We've arrived...2nd thoughts?

[Guest vanessa]

I know how you feel, its very hard to adjust, I have been here six years and always planned to go home, but I now have a son and I'm getting married next year..

You will get homesick every now and then its just part of the parcel of living away from family.

I still think about English food & clothes I even dream about them too!

For food I have found that Aldi's is quite cheap or Franklins.

For goods the Good Guys if you pay cash you can barter them down.

 

Hope its getting better.

[Kabroom]

Dont worry, the scuttlebutt is that it is going to be a bloody long hot summer (34C at Batemans Bay today which is unheard of). In which case expect the long time residents (like myself) to be bitching about the weather and having to live in a house without aircon. Havent had a BBQ in years - they bring the flies and the mozzies and if you are like me you are well patronized by the little buzzers!

 

I think back to July when we had at least 5 glorious dinners at pubs out in the garden - long balmy summer evenings with bees buzzing in the rose bushes, ah bliss!

 

Hi Quoll,

 

Listen you really really gotta find a way to convince DH to get aircon, I know you are an 'oldie' (and I only use that term as in time in oz) and are used to it but c'mon missus use your powers it must be sheer hell in that heat.

 

Wendyxx

[Quoll]

Hi Quoll,

 

Listen you really really gotta find a way to convince DH to get aircon, I know you are an 'oldie' (and I only use that term as in time in oz) and are used to it but c'mon missus use your powers it must be sheer hell in that heat.

 

Wendyxx

 

LOL I tried that once - told him the aircon man was coming that afternoon and he went as white as a sheet and got really grumpy which is quite out of character for him! He really thought I was serious! And I am indeed an oldie (on the outside) unfortunately:wacko:

[Kabroom]

Ok, please can you explain to me why he hates it so much?? It's a good thing isn't it? It makes you feel better...or is it an environmental thingy?

[Guest earlswood]

Can you stop talking about BBQs and the good weather as I getting jealous. The weather here is rubbish, dont think we get summers in the U.K anymore.

Its bloody rubbish over here as well mate :skeptical: and has been for months.

[Quoll]

Ok, please can you explain to me why he hates it so much?? It's a good thing isn't it? It makes you feel better...or is it an environmental thingy?

 

It's an environmental thingie - the man is a bottle greenie! Everything can be fixed with insulation:wacko:

[Guest Scardycat]

Its bloody rubbish over here as well mate :skeptical: and has been for months.

 

 

Could that have anything to do with the fact that you have just been through WINTER????????

 

We have just been through SUMMER and the weather was bl**dy rubbish!!!!!

 

My daughter arrived in Oz 3 weeks ago and is having lovely weather, I think you have a big black cloud over your head that moves around with you:biglaugh:

[Guest earlswood]

Could that have anything to do with the fact that you have just been through WINTER????????

 

We have just been through SUMMER and the weather was bl**dy rubbish!!!!!

 

My daughter arrived in Oz 3 weeks ago and is having lovely weather, I think you have a big black cloud over your head that moves around with you:biglaugh:

 

Where, if it is Perth she is telling you porkies.:nah:

[Guest Scardycat]

Where, if it is Perth she is telling you porkies.

 

 

My daughter would never tell me porkies:skeptical:

 

She's in Brisbane, there is definitely SUN, I've seen the photo's, the kids have been swimming, surfing, playing on the beach. ooooooooh its Grand!!!! :biglaugh:

[Guest earlswood]

My daughter would never tell me porkies

 

She's in Brisbane, there is definitely SUN, I've seen the photo's, the kids have been swimming, surfing, playing on the beach. ooooooooh its Grand!!!! :biglaugh:

 

 

brisbane it is then:smile: cuz Perth is cold and no one is on the beach for sure.

[Guest Scardycat]

brisbane it is then cuz Perth is cold and no one is on the beach for sure.

 

 

I have relatives who live in Holland on Sea, next door to Clacton, went down there last week-end and there were loads of people on the beach, some in swimwear. We had a little Indian summer for a few days, mind it wasn't warm enough for me but was very nice. There is a definite autumn chill in the air now, not forgetting the rain thrown in here and there.

 

Hope you make it to Brisbane am sure you will like it better:wubclub: and theres going to be some really nice people there, (other daughter goes next month me following in Jan):biglaugh:

[Guest Jade_Hannah_Smith]

I live in Holland On Sea!

Yeahh we had like 2 hot days last week!

[Guest Scardycat]

I live in Holland On Sea!

Yeahh we had like 2 hot days last week!

 

 

I love Holland, especially when the sun shines, nothing nicer than a stroll along the front. both my brother and my sister live there, brother been there for 30 years.

[Guest TonyandSharon]

OK - stop all this worrying. We have just moved from the UK to Brisbane, the housing market was so bad when we left that we decided to 'let' out our property still in the UK so all our equity is tied up. We still haven't sold our car in the UK so thats money we're waiting on. Sure we have savings that are still in the UK because the exchange rate is so poor (but getting better slowly) so thats 3 ways where we have had to leave money and potential deposits in the UK.

 

Where we have been lucky is the fact that I could find work straight away, my wife is a qualified teacher in the UK and is still going through the registering process so she is the one keeping herself busy day-to-day where as I am at work.

 

The trick is to keep yourself busy, go out, explore, buy a bike (we did and explored everywhere on them in the 1st 2-3 weeks) you see so much more.

 

Regarding houses and mortgages, things are also different out here. Less people own and more seem to rent. My advice would be don't buy yet anyway - look at whats happening globally to the economy, there is soon going to be a recession in most parts of the world and if it doesn't hit Oz it may scrape by a little - rent for 6 months, maybe even a year and keep watching the markets and the interest rates - they will soon be better for us getting on the ladder at the 1st step. (Trust me) - I am about to sign a 6 month lease and looking at the economy the housing prices will fall before they rise again.

 

When we 1st arrived things did seem more expensive, but that because we were shopping for convenience, you are right about there being no tesco etc, but here there is so much more. More and more people are using Aldi, for groceries etc these are better than most supermarkets. Check out your nearest Aldi, also online check out the farmers markets, quality meat and fish at ordinary market prices. Get your alcahol from Dan Murphys, they are great and do some really nice quality wines that don't break the bank.

 

Here's the things they don't tell you - haggle, haggle over anything your buying. If your not sure and the sticker says $220, ask if they can do you a deal for $210 or get something extra thrown in and ask for that for a discount if you pay full whack on the 1st item. It may be cheeky and my OH cringes sometimes but more often than not they will sell it cheaper.(If you don't ask you dont get)

 

We just bought a car from a 2nd hand dealer - knocked him down by $1600 approx - its a buyers market.

 

Funnily enough - about the furniture and kitchen and living room equipment, we have done exactly that today and spent an absolute fortune. (or so we thought)

We bought:

32" HDTV, Fridge Freezer (A MASSIVE ONE), microwave, kettle, toaster, vax, iron, washing machine all from "Good Guys". They avertise that they will do you a deal - and when we walked in I asked what deal they could give us if we purchased a large amount of stock and they said 8%. I went straight back with "we were looking for around the 15% mark really and the attendant came straight back with "I can knock 12% off the sticker price on.

 

You think the goods add up to alot until you see what you actually get for your money:

32" HDTV - AUD $800 - Same TV in UK is £500 - Exchange rate at $2.25/£1 = $1125 - Save $325 - Very cheap in comparison.

 

Fridge Freezer - AUD $1299 - Same in UK is approx £700 - Exchange rate at $2.25/£1 = $1575 - Save $276 - again - cheaper by comparison.

 

The trick is to get the equipment from the same place and buy in bulk for the better deal.

 

We then went to super-a-mart and bought bedroom furniture, couch and recliner, backyard table and chairs + the tv stand for my baby (LCD). Again they threw in a deal and we got quite a bargain in comparison to what we would have had to spend in the UK to get the same.

 

& Finally ('cos I am going on and on) about the quality of life. In time you will make friends and acquaintances, it will all be good. Just think when your next walking by the 'south bank' or driving to sea world or even further and going to Noosa for the weekend or maybe planning a weekend what you could actually be doing in the UK..................... staying in because its raining!!

 

Choose - live life

 

:-)

Good luck and keep us updated.

tonyandsharon

[Herbster]

Well Said Guys!

 

The thing is with any new place, doesn't matter where it is really - at first it's ALL unfamiliar. Some people can handle that well, taking it in stride & treating it as another new challenge, but others, can feel overly uncomfortable and uncertain, increasing their overall anxiety and fear levels, so to comfort themselves they start thinking about what they had before, what was positive about their Old Life, generally ignoring all those past miserable things that drove them to make the change in the first place!

 

While it may seem comforting to wallow in the Familiar Past, it often means ignoring the Here & Now, coping with the Present that is real and essential. The Big Dreams you had of coming here may be just as unrealistic as your retrospective editorializing of what you left behind! The Past takes on that Rosy hue, while the Present becomes an unrealistically, foreboding and unmanageable place - the result being you trap yourself in some nether World of Fear, preventing you moving naturally forward, maybe even destined to disappointment when you return to the place of your unrealistic dreams...

 

Everyone has to give themselves TIME to learn to appreciate their new home - OK, you might never like it, let alone love it - but you can appreciate it for what it is, but you can't do that if you lock yourself indoors and only think there's Life in the PAST! Besides, surely you don't HAVE to stay in this place for ever should you hate it that much?

 

Doing little things that don't actually cost you money, initially, can be the first step to familiarization - just walking round the block - walking in any direction for 30/40 minutes then seeing if you can come back a different way... Any kind of walk will make you feel better anyway... For a bit of money - is there a bus to Somewhere you could catch to explore and familiarize yourself with your new area...? As TonyandSharon said, get bikes, but mostly just GET OUT & ABOUT, until the place starts to at least feel familiar. With that familiarity will come a degree of comfort, and security, which will then allow you to relax and start to feel secure within your new environment. This does take time, but if you don't do it, you'll be forever trapped & miserable.

 

Every day, do a little something to get to know your new home better - introduce yourself to a neighbor, watch local tv or listen to local radio: if you can to get a grip of what's going on, you'll start to feel a part of that. If you're in a town, there's ample opportunity's to just hang out places and watch the world go by. Buy the local papers, read them cover to cover, including the classifieds & obits - might depress you, but will at least get you feeling something for your new country...

 

The fact is YOU ARE HERE - We all only get one life, this isn't a dress rehearsal, no one knows when the light's will go out and opportunities & potential fade to black in an instant - it has to be incumbent upon us all to make the best of this small opportunity that we have to be the best we can be, to enjoy this LIFE we have, because heaven knows you don't have to look far to see people living in dire need & squalor, where a touch of Homesickness would be blessed relief... Maybe think about volunteering, there's nothing like helping folks worse off than ourselves to make us count our blessings and get in touch with what's real and vital...

 

It all takes time - you've just got to be a little gentle with yourself, but firm too - make yourself go out, but perhaps just for an hour. Turn off Radio 2 and listen to ABC, or your local station, it's quite engrossing once you get into it, and before you know where you are, you'll be talking back to the thing! Perhaps check out real estate in other areas, commutable for work - get the bus and explore them - sign up for a little course of something you've always wanted to do, but never had the time before! There's so much you can DO now, but all the time you are stagnating you'll never do anything, and in the end you will so regret this.

 

It is hard, I know, but sometimes you have to take yourself in hand and lead yourself bravely into the Future, because staying where you are, or trapped in an unrealistic PAST is not a place with a future...

 

X X X Keep smiling and the World smiles with you...

 

 

 

[Guest emma cant wait to go!]

Hi & thanks so much for those last 2 posts! We are now on our 5th day in Oz & have today got back up and running on line, and that was very comforting reading, esp after just seeing my mum & brother via webcam! We are here to make a go of it for good but when the going gets tough i will re-read these posts over and over!!!

 

Emma xx

[Mongrel]

OK - stop all this worrying. We have just moved from the UK to Brisbane, the housing market was so bad when we left that we decided to 'let' out our property still in the UK so all our equity is tied up. We still haven't sold our car in the UK so thats money we're waiting on. Sure we have savings that are still in the UK because the exchange rate is so poor (but getting better slowly) so thats 3 ways where we have had to leave money and potential deposits in the UK.

 

Where we have been lucky is the fact that I could find work straight away, my wife is a qualified teacher in the UK and is still going through the registering process so she is the one keeping herself busy day-to-day where as I am at work.

 

The trick is to keep yourself busy, go out, explore, buy a bike (we did and explored everywhere on them in the 1st 2-3 weeks) you see so much more.

 

Regarding houses and mortgages, things are also different out here. Less people own and more seem to rent. My advice would be don't buy yet anyway - look at whats happening globally to the economy, there is soon going to be a recession in most parts of the world and if it doesn't hit Oz it may scrape by a little - rent for 6 months, maybe even a year and keep watching the markets and the interest rates - they will soon be better for us getting on the ladder at the 1st step. (Trust me) - I am about to sign a 6 month lease and looking at the economy the housing prices will fall before they rise again.

 

When we 1st arrived things did seem more expensive, but that because we were shopping for convenience, you are right about there being no tesco etc, but here there is so much more. More and more people are using Aldi, for groceries etc these are better than most supermarkets. Check out your nearest Aldi, also online check out the farmers markets, quality meat and fish at ordinary market prices. Get your alcahol from Dan Murphys, they are great and do some really nice quality wines that don't break the bank.

 

Here's the things they don't tell you - haggle, haggle over anything your buying. If your not sure and the sticker says $220, ask if they can do you a deal for $210 or get something extra thrown in and ask for that for a discount if you pay full whack on the 1st item. It may be cheeky and my OH cringes sometimes but more often than not they will sell it cheaper.(If you don't ask you dont get)

 

We just bought a car from a 2nd hand dealer - knocked him down by $1600 approx - its a buyers market.

 

Funnily enough - about the furniture and kitchen and living room equipment, we have done exactly that today and spent an absolute fortune. (or so we thought)

We bought:

32" HDTV, Fridge Freezer (A MASSIVE ONE), microwave, kettle, toaster, vax, iron, washing machine all from "Good Guys". They avertise that they will do you a deal - and when we walked in I asked what deal they could give us if we purchased a large amount of stock and they said 8%. I went straight back with "we were looking for around the 15% mark really and the attendant came straight back with "I can knock 12% off the sticker price on.

 

You think the goods add up to alot until you see what you actually get for your money:

32" HDTV - AUD $800 - Same TV in UK is £500 - Exchange rate at $2.25/£1 = $1125 - Save $325 - Very cheap in comparison.

 

Fridge Freezer - AUD $1299 - Same in UK is approx £700 - Exchange rate at $2.25/£1 = $1575 - Save $276 - again - cheaper by comparison.

 

The trick is to get the equipment from the same place and buy in bulk for the better deal.

 

We then went to super-a-mart and bought bedroom furniture, couch and recliner, backyard table and chairs + the tv stand for my baby (LCD). Again they threw in a deal and we got quite a bargain in comparison to what we would have had to spend in the UK to get the same.

 

& Finally ('cos I am going on and on) about the quality of life. In time you will make friends and acquaintances, it will all be good. Just think when your next walking by the 'south bank' or driving to sea world or even further and going to Noosa for the weekend or maybe planning a weekend what you could actually be doing in the UK..................... staying in because its raining!!

 

Choose - live life

 

:-)

Good luck and keep us updated.

tonyandsharon

 

Good Guys are actually bad guys they say they are low prices because you pay bucks , but not if you look round, 12 % on that lot is not much. Ive found best bet is tell them your price to take it then for cash and stick to it if they want the sale put the ball in there court but I agree with you about OH mine runs off when I bargain:biglaugh:

 

Mally from Kally

[Guest VFRHOCKS]

I like the sound of Oz more and more everyday, my missus cringes when we shop over here in normal shops as I will always ask for discount, do it so often I tend to do it and not relise I doing it.

 

I love it, like you say, they might say no but you might get a bargain, you never know unless you ask.

[Quoll]

Actually, I dont think haggle haggle haggle is the Australian way - they are much more subtle about it and I have heard retailers complain about (usually migrants) who aggressively haggle. There are some stores where it just is not done (dont try it in David Jones or Myers unless you can quote a lower price elsewhere). In the stores where it is done, you can go in and look and procrastinate a bit and they will offer a discount. If you hesitate more they may offer a further discount (which means that they probably inflate their prices before they start). Many stores usually have a "not knowingly undersold" policy. Shopping around isnt the same as haggling which can be quite cringeworthy. Retailers like to think they are in control!

[Guest TonyandSharon]

Maybe haggle haggle haggle was a bit strong, its not like I would go into a garage, fuel up and then haggle the price - of course there are places where i wouldn't ask for a deal, my point I was trying to make to the original posting was about if your spending alot in one place it is my belief that you are within your rights to ask for a "special price" and TBH if I was going to spend the amount of money in Myer as I did in GoodGuys I would ask for a deal and they probably would do one.

 

BTW - at good guys they also gave money off my new 32" samsung TV which was already on sale and they should not have done it - and we got free delivery and fitting when we want it!!

 

Nice :-)

[Guest VFRHOCKS]

Well, like mentioned before, if you dont try, you dont get.

 

No need to be agresive in your haggling, be friendly and polite, and if they say no, I always say to them I know I'm cheeky to ask but you dont know unless you ask. I never try to offend and apologies if I do.

[Guest Stevo]

You should have moved to Leith instead.

[Guest mrsjjm]

So we've arrived, been in Brisbane for about a month and already I'm not sure if I have made the right move. After all the many months of planning and set backs and tearful goodbyes to friends and family I thought I would feel a sense of relief/excitement/happiness to be finally here, instead I feel...numb, an anti-climax almost and now I am worrying and questioning why I feel like this.

When I have read other people's posts on here once they have arrived, they seem to be totally happy so why aren't I? I'm not normally a moaner or a misery guts but I am struggling to feel happy about what we have done just now.

Has anyone else felt like this when they initially arrived...does it get better? I know we are still in the settling in process...I haven't started work yet - I start in 3 weeks, we move to a nice house in the Ferny Grove side of the city in 2 weeks time and I still need to find childcare for our son. Currently I can only get 2 days PW and I need 4, but it is so difficult to find any availability and until I can get him in 4 days PW, my OH cannot look for work, as we don't have any family or friends over here to help out.

At the moment I feel lonely, it is just the 3 of us every day - I miss the routine of my old life, my job, my family and friends that I could see or talk to regularly...we have Skype and that helps, but its not like I can pop over to my mums at the w/end or meet a pal for a coffee.

The other thing that I am finding difficult is the cost of living over here - we haven't brought huge amounts of money with us, certainly not enough for a deposit on a house (I've been told you need at least 20% of the asking price!). When we came over in November for a month it did not seem as expensive as it is now. Food shopping is definitely dearer here than back in the UK, mainly I think because over there you have Tesco/Asda/Sainsbury/Morrisons etc etc all competing for your custom so they constantly have a multitude of offers on and also they sell cheap, relatively good clothes ...before I left I bought whole outfits for my son in the Tesco sale, all for under £5/6 each. Here the main ones are just Coles and Woolworths who seem to monopolise it all.

Its not just the food shopping - I stupidly left all my garden furniture and BBQ at home as I thought it wouldn't get through customs. I assumed in the land of outdoor living that I could pick things up cheap enough out here and there would be an equivalent B & Q or Homebase, but that's not the case, as this sort of stuff is also more expensive, which I just can't believe.

Banking is a rip off, everywhere charges for an account and if you use an ATM that is not their's then you get charged extra, at least in the UK if you opt to pay for an acct you get loads of freebies like free yearly travel insurance, bank and credit card protection and mobile phone insurance and obviously you can use any ATM via the "link" system for free. Talking of mobile phones the tarriffs are roughly the same but what with the connection fee for each call, on top of the call rate, they are not as good value by a long way...

I know I shouldn't keep comparing things to the UK if I want this to work but it's hard as that is all I have known. The main reason for moving here was so that we could have a better quality of life than in the UK, but with the prices the way they are over here, I think financially, I may in fact be worse off. Sure the people are friendly and the weather and scenery is great and there are loads of great parks for my son to enjoy and plenty of open spaces for kids to run wild but I'm not going to enjoy them if I am constantly watching the pennies and rising bills. I know things are currently getting more expensive in the UK but I was never in a situation where by I worried about going out to buy some clothes or do my monthly massive food shop and I'll be earning roughly the same sort of salary here as I was there.

Ahhhhhh! I feel like a whinging pom already and I know I am being probably a bit over panicky but can someone please tell me that things do get better. Am I shopping in the wrong shops??? I need to buy a whole kitchen's worth of white goods at the end of this month and I am dreading the cost of all that as I need everything from a kettle/toaster to microwave and washer & dryer etc. Any advice on where to get these at a reasonable price?? If only there was an Argos over here!

Maybe some of you will tell me that the high cost of living here is a fact, and then I will need to re-evaulate whether long term this is for us, as at the moment, overall the UK is definitely a cheaper place to live. My OH is so positive and although I really want to be, I can't see the point of lying to myself either, almost like I am glossing things over for effect.

I knew the move would be hard and it would take time to adjust and I don't think I over glamerised living here in my head, but its just not what I expected and I disappointly don't feel as I expected too...I just feel sort of lost.

Sorry for the length of this post but I just need to "talk" to someone as I don't want to tell people at home that I already have doubts when I was so loooking forward to moving out here for the last year and over here, besides the OH, I don't know anyone else!

Hi shazzi my name is jo myself hubby and 2 kids just moved over from just outside glasgow 2mths ago!Iknow exactly how you feel i dont work so dont get to meet any1! Our 1yr old goes to an abc childcare centre and they seem to be quite good although she just goes 1 day a week,they seem to be dotted around everywhere so you could try there!Garage sales are great too we used them to set ourselves up till our furniture arives hopefully next week yey!If u need a hand with childcare i could help i live 20 mins away from brisbane in forrest lake or a chat that would be great! take care and hope you feel better soon jo x

[PommyPaul]

One thing i'd say is don't be afraid to buy things second hand!

The only person who'll know that the things are second hand are you and they do the same job whether they're 1 day old or 1 year old.

 

for example, posh lg fridge freezer new $3000+ 615L LG 3 Door Fridge GRL218STB - 3 & 4 Door Fridges - Price Comparison - Buy Cheap in Australia

 

Secondhand better fridge freezer $800 LG 3-Door Fridge Freezer on Trading Post ? white goods, dishwashers, fridges, freezers, washing machines, dishwashers, dryers and kitchen appliances at low prices.

[Quoll]

And for really cheap dont forget The Freecycle Network - search for a group in your area. People dont seem to like buying second hand these days and a lot of folk are giving away quite good stuff.