LukeM Posted August 10, 2010 Share Posted August 10, 2010 Well here we are in Brisbane this morning (Tuesday, 10 a.m.) It's cold and it's wet and clouded over, none the less it's been a week now! I don't really know what to say. So much has happened, so I'm pretty sure this post will be giving off a mixture of vibes!! :goofy: For the time being it is just my mum and I here. She is currently out at work in Windsor. Day 2, we will have to wait and see what she comes home tonight and says but hopefully it won't be anything bad!! I don't think I could handle another upheaval back to the UK, this has only just begun and there's no chance I'm going to get my old job back, would have to be praying for a miracle that I got amazing A Levels and could re-apply to University for 2011... BUT. Hopefully that's not going to be the case!! Besides, I have at least one tie here - a BlackBerry on Vodafone that's costing $39 a month!! I don't think I want to buy out of that contract if my mum all of a sudden decides she hates it here. Personally, I think she's just missing my dad and brother, who will arrive here in October. We set up bank accounts in the UK before we left. That's alright, we've got somewhere to transfer money into but they've been really bad with getting us the cards!! :arghh: SO every time we run out of cash we have to go to the bank and fill in a slip, show off our ID and withdraw lump sums of hard cash?! They say they'll call us when the cards are in but I might go and pour a bit of lava on the floor and get them hopping on our case to get those cards!! I've got a QTAC application to lodge and it's so much easier to pay online via BPAY?? The biggest issue at the moment is undoubtedly where we are staying!! It is so, so noisy. My biggest piece of advice would be for anyone coming out here, do not get a holiday apartment to stay in!!!! This place is not that nice, and it's costing over $900 a week. Ok, yes, it's fully-furnished and there are no bills to play but it's noisy here right on the edge of a highway and to be honest it's not even a tiny iota of the space you could afford in a rental property for $900 a week! A 2 bed apartment with kitchenette, single bathroom with shower/toilet, built-in robes, a small balcony/verandah, and a shared pool that's tiny and nobody uses cos it overlooks a car park?? For $900... a week... and the Internet costs $65 a week??!! I know full well we could get a 5 bed, 3 bath and 2-4 car space in a house over 2 levels with private pool, air con and at least partly furnished for $900 a week in Ascot/Windsor area? So we are desperately looking for a way out. We have applied for TFNs and in the process of doing Medicare. Need to be a bit more efficient though I think. I have also applied for 8 jobs already (Yesterday) so haven't heard from any yet but fingers crossed. Been to a University Open Day at Griffith (Gold Coast) on Sunday. I don't know what's coming next, but I really don't want it to be going back to the UK... I miss my stuff and my friends. But that's natural. It'll all be shipped over here for the end of October anyway, and my dad and brother come at the beginning of October. It's just a matter of trying to let go and I think one half of us is finding harder to do that than the other at the moment, we thought it would be me but it's not!! I have ambition and I'm just trying to be open-minded and not think about what we have left behind. It's ok to admit you miss stuff, but as I work through this 1kg tub of Ski d'lite mango and peach I can't help but wonder what's going to walk through the door after work tonight!! :swoon: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Petals Posted August 10, 2010 Share Posted August 10, 2010 Welcome and thanks for your informative post. I hope your Mum is ok and I understand that not having good accommodation and paying through the nose does not help when you first arrive. There are so many people from this forum in your area I am sure that they will rally round and give you some assistance about moving to better accommodation and settling in, get togethers etc. Keep being positive and get to the bank and be polite and insist that they give you better access to your accounts, otherwise just change your bank. For your Mum things will be better when the rest of the family arrives. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daffod1lly Posted August 10, 2010 Share Posted August 10, 2010 Hey Luke Welcome to Brissy! We're still very new and been here only 6 weeks ourselves! The early days are very hard as everything is so different and it's the not knowing where to go for what you need that gets difficult! I hope work was okay for your mum and that you don't end up 10 stone heavier after working your way through the fridge :shocked: Stay positive and take each day as it comes - hopefully things will settle for you soon ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LukeM Posted August 10, 2010 Author Share Posted August 10, 2010 Hi myrtle1 Funny, I was reading your 5 week post earlier this morning!!! How big is your clan? I'm 18 btw... and I haven't met anyone yet. I'm stuck in an apartment complex right on the outskirts of Brisbane. I won't get fat. Metabolism's pretty good... karma will get me for saying that, give it a couple of years yet :biglaugh: Like I said, it's not me who's the problem. It's my mum. Although I completely agree we need to get out of this apartment complex asap before it becomes an expensive nightmare, we couldn't have my dad and brother in here as well when they come in October we wanna be well outta the way of here by then!! Luke Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neilharrison_253 Posted August 10, 2010 Share Posted August 10, 2010 Hi LukeM Thanks for the post. Im sure once you settle in time will fly and the rest of the family will be there before you know it. One item of interest is how easy was it to get a contract after only being there for a few days? I was going to do Pay as you Go initially but would rather go contract Regards Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest The Pom Queen Posted August 10, 2010 Share Posted August 10, 2010 Hi Luke What a great positive post. As you say I am sure your mum will be ok once your dad and brother comes out. It is hard making the move when you are all together let alone split in half. However with your positive attitude I am sure you will look after your mum and keep her sane until you are all back together. How long are you booked in to the rental for and have you made full payment? If not then there is no reason why you can't leave, but it would mean finding a new rental which may add further stress to your mum right now. There are lots of PIO members in Brissy so maybe get your mum on here and we can put her in touch with some of the girls for coffee and cake or maybe a bottle or two of wine. Good luck with the job applications. Kate Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LukeM Posted August 10, 2010 Author Share Posted August 10, 2010 Hi LukeM Thanks for the post. Im sure once you settle in time will fly and the rest of the family will be there before you know it. One item of interest is how easy was it to get a contract after only being there for a few days? I was going to do Pay as you Go initially but would rather go contract Regards The answer to your question is it is easy to pass a credit check if you have confirmed employment before you arrive! The contract is in my mum's name. I explored the pre-paid option, it's just so expensive here. In the UK I was with 3 and for £5 I could have 150MB of Internet (more than enough!), free Facebook and Twitter, and free Windows Live Messenger all valid for 3 months. Here, you pay an awful lot for mobile data. Even something like Optus's Data Blaster can sound like good value but you end up getting peanuts, when you have to recharge again within the month to keep your data!! What I got was a BlackBerry Storm 9500 on a $29 cap from Vodafone, then by having a BlackBerry device you can have a BlackBerry package which gives you unlimited use of the email and Internet on your BlackBerry (providing you access it via BlackBerry's browser or pre-loaded apps like Facebook and Windows Live Messenger). That costs an extra $10 p/m so I pay $39 p/month for unlimited Internet, and $180 worth of calls/texts to any network and as far as I'm aware it also can be used for texting/calling internationally. Hope that helps. ...also thanks to everyone else for their comments!! I got an email pop up on the aforementioned BlackBerry just before we Skype'd home to dad saying I can go online and book an interview slot with McDonald's in central Brisbane! :jiggy: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daffod1lly Posted August 10, 2010 Share Posted August 10, 2010 Hi myrtle1 How big is your clan? I'm 18 btw... and I haven't met anyone yet. I'm stuck in an apartment complex right on the outskirts of Brisbane. Like I said, it's not me who's the problem. It's my mum. Luke There are only three of us - our son is nine and just started school! You sound very grounded - your mum is lucky to have you to worry about and look after her. We hardly know anyone here either but I'm finding that there are meet-ups here which I am starting to join in with. As Kate said, try and get your mum on PIO - I'm sure it'll help if she can see what others are going through too. Also, many people here will try and arrange a mum's coffee meet up (happy to help here) so that she doesn't feel awkward with lots of couples around -- until your dad arrives. Hope her work is going okay :yes: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest SusanDonnan Posted August 12, 2010 Share Posted August 12, 2010 hi luke. i hope your situation has improved when you get this message. are you amemberof any of the expat groups on facebook, i know thereis a poms in brisbane group, they are great for meeting people who are of same age or even getting information as to help with settling in. i hope all works out for you and your mom and your family when they arrive sue Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LukeM Posted August 12, 2010 Author Share Posted August 12, 2010 Why of course things are better, if still at times a little confusing!! I went out on me onesies in Brissy today. What can I say, Westpac may be one of my not-so-friends at the moment!!! :goofy: The problem is you need ID for everything around here?? :policeman: Queen Street in Brisbane as some other members might know, have multiple branches of Westpac. The cards originally were sent to one branch (we weren't told which when we set up the accounts in the UK). Then we went to the other branch, who marked them up as being Lost/Stolen and blocked them. Replacement cards, it turns out, have now been sent to my uncle's house on the Gold Coast! So I called my auntie up whilst in a souvenir shop to ask if she could check that they were definitely the cards... and they were. To re-order the cards takes 5-7 working days. They said they could re-order mine there and then, because I was there in person and had valid photo ID. But my mum would have to go in at the weekend with hers to get hers sorted, which would mean that hers would come later than mine etc... No doubt my mum will not be pleased, but a return trip and an hour on the train to the Gold Coast is a small price to pay to save the wait and the hassle of re-ordering and picking up cards!! :arghh: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.