excitedbutterrified Posted May 9, 2015 Share Posted May 9, 2015 Finally after all the months of planning, I landed on the 30th April in Melbourne. Its been a relatively soft landing. My new employer pretty much provided for everything I need during the first few weeks, airport transfers, free accommodation in the on site hotel, hire car, all that stuff. Started working after a couple of days and have been settling in since. Work is great, interesting with nice people, but I'm feeling mega isolated. There isn't anyone else staying in the on site hotel, and the site is in an industrial area. Skyping the wife and kids twice a day is helping, but its very clear that in my family, my wife is the really sociable one and I'm struggling to make new social connections outside work (that's what I get for being antisocial!) Cant wait for the wife and kids to arrive, but that isnt for another 9 weeks! Having a big gap between me and them arriving seemed like such a good idea so I could get a rental, but that was much easier than expected, picking up the keys for our house (in wheelers hill, anyone know it??) on tuesday. container isnt due to arrive until mid June, so its going to be a big empty house for a while! Anyway, Im ranting. Its going well in general, just missing the wife and kids! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Suzukiscottie Posted May 9, 2015 Share Posted May 9, 2015 Glad things are going well; the 9 weeks will soon fly past. So you've got an empty? PARTY AT YOURS THEN!!!!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Atlas Posted May 9, 2015 Share Posted May 9, 2015 Good to hear that your settling in well, I hope the next 9 weeks pass quickly for you Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jacaranda Posted May 9, 2015 Share Posted May 9, 2015 That's great news re the job.Dont worry,I do understand how you feel but keep in mind,whatever you're going through is always temporary!Hard when you miss wife/kids,but you are moving into your new home soon,and you'll keep busy making all nice and homey for their arrival!Stay strong,and keep busy! :)xxx Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fifi69 Posted May 9, 2015 Share Posted May 9, 2015 Aw... please don't fret too much.. A lot of couples end up coming out at different times. Myself n the girls were 8 weeks after OH. Its strange but once you are all together again, its all forgotten. good luck in your new adventure x Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jac2011 Posted May 9, 2015 Share Posted May 9, 2015 Glad things appear to be going well. I think the occasional distance is good for a relationship. It will make you appreciate each other more when you are reunited and rekindle a little of that romance you have when you first meet. Just plan some really nice days out for when you are together. I am sure part of the loneliness isn't you being anti-social but due to your frame of mind. I am sure you feel half empty without your family. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
movingback Posted May 9, 2015 Share Posted May 9, 2015 You've only been here 10 days!!! I'm not surprised you're feeling isolated. You're probably still jet lagged! As with anything in life, give it time. You'll get there Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KiwiKaye Posted May 10, 2015 Share Posted May 10, 2015 Wheelers Hill is fairly near us (Mt Waverley), so welcome to Melbourne! Its a nice area with great schools, so I'm sure you'll settle in quickly and the time til the rest of the family arrives will go quickly. Best of luck. Feel free to sing out if you would like any pointers on the area. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dxboz Posted May 10, 2015 Share Posted May 10, 2015 Wheelers Hill is a lovely area. The Wheelers Hill pub is pretty good for a meal or a pint. The Dandenong Workers Club was always a good place to meet other Brits. Go along on a Friday night - think they have a darts club then if you are into that. I think they also have a golf club if you play. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
excitedbutterrified Posted July 27, 2015 Author Share Posted July 27, 2015 Well, now 3 months in. The 11 weeks without the wife and kids were almost unbearable, it was painful to be apart from them for so long, and skype doesn't really make up for the absence. I do now have some kind of appreciation for how the grandparents etc.. are feeling when we take our kids across the world. The missus found the workload of sorting out the rest of the house move, and looking after the kids too much, she had to rely on my folks quite heavily and ended up moving in with them. With hindsight, we made a huge mistake in having me come over so early. We did it so I could sort the house / childcare / cars out in advance of them arriving, but really those things didn't take long at all and we could have done it all together. The one advantage is that I know the area we live in well now, and could help them slip into life here a little easier with things like supermarkets, travel, activities. Plus we didn't have to buy lots of furniture etc.. as I lived in the house without any furniture whilst waiting for our container to arrive. We couldn't have done that if the kids were here. The wife and kids arrived a week and a half ago, along with the mother in law. It was an emotional re-unification at the airport, after they had a nightmare flight. My big worry was that my youngest daughter (11 month old) wouldn't recognise me, however I think the daily skype sessions helped and she was excited to see me. Its amazing how quickly we have all settled back into family life and everything feels very normal! The kids took a good week to get over the jetlag, but both are now in a good routine. We are trying to find them new friends to make their lives more exciting! The one bad point we have is that the mother in law is amazingly negative about everything. She was/is dead set against us moving to oz, and isn't shy about saying it. I'm trying to keep my mouth shut with her, but she seems determined that she wont enjoy her time here. The worst thing from my perspective is that I paid for her flights to come here for a month, and due to that and all the other costs of moving, I had to go without proper food for several weeks (this isnt all bad, Ive lost masses of fat!), living off pot noodles and she hasn't actually thanked us for bringing her over and feeding her (not on pot noodles) for a month. We are doing lots of touristy things in our free time, and strangely she gets visibly upset if we all have a good time, I guess its because when she sees how nice certain aspects of Australia can be, she starts to see the attraction and why we might choose to settle here. I dont think we are ever going to change her opinions of Australia, and its sad to hear my wife talking about how her attitude is making it easier to cut the apron strings, and how she cant wait for her to leave back to the uk. Last question for the parents and visa experts on here... We are on a 457 visa, but are considering applying for PR, mainly because we want the childcare rebate (our childcare costs are going to be ~$800 per week), we don't think we will stay here permanently. We had assumed that we would only be able to claim the rebate from the point where a PR visa was granted (in several months time) but some friends recon that you can claim everything from that tax year, even the portion of the year under the 457. Does anyone know if this is correct? Pete Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lambethlad Posted July 27, 2015 Share Posted July 27, 2015 Good luck with everything. Just a shopping tip. You aren't far from Springvale which is a great place for cheap meat and fruit and veggies. It is an Asian area so it feels like you're in a different country when you go there. There are lots of Vietnamese, Cambodian and Chinese restaurants and prices are very reasonable. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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