Sahara

Hi everyone, I am looking for volunteer work in a NGO in Sydney preferable one in the human rights field / helping children / helping third world countries or anything related to these. Unfortunately the ones I have so far contacted are either requiring an Australian Citizenship/Permanent Residency (For example AUSAID - but I am still on a bridging Visa) or do not have any volunteer positions at the moment. I am still looking but was wondering if by any chance anyone knows a NGO who would also accept someone with bridging visa or uk passport, maybe by any chance a British organisation? I am allowed to work with my bridging visa but am am not looking for a paid job but a volunteer position where i can do something useful. Any advices are much appreciated!

Well for me it is or was boring, I lived in the outer suburbs and even inside the city for me it was not WOW. Everyone was praising Federation square and I was expecting something and then when I saw it I was kinda disappointed. But that is just MY point of view, you don't have to share it. And neither do I have to leave a country (any country) if I don't like something. Besides my view when first arriving here was very much influenced by my mind which was not ready to accept anything as positive, but with time that changed and even melbourne got attractive at the end I was every emotional when we moved to sydney happy but also emotional. All in all I can say that me and hubby are now happy and we were not happy in melbourne (especially me in the beginning). If it was the suburbian life or homesickness or me comparing everything or a mix of everything. Fact is we have tried our best and we did what is best for us and now we can enjoy the beauty of this country which I couldn't before, everytime I mourned to friends or family in uk all I heard was "but you live in one of the most beautiful countries how can you not like it" well beauty lies in the eye of the beholder and I am really thankful and happy that I got over the phase where all I wanted is going back. Because now I am starting to fall in love with this country and this makes me happy and you guys, all strangers to me, gave me really good and nice advices, better than family/friends abroad as they were never in such kind of situation so I just wanted to thank everyone and share an update with you

Here is a small update I wanted to share since you have all given me such nice replies and advices I thought I let you know. 3 months ago we moved to Sydney as OH got a Job transfer which made me very happy because I felt that Sydney will be more like a 'city' and not as much suburbian type like Melbourne. I felt that now my life in Australia will start and I was right - I am loving this city coz it's full of life and people, a buzzing living 24/7 city with beautiiiiful places, the first day we both felt this was the right decision. Sometimes you can change your situation yourself and feel totally different afterwards. I now think that Australia is not the same Australia everywhere, you have to find the right corner for yourself. In these 3 months in Sydney we made more friends because we are open to it, we have explored more and I can not wait to explore this country more and more. I simply loooooove sydney, what a beautiful city and what a difference a city can make. Now in total it's been 8 months here and the best advice which you guys gave me is that hang in there. Time healed everything for me and slowly slowly there came a point (still in melbourne then) where I started liking it here a point where I stopped comparing and now I am so happy we didn't give up and went back. This is indeed a beautiful country with loving people and if you give it a chance you can make it home. Thank you everyone again

I don't know if u been sarcastic here but "getting out" of melbourne is not simple. If you resign from a Job to settle down on another country, plan months ahead for a new life then struggling here to find a house which u eventually find, paying rent in advance, getting a new job and so many other things then after 3 months say okay I leave now. No matter how unhappy I am at the moment there is no way I would leave now and not give it at least one year. Coz I rather dislike it now and then if we leave in 1-2 years at least we tried it instead of leaving now and always ask myself "what if". Thank you dusty road we have indeed thought about moving nearer to the city which will be much much better! Just thinking it through as breaking the lease would cost us another 6 weeks of rent tons lucky you heading back to London... thank you everyone else for nice advices, much appreciated

Thank you all for your replies and advices - you say it Rupert "the head is willing but just the heart is not here yet." - that is exactly how I feel, I WANT to like it I want to explore this country I want to make the best out of it but it isn't so easy. I sat down and thought about what I miss and dislike here: 1. I don't miss London only, I miss London/UK/Europe, the European way of life. We have a huge family and friends circle across Europe and travelled a lot within Europe, sometimes we decided spontaneously to go for a city trip anywhere in Europe for the weekend. I had the opportunity to travel to loads of cities within 2-3hours driving. I guess I am a "city person", and here I feel like melbourne is all I can see coz the next big city, Sydney, is so far away. Here I feel isolated, disconnected, I miss Europes easy way of travelling, to get on a plane and in 2 hours you are somewhere totally different. 2. I can let go of memories and make new memories, it is not the memories responsible for the situation it is more that "I hope it is worth it". Being away so far from family and friends, from the rest of the world actually makes you think "is it worth it", I left everything came here with hubby who means more to me than the world and I feel I owe it to us to make it work but yet worries are there. 3. We live in east melbourne about 35 minutes drive to the city, which is not that much and still I feel that I am missing life, stucked in a suburb, when it gets dark everything is asleep (again unless you are in the city). 4. In London I also lived about Half an hour away from central London but I never got bored, so much going on every day, so much to offer from food restaurants events concerts parties culture museums parks - everything more than you expect. And if u still get bored you drive in any direction an hour and have a variety of cities to visit. 5. Shopping - I wasn't surprised they have no new look next h&m or marks and spencer here but what I see in the shops is sometimes so depressing, I want to go out and shop but topshop and zara is all I know and like. Okay that might be a small issue but still it is so sad sometimes. I dont expect others to understand me and some might just think what stupid reasons i have for not being happy but everyone is different and that is reality to me. At the end of the day it is right that everything is in the eye of the beholder, I guess I love London so much because of my deep bonding to this city, I met my husband there, in good times and bad times I was always feeling alive due to this city as if it has opened it's arms for everyone. but I think it's time to let go and let this new life into my heart, if I give it a chance maybe the small issues won't matter then, just like it didn't matter to me that the tube was always so full and I had to stand all the way back home almost every day small issues don't matter when you are happy inside and I should be happy coz I have the best caring husband by my side. I just hope and wish I will adjust and make new friends and be happy again. Thank you all once again for your words - I will keep posting how things go

Thank you all for your nice replies and advices! Kids are no issue yet (regardless the current situation), probably in 3 or 4 yrs+. Thank you Quoll if it gets worse and worse I will consider that. I am glad it worked out for you caINgary, hope same will happen here. Hubby and I want to stay together so either we both stay or leave. He is happy here but misses uk too, its just that he is kind of a "fighter" and doesnt wanna leave so quickly after so much planning, which i totally understand. Right now it is not a question of do we stay or leave, we both had decided to try it for at least two years and made this planning before our wedding so until 2015 i will give my best and try to see everything positive, it is more of a question: how do i survive, how do i stop comparing? I have travelled to many places and i am not expecting London here but its so different than I had expected and so many things where I am just so annoyed. For example I bought a pay as you go sim after arriving here and I had to register myself online for that - with passport number. Okay, not enough they even wanted a copy of my passport via email, heard of two other providers asking for the same. Or when looking for a place to rent we found out that 99per cent of the houses are rented out by agencies - unlike anywhere else. It feels like the houses here have their own area and shops their own (unless you are in the city). Sometimes I walk and I don't see anyone for maybe half an hour, as if its a city for cars only. about the public transport...I don't wanna start. Or I was trying to find unlimited 3G Internet for pay as you go and there was nothing under 50-60 dollars - in uk I you get one for 5 pound. We are using the weekends for small getaways, been to great ocean road this weekend and it was beautiful. Yes great weather and beautiful landscapes, but where is the development? I am not someone who needs sun all the time, weather is a small issue for me. yes socialising will make it much easier. I want to, even if we leave in 2 yrs, leave with a positive memory. So hopefully with time it will change and I will start liking this city and country.

Hello everyone, I am so glad I found this forum! My hubby and I moved to Australia, melbourne 3 months ago (he on skilled visa PR and me currently on bridging visa), it was his dream to emigrate to Australia and we both made the decision together, he had been here once before and I didn't. Now being here for almost three months I am getting depressed more and more, it is so different so big and boring. I feel like I am stucked in 19th century, everything happens in slow motion. I spent the last ten years in my loving city London, went to uni there graduated there have all my family and friends there and I miss everything to death, even my local off licence. I am not negative, I came with a positive mind but now I just want to go back, which is not possible coz we paid rent in advance and so many other financial issues, we have no kids yet, got married few months ago so it's easier for us to move back but the earliest would be in two years. I just wanted to ask if anyone else who had been experiencing the same and if so, any advices for homesickness or any advices at all to adjust? I am not a person who finds it difficult to find friends but here motivation is not there