KazzE Posted September 29, 2008 Share Posted September 29, 2008 And lovin it! the weather has been varied, nice and warm one day and a bit of a chill the next, evenings are still chilly enough to have a fire on. We have also had a couple of very windy days and some rain - well they do say you can get all four seasons in a day in Melbourne. We are living with my sister in Essendon, a short walk to the Keilor Road with a good range of shops, banks, post office, library, everything you need. We have sorted out medicare and taxfile numbers No worries about accomadation or car as these have been sorted by my sis, very lucky for us. We have contacted agencies about jobs, hubby is a welder/fitter and I work in childcare, all looking positive so far................................ Had to take my niece to A&E after she had an accident when a carousel ride broke at the Melbourne show jarring her back, she was seen within 15 mins of our arrival by triage and by a Doc about 10 mins after that, very similar to our experience here in the UK but the waiting room was not as busy and the wait was shorter, can't remember which one we went to but not the one near the city, so that may have had an impact on the waiting times. oh and I found out that they have Nurse on call which is like the UK nhs direct, you can call and ask advice. Dad also had to go to the Doc's yesterday as he came back from the UK coughing, we finally got him to go on Sunday, to a walk in clinic in Moonee Ponds - he was seen within about 10 mins (cost him $60, of which he will probably get $30 back from medicare) he is on a year tourist visa. He has been for a chest x ray today and then back to the Doc's after waiting half an hour for his x rays. The difference here is the paying and claiming back and the need to have private medical insurance to cover ambulance etc I am not very clued up on that yet so any info would be gratefully recieved. Driving around is ok, still getting used to the fact that people undertake and it is OK ! and I need to remember to watch for trams on certain roads but I think I am going to have a lesson with an instructor just to familiarize myself with Oz highway signs and markings and the hook turn! would rather have my first go at that with someone who knows what they are doing in car. I love the markets, the veg is good quality and I have been able to get wheat free products much easier here, most of the cafe's we have been in have the option for gluten free bread or toast. The fresh meat and fish is good quality and a good price, especially if you are there near closing and it is Grand final day! they were giving it away on Sat! Bank account was easy, started the process in the UK and went in to the bank to show our I D a few days after arriving, no money over here yet! hoping for good rate over the next few weeks, but we have our cards and we are ready to go. can't think of anything else now, will check back in a few days, it is surprising how little I seem to get on the computer these days, the waiting game is over - time to start living the dream LOL Karen X Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest sanders family Posted September 29, 2008 Share Posted September 29, 2008 Hi Karen it is lovely to hear that everything is going great, With the summer coming up it will only get better. Hope you sort out some jobs soon and then it will be plain sailing. Please keep us all posted on life in melbourne. Take care Kim Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest The Pom Queen Posted September 29, 2008 Share Posted September 29, 2008 Karen What a super post, I think you summed everything up perfectly. Sorry to hear about your niece, is she ok now? Hope you enjoyed yourself at the show before the incident and didn't spend to much on show bags. I was there running the Wildlife Victoria Stall. Take care and please keep up with the updates as they are very valuable to the people waiting to come over. Good luck with the job search. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest tess Posted September 29, 2008 Share Posted September 29, 2008 hi karen thanks for your brilliant post, were moving to melbourne in jan and the nerves are starting to get the better of me. your post just reminded me of my trip to oz in june especally the markets, which when reading gave me a warm feeling about moving in jan 09 tess xx Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Lunarz123 Posted September 29, 2008 Share Posted September 29, 2008 Really great to hear that you are happy with your move so far - we move to Melbourne in 8 weeks, so it's really helpful to hear what day to day life has been like for you so far. Hope it stays really positive for you :smile: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KazzE Posted September 29, 2008 Author Share Posted September 29, 2008 Hey peeps thanks for replies It is a huge move and not to be taken lightly (not that I think anyone does but...) I have to say that I think it has been easy for us as we have come to family and we do not have young children to settle into schools etc We have however left our grown up children in the UK - one has just started working after finishing his degree and the other is just starting Uni, tomorrow! she wanted an English Uni education, despite the fact that she could have done a very similar degree here in Melbourne, in fact, still could, she has a Common Wealth assisted place for next semester starting in Feb/March 09 but that is another long story......................... But we are looking on this as a 4-5 year adventure, we want to get citizenship, and we will see where we all are then, hopefully the kids will have joined us (they both have permanent residency visas as they were dependant at the time of application and approval) If anyone wants to meet up for a coffee or something give my a PM would love to meet some fellow PIO ers Karen X Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest The York Clan Posted September 29, 2008 Share Posted September 29, 2008 It is so great to hear something positive about Melbourne - so many threads on here are the complete opposite! We move to Melbourne in 5 weeks and we are nervous but excited too! Thanks for the post- makes me feel better about the whole thing! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest jonseywife Posted September 29, 2008 Share Posted September 29, 2008 Hi Karen Glad u made it!!!! :notworthy: As for your Ambulance cover query, you can actually go into your local Post Office and join. Your and your family will be covered immediately. We paid about £120 for all 6 of us, which is'nt bad. I recommend you get it asap as Ive heard the charge for Ambulances are really really expensive here. Good luck, and if your ever down Mornington way, PM me. There are quire a few PIOers down here!! Sally-ann x Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TaniaColin Posted September 29, 2008 Share Posted September 29, 2008 Hi Karen Great post glad you are settling in to your new lives. Keep us updated Tania X Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest EvieB Posted September 29, 2008 Share Posted September 29, 2008 Hi Karen - great post, I hope you manage to keep us up to date with how you are doing. It was good for me to hear about you having to leave your adult children behind because I suspect we will be in that position and it is the one thing that causes me problems. It doesn't matter how old they are, they are still your kids, aren't they? Please will those of you going in a few weeks try and let us know how you are doing? It helps so much! X Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Gollywobbler Posted September 29, 2008 Share Posted September 29, 2008 Hi Karen It is super to hear from you again. In addition to the Post Office, St John Ambulance also do stand-alone policies for ambulance cover only and it really is essential to get this insurance without delay because the bill for a one-way ride to hospital in an emergency ambulance can be anywhere from $500 to $800 depending on how acute the illness/injury is. With regard to GP services for Dad, a lot of GPs bulk bill for children and those of 65 or over. It shouldn't be impossible to find a bulk-billing GP for Dad reasonably locally to you, which would save him money and also save him the hassle of having to get involved with Medicare claims or reclaims. To track down the resources for Dad, there may be stuff on www.seniors.gov.au (I don't know - I've never studied it closely.) If you contact Seniors Card (which has has nothing to do with the main Seniors website, you may be able to wheedle a Seniors Card for Dad considering that he has now moved to Oz permanently to all intents & purposes. Welcome to Seniors Card Seniors Card- Department of Planning and Community Development I've been told about a British couple in Adelaide who have applied for non-contributory Aged Parent visas (friends of friends.) They are living in Adelaide on Bridging Visas whilst they wait for their APV application to crawl to the top of the Queue. Apparently they both have Seniors Cards, so the people in Vic can ring their oppos in Adelaide if they need encouragement about this! Worth a go because the card does offer some good discounts and the latest news from the POPC suggests that Dad's CPV application is likely to take two years to process unless the quota of CPVs is increased again in July 2009. The POPC are saying that by the end of October if not before they will have allocated (not necessarily granted, but allocated ) all 6,500 CPVs available in the 2008/9 Program Year; that is able to be granted before 30th June 2009. They say they are already holding enough applications to fill the quota of 6,500 visas for 2009/10 as well, ergo they are predicting that people who have applied in the last 6 months or so may well not be able to get their CPVs granted until after 1st July 2010. Seniors Card should be sympathetic is you show them this article by Alan Collett of Go Matilda: Go Matilda - Your Gateway to Australia - News Alan is in Melbourne, so they can ring him up as well if they don't believe thee & me: Go Matilda - Your Gateway to Australia - Contact and Feedback Go Matilda - Your Gateway to Australia - Contact and Feedback When are your two children in the UK planning to validate their PR visas? Remember that it is essential for them to do so prior to the Initial Entry Date given in the Grant letter and repeated on the visa labels. Best wishes Gill xx Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Lorna & Clint Posted September 30, 2008 Share Posted September 30, 2008 hi Karen, brill post, makes me feel better. Has your sis got another room spare? LOL Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KazzE Posted September 30, 2008 Author Share Posted September 30, 2008 Thanks guys n gals I would like to also say that I have noticed more graffiti this time, as has been noticed by others, not drastic and it does seem to get cleaned up well. But it is obviously an issue, there are notices up about reporting it. BUT this is not the UK, it is different, there are places that look really old fashioned and out of date and there are places that look ultra modern. As an Aussie in the UK said to me before I left - it is not nessesarily better in Oz or the UK, just different. And it is all relative, if you come from a nice rural town with a low crime rate and move to a city suburb, you are going to notice a bigger difference than someone who comes from an inner city area. Hi Gill, nice to hear from you too Kids validated with us in Feb so they are ok, they are coming over in Dec for Christmas so that helped me a bit, I booked thier flights last week so they are definately coming. will PM you with some other not so good news Karen Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest ameliaandpeter Posted October 2, 2008 Share Posted October 2, 2008 Karen, Great post, hope you guys are settling in ok. It must help especially in the beginning having family to help. Look forward to the next update. Take Care Amelia x Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KazzE Posted April 9, 2012 Author Share Posted April 9, 2012 Now 3yrs and 7 months since we landed and after reading a post from someone else who arrived around the same time and wondering where they are now I thought I would try and give a short update of where we are now . ... . . . Very sadly we had a horrible few months after the last post I made in this thread, my Dad was diagnosed with mesothelioma a week after we arrived and passed away in Feb 2009, the week of Black Sat Bush fires. Hubby found work through an agency quite quickly but the contract ended at Christmas and he was out of work until Feb. I had plenty of work doing relief work at childcare centers, money was great and it meant I could take time off to care for Dad and be with him up to the end. Hubby got a job with a small family firm which was great to start with but turned sour after a year or so, they did not pay his super for over a year. Once it had been payed up he started looking for a new job and he finally heard of a job on the railway and has been very happy there since last Aug. I got a job with a Family Day Care scheme with a very similar role to the one I left (and loved) in the UK and for 2 years I loved it but that turned sour at Christmas when they decided that they could no longer afford my role and made it redundant, offering me a new role, which is half the hours (doing 3/4 of my previous duties!) So I am looking for a new job, hoping to land a government role, so cross everything for me ;0) We lived in my sisters renovator from Nov 08 until Sept 09 when we moved into an ex display home in Deer Park, we bought there because we could afford it and it was in an area of good predicted growth. We have just sold it for $100,000 more than we paid for it. We are now looking to move and buy our forever home, but deciding on an area is proving very difficult, I would love to be able to afford Moonee Ponds or Strathmore but we can't so We have been looking at Airport West, Keilor, Ascot Vale and Werribee, hubby likes Werribee but I have my doubts. Our kids DS worked a year and then made the move, lived with us for a while and then found a house share not far away, he arrived at Christmas, 2009, so found landing a job a bit slow, eventually got one in Feb, still there but looking for something better. The hardest thing for him is making friends he is not a party animal and misses going down the pub to set the world to rights with his mates. He can apply for citizenship in Dec this year and is thinking of going. Back to the UK if he can land a contract for 6 months or a year. DD has completed her Degree in English Lit and has almost completed PGCE so she can be a teacher, is looking for a job as NQT . She does not appear to have any interest in coming to Oz and the scary/horrible thing for me is her permanent residence visa expires this Dec, so IF she evere does want to make the move she will have to apply for a visa. We have paid for her to come over each Christmas, so far BUT if she lands a NQT job she will not be able to this year due to the short Christmas break and the tickets are too expensive for when she could fly. Also we will not be able to afford to pay for too many more flights,for her and to be honest I am thinking I would rather pay for us to go to the UK and see other family members too. It has not been as hard as I imagined living so far away from our DD we speak every day, almost, most recently via FaceTime on our iPads. It is hard when she is upset not to be able to pop round and give her a hug but she is a very independent Madame and copes very well, looking after herself, working part time and not racking up lots of debt (apart from the student loan!) We acquired two gorgeous dogs, Springer spaniels in Feb 2010. We have applied for Citizenship and take the test on 3 May so we should be true blue Aussies in a few months. We had a trip back to the UK in July last year for DD graduation, we caught up with friends and family and it was great to revisit Places, eat a pub meal or two! but it did not feel like home and we could not wait to be going home to Australia. So the 4/5 year plan is now a life plan we fully intend to stay here for ever, we are planning our retirement to include travel every where and possibly spending at least a few months in the UK every year, especially if our DD stays in the UK which is looking more likely. Thanks for reading :biggrin: Karen Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peach Posted April 9, 2012 Share Posted April 9, 2012 Great post, glad it is working out for you. Thank you for taking the time to share with us. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cartertucker Posted April 9, 2012 Share Posted April 9, 2012 So sorry to hear about your Dad :hug: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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