Positive Emigrating To Australia True Life Stories

[benj1980]

33 minutes ago, ali said:

It's funny that out of all our family, my son who remembers very little of living in the UK is the one who retains his Englishness (although I suspect that it's a talking point when meeting girls and backpackers who talk football lol).  My hubby took him back last year.  We'd asked him what he wanted for his 18th birthday and he'd said his dream was to have a pint on North End with his dad.  The holiday was a more of a football tour and when he came back he said he'd had the best time "but I couldn't live there".  After enjoying the space of WA he found it a little closed in and too cold (although it was January).  

Yes I think the key is to take them in January, they'll never want to move back then!

[themaccas]

Interesting to read this we are now in our 7th year and love it we moved to Sydney and built our home a couple of years ago here. We took our kids back to visit the UK last Christmas, our youngest who was 9 when we came over had been pining for the UK for 6 years. We had a great time and loved seeing family and friends, hubby and I had been back a few times for family reasons but it was the first time for the two youngest. Since coming back our youngest son hasn’t mentioned going to live back in the UK, he is still proudly English but he sees his life in Aus now. Our eldest son lives and works in Melbourne with his Aussie fiancée, we all have citizenship now (it is SO worth getting), our wages weren’t bad in the UK but they are amazing here and we love our jobs. We are very thankful for everything we have and enjoying seeing more of Australia every year we are here.

[Toots]

Well I can only speak for myself.  I have been very happy on the whole since migrating to Australia in 1981.  I married an Australian and if I hadn't I would probably never have given Australia a second thought.  Fortunately for us things worked out fine.  I have never been homesick or yearned to return to my home country to live.  We both worked hard.  I retired at 62 and OH at 65.  Now we are retired and life is very good.  Never a dull moment and never bored.  We have lived in Perth, Sydney and now Tasmania.  Our two sons (born in Perth) live and work overseas.  As long as they are happy, I am happy.  They are both coming back for Christmas with their partners which is so nice and my sister will be here too from Scotland.  

I have a lot of things in my life which keep me occupied and I have very good friends nearby.  I have no great urge to visit Europe  ..............  I lived there for a couple of years and absolutely no wish to visit cities.  Give me a pair of wellies and a few animals and and I am in my element.  I do know Australia has changed a fair bit since I migrated and not for the better in a few instances but it's still not a bad place to live at all.

[Fisher1]

Way back in 2004 our daughter went backpacking to Sydney on a one year young persons’ visa.  We were then in our early fifties. She was lucky enough to get a permanent job and a PR visa, and we began to discover the joys of the 24 hour flight to Australia. Eventually, exhausted by years of bawling in foreign airports, we joined the waiting list for a parent visa, my unenthused husband vastly comforted by the proposed twenty year wait. (Pause for more howling in foreign airports). Then our grandson was born and everything changed. We changed our application. We were now contributing. Things moved on a pace. Suddenly an email from PVC hit my inbox. I wondered why someone was trying to sell me plastic and almost deleted it ... Parent Visa Centre pinged into my head at the last second and I discovered that on the eve of a ten day holiday in London - with no internet -  we had lots of lovely new hoops to jump through, with only three weeks to do it.   The medical went well, we got the police clearance, filled in the dreaded form eighty and interrupted our long planned holiday in Sydney with a week in New Zealand so they could issue the visa while we were off shore. (????). Suddenly, we were entitled to stay. I remember thinking “bloody hell, we’ve done it!” ... but sadly no wild euphoria, none of the bottles of Champaigne I had envisaged ... because we still had to go back to the UK ... and by this time my mum was too ill to leave.  

Mum died the following year, and we moved over six months later.  Thanks to mum leaving us a little bit of money, we travelled out business class and toasted her as the plane lifted off. Mum also paid for our new car. I swear she was cheering us on.
 

Living here is simple compared to not living here. Our grand daughter was born the week we arrived. We found a place to rent after three weeks at my daughter’s house and bought our own place ten months later. We love being near our only child and her family, but we don’t live in their pockets - we live two hours away on the South Coast in a town we chose the year we got our visas. We’ve had ups and downs of course ... possibly the worst was the incorrect UK tax bill for £65,000 - actually they owed us money...   we’ve had a couple of health problems, but are appreciative of the short waiting times we’ve encountered so far. I don’t like the Aussie tax system because I have to pay more than I did in the UK, but then we’re not forking out huge sums for holidays in Australia any more. I hate the UK government for freezing my pension ... I love being able to walk to the beach every day ... I hate being without my lifelong friends ... I love FaceTime.  It’s a balance, and we both love the way we’ve been accepted by everyone we’ve met.  Best of all, I love just hanging out with my daughter and her kids and not having to make it ‘special’ all the time.   It’s a good life, and we are so very lucky to be here. Even my originally unenthused husband says so.

Edited June 21, 2020 by Fisher1

[ramot]

37 minutes ago, Fisher1 said:

Way back in 2004 our daughter went backpacking to Sydney on a one year young persons’ visa.  We were then in our early fifties. She was lucky enough to get a permanent job and a PR visa, and we began to discover the joys of the 24 hour flight to Australia. Eventually, exhausted by years of bawling in foreign airports, we joined the waiting list for a parent visa, my unenthused husband vastly comforted by the proposed twenty year wait. (Pause for more howling in foreign airports). Then our grandson was born and everything changed. We changed our application. We were now contributing. Things moved on a pace. Suddenly an email from PVC hit my inbox. I wondered why someone was trying to sell me plastic and almost deleted it ... Parent Visa Centre pinged into my head at the last second and I discovered that on the eve of a ten day holiday in London - with no internet -  we had lots of lovely new hoops to jump through, with only three weeks to do it.   The medical went well, we got the police clearance, filled in the dreaded form eighty and interrupted our long planned holiday in Sydney with a week in New Zealand so they could issue the visa while we were off shore. (????). Suddenly, we were entitled to stay. I remember thinking “bloody hell, we’ve done it!” ... but sadly no wild euphoria, none of the bottles of Champaigne I had envisaged ... because we still had to go back to the UK ... and by this time my mum was too ill to leave.  

Mum died the following year, and we moved over six months later.  Thanks to mum leaving us a little bit of money, we travelled out business class and toasted her as the plane lifted off. Mum also paid for our new car. I swear she was cheering us on.
 

Living here is simple compared to not living here. Our grand daughter was born the week we arrived. We found a place to rent after three weeks at my daughter’s house and bought our own place ten months later. We love being near our only child and her family, but we don’t live in their pockets - we live two hours away on the South Coast in a town we chose the year we got our visas. We’ve had ups and downs of course ... possibly the worst was the incorrect UK tax bill for £65,000 - actually they owed us money...   we’ve had a couple of health problems, but are appreciative of the short waiting times we’ve encountered so far. I don’t like the Aussie tax system because I have to pay more than I did in the UK, but then we’re not forking out huge sums for holidays in Australia any more. I hate the UK government for freezing my pension ... I love being able to walk to the beach every day ... I hate being without my lifelong friends ... I love FaceTime.  It’s a balance, and we both love the way we’ve been accepted by everyone we’ve met.  Best of all, I love just hanging out with my daughter and her kids and not having to make it ‘special’ all the time.   It’s a good life, and we are so very lucky to be here. Even my originally unenthused husband says so.

Lovely post good to hear from you. We feel your pain about the tax hit!! x M 

[Toots]

1 hour ago, Fisher1 said:

Way back in 2004 our daughter went backpacking to Sydney on a one year young persons’ visa.  We were then in our early fifties. She was lucky enough to get a permanent job and a PR visa, and we began to discover the joys of the 24 hour flight to Australia. Eventually, exhausted by years of bawling in foreign airports, we joined the waiting list for a parent visa, my unenthused husband vastly comforted by the proposed twenty year wait. (Pause for more howling in foreign airports). Then our grandson was born and everything changed. We changed our application. We were now contributing. Things moved on a pace. Suddenly an email from PVC hit my inbox. I wondered why someone was trying to sell me plastic and almost deleted it ... Parent Visa Centre pinged into my head at the last second and I discovered that on the eve of a ten day holiday in London - with no internet -  we had lots of lovely new hoops to jump through, with only three weeks to do it.   The medical went well, we got the police clearance, filled in the dreaded form eighty and interrupted our long planned holiday in Sydney with a week in New Zealand so they could issue the visa while we were off shore. (????). Suddenly, we were entitled to stay. I remember thinking “bloody hell, we’ve done it!” ... but sadly no wild euphoria, none of the bottles of Champaigne I had envisaged ... because we still had to go back to the UK ... and by this time my mum was too ill to leave.  

Mum died the following year, and we moved over six months later.  Thanks to mum leaving us a little bit of money, we travelled out business class and toasted her as the plane lifted off. Mum also paid for our new car. I swear she was cheering us on.
 

Living here is simple compared to not living here. Our grand daughter was born the week we arrived. We found a place to rent after three weeks at my daughter’s house and bought our own place ten months later. We love being near our only child and her family, but we don’t live in their pockets - we live two hours away on the South Coast in a town we chose the year we got our visas. We’ve had ups and downs of course ... possibly the worst was the incorrect UK tax bill for £65,000 - actually they owed us money...   we’ve had a couple of health problems, but are appreciative of the short waiting times we’ve encountered so far. I don’t like the Aussie tax system because I have to pay more than I did in the UK, but then we’re not forking out huge sums for holidays in Australia any more. I hate the UK government for freezing my pension ... I love being able to walk to the beach every day ... I hate being without my lifelong friends ... I love FaceTime.  It’s a balance, and we both love the way we’ve been accepted by everyone we’ve met.  Best of all, I love just hanging out with my daughter and her kids and not having to make it ‘special’ all the time.   It’s a good life, and we are so very lucky to be here. Even my originally unenthused husband says so.

Lovely to hear from you Fisher and that you have settled here so well.  

[Fisher1]

20 hours ago, Toots said:

Lovely to hear from you Fisher and that you have settled here so well.  

Hi Toots,  you’re right, I haven’t been on here for ages,  been too busy with grandchildren, the Probus group, the writing group ... even during lockdown I was busy editing my dad’s memoirs (theyve only been lying round for thirty years) ... but I suddenly thought about this forum yesterday and thought I’d see how everyone was doing ... 

[Fisher1]

21 hours ago, ramot said:

Lovely post good to hear from you. We feel your pain about the tax hit!! x M 

Yes, the figures are a bit eye watering  - we filled in tax returns from the word go - yet somehow Australia omitted to send our 2017-18 bill till May this year. Imagine my shock when I logged in to pay my tax instalment for the quarter and found this enormous bill!  However, we comfort ourselves with our opal cards

[benj1980]

Another landmark for us as we had our citizenship ceremony on Thursday. When I got home there was a bit of time for some reflection. Reflecting on the journey that had begun 6 years earlier. Deciding to bite the bullet, spend out on a skills assessment and take the plunge. We were able to talk about our past lives and the uploading of what seemed a million documents (another reminder came when I uploaded citizenship documents I might add!) Our office space was a poorly made extension backing onto the garage and had a reliable cold draft! It also reminded me of telling our parents about the potential move and having to answer those awkward questions. Waiting anxiously for emails from Australia at each stage of the process, then checking first thing in the morning, daily when we had applied for our visa even though deep down we knew we had weeks to wait judging by the timeline on PIO! The elation of finally getting our visas and then recognising the daunting task ahead. Selling as much as we could, packing what we needed, trying to save some money and make sure we said our good byes. Flying to the other side of the world questioning your decision, without jobs and knowing staying with friends was only a temporary fix. Hoping an online conversation would pull through into some sort of income and knowing with the summer holidays coming up, teaching jobs could be in short supply. 

Arguably making the initial move is the hardest part of the process to citizenship but there are plenty more bumps on the way. Having found work successfully early really helped. The next challenge was settling in and finding a rental. House sorted, schools sorted, work sorted you are cooking on gas. We were fortunate to have a close friend nearby throughout this process with children similar age. Having said that you need to step out of the shadow and make new friends and create your own life. My wife suggests it took her 4 years to feel that this is her home, which surprised me. Having our own home, work and new friends after 2 years I thought we had nailed it. We recently had a tragedy in the local area and it affected my neighbours, friends and our local community. It is then I realised this is a community in which we truly belong. 

My family in the UK have said now that you are citizens you can come back now! It's still hard for them to understand that we now feel like Australia is home and our citizenship has validated this. The journey has been long and stressful at times, and don't forget expensive but would I change it? Not a chance!

[ali]

37 minutes ago, benj1980 said:

Another landmark for us as we had our citizenship ceremony on Thursday. When I got home there was a bit of time for some reflection. Reflecting on the journey that had begun 6 years earlier. Deciding to bite the bullet, spend out on a skills assessment and take the plunge. We were able to talk about our past lives and the uploading of what seemed a million documents (another reminder came when I uploaded citizenship documents I might add!) Our office space was a poorly made extension backing onto the garage and had a reliable cold draft! It also reminded me of telling our parents about the potential move and having to answer those awkward questions. Waiting anxiously for emails from Australia at each stage of the process, then checking first thing in the morning, daily when we had applied for our visa even though deep down we knew we had weeks to wait judging by the timeline on PIO! The elation of finally getting our visas and then recognising the daunting task ahead. Selling as much as we could, packing what we needed, trying to save some money and make sure we said our good byes. Flying to the other side of the world questioning your decision, without jobs and knowing staying with friends was only a temporary fix. Hoping an online conversation would pull through into some sort of income and knowing with the summer holidays coming up, teaching jobs could be in short supply. 

Arguably making the initial move is the hardest part of the process to citizenship but there are plenty more bumps on the way. Having found work successfully early really helped. The next challenge was settling in and finding a rental. House sorted, schools sorted, work sorted you are cooking on gas. We were fortunate to have a close friend nearby throughout this process with children similar age. Having said that you need to step out of the shadow and make new friends and create your own life. My wife suggests it took her 4 years to feel that this is her home, which surprised me. Having our own home, work and new friends after 2 years I thought we had nailed it. We recently had a tragedy in the local area and it affected my neighbours, friends and our local community. It is then I realised this is a community in which we truly belong. 

My family in the UK have said now that you are citizens you can come back now! It's still hard for them to understand that we now feel like Australia is home and our citizenship has validated this. The journey has been long and stressful at times, and don't forget expensive but would I change it? Not a chance!

Congratulations on your citizenship.

[benj1980]

1 hour ago, ali said:

Congratulations on your citizenship.

Thank you!

[Jon the Hat]

On 26/07/2020 at 08:02, benj1980 said:

Another landmark for us as we had our citizenship ceremony on Thursday. When I got home there was a bit of time for some reflection. Reflecting on the journey that had begun 6 years earlier. Deciding to bite the bullet, spend out on a skills assessment and take the plunge. We were able to talk about our past lives and the uploading of what seemed a million documents (another reminder came when I uploaded citizenship documents I might add!) Our office space was a poorly made extension backing onto the garage and had a reliable cold draft! It also reminded me of telling our parents about the potential move and having to answer those awkward questions. Waiting anxiously for emails from Australia at each stage of the process, then checking first thing in the morning, daily when we had applied for our visa even though deep down we knew we had weeks to wait judging by the timeline on PIO! The elation of finally getting our visas and then recognising the daunting task ahead. Selling as much as we could, packing what we needed, trying to save some money and make sure we said our good byes. Flying to the other side of the world questioning your decision, without jobs and knowing staying with friends was only a temporary fix. Hoping an online conversation would pull through into some sort of income and knowing with the summer holidays coming up, teaching jobs could be in short supply. 

Arguably making the initial move is the hardest part of the process to citizenship but there are plenty more bumps on the way. Having found work successfully early really helped. The next challenge was settling in and finding a rental. House sorted, schools sorted, work sorted you are cooking on gas. We were fortunate to have a close friend nearby throughout this process with children similar age. Having said that you need to step out of the shadow and make new friends and create your own life. My wife suggests it took her 4 years to feel that this is her home, which surprised me. Having our own home, work and new friends after 2 years I thought we had nailed it. We recently had a tragedy in the local area and it affected my neighbours, friends and our local community. It is then I realised this is a community in which we truly belong. 

My family in the UK have said now that you are citizens you can come back now! It's still hard for them to understand that we now feel like Australia is home and our citizenship has validated this. The journey has been long and stressful at times, and don't forget expensive but would I change it? Not a chance!

Congratulations!  Sounds like you have truly made a new life.

[HappyHeart]

On 20/08/2013 at 17:48, HappyHeart said:

It'll be 5 years in Jan for us, came out for a chance at a brighter future, better weather..because 'we could' basically..nothing to lose and it sounded like a great opportunity. We are settled, bought a house, no pool but a million times more than we could have had in England..we like the outdoor lifestyle, the beaches and weather, opportunities to be swimming, snorkelling, walking, sunbathing!, just generally relaxing with the sun on our bones is what we like. We have both got decent jobs, the kids are happy enough...no regrets...couldn't imagine going back, there'd be too much we'd miss. We miss our family and friends but know our lives are here now. We have some good friends here but were happy before we made any too so not sure that's the be all and end all for everyone..Overall its been a very positive move and one we don't regret. It's not easy to make it work in the early days but nothing that can't be overcome.

To add to this thread and update our story:

We are now nearly 12 years in to our lives in Perth. 

We still live in the 1st home we bought 18 months after moving here. One of our children is now grown and settled with her own family. Our youngest is enjoying his time at a local private school. Our experiences of public (secondary) education have been less than positive however that could very well be location/school specific.

We gained citizenship after 4 years and had our ceremony on Australia Day. 

Last year we bought some land at a good price in the SW of the state and plan to build soonish and move down there when youngest finishes school. We both still work. We have well established lives here. 

One gripe is the time that things close here. Forget late lunch, kitchen closes at 3pm in many places and you'd be hard pressed to get dinner after 8pm. Suits the lifestyle for many but we are a bit more 'continental'. Not too much of a drama though. 

No regrets, just still miss family and friends. However, not enough to go back. Illness and folks getting older is tougher than you can imagine. COVID puts a different slant on it too. It was never achievable or desirable to go back every year. We've been back twice and were planning a 3rd trip to see people unable to travel to us this year. 

Our lives are very much here. At this stage I can't imagine ever living in the UK again. I can imagine it would be difficult to go back and fit into our old lives. I felt it after 6 years so who knows how it'd feel now. Despite this I still feel British. Perth is a fantastic place to live. We appreciate the space, the diverse landscape and the weather. 

 

Edited August 28, 2020 by HappyHeart

[Tulip1]

1 hour ago, HappyHeart said:

To add to this thread and update our story:

We are now nearly 12 years in to our lives in Perth. 

We still live in the 1st home we bought 18 months after moving here. One of our children is now grown and settled with her own family. Our youngest is enjoying his time at a local private school. Our experiences of public (secondary) education have been less than positive however that could very well be location/school specific.

We gained citizenship after 4 years and had our ceremony on Australia Day. 

Last year we bought some land at a good price in the SW of the state and plan to build soonish and move down there when youngest finishes school. We both still work. We have well established lives here. 

One gripe is the time that things close here. Forget late lunch, kitchen closes at 3pm in many places and you'd be hard pressed to get dinner after 8pm. Suits the lifestyle for many but we are a bit more 'continental'. Not too much of a drama though. 

No regrets, just still miss family and friends. However, not enough to go back. Illness and folks getting older is tougher than you can imagine. COVID puts a different slant on it too. It was never achievable or desirable to go back every year. We've been back twice and were planning a 3rd trip to see people unable to travel to us this year. 

Our lives are very much here. At this stage I can't imagine ever living in the UK again. I can imagine it would be difficult to go back and fit into our old lives. I felt it after 6 years so who knows how it'd feel now. Despite this I still feel British. Perth is a fantastic place to live. We appreciate the space, the diverse landscape and the weather. 

 

Great post. I understand the bit about things closing early. My son has lived there for almost 10 years now. Lives north of Perth in a suburb close to the ocean. When I visit it can be a pain that things shut early.  We can be out all day and the ideal would be to return home, chill out for a bit and then grab a shower and head out for an evening meal about 8. No chance, we have to do that about 6 as they’ll all be closing by 8. I’m sure in the city centre it’s different but my son has lived in 3 different suburbs all within about 8 miles of each other and it’s definitely as you describe. I’m not moaning about Perth and I actually think it’s a lovely place and as you say, it’s no drama really but when I read what you’d put it struck a cord.  They have improved with the shops staying open later. In those early years I remember the shops closing about 5,  even the supermarkets. 

[HappyHeart]

1 hour ago, Tulip1 said:

Great post. I understand the bit about things closing early. My son has lived there for almost 10 years now. Lives north of Perth in a suburb close to the ocean. When I visit it can be a pain that things shut early.  We can be out all day and the ideal would be to return home, chill out for a bit and then grab a shower and head out for an evening meal about 8. No chance, we have to do that about 6 as they’ll all be closing by 8. I’m sure in the city centre it’s different but my son has lived in 3 different suburbs all within about 8 miles of each other and it’s definitely as you describe. I’m not moaning about Perth and I actually think it’s a lovely place and as you say, it’s no drama really but when I read what you’d put it struck a cord.  They have improved with the shops staying open later. In those early years I remember the shops closing about 5,  even the supermarkets. 

When we arrived the shops were shut on a Sunday. That took some getting used to. I think that changed after a few years. They still close at 5 on a Sat though which is a pain when you've been out all day and just want to pop in and get something for dinner. You have to wait till 11am on Sun for them to open. You've got IGA which opens longer but our nearest is not that close. 

We tend to go out for Brunch or an early dinner mostly at all day type venues. If we're out for proper dinner it's 7pm booking latest. Not that different in the city  than the suburbs from my experience. 

A lot of people are up at the crack of dawn enjoying the day so its suits them but sadly that bug never bit me! 

[Toots]

8 hours ago, HappyHeart said:

When we arrived the shops were shut on a Sunday. That took some getting used to. I think that changed after a few years. They still close at 5 on a Sat though which is a pain when you've been out all day and just want to pop in and get something for dinner. You have to wait till 11am on Sun for them to open. You've got IGA which opens longer but our nearest is not that close. 

We tend to go out for Brunch or an early dinner mostly at all day type venues. If we're out for proper dinner it's 7pm booking latest. Not that different in the city  than the suburbs from my experience. 

A lot of people are up at the crack of dawn enjoying the day so its suits them but sadly that bug never bit me! 

When we lived in Perth (a long time ago) the shops shut at noon on Saturday!!  I couldn't see the sense in that especially for working people.  Glad to hear they are open all weekend now.

[Fisher1]

On 29/08/2020 at 09:28, Toots said:

When we lived in Perth (a long time ago) the shops shut at noon on Saturday!!  I couldn't see the sense in that especially for working people.  Glad to hear they are open all weekend now.

Haha that reminds me of the shops in Luxembourg when we moved there in 1985. Everything closed for lunch at twelve and reopened at two. We sat outside a pavement cafe to get coffee during our first weekend there. After waiting about fifteen minutes we went to see what the hold up was ... they’d closed for lunch!

[ramot]

We had only been on the Sunshine Coast for a short while. and thought we would like some fish and chips, not an strange idea at nearly 7.30 pm, we thought, wrong! not one F&C shop was open, they had all closed by 7pm. After 17 years I still haven’t got used to everything closing so early.

[Toots]

1 hour ago, Fisher1 said:

Haha that reminds me of the shops in Luxembourg when we moved there in 1985. Everything closed for lunch at twelve and reopened at two. We sat outside a pavement cafe to get coffee during our first weekend there. After waiting about fifteen minutes we went to see what the hold up was ... they’d closed for lunch!

I'm pretty sure it's not like that now but before I came to Australia, the area where Mum lived in Scotland was just like you described.  All shops closed for lunch and half day closing on a Thursday!   Open all day Saturday mind you   ................  except for the lunch time and all closed on Sunday of course.

[NickyNook]

When I arrived in Sydney in 1979, as stated above, shops closed at noon on Saturday and all day Sunday. There was late night shopping till 9pm on a Thursday night but the rest of the week shops closed at 5-5.30pm.

I was horrified when I realised but was told to think myself lucky because in NZ at that time, shops were closed all day Saturday and Sunday.

Some stores here were allowed to open all weekend - mainly hardware and/or furniture, I think. I remember Birkenhead Point shopping centre was always open on a Sunday for some unknown reason.

It all changed in Sydney about 1984. Went from the restricted hours above to the current free-for-all. It's still the same in some non-touristy country towns in NSW, though. Many times we've been caught out when travelling within the state because everything still shuts on a Saturday afternoon.

Edited September 6, 2020 by NickyNook

[thatjohnstonlife]

Hi guys, 

 

We made the move this year during covid. We have PR so the borders weren't shut for us, though we feel for everyone else that has struggled to move or get flights at this time. 

If you want to actually "see" what it's like moving to Australia, then we are documenting everything on YouTube. 

If any of you have any questions about our move, please feel free to ask away. Our aim is to help as many people as we can to move to Australia and I love the way that this thread is here to help people get the inspiration to move.

 

Ross

 

 

[Heading4Tassie]

Thanks for posting this I've watched the first video and will catch up on the others too it's really helpful. 

We are trying to migrate to Tasmania with a fur baby from the UK so it's great for motivation and morale to see others who have been in a similar scenario how it panned out. You have to be determined doing his in a global pandemic, kudos to you guys with a toddler too. 

[FatCat]

Pretty much only positives from me.

My entire family group still live in the UK, and I am the only one who left.

Left in the early 90s and never been back since. No desire to either.

Even though been here for so long, I still on occasion marvel at how lucky I am.

A lot has changed in the past 30 years, and the downside has been the huge increase in the cost of living, to what it was when I first arrived. But that is life in the world over today. It is what it is.

(Then again, could never afford to live back in London again, as I have been told the rents are through the roof now. My rent in London was pretty expensive back in 1990 as it was). 

I think the best way to settle, is to adapt to your new country with all its challenges and changes to UK living, and really embrace the differences - rather than constantly pushing against them.

That attitude worked for me anyway

 

 

[MARYROSE02]

I have probably already contributed to this thread when I was living in Sydney and could not imagine living anywhere else. I may have talked about moving to Perth though?  I've now been in Surfers Paradise almost six months after driving up from Sydney in July when the border was briefly opened. 

The six months have been largely free of the shadow of Covid-19, with zero lock downs but now Brisbane is in a three day lock down, and I'm wondering if "IT" will reach Surfers Paradise. There is still plenty of toilet paper in the supermarkets but I saw a few people wearing masks today, including one guy wearing a curious plastic visor but he wore it at an angle. I get people wearing masks but I don't get them taking them off to eat and drink or talk.

The shadow of Covid-19 probably contributes to a slight sense of uneasiness. What if my brother suddenly moves? It's only Covid that is preventing him from shooting off to China.  If that happens would I still want to stay here or would I feel the need to return to Sydney?  I don''t miss Sydney but I left my flat there, albeit with a mate house-sitting and feeding my cat.

Perhaps this is all part of the migration trajectory, although in this case it is moving from Sydney not Southampton. I can't see myself going back to Soton but  I still have a house there - another "loose end".  These loose ends need tieing up or whatever it is you do with lose ends? !

[Rallyman]

43 minutes ago, MARYROSE02 said:

I have probably already contributed to this thread when I was living in Sydney and could not imagine living anywhere else. I may have talked about moving to Perth though?  I've now been in Surfers Paradise almost six months after driving up from Sydney in July when the border was briefly opened. 

The six months have been largely free of the shadow of Covid-19, with zero lock downs but now Brisbane is in a three day lock down, and I'm wondering if "IT" will reach Surfers Paradise. There is still plenty of toilet paper in the supermarkets but I saw a few people wearing masks today, including one guy wearing a curious plastic visor but he wore it at an angle. I get people wearing masks but I don't get them taking them off to eat and drink or talk.

The shadow of Covid-19 probably contributes to a slight sense of uneasiness. What if my brother suddenly moves? It's only Covid that is preventing him from shooting off to China.  If that happens would I still want to stay here or would I feel the need to return to Sydney?  I don''t miss Sydney but I left my flat there, albeit with a mate house-sitting and feeding my cat.

Perhaps this is all part of the migration trajectory, although in this case it is moving from Sydney not Southampton. I can't see myself going back to Soton but  I still have a house there - another "loose end".  These loose ends need tieing up or whatever it is you do with lose ends? !

What was the reason for moving MR you always seemed very settled in sydney.