LadyCroft

Oh maaaaaan... Thanks everyone. I nearly passed out when I saw 35 years! Glad it is only 10 but I guess means testing changes that anyway.

Thanks for the replies. The main thing I had to do was go the the GP and the immunisations nurse took the red book and sent off the info so we can get the Immunisation History form that shows how up to date immunisations are. Not sure if we will have to get a Hep B vacc or not... Depends on if it stops him getting into Kinder... I hate all this. Thanks again

Thank you all sooooooooooo much. Seriously, I just felt my shoulders relax down from my ears (slightly - I am wading through all the stuff I have not got round to dealing with since we got here) so at least I am in the loop now. My other half is the polar opposite to me and is waaaaay laid back until it reaches the last minute then he goes "Well.... Did you sort that then?" so I like to know what we should be doing. There is a lot of stuff that you don't realise you have to do before leaving the UK when your head is busy with the "Which shipping company should we use? Should we ship the kitchen sink???" stuff. Thanks. I will let him know the dates and you are right - his workmates will all be doing theirs too so he will be able to ask them nearer the time. Just helps to know what is going on.

I have a few questions so I thought I would just ask them all here so we don't mess up. I am currently not working, looking after our little ones for now and have not worked since we arrived around 6 months ago so I have not made any money. Husband has been working for a company since we arrived. We don't have any income from the UK eg house rented or anything like that. We have heard that everyone in Australia does their own tax return every year unlike in the UK where it is just self employed. When do we have to do our tax returns? Do I have to do a tax return even though I'm unemployed? Not sure what to do here. Is it best to use an accountant since we have NO idea what we are doing? Help please :smile: I am freaking out over all the little details that I don't know how to do since we got here. Medicare, tax, Centrelink, childcare fees. I think I am going to lose it and am waking up during the night panicking and just wishing I had stayed at home :-( That is another issue though.

Thanks for all the replies. I was kind of regretting putting this all online at first n feeling like a bad mum. I am looking into martial arts classes nearby which might also help him meet a wider group of kids too. I've taken the advice to meet with his teacher again and said I would like to talk with the Principle if things don't get any better. I don't want to run away from the problem but I can't stand the thought of sending him to school when he might walk out at the end of the day with another injury due to these kids not caring if they get on the sad face chart

A bit of both really. Obviously he is my little boy and has just started Prep so I am feeling over protective but he came out of school a couple of times in the first couple of weeks with bruises then one of the kids punched him on the forehead so he had a bump on his head. I was upset about it but my other half said I was being oversensitive and it was prob just boys playing too rough being superheroes. A few days later he was crying on the was out of school. He didn't want to say but then told me one of the other kids pushed him down and jumped on his leg. I spoke to his teacher at this point because it was the same kids he said were pushing him around. Things seemed to calm down after that and we were relieved that they all seemed to be settling in at school. It sounds like they are starting on him again or maybe he just hasn't been telling us what is going on since I spoke to his teacher the last time. I DON'T want him to be singled out so I know what you mean but I just don't know what I should be teaching him so that he is not such a target. It is hard to know what to do. I don't think it is at the stage of talking to the Principal or anything but I don't think I am overreacting when my child is coming out of Prep having been punched/stamped on by another Prep. I am just hoping it is accidental or exaggerated. I will take your advice *LKC* and talk to his teacher again to let her know. She is good with the kids and seems to know how to get through to them without singling anyone out. Thanks.

:sad: My little Prep told me he is being pushed around by the same kids every day. He doesn't want to go back, understandably. Spoke to teacher before but I think he's not telling anyone it's still happening. Am going to talk to school again. I just feel so sad for him and guilty for moving here. Thinking we were taking him away from all his friends n relatives, settling into new life for him to be hit and kicked at school. Just feeling awful and wanted to share to see if anyone has words of advice

I am looking for a checklist of what we should have done now that we have our littlest's visa... We just arrived back int Australia and I am going over the things I will need to do now we have the Child Visa 101... I am getting the temp Medicare card transferred over so it is now permanent since we have the Child Visa 101. I need to then register with Centrelink and a local GP as we seem to be missing a vaccination since coming from the UK. What other things are important? I need to get on the waiting list for a local Kindergarten as places are very limited... I just don't know what other things I am supposed to be organising for my little bubs. Thanks for any help here. The rest of us all had our visas and got everything sorted when we arrived but there was a delay in processing the Child Visa for our baby because of the change in Govt. Thank you everyone!

Hi again Kzzam Thanks for replying. I like that the school is adapting and building new areas. I looked at some schools before we moved from our first short term rental when we were contemplating living in a 2 bed apartment closer to bayside (with 2 little kids - what was I thinking???) and the schools we saw were traditionally old fashioned but a bit cramped and lacking in modern facilities in my humble opinion. My other half ended up getting work in Dandenong South so we decided to look further afield and have ended up in a brand new house in the suburban sprawl. We are currently at the very edge but they are already digging and putting in water pipes/power cables etc for the next new build estate a few fields away from where we are so although we have a lovely walk through some old farms with sheep and cows on the way to school, it will soon be a walk through another new build estate. They are built so fast! I am actually starting to like it here though. I am just trying to decide if it is worth moving again and we can't afford a house as big as the one we are in if we move to Mornington. My other half would rather stay here in Clyde North than move to Mount Martha as the main reason we would move just now is because we can't even walk to a shop for a pint of milk. Honestly. We have to drive everywhere. It is at least 1 hour march to the nearest shop for me as I don't have a car. If we had 2 cars I don't really think I would have noticed the issues around being so isolated here and we do have neighbours who are always nipping to the shops and are more than willing to bring us back some milk or anything we need urgently. It is just that I don't like to ask really. We have always liked Mornington - we lived in South Yarra many years ago when we were young and over here on a Working Holiday visa. Mornington was always the holiday weekend spot or Sorrento/Blairgowrie etc. So beautiful there. We never thought about actually renting in Mornington when we finally emigrated last year because we had it in our heads that it is just soooooooo far away but the new road and having ended up working East of the city means we have only just realised that we could happily live in Mornington now. We never really venture into the CBD any more unless we are doing something special. Anyway, apologies for waffling on again! I am really struggling with the decision of whether to move or not. We are keeping an eye on the rentals in Mornington and have decided we will make the move if we can get somewhere that we really like. I have a terrible habit of deciding I like somewhere and then seeing an affordable little shack and going "the kids could share a room and we don't really need air con" which is just not practical for us any more. Trying to be sensible and practical but my heart tends to rule my head.

Hi, We're thinking of moving to Mornington towards the end of this year so not around for coffee just yet but I would like to ask you how you are finding living there, especially with your children. We are so worried about moving our little boy again as he has only just settled into Prep where we are just now. Do you feel that Mornington is a good place for children? THanks for any reply to this and I hope you have met some locals for coffee in some of the fab cafes on the Main Street! Love it there. Best wishes to you :smile:

Thanks I am finding it hard to get everything done at the moment. I have been sooooo down for the past few weeks but I can kind of feel things are on the up again and I feel a little more settled for some reason. Seems to have a lot to do with my little one having started Prep and beginning to make friends himself when he was really struggling too. Guilt!!! We are thinking of moving at the end of the year which will also mean a new school, kinder etc who will be looking for the forms again so maybe it is best to make sure we are up to date. Thanks for replying. :-)

I am trying to get to all the things I haven't managed yet and am getting bogged down in it all again. We arrived in Australia with our 176 visas but our baby's visa 101 not yet granted. As a result we had to get our 5 year old into school so the GP surgery got his red book and sent away all the details for the immunisation record. They said he was up to date. Once the immunisation record arrived, it stated that he was not up to date... No Hep B vaccination. The school had no problem with him enrolling without this as he has all the others MMR etc. Now, our youngest has had his visa granted so I am trying to get everything sorted for him too. Medicare card, vaccination record etc. The issue I am having is that although our GP surgery said they are fine with the UK vaccinations they have had, I am concerned that I will not be able to make a claim for Family Assistance if they don't get the Hep B vaccination. What did you all do? Do I really have to get my 2 vaccinated against Hep B? It seems to be a vaccine given at birth so I thought maybe we would be ok without it.... I don't even know much about it yet... Thanks

We have been stuck trying to get travel money for our trip to NZ and are worried we may get to the airport and have to hope that Travelex will have enough cash for us to exchange. Anyway, where can I get travel money NZD the same day? Yes, I have left it last minute as usual. Not sure how this happened but there you go. Help please? We are in Melbourne.

This is an area I know nothing at all about. Since we moved here I have been home with the kids. I have started to worry about filling in the tax forms at the end of the financial year and have also realised being at home with the kids is kind of like being invisible... Is absolutely nothing paid into the Aussie equivalent of pension fund for me at the moment? Will I only start to accrue Super (or whatever you call it) once I get back to work? Help please. I am feeling a bit dumb at the moment and my confidence is crashing even though I know this is best for my family at present... I am starting to realise how much info I am missing regards all the financial side of things here :goofy:

Great thanks

What websites/travel agent s/airline would you recommend for a week in Wellington NZ? We looked at Expedia.com.au but they seem expensive and didn't get a good review... Help please :-)

When did you apply and how long was it before it was granted? We applied start of April and were told likely to be end of November at the latest but here we are heading towards 2014 and nothing yet. We were told hopefully December but who knows...

Thanks for the advice. I appreciate it. We have been referred to a private allergy Dr and it would cost a lot of money to go to him to get tests done etc when all we need is permission to give him his antihistamines at school. It may not even be the case that he will be exposed to egg at the school as they have advised that no one is permitted to hand out cake any more as it contains egg/traces of nuts and they don't allow old egg cartons to be brought in for arts and crafts any more. That is way more than they ever did at his UK nursery. Anyway, we are going to take him to a different GP having phoned around a few and have found one that charges but then you claim it back from Medicare but they seem happy to help with the forms as they have to do them for school children with allergies/asthma fairly often. I think there must be quite a few UK families in this area who have had to get their medication confirmed for the school. Feeling much better now that I know how things work a bit better thanks to you all. A special thanks for the green allergy form. THat is exactly what we needed.

Hi. I am in Clyde North, Melbourne. My OH got a job right at the end of our holiday rental period and we had to find somewhere to live so we kind of panicked a bit and didn't think things through properly eg I don't have a car during the week. We just worked out that the rent was affordable, the house had a garden for the kids to play in and we can walk to the local primary school. All the busier, nicer areas we were looking in had LOTS of other people at the open houses or were too small realistically. We almost took a 2 bed apartment (or was it a townhouse... can't remember now) in Chelsea but when we actually sat down and spoke about it, we realised we were going stir crazy in the apartment in Kew so needed to look for a house with some outside space. Honestly, we are quite far out if you have no car. I booked a taxi to come and take us to the Doctor (not to buy a newspaper) and it never showed up so I ended up walking it with the kids in the double buggy and it took 1 hr 20 mins with me marching non stop. Was knackered. At least I know we can get to Cranbourne if we have to walk it though! There is probably a shop nearby but I just haven't found it yet. When I am feeling braver I will talk to someone at the park and ask them stuff like this. I was just having a really, really bad day when I posted on here. HOnestly I wanted to go home. I will def give it time though. It does feel like a void has been left after the last few months which were all consuming - just ALL about "moving to Australia". I think I am totally emotionally drained after it all too - leaving people behind in the UK who you love but you wouldn't normally hold onto, sobbing and saying "I love you!!!" with them saying "I love you too! Please don't go!". I am sure if I had stayed in the UK I would never have actually told them just how much I love them and likewise for them. So now I know how much some of my friends/family back in the UK actually love us all and they TOLD us, it makes it very hard to be here missing them. Of course, now we have been away for a month the txts and phone calls have subsided and it is back to the norm for them I guess. We wouldn't normally be on the phone to each other constantly anyway so I suppose it is just trying to get used to some level of normality and start trying to make a life here. Sorry I am waffling again! Just a big thank you for all your wise words. It does help to gain some perspective on it all and to hear that some of you know what I am talking about AND that you are still here loving your Aussie lives.

I just wanted to add our latest progress to this thread. We applied for our Child Visa 101 in London on 4th April 2013. We were quoted 7-8 months processing time but our visas expired on 15th December so we headed out here with our baby on an eVisitor visa. We were advised this would be ok for us to do by our Case Officer as once the Child Visa is granted, the eVisitor visa will be overridden by the Child Visa 101. The problem NOW is that there are further delays in the processing of the Child Visas apparently. I don't know if it is because of the changes they are currently making to the visa applications or what but we are now in limbo again. We have luckily been granted 1 year RRVs due to the fact that the only current reason we need to leave Australia is to vaildate the baby's visa when it is granted (which we have been told is a matter of when and not if so he is getting his visa, they just don't know exactly when) This leaves us with a potentially massive financial problem. The eVisitor visa means our baby has to leave Australia every 3 months but can return for up to 12 months provided he doesn't stay for more than 3 months at a time. We just hope that the Child Visa is granted before February otherwise we are going to have to have 2 international holidays in the next few months. One when his eVisitor reaches the first 3 mnths in February when we will have to leave and re-enter Australia if his Child Visa 101 is not granted yet and then again when his permanent visa is granted. If only we knew this back in April when it looked like he would have his visa by Christmas. We would just have applied onshore as it is going to end up costing more doing it the way we have done it. :arghh: Has anyone else been granted a CHild Visa 101 who has applied in the UK this year? Thanks

Thank you for all the replies. I have read every one and thought about every word but Petals, your reply really hit home with me. You are right - When we were in Kew, it was so easy to access everything. Walking distance to shops, parks, trams, everything. Just could not afford to stay there and my OH's work meant we have ended up in the beautiful but secluded outer Eastern burbs. I don't have a car so even getting a newspaper and carton of milk means a taxi. It is just too much of a culture shock that i didn't REALLY think through when the panic of not having anywhere to live kicks in. I love that we are still close to the beach as my family has always been next to the sea (I mean my family stretching back thru generations so it is in my blood to feel peace when we sit on the shore and look out to sea. My Mother's family burial ground is on the beach next to the sea as the tradition is for them to always hear the crash of the ocean - beautiful). So we are heading to the beach tomorrow and I am going to stare out to sea with the wind in my hair and feel the old blood running through my veins while the kids and my OH dig a nice big hole in the sand as they always love to do. I hope this phase will pass and I will be able to get over this feeling of dread and despair and force myself to get on with things so I can actually find some friendships here before I go insane overthinking how much I don't think I fit it. I can tell you one thing - I now feel a lot more empathy for migrants who arrive in a community where they just don't naturally fit in. I have always done my best to make people feel welcome and comfortable when they are new to the area back in the UK but now the boot is on the other foot I realise just how lonely and fragile you can feel. I never appreciated it until now. There are some tough cookies out there who can just dive in and immerse themselves in the new culture. There are so many things you don't realise are totally foreign even though it feels kind of familliar.

Thank you. Felt a bit silly venting it all on here but I thought "hey wait a minute. Surely someone else has felt like this" I think I am just annoying my other half acting like this when he is still on a high. He has wanted to be here for soooooooooo long and he is out there in the workforce now so is happy that we are finally managing to actually set up a real life here. I just think it is such a shock to the system. I miss me old Dad so I do. Even though her never came round to see us!!! I still miss the people back in the UK who I KNOW I wouldn't see or hear from every day or every week. Just knowing they are so far away makes it much, muchharder than you expect.

I wrote a big post and it was wiped by my sh!tty laptop. Anyway, we arrived at the start of November after spending the last month in the UK moving around from relatives to relatives basically sleeping where we could get room for a while and saying our goodbyes to everyone on the way. We got here and had an apartment as a holiday rental for a month before finding this long term rental where we have just moved. Suddenly, I am feeling very, very low. Like I have just crashed down to earth after all the craziness of the last few months, getting an offer on the house and actually managing to sell it, shipping stuff, selling the rest, organising flights, visiting everyone and saying goodbyes, getting here and setting everything up, ticking everything off on "The List" that we have been obsessed with since actually starting to plan the final move to Australia. Medicare, TFNs, VicRoads, buy a car, at least one of us gets a job, secure rental, blah blah blah... Pow.... End of the list or there abouts and now it is the little things that are left to do and the ongoing things like getting the rent paid and bills set up etc. I am home with the kids now. I know I need to get out there and meet people but I just feel like the last thing I want to do is strike up a conversation with someone. When we were in our holiday apartment I met lots of people at the park, taking the kids out for lunch, wandering around during the day in a suburb close to the CBD where we could never afford to rent long term. They were all like "Oh, you have picked a lovely place to settle" not realising it was just for the initial few weeks. Now I am further out, there are no little local shops to pop to when my husband is out at work. There are LOADS of little play parks around for the kids and we can walk about quite happily finding things to do for them but I have suddenly realised how far away we are from home, how really different it is to be in the "outer suburbs" compared to back in the UK where you could pretty much always walk to some little shop for an ice lolly and a newspaper. We were at the park this afternoon and my youngest had a full on melt down, lying on the ground face down screaming tantrum. The ones you think are made up. One of them. The other mums at the park were looking over all concerned obviously wondering what happened to him because he was screaming like something awful had happened. Usually I wouldn't be bothered and just deal with it but I picked him up, took the stroller and went home and cried my eyes out. When we go to the park I am starting to feel like I don't want anyone to come up and talk to me. I am getting scared that someone might come over and try to talk to me when I feel, at the moment, I have absolutely nothing to say and that I am such a sad sack that I will just ruiin their day if they try to talk to me or put them off and then all the Mums will think I am a weirdo. I don't know why suddenly I feel like this. It was a beautiful sunny day today. We could go outside for a walk and play in the park, have a picnic and run around in the fresh air. We are in a house way bigger than we could have back in the UK in what seems to be a nice, quiet area. We have a chance at a new life that a lot of people only dream of and I feel selfish and ungrateful because I am so depressed just now. Does anyone else know what I mean? Did you have a crashing come down after the initial arrival in Australia? I just feel like I can't cope anymore and that having to keep repeating myself in several different attempts at a less accenty accent is starting to get me down (which is silly and probably to do with my general malaise at the moment). There is so much I still need to do like 1st day of Prep where I know if I still feel like this I will just cry when my little one starts school. I feel totally pathetic. SOrry, I probably shouldn't be offloading like this on a public forum. I just think I need to get it off my chest.

Yikes. I just want to do the right thing. So even if the GP doesn't bulk bill I can still get to see them on the Medicare card? Good to know. I think I am going to try somewhere else just to see what they say and to find out if they are more helpful. I hate feeling fobbed off when it is my little boy's health we are talking about. I felt like a right *** to be honest because I kept trying to explain that I need a GP script for the anti histamines or the school won't administer them and he just kept saying "Oh he can take Clarytin... Just tell them he can't have any egg" over and over. I was saying "but they won't give him the medication if it isn't prescribed by a GP.... He can't be expected to decide for himself if he needs the medication and then self medicate... He is going into Prep!" I don't know how else to put it. Have decided to try again somewhere else and see if I can make myself understood.

Hey Sue Thanks for the reply. Changing to Casey Fields? Really? Some people are still telling me we actually live in Cranbourne East... When we signed out rental agreement it was Clyde North so I wouldn't be surprised if it changed again We always wanted to go to Sorrento in Italy so maybe we will have a look at Sorrento, Vic instead since we are so near. Phillip Island sounds like the most popular place to go. We had a look at some houses in Selandra Rise. It is so lovely! Some of the houses are massive!