The struggles of a new Immigrant that no one understands;share your story here

[geek123456]

Hello everyone,I created this thread so that people could share their challenging experiences that they faced after immigrating to Australia and how they overcame or are planning to overcome those challenges From language barriers,education pathways,household chores to finding a job and homesickness,share anything you want here.

This is to motivate people and to reach out to those who are going through the same troubling times ; to show them a ray of hope that everything will be fine and that they are not alone in this struggle.

It is an appeal to everyone not to ridicule others on their point of views instead try one's best to help and motivate them 

Thanking everyone in advance !

[Nemesis]

Isn't there a whole forum here full of threads on these subjects?  Have you read any of the other threads?

[Guest The Pom Queen]

What a great idea for a thread.

For us we seemed to settle in to the flow of things quite quickly the hardest part was Christmas and also not having any kind of family around in case of emergencies. 

[Rossmoyne]

It is 26 years ago for me and my children, but we found it hard being a single parent family. No-one ever asked if I was a widow or divorced, but once it became known in the community that I was a single parent, we were ignored and it was so hard to make friends. Thankfully things have changed so much now and single parent families are not maligned as much as we were.... and the very few people who welcomed us into their lives back then, are still very close friends.

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[Melbpom]

Looking back I think that it can be hard as a young couple when there is no family around on either side to moderate behaviour and attitudes.

[Scousers1]

I think it is a very hard thing to do, move countries that is. I fought through all the negative thoughts because this would be better in the long run. My parents and my brothers family moved here also. We all regret it. 30 years in we are all depressed, miss home but my daughter will not go over to the UK to live. Now i just wish i had listened to those early thoughts and feelings i had when i first arrived. Dont get me wrong, we have had some good times, some great times and some dreadful times. We have done well here inmany respects but nothing can ever replace home! If friends ask us out now, i find i go for an hour or so then i leave, just cannot be bothred anymore. Its turned into a very sad life!

[CaptainR]

Even coming from an expat family and having lived in several countries prior, the move to Australia hasn't been plain sailing. The visa process required me to attend an AMSA (coastguard) face to face exam in Australia for the skills assessment, without any detailed expectations of what was going to be asked and coaching my wife through the IELTS as a non native English speaker. The move itself was a gamble, as whilst I'd got some work lined up, they wouldn't commit to me until I was already in the country and ready to fly to the NW Shelf. 

 Our first few months involved the hassle of getting my wife through her driving test, obtaining rentals (the first rental had bailiffs and police turning up at the door and the owner wanted it back 6 months later), buying cars and getting the kids settled. It was my wife who endured the most as I was pretty much straight to sea and working flat out whilst she set everything up. For my wife it was a bit adjustment, she'd always had house staff and moving to Australia from the Middle East was going to be the first time she'd done everything herself and was a big change. It was over 12 months before we had my parents come out to visit which gave us the first time for a night out without the kids, which was a strange experience. 

 It's taken 4 years to secure the job that I've wanted and we still have one final (hopefully) move about 2 hours north where we will settle down for a normal (ish) life with me at home every day, but it'll be starting over again making friends and putting the kids into a new school. 

 There have been some incredibly tough times, but in our case we feel that its been worth it. Living the expat life brings you closer together as a family unit in my opinion, we are definitely closer with our kids then many parents because we have to be. 
 
 For cultural adjustment? Well we've lived in so many countries and are a mixed race family so that part has been quite easy, although our children have a strange English/American/Australia mixed accent. 
 
 Life is an adventure and its incredibly short, so I really believe in living it. Doing the same 9-5 job in London with the regular pub on a Friday? Nah thats not for me, my friends are happy doing that so I'll leave that to them. 

[benj1980]

Can't say I miss family and friends too much, I'm not that sort of bloke. With social media as it is I don't have any pining to go back any time soon. I'm fortunate enough to have family desperate to visit which is great, but I'm just as keen to see them leave as well as they disrupt our routines! I was surprised by the amount of paperwork you get through when you first arrive, I thought I had done plenty before we left but that was just the start. I just miss a good Cornish pasty...

[MARYROSE02]

I was just counting on my fingers - this is the ninth month of my ninth year back in Sydney. England, Australia, England, Australia has been my trajectory, 24, 18, 12, 9 - I should have gone back to England again after 6 years here to maintain the sequence?! I have not been back to England in these 9 years. I need to sort my house out, move the personal effects out and then sell it although it's been rented out providing one of my income streams.

My nephew is moving back to Australia with his English fiancee whom he met out here and then went to England for three years with. I wonder if they/he/she will have problems settling back into Australia. My nephew grew up here but his fiancee's family are in England. Perhaps he will be the one who misses England? I don't miss England though I spend much of my time reading about and watching Tottenham Hotspur.

I didn't intend going back to England for 12 years but I lost my job and my parents were still alive, and a holiday just kept getting longer and longer. I sometimes say that I "live" here to try and explain how I feel. Comparisons between the two countries are meaningless. I have my lunch in a Vietnamese cafe every day. The chef showed me a photo of his new-born baby who has both an "Aussie" name and a Vietnamese name but will grow up as an Aussie, as my nephew did.

[starlight7]

When my kids(4 of them)were little I used to see all these young mums with their own mums helping them and going shopping with them and I used to feel sad that I didn't have that support and sad that we had deprived  our parents of this, too. We were basically on our own and whilst we quickly made friends it was  a funny thing never bumping into anyone I knew and having to get used to different brands of goods ( I remember wondering if rosella sauces were any good etc).  Instead of being a bit on the shy side I made a conscious decision to get out there and meet people - and boy did it pay off!

[Scousers1]

I did exactly the same got out there and mixed but everyone moves on from Melbourne. We came here as we had family here, uncle has now passed on his son is in Country Vic his daughter in the Netherlands. Maybe we have just been unlucky but i cannot be bothered meeting new people again after 30 years here. I could probably name over 100 who have been friends but are no longer in the area. I know only a few people now it is getting lonlier all the time. 

[MARYROSE02]

I was more lonely during my first stint in Sydney, after my brothers got married and I was living on my own. I had my job and a social life linked to the job but on most week day evenings and at weekends I was lonely. This second time around I'm still living on my own but I've got to know people in the cafes and pubs nearby. Tonight I walked up and down Crown St, Surry Hills without seeing anybody I know but when I went into one of the pubs for dinner I knew all the staff. It was the same at the second pub I went into - and I'd stopped at a 7-11 to buy some bars of chocolate to give to the staff there - four people and I knew them all.

It's the same when I go into my local cafe which I mentioned before. I'm almost embarrassed when the staff all call out my name as I walk through the door.

[chrishay]

Hi I. Moving over in February 2018 my daughter and family live on the Gold Coast. I'm just wondering if there are people on here from that area who could perhaps recommend a friends group I could go along to or possible correspond with before I move over. Im a very young 65 year old


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