Joeybee

Hi everyone, I haven't logged in to Pomsinoz pretty much since getting the visa grant back in December. Well that was on the 4th of December and we flew out on the 7th, arriving in Australia on the 9th. A LOT has happened since then, and I've been dying to come on here and tell you all about it. So, we stopped off in Perth, WA for 1 month. We stayed with friends in Bedfordale. I wasn't going to write about Perth, because it is not where we are and not where we plan to ever live, however my observations might be of use to some people, so I will write what I thought. Perth was 40 degrees and dry when we arrived. It stayed clear and between 29-42 degrees the whole month we were there. Since then and up to now, the weather forecast has been almost constantly showing clear skies and temps around 30-35 degrees. Relentless. I loved it, the predictability of being able to wear shorts and dresses everyday and know the weather will be constant. I hated it the UK not knowing whether I would be too hot or cold and always ending up wearing unsuitable clothes for the weather. However the downsides to Perth's climate were the constant applying and re-applying of sun-cream(which is surprisingly expensive considering the high rates of skin cancer in Australia), wearing hats all the time, carrying shopping or doing anything outside was tiring and also, shaving my legs every day!!! So safe to say, if you want to live in Perth, be prepared for a hot summer. Perth CBD is compact, to me it wasn't a 'proper' city, it was more a large town feel. A lot of people would like this, a small CBD and sprawling suburbs for miles and miles. For me and my Husband we found it boring after a few trips into the city. After 5:30pm the place emptied but for some bars and restaurants. The area of Northbridge was...vibrant...at night. We went there often because there was a really good buffet stye restaurant called "Utopia", still my favorite food place in Australia. However there were several fights and fatal stabbings just in the month we were there. There are lots of brothels and people hanging around sniffing glue. We are city mice - New York, London, Barcelona. Perth is nothing like that. So a small CBD, wasn't going to cut it for us. The shopping is good in Perth and there are some nice green spaces. We went on a lovely river-side walk which was beautiful, stunning even but apparently they are getting rid of the iconic walk and building on it. This is a real shame. The beaches are fantastic and easy to get to and there's a relaxed, easy-going lifestyle on offer in Perth. Transport - the train system is frequent, simple and fairly cheap. It was easy to navigate and anywhere near a train line is easy to get to. However if not, you NEED to drive. Perth is a city built for drivers and for me and my Husband, who don't drive, it was a little restrictive. It felt very American, massive parking lots, warehouses and malls. Also, the Armadale train line is one of the scariest transport experiences I've had. We used it 4-5 times a week whilst we were in there and almost every journey - day and night, we saw bad things. I wouldn't have felt safe at all on my own in the evenings especially. We saw about 3 instances of domestic violence, countless people graffiti, we saw fights and had to put up with rude inconsiderate people swearing loudly, playing music and making offensive remarks about others daily. It really wasn't nice. It has apparently improved. There are train guards on each train in the evenings now and a lot of money has been spent. One of our last journeys we had to make a statement to police after a couple were literally screaming at each other and the man hitting the woman (who was pregnant btw) and swearing at her for about 20 minutes after someone used the intercom to ask the driver for help, before the police took the passengers off the train. Housing is nice in Perth. It is the sort of place where I could see myself being happy when i'm middle aged, have a few kids and value the quiet and a nice large house with pool space and tree lined streets. It does come at a cost though. For renting, it is definitely more expensive than Sydney. For me and my Husband to have managed to get a place for $600 or less a week, we'd have needed to be quite far out from the CBD and in a bit of a dodgy area. Whilst in WA, I visited Fremantle and Bunbury. Both (in my opinion) nicer places than Perth. More charm and character, but with the lifestyle Perth offers. Overall Perth is a nice place. I will go back to visit. The weather is FANTASTIC and if you can drive, there are lots of nice beaches and bays which are a lovely way to while away a weekend. It is compact and the transport system is average for a city that size. If you can afford the housing, you'll probably get a nice one. But negatively, there are a lot of social problems, it's expensive and not for people wanting a 'city' lifestyle. It's frustratingly isolated if you don't drive, and to visit another big city you have to realistically fly to one. I'll do another post in the next few days about Sydney. There's a lot to say. Me and Husband have been moving from one short term accommodation to the next and so have seen different suburbs. I've been both over and under-whelmed by Sydney and have found a different experience here to what a lot of people have, so feel I should share.

It does seem mild so far, just as well as I hate the cold! According to weather forecast for Manchester, it'll snow (lightly) on Friday night and be around 0 degrees. Typical the sudden cold spell is hitting the night before I fly out, hopefully won't cause us any disruptions. This mild weather may be lulling some people in to a false sense of security, I'm sure winters bite is just around the corner!

Me and Husband had our medicals done here with Dr Million in October. Lovely Doctor, easy to talk to, approachable and very fair. It was all a quick, efficient process, and I highly recommend them.

Myself and bryzee86 got our grant this morning, so so happy. Flights booked for 7th December. Told my parents (mums a bit upset). We now need to get travel insurance, buy a suitcase and arrange to try and see everybody before we go! :biggrin: Thanks to everyone on here for your support and advice, ill keep checking this thread until the rest of you get your grant good luck!!

The documents my CO requested now say TRIM next to them on the e-lodgement page. I am hoping, really hoping I get my grant within next few days, as I am hoping to book flights for before 10th December (after which flight costs get much more expensive). Was thinking at one point about waiting till the new year to go, but I can't actually stand the thought of that anymore. My life is on hold. I just want to go!!!! Congrats Chinnu on your grant :-)

Yay, well done!!! You must keep us updated about how you get on when you move. Booked flights yet? Good luck!

Well done Debs!!!

I got employment history letter from tax department. This is the only extra info my CO requires, so now uploaded, just got to wait for that grant!!!!!

Got my letter from tax office today - all 40 pages of it!!!! Going to go through it later and upload the relevant bits along with uni transcript, and then wait (impatiently) for the grant :-) :-) Smitty - Hope you hear soon, I've got my fingers crossed for you. Me and Bryzee86 are debating whether to just get the plane tickets and go as soon as we've got our visa, we're getting very itchy feet now!

I had thrown away payslips/p60's over a year old, and CO wants pay evidence for all 4 years experience I'm claiming for, that's why I'm having to wait for tax/pay proof from the tax department. If you have payslips from beginning and end of all employment/experience you're claiming for then that might be enough.

I got my AHPRA LOE yesterday :-) Called tax department, as just waiting for an employment history letter from them, they said it will arrive this week. As soon as it is here, I'll upload, hopefully then visa. May be able to get to Australia before new year now. Hows the rest of you getting on? Hope I hear of some more grants soon.

I was starting to worry about how long it was taking for my Letter of Eligibility to come through, 'cos they emailed me on 15/11 to say they had "no timeframe" in which to assess my registration docs. However, I just checked my email and I have my LOE! Now, c'mon visa...!

Still waiting for tax document from HMRC - 4 weeks I've been waiting for this, and it's the only thing preventing my grant now. Any news from the rest of you with CO's?

Really hoping for that letter from the HMRC today!

Thanks Chinnu, CO wants pay/tax evidence for all years I claimed for. I only had pay evidence for past year so thats why Ive had to apply to HMRC for the previous years. HMRC is the tax dept in the UK, 'Her Majestys revenue something dept'lol They provide proof of emplyment if you request it. Normally takes abot 10 workings days but at the moment they are taking about 4 weeks.