life, goes out bowling, lazer tag, cycling, swimming at the beach etc. I constantly have a house full of xbox loving teenagers in the evenings :biggrin: We finally have our son back, a smiling, fun loving kid So please tell your son not to worry, in our experience the children here are all welcoming and friendly. They bent over backwards to help our son feel at home in the school etc, and I am sure it will be the same for your son.

Hi n1amh, We moved over last June to sanctuary lakes in point Cook and have a 14yr old son and an 8yr old daughter (13 & 7 when we made the move :laugh:) Our son turned 14 last Aug and started in grade 8 in school when we first arrived. He started grade 9 in January when the new school year began (he would have started yr10 last sept in the UK) I will tell him about your post, I am sure he wouldn't mind chatting about his experiences of making the move and settling into school etc. I can tell you that he loves it here, thinks the school is great, and has made some fantastic new friends, so I am sure you will too :yes:

Hi everyone, We moved over here last June with a then 13yr old son and 7yr old daughter (now 14 & 8yrs :wink:) and they love it here as much as hubby and myself. It feels like one BIG rollarcoaster of emotions in those last few months before the move, wondering to yourself.... Do we get off now while we can?? hee hee. But we wouldn't change a thing now we are here. So please try not to worry too much, I am sure the children will soon settle. We sometimes have the "would you move back conversation" and the answer is always NO WAY!! hee hee. The experiences we have all had ( eg, seeing dolphins swimming past while you fish, hand feeding parrots in the nearby forest, seeing wild kangaroos in the nearby reserve etc etc) are just amazing. If your children want to chat to mine on Fb to ask any questions that us adults cant answer :laugh: or if you fancy a chat before the move, then I can pm you all of our FB details. Not saying we can answer then all, but we will try our best :yes: x

Hey there :biggrin: So glad everything is going great. All thats left to say now is ................ ENJOY!! :laugh: xx

We used a company too and they were fantastic, wouldn't change a thing, two happy woofs landed in melbs with tails wagging :wink:

Awww such a lovely post, I wish you and your wife all the very best for the future and especially for your new pink arrival in April :wubclub:

Yeah just state what you will be earning from the time you start work to the end of the tax year. My hubby started work here last Sept, so we only declared his actual income from sept to to end of the tax year and all was fine :wink:

All the very best for your new start, have a safe journey home :wink: and good on you for knowing your OWN mind and going for it!! xx