NowPerth Posted June 4, 2012 Share Posted June 4, 2012 It’s 6 months since we arrived in Perth and time for an update. 6 months has flown by but we have gone from chaos to almost normal – and we still love it. :smile: The trip over was better than expected, largely because the children coped better with the long flight than we had imagined. Going through customs with 220kg of baggage was also easier and much quicker than anticipated. The hire ‘car’ that work had provided was more of a hire ‘bus’, so we fitted in 6 of us, 7 suitcases and 6 small bags for the journey to our temporary home. So a good start which helped a great deal. The first 5 weeks were quite manic, mainly due to trying to fit in the following – setting up bank accounts, buying 2 cars, visiting pets in quarantine, house hunting (what put off landlords more I wonder, pets or 4 teenagers?), husband starting work almost straight away and having a very weird Christmas. We also had to keep the children entertained and occupied for 8 weeks between arrival and the new school year starting. The next 4 weeks were spent moving to our current rental, unpacking our container from England (yay!), getting the pets home (yay!), sorting out schools, buying uniforms and equipment, DOING PAPERWORK! Don’t underestimate the amount of paperwork. Schools, doctors, vets, health insurance, pet insurance, gas, electric, phone and broadband, mobile phone, car insurance, driver’s licence, etc. :arghh: The next few weeks were spent settling children into schools, clubs and some sort of routine. The clubs all help with making friends and getting into a routine. They also help with getting out and about. The children have been on outings and camps and it’s helped them to get to know the area. After that I started building some sort of social life for myself, mainly through PIO. I’ve even finally got round to setting up my blog. 2 of the children put on their board shorts the day they arrived and haven’t looked back since. 1 of them was quite ‘lost’ for the first 8 weeks (due to not knowing anyone or having any friends over here). He soon fitted in at college and found new friends, he started to settle after that. And 1 of them treated it as a holiday until she started school. She loves it here now and thinks of this as home, loves her new school and made lots of friends. All of them still miss their old friends to some extent, but they all keep in touch on computers and mobiles. We’ve had plenty of great outings, and we try to help them all to make the most of this opportunity. We’ve celebrated 3 birthdays so far, and there’s another next week. Good things – the wildlife, warm sea, beach, friendly people, the weather, work opportunities, space, petrol costs, salary, scenery, outings, adventure Bad things – price of a weekly shop, distance from friends and family in UK, cost of moving, missing pets in quarantine, at least 6 months of major effort in order to make the move work, TV :frown: Thank you to everyone who’s answered questions, offered support or kept me amused on PIO. Was it worth it? Definitely. Will we stay forever? Who knows. Any regrets? Not yet. We love it! :biggrin: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Munchkinella Posted June 4, 2012 Share Posted June 4, 2012 Excellent update! :yes: Imformative but realistic. It will be of great help to many I'm sure. Wishing you all the best. Jxxxx Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bob1 Posted June 4, 2012 Share Posted June 4, 2012 teenagers are usually the difficult ones so this is such a good post, to reassure people with teens that it can be done! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Love Shoes Posted June 4, 2012 Share Posted June 4, 2012 Lovely to read, and as M has said a great update ..... so glad you are enjoying life in OZ ...... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Perthbum Posted June 4, 2012 Share Posted June 4, 2012 Nice you are enjoying it, it takes all sorts in this world, I came to hate Perth in the end and will most probably try Brisbane next year as I have friends there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest The Ropey HOFF Posted June 4, 2012 Share Posted June 4, 2012 Excellent update, we want more, we want more, lol Best of luck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Candygirl Posted June 4, 2012 Share Posted June 4, 2012 Brilliant update. Glad you have all settled in and enjoying your new country. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
raveenasultan Posted June 4, 2012 Share Posted June 4, 2012 Wonderful post to read! I'm planning on coming out there to work next year, so it's great to hear that Perth is as wonderful as I hope it is:cute: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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