joek62

Hey Island, I hope you've managed to get sorted out by now. I've had similar problems. The reason for animals being transported within a few days of the owner applies to all pet transfer due to HMRC tax reasons, all pets must arrive 5 days either side of the owner. It's getting crazy now due to covid - I had a price, flight and flight date agreed with PetCarriers and just when I thought it was all sorted, Petcarriers came back three weeks before the flight date with an $1800 price increase, that was 40% rise...there's a lot of exploitation going on from the airline, hope not from the carrier agents. I transferred my cat from Singapore to Sydney almost seven years ago - it did it all myself at a fraction of the cost agents charge but no airlines allow people to do it by themselves from Australia...that's exploitation in itself. My cat is flying 'Business' whilst I am flying Economy...crazy shit...!?

If you make it, then look me up for a beer or coffee, as you'll need friends no doubt. Joe

@vijayuk I'm 54 too, l've been in Sydney for over 3 years and I'm sorry to let you know but wanting to move to Australia forever may be more difficult than you realise. The cut off point for permanent residency and citizenship is 50 years old unless you are a professional who earns in the region of above AU$140,000 per annum for a three year period prior to application - l don't, so l can only stay here as long as l am working and renewing 4 year sponsorship visas, once l cannot get a visa renewed then l must leave Australia within 60 days. The rule prior to 50 years old are, working for the same employer on a sponsorship visa for two years, you are then entitled to apply for a permanent residency which lasts for 5 years; you are then entitled to apply for citizenship after two years PR, which is virtually guaranteed as the PR is the more difficult of the two to acquire. Sorry to burst your bubble. Good luck. Joe

Hi Helen, My name's Joe and I live near you at Cremorne. Even though the Northshore is very beautiful and ultimately very liveable, it's not where the action is. I haven't been on PIOz for quite some time but l'm back looking for some social stimulus again. I've been here in Sydney three years and l have found it quite difficult making friends outside of work, of course my good work friend have families and lives of their own. I met a few guys on PIOz a couple of years back and the three of us became really good friends, alas one of the guys had to return to the UK, and the other has since met a girl and had a baby - hence my return to PIOz in search of new friends. I'm pretty clued up on the CBD bar scene here, especially the hidden bars (l like that quirky sort of thing), for something a little more hipster-ish head to Surry Hills and for 'alternative' have a look at Newtown, it reminds me a bit of Camden Town in London; then there's Oxford Street, which is very gay appreciative shall we say, and Kings Cross which has had a bad rep for such a long time, but has taken on a transformation in the last year due to good policing and licensing restrictions. I know this is all difficult to do on ones own, l'm in the same boat, but If l find some Brit social get togethers, l'll let you know. Take it easy. Joe

Hi there, I moved my cat from Singapore to Sydney back in 2014. Just to confirm there is a designated quarantine facility on the outskirts of Sydney - she had to remain there for the mandatory 10 days because she arrived from a non-risk class A country in Singapore (no record of rabies for over 50 years). She had to go through a full vet assessment and inoculation procedure in Singapore by Authorised Vets which was time scheduled. Other than flight cost, which was in the region of SG$350, there was a quarantine cost of lodging and food of around AU$600, then she was clear for collection. The whole procedure was straight forward and systematically efficient, l had no complanits and my cat was very well taken care of. I was very satisfied. Tip: Do not drug you cat for the flight, it is entirely unnecessary - an animal, even though afraid at the time, has a mechanism to deal with fear, they retreat into a safe dark corner, make themselves small, and stay alert. This serves them well in the the wild and the alertness is imperative until they realise there is no danger and then they relax. Drugging removes the alertness and this causes more stress and confusion as they are unable to digest what is happening. Good luck Joe

Hi guys, This sounds great - I could make the Oxford Hotel on Sunday, if l you can tell me what time? Hey Northern, l'm originally from Middleton, that makes us some sort of neighbours, even though l left there when l was five. I'm in my 40's so l'm a bit older than you guys. Send me your details mate, so l'll be able to locate you guys when l get there.

Hi Paula & Jay and everyone else on this thread, Thanks for the reply, we seem to have a start of a potential hook-up with hopefully new friends to be. I'm really easy going regarding location, to me Newtown's as good as anywhere to start, it's always buzzin. So, who's-in, when and where? Joe

That sounds great, there's obviously a few of us in the same boat; so why don't we set a date and a time for a few drinks and see what pans out. I've been here 10 months, l had a couple of friend for the first six months then they got all loved up, barely see them now, so l know what you're saying Northern, Xmas and New Year sucks when all your friends are on the other side of the world. I'm in Cremorne on the Northshore, 10 mins from Circular Quay...l'm up for suggestions. Happy New Year to all by the way.

Hi Lisa, Happy New Year. It's natural to doubt, as it is to worry, but the important thing is, we have to trust. In this case, trust what you feel. You do not sound entirely content, no matter what a good lifestyle you appear to have here in Sydney (all the boxes ticked). Making mistakes in life is NOT a disaster, if things don't happen as we hoped we reinvents ourselves with what is available to us at the time. I've been in Sydney only ten months and the climate is unbelievable, the café culture, the beaches, the coastline north and south is mind-blowing and the salaries are so much higher than the UK - but there's something missing, and l'm feeling Sydney is not the place for me, long-term. So l understand what you are feeling. Maybe l might try Melbourne that might be more suitable to me. I have jumped from one risky situation to another, and made mistakes, but l have NO regrets. In 2003, I was a creative retoucher with an advertising agency in the UK, I served four years with them before volunteering for redundancy to freelance and support myself; after three wonderful years and four declining years. due to recession, l left the UK and flew to Singapore with NO job. Within one week l was hired by IRIS Worldwide and spent three and half years in Singapore. I'm not going into details, but l then orchestrated a transfer to IRIS Sydney from Singapore. I moved my life here to Sydney in March 2014, after six months IRIS made me redundant. I'm 53, retouching is a specialised profession and jobs are quite infrequent and l have three months before my visa is revoked, before l have to make a tough decision of where to go. I'm enjoying life, I've traveled to unbelievable places instead of stock piling money, so l'm not sitting here with no concerns. Maybe l should be panicked, but l am not... l trust there is something there for me, as l did in 2003 when l gave up my livelihood, as l did in 2010 when l walked away from the UK to Singapore with NO job and l believe there will be something for me when the time comes. 'Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they?' Matt 6:26 Yes, I am a christian...not a stuffy one and l trust in Christ, you may well not be - but trust in what you feel, things obviously don't feel right for you here in Sydney; DON'T concern yourself with tomorrow, when the time comes... trust that there will always be something there for you tomorrow, because there will be. Good Luck Lisa

2015...that's next year...anything planned for tonight...? I ain't got nothing apart from watching the fireworks from the bridge. My name is Joe by the way; I'm open to suggestions and meet-ups with like-minded people otherwisw l'm a New Year orphan. Happy New Year and the best of everything in 2015.