Amber Snowball Posted July 9, 2020 Share Posted July 9, 2020 Port Fairy is nice, between the two? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kevsan Posted July 9, 2020 Share Posted July 9, 2020 16 hours ago, Lavers said: Actually scrap Warrnambool for Portland, just an hour closer to the border then its non-stop from there. What's Portland like? It's nice. We are there right now on holiday. Going back to lockdown on Saturday. Portland is OK, a couple of supermarket's and shops plus a few places to go and see. Fishing charters are still going, so live is carrying on. Port Fairy is really nice, but there is nothing there to keep you going for a few days. Of the two, we would go with Portland. Plenty of touristy stuff around and at cape bridgewater etc. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jody Posted July 10, 2020 Share Posted July 10, 2020 This is an interesting read, thanks for sharing your journey. Good luck with your route across into SA. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lavers Posted July 13, 2020 Author Share Posted July 13, 2020 Not going to lie but the last couple of days have dragged, I dont know if it's because I know we are nearly out or because I've just had enough. On a positive note though 2nd test results are back and all clean again Also we get a certificate tomorrow which is nice as I haven't had one of them for s while 7 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elderberry Posted July 13, 2020 Share Posted July 13, 2020 What are your escape plans now? You still hanging around this pariah state or are you exiting before they get the barbed wire out? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lavers Posted July 13, 2020 Author Share Posted July 13, 2020 1 hour ago, elderberry said: What are your escape plans now? You still hanging around this pariah state or are you exiting before they get the barbed wire out? We are getting out of this place as we dont want to be associated with Victoria . Just waiting on our police clearance for SA then we can fly out Wednesdsy morning . 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elderberry Posted July 13, 2020 Share Posted July 13, 2020 48 minutes ago, Lavers said: We are getting out of this place as we dont want to be associated with Victoria . Just waiting on our police clearance for SA then we can fly out Wednesdsy morning . Good for you Lavers, under the circumstances quite understandable. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ausvisitor Posted July 13, 2020 Share Posted July 13, 2020 59 minutes ago, Lavers said: We are getting out of this place as we dont want to be associated with Victoria . Just waiting on our police clearance for SA then we can fly out Wednesdsy morning . I see you've junked your idea of driving and instead opted for getting out of Victoria as fast as you can by plane Good luck - keep us up to date with your settling in journey as well as this thread has been enlightening so a similar one about adjusting to life in Oz would be good too (if you have the time in amongst the Barbies, Beaches and General Fun) 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lavers Posted July 14, 2020 Author Share Posted July 14, 2020 On 13/07/2020 at 18:51, Ausvisitor said: On 13/07/2020 at 18:51, Ausvisitor said: I see you've junked your idea of driving and instead opted for getting out of Victoria as fast as you can by plane Good luck - keep us up to date with your settling in journey as well as this thread has been enlightening so a similar one about adjusting to life in Oz would be good too (if you have the time in amongst the Barbies, Beaches and General Fun) Yeah we did the sensible thing as we didnt want to hang around and risk things going worse. Finally got out of qaurantine earlier and managed to get out for our first walk in Australia. Everything just seems so spacious it was nice. I thought the shopkeeper short changed me before but then noticed that the $2 coin is tiny (what's that all about). Everyone walking around with woolly hats and it was nice and warm out. Check out today involved receiving our end of qaurantine paperwork which you have to keep on you. The hotel rang in the morning to check our plans and to book us a taxi (free of charge) to wherever we needed to go. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amber Snowball Posted July 14, 2020 Share Posted July 14, 2020 38 minutes ago, Lavers said: Missed a trick there Lavers, free taxi to Adelaide! 2 4 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lavers Posted July 15, 2020 Author Share Posted July 15, 2020 On 13/07/2020 at 18:21, Ausvisitor said: On 13/07/2020 at 18:21, Ausvisitor said: So we have made it to Adelaide with no issues at the airport, and it is actually sunny here. The police man at the airport who sorted us out was actually from Rochdale not far from us in the UK. Seen these little beauties at the apartment, a nice upgrade from magpies haha 9 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ausvisitor Posted July 15, 2020 Share Posted July 15, 2020 Ok - Let me be the first to welcome you to your new life in Australia free from Quarantine. We pretty much started this journey at the same time and got out grants within days of each other. Jealous that I'm in England still and you are already out there doesn't even begin to describe it! Congratulations and all the best; go enjoy the winter sun (ok so it's still warmer than England) with your family. 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Drumbeat Posted July 15, 2020 Share Posted July 15, 2020 8 hours ago, Lavers said: So we have made it to Adelaide with no issues at the airport, and it is actually sunny here. The police man at the airport who sorted us out was actually from Rochdale not far from us in the UK. Seen these little beauties at the apartment, a nice upgrade from magpies haha Welcome to your new life, hope it's everything you hoped for 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lavers Posted July 15, 2020 Author Share Posted July 15, 2020 1 hour ago, Ausvisitor said: Ok - Let me be the first to welcome you to your new life in Australia free from Quarantine. We pretty much started this journey at the same time and got out grants within days of each other. Jealous that I'm in England still and you are already out there doesn't even begin to describe it! Congratulations and all the best; go enjoy the winter sun (ok so it's still warmer than England) with your family. Cheers mate, I know time seems to have flown by since we where getting our medicals done. Just glad that we are here with everything going on and at least we are not stuck in limbo anymore. It wont be long and it will be your turn to get on that plane. 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wanderer Returns Posted July 16, 2020 Share Posted July 16, 2020 Congratulations to you @Lavers - firstly for getting out of that Melbourne jail, but more importantly for doing the hard yards to get here in the first place. Citizens by birth rarely appreciate how hard it is to migrate to another country these days, especially Australia. I'm guessing by your comments about the size of the $2 coins that you've never been here before? That's quite surprising in this day and age, but fortune favours the brave down under so I'm sure you'll do great here. Best of luck to you and the family for your new life ahead. Look us up if you ever visit Queensland - it's 'the place to be' even though it doesn't say it on the number plate Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lavers Posted July 16, 2020 Author Share Posted July 16, 2020 11 minutes ago, Wanderer Returns said: Congratulations to you @Lavers - firstly for getting out of that Melbourne jail, but more importantly for doing the hard yards to get here in the first place. Citizens by birth rarely appreciate how hard it is to migrate to another country these days, especially Australia. I'm guessing by your comments about the size of the $2 coins that you've never been here before? That's quite surprising in this day and age, but fortune favours the brave down under so I'm sure you'll do great here. Best of luck to you and the family for your new life ahead. Look us up if you ever visit Queensland - it's 'the place to be' even though it doesn't say it on the number plate Cheers mate it is nice to be free(ish) just a shame we have to do another 14 days self isolation. No never been before but always fancied Australia, I dont know why but I have. My wife wanted to come for a month and see if we liked it but I didnt see the point as it would have cost a fair wedge and I knew we would like it. The way I look at it is, I still have to work, still have to pay the Bills and I'll still have 2 cheeky monkeys to look after but if we can have the weather then that will be a big bonus. There are a few lads i used to work with who emigrated to Aus and they have never looked back so I thought why not, worse case it's a plane back home with no what ifs in 20yrs time. no doubt we will be visiting at some point when things all ease a little bit. How is it with your wife being back home? You ready for a break again 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marisawright Posted July 16, 2020 Share Posted July 16, 2020 (edited) 7 minutes ago, Lavers said: There are a few lads i used to work with who emigrated to Aus and they have never looked back so I thought why not, worse case it's a plane back home with no what ifs in 20yrs time. Ah no. If you or your wife doesn't like it, then don't wait 20 years to move back. You'll find you've royally screwed up your pension entitlements and won't be able to afford it. Give it ten years max so you have time to rebuild your life back in Blighty. Seriously, best of luck with the move, you sound like you'll be fine. Many of us made the move without ever having seen Australia before. Provided your other half is as enthusiastic as you, you shouldn't have any problems. Edited July 16, 2020 by Marisawright 2 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ausvisitor Posted July 16, 2020 Share Posted July 16, 2020 7 minutes ago, Marisawright said: Ah no. If you or your wife doesn't like it, then don't wait 20 years to move back. You'll find you've royally screwed up your pension entitlements and won't be able to afford it. Give it ten years max so you have time to rebuild your life back in Blighty. Seriously, best of luck with the move, you sound like you'll be fine. Many of us made the move without ever having seen Australia before. Provided your other half is as enthusiastic as you, you shouldn't have any problems. Totally agree with you Marisa, if it isn't working don't try for decades to sort it out; accept it was a good dream but the reality isn't the same and return to the old life before it too is "no longer the same". To be fair to Lavers though I think he was really saying that he just "went for it" now depsite not knowing everything about what he was letting himself in for as if he didn't in 20 years time (when over 50 and still in the Uk in the same house and job) at least he won't be looking back going "if only we'd gone to AUS that time in our 30's" 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kevsan Posted July 17, 2020 Share Posted July 17, 2020 Just seen on my timeline that 5 years ago today, i packed our movecube and waved it off. Lots of drama and angst and stress since then, but not a single regret in coming here. Good luck @Lavers Lifes an adventure. embrace it. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Curly Posted July 17, 2020 Share Posted July 17, 2020 Nice to see you have arrived in Adelaide congratulations 🥳 The birds are really nice here and the type you would normally only see in a cage. We have Pelicans that fly over our house every morning and that is beautiful to see. We were the same as you and had never been to Australia but just went with it and most of the people we have met did the same thing. My wife was a bit unsettled at first but once we made some friends and started work she loves it now. We have no regrets about moving here. Once you are out of quarantine give me a shout and will have to meet up for a beer. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lavers Posted July 18, 2020 Author Share Posted July 18, 2020 16 hours ago, Curly said: Nice to see you have arrived in Adelaide congratulations 🥳 The birds are really nice here and the type you would normally only see in a cage. We have Pelicans that fly over our house every morning and that is beautiful to see. We were the same as you and had never been to Australia but just went with it and most of the people we have met did the same thing. My wife was a bit unsettled at first but once we made some friends and started work she loves it now. We have no regrets about moving here. Once you are out of quarantine give me a shout and will have to meet up for a beer. Cheers Curly I had 2 pigeons tapping on my window this morning at 7 o'clock, wouldn't have minded if it where parrots. An old friend moved to Melbourne 20 years ago and his wife went back to England a few times as she couldn't settle, then after the 4th or 5th time she went back to Aus and never looked back. Cheers mate you can show me the ropes. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Curly Posted July 18, 2020 Share Posted July 18, 2020 Yeah I will give you a few tips and pointers if I can. Give it another month or so and hopefully the weather will start to improve and there will be plenty of things to do especially with the kids. just hope that when you move to your permanent house you are not to close to the Cockatoos wow they are noisy once they get going but nice to see them around. Hopefully the quarantine goes quick for you here and you can start to have a look around and explore. With a bit of luck things can get back to normal and stay that way but you will notice there is a lot more freedom here than what you had in the UK with the virus. That’s one advantage of having so much space and with a bit of luck we will all be able to enjoy a decent summer 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon the Hat Posted July 20, 2020 Share Posted July 20, 2020 Good luck Lavers! I have only spent a few days in Adelaide, but liked it a lot. My wife lived there for about 12 years. We have good friends in the Barossa Valley now, so once we finally get ourselves to Oz expect regular visits to SA. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wanderer Returns Posted July 22, 2020 Share Posted July 22, 2020 From personal experience it took me a couple of years to feel settled when I first came over. Christmas was the thing I really missed. Santa in the sun doesn't cut it for me - never will do. 17 years ago my mum was still alive and an aunt and uncle I was very close to and who were always saw over Christmas, but they've all gone now so I don't hanker for that any more. It's hard to say how long it takes to feel settled but you should give it at least couple of years, even if initially one of you hates it. If you're still not happy after 4-5 years then that would be a good time to start thinking about moving back. My only advice would be don't go back before the end of March, so at least you can enjoy two summers that year! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wanderer Returns Posted July 22, 2020 Share Posted July 22, 2020 @Lavers it's hard to say how are you are based on that photo (late 20s?) - but if you haven't got 10 full years NI contributions then it's worth topping them up so that you'll still have an entitlement to the UK state pension when you retire. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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