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Suburbs The suburbs where the majority of Pakistanis tend to reside in Brisbane are Sunnybank, Sunnybank Hills, Runcorn, Holland Park, Logan, Underwood, Woodridge, Kuraby, Mt. Gravatt, Algester and Robertson. Living in these suburbs is great if you are a Pakistani as it gives the advantage to draw closer to the Pakistani community, multicultural events, mosques and a wide variety of Pakistani/Halal cuisines. Mosques Majority of Pakistanis are Muslims, therefore, before choosing a location to live in, the location of the nearest mosque/prayer hall plays a vital role in the decision making process. In Brisbane, there are many mosques present. A list of some of these mosques are: · Holland Park Mosque · Kuraby Islamic Mosque · Algester Mosque · Logan City Mosque · Rochedale Mosque · Masjid Taqwah Bald Hills Brisbane Public Transportation There are less crowds and less traffic in Brisbane as compared to Sydney. If you are looking to use public transport there are trains, taxis and buses available. From my experience using a ride-sharing app such as Uber is a great option. Roads in Brisbane are generally wider and have less traffic flow which is a great advantage for you to reach to your desired destination in time. Employment Depending on your skills, qualifications and experience you can find a suitable job. Most of the professional jobs are located in the main CBD area. There are also many security jobs where you would require a security license to work. There is also an option to drive as an Uber driver to earn some extra cash on the side. You can find full-time, part-time and casual jobs on websites such as Seek, Gumtree and Indeed.com. Islamic Schools There are a number of Islamic schools around Brisbane. These schools offer a variety of courses relating to General studies, Islamic studies and learning Arabic. You can visit the schools websites to get information about enrolments, courses and curriculum. Some of the names of Islamic schools are listed below: · Islamic College of Brisbane located in Karawatha · Australian International Islamic College located in Durack · Darul Uloom Islamic Academy Of Brisbane located in Woolloongabba · Sharjah Islamic Kindergarten located in Rochedale Halal/Pakistani Restaurants There are a large number of Pakistanis whom reside in Brisbane, therefore, many options are available for you to enjoy Halal Pakistani food and Halal foods of different cuisines. From my personal experience and popular reviews from customers, here are a few restaurants I will name that are great in taste and flavour. Following restaurants are Halal certified around Brisbane: · Arabellas Middle Eastern Food- Upper Mount Gravatt · Sultans Turkish Family Restaurant- Boondall · Top in town Indian Restaurant & Biryani House- Logan Rd. · Nandos- multiple locations · Mahendra’s Indian Cuisine- Acacia Ridge · Sams Gourmet Pizza- Kuraby · Zam Zam- Slacks Creek There are also many home-caterers whom prepare traditional Pakistani food which prove to be very cost effective especially if you are a student. You can order and pick up these home-made and delicious meals simply by a text or phone call. You can find their location, menu, deals and prices on Facebook. Pakistani Groceries and Halal Butcher Shops You can find a wide variety of Pakistani and Indian groceries which include vegetables, fruits, spices, biscuits, sweets, etc. A few of these shops are; · Global Convenience- Underwood · International Groceries- Loganholme · Zillmere Spice House- Zillmere If you are looking for Halal butcher shops you can find many shops in several locations such as: · Palmdale Halal Quality Meats- Upper Mount Gravatt · Continental Halal Meats- Runcorn · Ismail’s Discount Halal Meats- Fortitude Valley Events There are many cultural and fun-filled events that are held around Brisbane which usually take place on the weekends or on public holidays. These events are great as people of the community can come together and enjoy with their family and friends. Some of these events include: Eid Festivals There are a few Eid Day Festivals (celebrations after the month of Ramadan) that take place in suburbs like Kuraby, Karawatha and Mt. Gravatt Showgrounds. At this event you can find the community coming together and enjoying with their kids, friends and family members. There is a wide variety of food stalls, henna stalls, music, dances, prizes, different cultural performances, ice cream, toys, jewellery, etc. There is also a mini carnival and games for the kids to enjoy. Cricket Matches Almost every Pakistani is a huge fan of cricket. You can attend different cricket matches at the “Gabba Stadium” located in Woolloongabba. Usually when there is a match between Pakistan and Australia, lots of Pakistanis book their tickets in advance so they don’t miss out. Pakistan Cultural Gala Day There are some fun events organised for Pakistanis to celebrate Pakistan Day. Tickets usually range from $5-10. The main highlights in these type of events are food stalls, fashion parades, singing performances, music, dances and fireworks. Pakistani Cinema If you are in the mood to watch a Pakistani Movie or even a Bollywood movie, there are cinemas in Brisbane that play the latest movies. Cinemas such as Events Cinemas and Hoyts Cinema do play popular Pakistani and Bollywood films. The cinemas are typically located in Sunnybank Hills, Upper Mt Gravatt, Chermside, etc. These movies are usually in Urdu/Hindi language with English subtitles. A lot of Pakistani celebrities also visit Australia to promote their movies, you can find out by following your favourite celebrities through their official accounts on Facebook or Twitter. Places to Visit Brisbane has some great places to visit. There are a large number of places to visit with your family and friends such as Landmarks, Parks, Beaches, Aquariums, Museums, Malls, etc. You can visit different parks and even set up your own BBQ party! Here are the names of some popular places to visit: · City Botanic Gardens · Westfield Upper Mt. Gravatt Shopping Mall · Mount Coot-tha Lookout · Queen Street Mall · Brisbane City Hall · Wheel of Brisbane · Kangaroo Point Cliffs Park · Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary · South Bank Parklands I hope you enjoyed this article and gained some valuable insights about the Life of a Pakistani in Brisbane Australia! Thank you

My adaption cycle of my life in Australia Making a big change in your life can be daunting, sad and scary and through some periods of your life you will go through all sorts of stages and adjustments to fit into whatever it is you are transitioning through. For instance the decision to move abroad can be downright daunting and you will never really know what to expect. If you decide to move countries you are moving to a country with a different culture and ways of life. Moving overseas you will go through a cycle of adjustment. It does not matter how much you know of the country and their customs and culture or how well thought out you have thought about the big move and how well prepared you are this adjustment is inevitable regardless of your knowledge of the country or being prepared because moving overseas is like a wave on the ocean, it will hit you unexpectedly. After all we are human, we have feelings and emotions. Our life includes, our country, our state, or suburb, our house, our community, our neighbours, our friends, our family, our culture and our daily activities and if you decide to move abroad all that you knew is just gone and when that is gone you will grieve, but you have to understand this is just a part of life and part of the adjustment cycle. The first few months will always be the hardest as there are so many emotions running through your body. You may feel sad, anxious, regret, depression but that does not mean at all that you made a mistake but that is fine because you are going through a massive period of adjustment. You may be feeling depressed but this will gradually wear away. You will go through different periods of an adjustment cycle. Parts of this adjustment period cycle include: · The honeymoon period · Culture shock · Adjustment stage · Crisis phase · Acceptance and understanding The first stage of the adjustment period is the ‘’the honeymoon period’’ when you first get to your new country may feel exhilarated. Everything is still fresh and new. You will most likely feel excited and ecstatic. You will observe all the cultural differences it may all be very exciting to see. The honeymoon phase is somewhat similar to getting a new phone, you are so excited and hyped up for your new phone and are obsessed with it. Anything new can be very exciting and the honeymoon stage in moving overseas is like a burst of sunshine, it is all very exciting and new. When you get your new job in your new country, your new home, new activities and scenery and you’re your new life as a whole is so exciting and interesting. The honeymoon stage is almost like a shot of adrenaline and it is great because it will help you through this hard period of change in your life. The honeymoon somewhat acts as a survival mechanism as you deal with this huge change in your life. The second stage is culture shock. When the honeymoon phase wears off in comes all the culture shock. You have just moved to a new country with a different language and culture. This stage can sometimes be described like being a child again, where you have to learn language, culture and when interacting you have to work hard to understand and be understood. This stage can be very exhausting but it is part of the adjustment period. Even if you knew the language before you arrived you will have to learn the accent and language communication, like how they communicate with their body language to. You have to learn how to express yourself appropriately in your new country because if you can’t you will just find yourself in frustration and maybe loneliness. Your new country may have very different cultures and customs, some which you are not used to, such as, dress attire, communication, education, transportation, activities, and employment. These new factors are fresh and new to you and you may be extremely overwhelming for you. You may not accept or understand the ways of life in another country and it will most probably be a large dose of culture shock. The new culture of this country may confuse you and leave you in shock but this completely normal and part of the adjustment cycle. You may find yourself back at square one, it can be like starting your adulthood all over again. You may feel like you have made a huge mistake in moving abroad. At first everything was great it was a new, fun, fresh and exciting place but now it has become very overwhelming and are having second thoughts, but this is normal and part of adjusting. This phase will pass by. It may feel like you’ve taken a step backwards in your process of adjusting to your new country, but it is actually a massive step in the right direction to adjusting. After you have moved past the honeymoon phase and culture shock, you will move into the process of the adjustment phase. In this stage you will start to adjust and fit into your country’s society. You get out there and explore your new country. You meet new people and connects with the locals. You start either study, school or job and here where is where you make relationships. You learn new things get more in touch with the ways of life, the communication and culture. At this stage you will feel happier and more at ease. You gain a sense of belonging and importance in your new life. You will feel more confident. At this stage you will be able to communicate better and interact more deeply. Now you will feel great and feel like you fit into society. You understand the culture of your new country much better. Whilst this may seem like a happy period it is just a stage and you are yet to come across the last stages of adjustment. You have felt a sense of belonging at the adjustment stage and felt happy, but it is now time to move onto the crisis phase. This stage is harder than the culture shock as many emotions come to play in this stage and in most cases will fall into depression. This stage is like the homesick period. As you adjust into your new life into life in a new country where isolation will come in place. In this period you will compare your new life in your new country to your old life in your old country. You compare the culture in your hew country to your old culture in your old country. You will start to miss things like your traditional music, tradition art and music, home food and customs of the country. You realise just how much you really miss your old country and its culture. You may begin to resent your new country’s culture and may feel trapped by it. You start missing your family and friends, you may start to think that your family and friends may have forgotten about you after the absence of you. You will feel stuck and out of place. At this stage some people may feel they have made the wrong choice to mover to a new country and some people may at this stage decide to move back home to their old country. You may feel guilty at the decision to move as it caused you to be extremely homesick and depressed. Some things that may be help you to get past these feeling is, by, sending an email to your friends and family, organise a Skype call, and send a letter. Reach out for help from your friends, co-workers, neighbours and professionals, it’s a great idea to reach out to people who have been in your situation. Reach out to friends in your new home, keep in contact with your friends and family from back home. This will help you stay grounded. You are a just human going through a completely natural inevitable period which just doe take a strain mentally to your emotions. You have made a big change and it is only natural to feel sadness and miss important things from your old life. Anonymity Sometimes, people in the Crisis period want to tell people how they feel but are worried about being judged. They also don't want people back home thinking they are a failure, that they aren't 'living the dream' and after being so excited about the move, are desperate to get home. So where do you turn to when you just need to get things off your chest. Robert Williams director of Australia Migration Forums tells us. "We often receive posts from members who are struggling emotionally. They tell us there is no one else to turn to and they can't post on Facebook because they don't want their family to find out." Rob goes on to say, "their initial post is like the flood gates have been opened, they can pour their heart out to us knowing that none of us know who they are" "often these members are too afraid to tell their partner, they may have been the one who instigated the move forcing all the family to sell up, give up their friends/jobs and move to the other side of the world" How does Pomsinoz support these members? Apart from the anonymity (the forum actively recommends using a pseudonym for a username) , we find that just putting everything down in writing can help the majority of members. We also find that 99% of the time there will be other members who can relate to their situation. People have been sharing their migration experiences on the forum since 2004 and with nearly 70,000 members, the chances are that there are a lot of shared experiences. A lot of members who are suffering depression or suicidal thoughts do not have the emotional energy to reach out to someone privately so making one post and receiving advice and support from a number of different view points can literally be a life saver. Now it’s time to take the last leap in your adjustment period. This stage is where you accept your new home and life for what it is. At this period you would have stopped comparing your new country and its culture to your original country and you will accept the country for what it is. Along the way you have met some great souls and built meaningful relationships, now you have a better sense of belonging of your relationships, you have blended into your new life. In reality all these meaningful relationships and sense of belonging has all happened because of all the hard times you experienced. You learnt you built friendships and you found yourself and that was all due to the adjustment cycle. You now have a clearer understanding of who you are, you accept the culture and ways of life and adapt to live in the ways of your new life. Even though you have reached your last period of adjustment, as life is you will have you bad days and get homesick once in a while and that’s normally, but just remember what you have achieved and how far you have gotten. It is completely normal to feel sad and depressed when you are adjusting to life in a new country, but just remember you are human and all expats go through this period of adjustment. Whilst you are going through this adjustment period make sure to look after yourself. If you feel you are not coping then seek help from friends, co-workers or professionals. Speak up about your concerns or issues. Don’t bottle in your emotions it will only make this process harder for you. During this process be kind to your kind to yourself love yourself and believe in yourself.

I was 11 when I moved to Australia with my family. Now I’m sure I can vouch for Indians, living in Australia is like a holiday. A cleaner, less polluted, far more less corrupt country, a fair, just salary and the list goes on for the many amazing benefits of living in Australia. My family and I resided in Tamil Nadu in South India. We immigrated to Australia in 2004 through. My Father bought my family to Australia on an Independent skilled visa My family decided that moving to Australia would give me and my sister better tertiary education and a much better lifestyle, opportunities and facilities than India ever could. Now if you are Indian you understand exactly this situation. I was only 11 but I fully understood the extent in all aspects in moving from a very underdeveloped country to a beautiful well developed country. My Father said to us, ‘’this will be just like an experiment to see if we like the Australian life style’’ We had heard only good things about Australia. We heard that it was clean, not corrupt, little homelessness, safe, everyone was treated the same no matter what gender. In India, not all parts, there are some very well developed parts but a lot of it is all full of corruption, genders are not treated equally as they are here in Australia. In India women are put down lower than men, and have lesser opportunities for work and education, and just all round female culture compared to female culture in Australia is completely different. In Australia women are treated equal, and that would be probably one of the highlights for me. I may have moved to Australia when I was young but I still do have Indian culture with my family and some parts of the Indian community in Australia, so I can talk from a standing point as and Indian child that immigrated to Australia and lived and grown up in Australia, and I have adjusted my Indian culture to fit into the Australian cultural way of life. We came to Australia and we took in what my Father had said to us, so we just took it as a holiday. The moment we stepped into Australia we moved to Brisbane, it was like a breath of fresh air. It was so clean, there people just minded their own business, which was refreshing because Indians sometimes have a tendency to stare at people and not mind their own business. We were shocked to so many random smiles from people we didn’t even know. I think I can speak for my family that this instantly felt like home. The holiday feeling had gone and we were all so excited, but at the same time we couldn’t make the ultimate statement and say this is home, as there was a lot of cultural differences and customs that we had to get accustomed to. As I was only young I can’t give advice on Indians or other nationalities moving to Australia as a student or an adult, but I can speak from a point of view of as Indian in particular or a another nationality and how I adjusted to Australian customs and culture. Australia has given my family hope and a much better life than we could have ever imagined. As my family was Indian we still held our Indians views, culture and customs. The person that found it the most hardest to get used to Australian culture was Mum. As I said we all loved Australia once we came here, my Mum included, but being the very cultural Indian women she was you could she had a bit of a culture shock. I remember my Mum arriving in Australia wearing her saree and catching the taxi and seeing many Australia women wearing shorts, singlets, skirts and dresses above your knees it was quite different for us me included, as you would never see an Indian women wearing any of the clothing that here in Australia, because we weren’t allowed to in India we have a certain dress code that women have to follow and aren’t allowed to cross. We would see the odd foreigners in India dressing this way but to see in real life was very strange and different. When we came to Australia it was the Christmas holidays so we had a chance to learn a bit more of the Australian culture and learn more about this country we would call home before we had to get enrolled a school. My Dad had an Australian Indian friend that had lived in Australia for 22 years so he helped us a lot in enrolling in schools, finding accommodation bank accounts, immigration etc. He linked us in with some multi-cultural companies that would help us with all our needs us well. My Dad’s friend had introduced us to some Indian communities and some Australian people. The people in the India community here very different to how Indian people are in India. All I am speaking of now is as an adult now rather than my actual thoughts or feelings than as a child as I now understand and can explain my thoughts now that I am older. The Indian people here seemed a lot better spoken and more educated than in India, to me at the time I thought they were very strange because I was used to seeing Indians as very closed off and somewhat arrogant, but the Indians here just minded their own business and were very down to earth, which was very odd to see in Indian person. The Australian people we had met, I should add that my sister and I went to international school so we knew some English and was ore fluent in English than my Mum and Dad so we translated and the would have to ask bus drivers, train, shops questions on behalf of our parents. The Australian people my Dad’s friends were just so lovely, they were so welcoming and were very eager to know of India and our culture. One of the best things about the Australia culture is that it such an open culturally diverse country, so that’s definitely one of the beauties of Australia, the different cultures and races, just the multi-culturalism of Australia is just beautiful. The people here in Australia here in Australia are just so down to earth so open minded, they have some of the most caring hearts in this planets. Feeling welcomed to Australia was just exceptional. My family had no issues in feeling welcomed here, the government organisations that we were linked with helped us so much, and helped us from the bottom of their hearts not just as a job, which is sadly the sometimes the cases in India workers work just for money and for the title of their job, but here workers do it for the love of their job and the community. We didn’t experience any racism or negativity when adjusting to Australia. When we moved into our new house the neighbours were lovely and minded their own business where as in India there’s a lot of gossiping around neighbours and villages. For my sister and I there wasn’t much problem in adjusting into Australian customs and cultures. For my Mum as she had lived in India all her life as a traditional Indian women, and she was used to the general Indian wife/mother duties, but the good thing about my parents, my Dad in particular he was very opened minded and understand that were now living in a new country with different laws, cultures and customs, so he was really calm and understanding with my Mum. My Mum was a little bit lost at first as the culture was just completely the other way round. My Dad had told her to let lose a bit and to not feel so guarded and that she wasn’t expected to live fully under the cultural ways of an Indian women, which is very different. Indian women are a lot more labelled as the house wife/mother that cooks, cleans and looks after the kids and house. India women don’t generally smoke and drink like men do especially in public spaces in India, in Australia women are smoking anywhere, drinking in bars etc., wearing less restricted clothing, so for my Mum it was a bit hard to fit in and get used to Australia. I remember she would wear a saree for most laces she went. She went to English class and her English was getting more fluent. Slowly you could see a big change in her whole persona. We would often get invited to our neighbours for dinner and I remember she would often wear saree’s, in her mind it was like a party or like a very fancy dinner so she would treat it like that and war a saree. Until she gradually started changing her clothes from saree’s to salwar’s which a very traditional Indian dress. When going out my Mum would get me or my sister to translate, but as time passed she got more confident in her English and her style had turned more western her whole attitude turned from the cultural Indian Mum we were used to this a little bit in a way less strict cultural Mother. She was slowly starting to adjust and get used to the Australian way of life. School was very different to India. It was cleaner, actually everything in Australia was cleaner, shops, trains, busses it was all so clean. The kids were very open minded for their age. They were so interested in who I was and where I was from. They were very nice and I made lots of friends easily. I think this is where I first encountered racism you know how kids can be very cruel at this age and tend to not have a filter. That was personally the only negativity I received in Australian society. As I got older though I did start to see a bit of racism and a bit of cultural implications as I was growing up as an Indian girl in Australia. My dress expectations were a bit hard as we I getting to that stage where girls start to change their looks and dress style. I still had the Indian respect but I didn’t know how to present myself, is it wrong for me to dress in the accepted outfits of tight skin skirts and dresses and shorts and go against my culture and traditions, or fit it and wear how I like. My parents were not strict on how dressed but they did except some level of Indian culture at other Indian events, parties or dinners. For me I found problems when I got to my teen and early adulthood stage as I was still figuring out who I am and where I fit in. I still had my Indian customs and cultures and I would dress according to events, uni I would wear just casual clothes, shopping and going out with friends would be a mix of casual clothes and the occasional modest shorts and skirts. I figured I was worrying to much about my culture and how to act as an Indian woman forgetting I’m living in Australia. I worried too much on my attitudes and presenting myself as a cultural Indian woman, but for me it was not working as I was not being myself, and people around me could tell. I found when I didn’t worry about to much of my Indian culture and customs, well of course I would have to on some level but not to let it take over you. I think us Indians living in Australia we have a lot of exceptions of Indian customs and restrictions and we are living too much like we are in India in Australia. That’s the beauty of Australia it so open and free and you don’t have all these expectations to live by. Everyone is fair. The advice I can give to fellow Indian or other nationalities moving to Australia is, by all means keep your culture and customs but do not go to bed with it. Be open to new things. I found asking lots of questions people wold love to answer and give me lots of advice and cool tips about the Australian way of life. Ask questions and take advantage of the many career opportunities rather than just centrelink. Most of the newly immigrated families and individuals that come her, come here for a better chance at life in many aspects that would not have a chance at in India or other countries. Australia is a chance and opportunity, it is not just a treat it is a privilege. Get out try new things. Enjoy the beautiful clean beaches, the beautiful environment. Meet new people of different parts of the world living in Australia. The Indian community in Australia is quite large, and there are many Indian meet up groups, where you can meet fellow Indians living in Australia. I am living in Brisbane and for any Brisbane readers that have just moved here not just Indians all nationalities, if you reside in Brisbane, chances are you’re or you’ve been linked in with MDA (Multi-Cultural Association), if you aren’t or haven’t been with them then I highly recommend them. They are fantastic and helped me and my family so much. They can help with accommodation, connecting with centrelink, they run courses like hospitality, which I completed through them, they run many free course options, counselling and they just help with general newly immigrated or if you haven’t got your visa yet they can help. They have many resources and that help people that have just come to Australia. Don’t take your life here in Australia for granted, be grateful you live in such a well-developed safe country. Make the most of it. Study, focus on your career let the advantages of the Australian education and work force to achieve your goals in your career and life. I am forever grateful for my Dad’s choice to immigrate here. Australia has given me so much hope and amazing times and memories. Moving to a different country can be scary and unpredictable. I can say us an Indian to other Indians please let go any worries about culture or customs in living in Australia. First of all of you want to live in Australia with your set hold Indian customs by all means do that, the great thing about Australia it is a multi-cultural country so here are millions of other nationalities living and a crap load of Indians. Most people don’t judge here so don’t be afraid to keep your long held Indian culture in how you act in society. To be honest no one pays attention and the majority don’t care. If you want to come here and live a bit differently than you do in India and you feel more comfortable with the Australian culture then be free. Just be yourself, and don’t worry about what other people think. Make the most of Australia and appreciate its culture and customs and respect and appreciate it as a country.