j9blossom

Our average quarterly power bill is $900, we've had one as high as $1,300. I know of others who have regular bills even higher though. I guess it all depends on where you live, how much power you use, running a pool pump, air con, dryer, extra fridge/freezer, etc. Our most recent one was only $670 - this was a final bill for not quite 3 months as we moved house. But it was for more than 2 months, so I'm pretty happy with that one! Am hoping that our bills in our new house (different suburb) won't be too bad. We've just signed up with Telstra for broadband and phoneline and I think our plan (non contract) is around $70 per month? Higher set-up fees (first bill around $350), but the rest should only be around $70.

Yay! Welcome to the Top End! We've been here almost 6 months now and still loving it! (although the crazy season is coming up, I hope we survive! lol). We live in Palmerston (work in Winnellie). Great place, awesome people, did I say we love it here?! :cool:

I don't think I've worn long sleeves since I've been here? (nearly 6 months now). T-shirts, more often singlet tops, skirts/shorts, sundresses (nice and cool!). It's starting to get more humid so it'll be hot and sweaty/muggy, possibility of needing to change clothes throughout the day! :cool:

Are you just trolling to stir up trouble? Seriously, if you have nothing positive or constructive to say I think it's better if you.... Don't. I notice that you haven't been back on here since 2008, then all of a sudden you come back on and post a handful of negative comments about the NT. If you don't like the NT then don't come back, easy.... the rest of us who DO like it here will stay here and be happier :cool:

Ohh, I haven't been getting email notifications to tell me that there have been replies! oops! Now that it's the sschool holidays, will it be harder for you to get away for a coffee? Or I wonder if there's somewhere that we can go and also take the kids? (I guess the new waterpark maybe? The kids can all play/swim while we sit at the cafe? I think there's a cafe there?....) How about this Wednesday? I'm only working 3 days per week during the holidays so will have Tuesdays and Wednesdays off. I'll also see if "Whoopsadaisy" wants to join us. She's also Irish so you might feel 'at home' having a chat with her too. I've met up with her a couple of times so I'll text her and see if she's free :cool:

I would suggest Darwin as a good option (don't discount it going by what you might hear). It's a perfect time of the year to come now, there is huge growth happening at the moment and very easy to get a job if you are keen and able. We love it here, it's beautiful and the weather is fabulous. Admittedly we haven't been through the 'wet' season yet with the humidity, etc. But it's a got to be a heck of a lot better than the freezing cold winters (below 0 degrees!) that I'm used to...

Shall we do a weekend coffee meetup one day then? Janine? Morgdots? :cool: (and anyone else too of course)

Hi! We've been here for about 11 weeks now too (arrived on the 31st of March). It does seem as though we've been here longer though! We've settled in really well too. I can understand you feeling bored, I was the same when I was at home all day once the kids had gone to school. Lol. It felt 'wrong' just sitting around with not a lot to do. I've now found a part time office job while the kids are at school so not much time to be bored anymore. If I wasn't working every day I'd have said "let's go out for a coffee or something" during the day, but now I can only really do that after school with kids in tow :cool: (which would still be fine by the way! lol. ) If you want to meet someone 'real & adult' to talk to I'm more than happy to! I haven't met up with any friends for two weeks now, since I had a Tupperware party a couple of weekends ago, so am starting to feel a bit lonely again in the friendship department. I'll be working every day this week too but then hopefully only 3 days per week once the school holidays are here. Let me know if you want to meet up, either after school one day, or on a weekend, or some time in the holidays?

Hi gals! Just popping in here in case I can help with any advice from the 'already in Darwin' side of things :cool: We live in Gunn which is also a suburb of Palmerston. My children (age 9 and 6) go to the nearest state school (it seems that all of the schools are zoned, ie if you live in Rosebery they go to Rosebery School, Gunn & Bakewell go to Bakewell School, Durack go to Durack School, etc ...) and they love it. The school day for them starts at 8:05am and finishes at 2:30pm. They don't learn a language that I'm aware of? They do have science, music & P.E classes. (my son loves being able to do Science!). Some schools do have their own websites, a good place to look for info about NT schools is also http://www.myschool.edu.au/ None of the schools seem to have pools which we were a bit surprised about. But Palmerston is due to have a huge new waterpark opening up next weekend! Just in time for the school holidays. These upcoming holidays are for 4 weeks too, probably due to it being the best time of the year for the good weather. If you are looking for rental properties, a good website is http://www.realestate.com.au (http://www.realestate.com.au/rent/in-palmerston%2c+nt+0830%3b+/list-1?source=location-search ). I must admit I'm not looking forward to the wet season either! Just make sure you get a house and a vehicle with good airconditioning!

oh sorry Janine :unsure: , I wasn't trying to argue with you or anyone else who had commented - just giving info on our situation so far. I agree, with 3 children (depending on ages) childcare cost (or after school/school holiday costs) won't be cheap. Plus I'm not sure what the deal might be with school fees? I wasn't saying that she 'would' be able to afford it, I was trying to point out that we are 'managing' on a 'not huge' single income at this stage :cool: But yes, it is a huge move to make and if you don't do all of your research and ask plenty of questions first then you may end up making the wrong decision in moving here. You can always go back again but that is more $$ too....

To give another perspective - we have been here nearly 6 weeks now. We brought nothing over with us except a suitcase each of clothes and a few toys for the kids. At this stage I'm not working (but do intend to be soon, for now I'm doing some volunteer work). My husband is on a wage not far different from what yours will be and we are managing. We will get assistance from Centrelink but nothing happens quickly around here and we're still waiting for it all to be processed (I'm told we should get it back-paid anyway). We don't have thousands of dollars still sitting in the bank to keep us going, but we're also not struggling yet either. (and certainly hope not to!) We live in a suburb of Palmerston called Gunn, we pay $470 per week rent (which is pretty good! We're in a nice basic 3 bedroom house, not flash but certainly not at all grotty). We have two school age children and they both go to the nearby primary school. They are happy there and enjoy it and I've had no problems. I've met very friendly locals and have already been invited to things and included in outings. We bought furniture 2nd hand from a website called Gumtree. (http://www.gumtree.com.au - search for Darwin items). The only thing we did buy brand new for ourselves was a mattress! (on sale too which was good) My husband did also find a brand new dining table from Harvey Norman which was significantly marked down due to a few minor scratches as it was a floor model. My hubby also found us a 2nd hand car for a few thousand dollars. It's definitely nothing flash but for now it gets us around. We plan to upgrade it once I'm working and we have more spare $$. Good luck with your move plans! It's lovely up here! A bit muggy at the moment (not entirely 'normal' for this time of the year) but it's so nice to not be have a freezing cold winter! :cool:

Hi Sarah. We arrived around midnight on the 31st of March, so we have been here almost 5 weeks now :biggrin: I love it here actually. The people are friendly, the weather is great (you won't complain of being cold!), there is a great 'feel' about the place. My husband already had a job lined up before we came over. Both of our children (age 9 & 6) have started school and are enjoying it. I have yet to find a job but thankfully we aren't too desperate for me to get one. I've only applied for one so far. There are plenty of others to apply for but I'm enjoying/making the most of my time to not be working :cool: (I'm currently looking at the online job ads to see what else I really should apply for this week, just so that I can at least have some 'options'). We live in the 'satellite city' of Palmerston which is about 20 or so mins drive from Darwin itself. (though still classed as being in Darwin, really....). So far we have found something to go to/see every weekend since we've been here which is great! We've explored some of the shops, walked around the waterfront area and discovered the little lagoon there to swim in (free!) and also the recently opened wave pool (which is so much fun!). We've been to the recent Superbikes event (motorbike racing). We went to the Darwin Life & Home Expo last weekend. Oh and an 'open cockpit' day at the air museum. I'm not sure what is on this weekend, I think my husband is going to take our son to something motorbike related (hubby is a motorbike mechanic/engineer). It is a 3 day weekend here so I'm quite happy to not be busy ALL weekend! lol I don't think I have anything negative to say about the place really. Yes it's hot/warm/muggy .... yes it is a slightly slower pace (if you want something done quickly you need to lower your expectations. Lol. It took nearly 2 weeks to get one of our air con units fixed - we are renting to organised by the property manager.) But once you get your head around the lack of urgency in some things, you'll be fine :cute:

Oh, and I meant to say ... if you want to see the job ads have a look on http://www.careerone.com.au and just put Darwin in your search area. Heaps of jobs! You can search by job title, keyword, part time or full time, etc :cool:

No one? Anyone?? .... :cute:

You know what I've learned over the last few years... often if things seem too hard then maybe they are. And if things are meant to happen they'll happen. We've moved 3 times in the last 4 (?) years due to my hubby's work. It's all been stressful at the beginning until I've realised that it's just not worth stressing about because if it's going to happen it will happen anyway if we stress or not. Hubby got offered the Darwin job at the end of January, everything just fell into place, we quit our jobs in NZ, found tenants for our house in NZ, sold everything, found somewhere to live here. 6 weeks later OH was flying to oz and the kids and I followed about 2 weeks after that. I had a mega meltdown/panic attack the morning we were flying out because there were things that still weren't quite sorted in NZ (and still aren't, with some of our stuff still sitting at my mum's house) but as my mum said "don't worry, you will get on that plane and everything will be fine". I guess it's okay for us, and different, so I can't really compare because we didn't have to jump through hoops to get visas, etc, to come to oz. It will all work out for you, in whatever way it's meant to. :cute:

There is absolutely nothing wrong with NZ, it is a beautiful place :cute: I was born and bred there, lived there for 36 years... and we just moved to Oz (Darwin) 3 weeks ago! :cool: We never had any real intentions of moving to Oz, but my hubby got a job offer (he didn't even apply, just from someone he knows talking to their boss... turned into a real job offer! lol). We decided, what the heck! Take the opportunity and see what happens. We didn't come to Oz for 'a better life' compared to NZ, we did come for an adventure, something different, change of scenery, etc. The pay is better here but I guess it also does cost a bit more to live here. Though that does depend, we pay $470 per week rent here in NT but when we first bought our house in NZ our mortgage was $420 p/w and that was on a far lower income. Christchurch was beautiful. I'm sure some parts of it might still be, but a lot of it is just devastating. I believe there are still many afterschocks, though not as bad as they were just after the quakes. And I guess you'd get used to them. I know of many people who call Christchurch their home but have fled after the quakes, then there are others who are still there and won't leave the city that is their home. Is is definitely a very different city to what it was a year or so ago :sad: However, if your oh gets offered a good job there that is a great start! You will soon find out if you like it or not (there isn't all that much to not like really!). Though you will probably be arriving right in the middle of the NZ winter, so I guess you'll experience the worst before you experience the best. And as you said, there is always the possibility of moving elsewhere in NZ. I'm from the east coast just north of Wellington. I also used to live on the west coast just north of Wellington (the Kapiti Coast) and we LOVED it there! Wellington itself is a great city, great nightlife, very windy (the southerlies are the worst part I'd say...) Good luck with whatever happens! Have an adventure, take the opportunities you get offered and don't have any regrets :cool:

I have to reiterate what everyone else here has said. Depression is not a sign of weakness, and it is more common than you might think. Try to take some time out from every day life stresses occasionally - stop and read a book, go for a walk, have a massage, talk to a friend. It really does help to have someone (friend or partner) to talk to and hug when you're struggling. They need to understand that it's the depression talking, not the 'real' you. And anyone who tells you to just snap out of it needs a good slap! :wink: As for the 'happy pills', the most important advice I can give is - don't be in a hurry to wean off them! Go by your Dr's advice. The first time I was on ad's for post natal depression (pnd) I fought the stigma attached to being on ad's and tried to wean off them as quickly as I could so that I would be 'better'. Then I realised that I just needed to treat them like a vitamin.... if you were deficient in Vitamin B you might take some vitamin supplements to help. Just think of your anti depressants as a vitamin to help your brain with something that it is currently deficient of. :cool: You are stronger than you think, it just might not feel like it right now. Believe me, when I finally came out of the fog I think I'd forgotten what it felt like to be 'normal'. You WILL get there again, just don't fight against it. Oh and when all the negative thoughts in your head and starting to spiral out of control, try not to let them keep spiralling. I can joke now about when I used to be 'nutcase' :wacko: but it's no joke when you're there under the big black cloud.

Hi guys :cool: We've been here for two weeks now, our kids started school yesterday (yay!) so until I find a job I have some spare time during the day! Would love to meet up with anyone else looking to meet new people/make friends, etc. Coffee anyone? I'm in Palmerston but can probably travel in to Darwin if I can figure out where to go :cool:

Hi! Welcome to Darwin, where it's always hot! lol We moved here two weeks ago (from NZ). I love it here! Yes it is different, and yes it is hot (as everyone will tell you ) . But you do get used to it, and there is air con everywhere.... except outside of course where you need it most I've got two kids, both school aged (they started yesterday), so am free during the day at the moment until I find myself a job (my husband is already working thankfully). I don't know anyone here yet so am always keen for any kind of get-together :cool:

We just arrived here two weeks ago and I agree with what Janine said - there are plenty of jobs out there! I bought the NT News on Saturday and there is an entire 28 page liftout section full of jobs! Seriously, I had a look through and cut out at least 18 jobs that I could apply for/interest me. (and I'm only looking at mostly admin type jobs)

3 more sleeps to go for me!! I'll let you know what I think once I get there My husband says it's definitely different, but it's a 'good' different. Hot, yes, but not terrible. Possibly easier to try to get used to the heat instead of going from cold air con to hot outside to cold air con, etc... I'll wait and see what I think about that

I'm moving to Darwin in the next few weeks too! :cool: My husband arrived there yesterday. We'll be living in Palmerston (Gunn). I'm trying not to worry too much about what I don't know about yet, lol. I can't wait to get there though, very excited! We have 2 kids, age 9 and 6.

Michelle, I'd love to take you up on the offer of meeting up when I/we get there! :biggrin: Really would love to have some female friends there to talk to, etc. My husband arrived yesterday afternoon so he's letting me know how hot and rainy it is right now. lol.

Hi Becka I can't give you much advice yet because I'm not there yet... we're moving to Darwin (well, Gunn in Palmerston actually) at the end of this month! The suburbs of Palmerston seem to be zoned for schooling (or should I say the schools seem to be zoned) so it depends on where you will live as to what school your kid(s) will go to. I've heard that it's hard to get a rental until you've actually set foot in a house to view it. Luckily for us we have friends in Gunn and we are going to move into the house they're renting (they're breaking their lease early). Phew! We have a 6 year old and a 9 year old. They're more worried so far about missing their family/friends here (and toys!) than they are about what it's going to be like there. I think they're quite excited about getting there actually.... (I hope they are! lol)

Hey Michelle! :cool: We'll be living in the NT by Easter (wow, that's going to go fast! :jiggy:) and I'd love to have someone to meet up with and make friends! We're in our 30's too (just past the 'mid' so I guess I'm now in my 'late' 30's.... :wink:). We do have two kids but they're pretty cool and well behaved. We don't go out much at all but I'm hoping we can take advantage of any social opportunties so that we can get to meet people (even if just a BBQ?). We are planning on probably living in Palmerston once we figure out where and find a place. Keep in touch if you like?!