RoseBrown1972 Posted January 31, 2011 Share Posted January 31, 2011 wow five months! Glad you're enjoying it so far and have settled, its nice to hear a positive story! I've been in perth 2 months now, i can remember you counting down to going and it seemed ages away for us! I'm struggling to be honest, hubby loved it instantly! Hopefully we will be in new rental within 2 weeks, furnitures here in perth we're just waiting for it to get through customs, i'm hoping this will help as our short term rental hasn't been so great, cramped and a very noisy comlex with a few hoons! Then i need to find a job and hopefully that will settle me even more! Too much time on my hands right now! Hope you keep enjoying it! Rose Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sherbetdip23 Posted January 31, 2011 Share Posted January 31, 2011 Hi Thanks for the lovely update :biggrin: Glad to hear you guys are settling in well and the children love school. Hope you don't mind me asking but which school did you choose for your children? We have two girls aged 8 and 7 and are looking at the Gold Coast. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
3 Piccos Posted January 31, 2011 Share Posted January 31, 2011 wow five months! Glad you're enjoying it so far and have settled, its nice to hear a positive story! I've been in perth 2 months now, i can remember you counting down to going and it seemed ages away for us! I'm struggling to be honest, hubby loved it instantly! Hopefully we will be in new rental within 2 weeks, furnitures here in perth we're just waiting for it to get through customs, i'm hoping this will help as our short term rental hasn't been so great, cramped and a very noisy comlex with a few hoons! Then i need to find a job and hopefully that will settle me even more! Too much time on my hands right now! Hope you keep enjoying it! Rose Hi Rose We have also been in Melbourne for eight weeks, and I was starting to feel a bit "down" due to the property we were living in. Now we are in our new rental (one week) I feel so different. I am actually wanting to do housework and gardening!!! Our furniture won't be here for a while, so we have bought some second hand furniture to tide us over. Once you are in a property that you like with your belongings around you, you will feel more settled. Also finding a job will definitely help as you will meet more people. We are both retired but are hoping to start socialising now that we have got the house situation sorted. I wish you and your family well. Ponte Pom, glad to hear that the kids are happy at school and things are moving along ok. Of course, there are ups and downs, I had plenty of them in the UK!!! I agree that some people do want their cake and their ha'penny and they spend their life talking about doing something, but never actually get any further. Best wishes to all the newbies!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PontePom Posted January 31, 2011 Author Share Posted January 31, 2011 Hi Thanks for the lovely update :biggrin: Glad to hear you guys are settling in well and the children love school. Hope you don't mind me asking but which school did you choose for your children? We have two girls aged 8 and 7 and are looking at the Gold Coast. We're in Helensvale and the kids (Becki 16 and Luke 13 Birthdays on the 12th February) are both at the state High school here. OMG just realised we'll have 2 teenagers in the house LOL Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest jlr248 Posted January 31, 2011 Share Posted January 31, 2011 Great to hear you are settling in, keep us all posted, i love all the little details you are sharing. Good luck and be happy x Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sherbetdip23 Posted January 31, 2011 Share Posted January 31, 2011 Thanks! Hectic household for you then! :arghh::arghh: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fleabo Posted January 31, 2011 Share Posted January 31, 2011 Well we've been here now for more than 5 months so I thought a little update was due... ... So I think that covers most of it for now Howard Great to hear your news Howard. You have been busy! Good luck with setting up your business. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PontePom Posted February 11, 2011 Author Share Posted February 11, 2011 Happy Birthday to my wonderful children First birthdays in Australia Daughter Becki 16 Son Luke 13 So proud of them Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fleabo Posted February 11, 2011 Share Posted February 11, 2011 Howard, hope they have a great day today. Our twins had their first Australian birthday yesterday - we had a Splash and Sizzle party for them with all their Australian cousins and a few friends from school. They loved it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PontePom Posted February 17, 2011 Author Share Posted February 17, 2011 Exactly 6 months today since we arrived in Australia :biggrin: It feels like we've lived here for many years now and it is HOME for sure Life is great and the 4 of us are loving it here Howard Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul1Perth Posted February 17, 2011 Share Posted February 17, 2011 Good to hear Howard. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hellsbells712 Posted February 17, 2011 Share Posted February 17, 2011 Fantastic.... Can't believe it's 6 months already. X H Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
3 Piccos Posted February 17, 2011 Share Posted February 17, 2011 I am so pleased to hear that you and your family are settled. We have just managed to get a rental property that was decent and ticked most of the boxes. We have had to buy some second hand furniture to tide us over until ours is sent over at the same time as my son's. He has just got a good tenant for his home in North Wales and is busy sorting everything out. He expects to be here in mid April. That means we are all back in Oz again!! I can't say I am completely settled at the moment, as there are still things I need to do, like buy a vehicle suitable for Peter (wheelchair user). Then we will be able to start joining a few clubs etc to make some new friends. Best wishes to you and your family may you continue to enjoy your new home. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sharonp53 Posted February 17, 2011 Share Posted February 17, 2011 Brilliant Howard! It is amazing how time flies. We are in our 4th month and complete the purchase of our new home on the Sunshine Coast on Tuesday, we are so excited. It is wonderful to be home! Graham has a "big birthday" on Monday and I have a HUGE surprise for him. I bought him a small boat, so he should be very happy with his boat and new home in the same week...lol. I hope all continues to go well for you and would love to meet you all sometime in the future, we are not that far apart after all. Here's to a happy next 6 months for you too. Sharon and Graham Exactly 6 months today since we arrived in Australia :biggrin: It feels like we've lived here for many years now and it is HOME for sure Life is great and the 4 of us are loving it here Howard Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PontePom Posted March 13, 2011 Author Share Posted March 13, 2011 Well things are all falling into place now for us... Accepted an offer on our house in UK :biggrin: Less than we really wanted but it's actually costing us money now as council tax has to paid after 6 months empty. No mortgage which does help though. Both our kids Becki and Luke have now settled into school after a few minor ups and downs and are both getting fantastic grades. Luke as started to play football with the school and hopefully he'll pick up where he left off in UK playing in goals for the team I used to manage. But he's wants to study to be a Lawyer which is great because even if you make it as a sportsman your career is a very short one so good to have a career to fall back on. Becki wants to be a Zoologist and is studying some very tough subjects to get what she needs to follow her dreams. I'm really proud of them both for having some great plans for their futures and we'll support them in every way we can hoping they'll support us in our old age :biglaugh: We feel very lucky that we chose this house to rent from the UK because we love it and can see us being here for several years and the thought of having to move house scares us and all the stress of doing so that goes with it. We'll be looking at an above ground pool once the house sale has been sorted just to make the house complete and the owners have already agreed to this. We've bought a full size pool table and it's fantastic and have had loads of fun with it so far and can recommend one if your after one check out ebay we paid $255 + postage ($90) We're so happy and can't ever see us being back in the UK. Pam's Mum is coming for a holiday with us in 25 days time and counting. 80 years old and flying out by herself wow but Singapore airways are escorting her so she should be fine. She's here for over a month so it'll be great for her to see where we live and see how happy we are. So I think that's enough updating for now and I think you can guess from my posts that we're happy here lol Howard Maybe I should change my username from pontepom to HelensvaleHoward :biglaugh: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest tandcmum Posted March 13, 2011 Share Posted March 13, 2011 great to hear your getting on so well. JUst out of interest how are you finding setting up your own computer repair business as thats what my hubby does here in the UK and wnts to do when we move over to Oz (Perth) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hellsbells712 Posted March 13, 2011 Share Posted March 13, 2011 Hi Howard & Pam, Glad to hear everything is working out for you all and kids settled at school. You're not missing anything in Ponte, weather is miserable and nothing changes. We got our 457 visa and are heading out on 3rd April. So excited. Might have our permanent visa this week, everything finalised and "met" so anyday now. If thats the case may well just enjoy a few months off exploring. Great to read your updates. Be Happy !! x Helen Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PontePom Posted March 17, 2011 Author Share Posted March 17, 2011 great to hear your getting on so well. JUst out of interest how are you finding setting up your own computer repair business as thats what my hubby does here in the UK and wnts to do when we move over to Oz (Perth) I'm looking for some basic courses that Australians look for when looking for a computer repairer cos I reckon it'll help me when I start to advertise. I guess then it'll be add in local paper and the dreaded fliers that nobody reads lol Howard Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PontePom Posted March 17, 2011 Author Share Posted March 17, 2011 Hi Howard & Pam,Glad to hear everything is working out for you all and kids settled at school. You're not missing anything in Ponte, weather is miserable and nothing changes. We got our 457 visa and are heading out on 3rd April. So excited. Might have our permanent visa this week, everything finalised and "met" so anyday now. If thats the case may well just enjoy a few months off exploring. Great to read your updates. Be Happy !! x Helen Cheers Helen I bet you're excited now not long Howard and Pam xx Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PontePom Posted March 17, 2011 Author Share Posted March 17, 2011 Just been to the Dr's to see about my Elbow. I've had problems with both my elbows and had an operation on my right one several years back and it's loads better since. My condition is Golfers elbow which is the bottom part of the elbow where tennis elbow is at the top. I don't play GOLF lol I've had the steroid injections in my left one which have normally done the job but not recently. I had 1 injection here that did nothing and about 3 weeks ago had 1 using ultrasound to tell them exactly where to inject which was a first for me so I was hopeful. They injected my elbow about 6 times and the pain was not pleasant at all. a couple of days later my elbow was black and blue and still very sore. But 3 weeks later it's worse than before the injection so have decided to see a specialist to have the same operation on the left elbow to hopefully sort it. We didn't get any private hospital cover as I didn't see the point. I'm happy to go with the public health and see how we go. I'll update on here at how things progress with the speed of seeing someone to having the operation. My only worry is that once I have it done I'll be out of action for a while. It took 3 months with the other arm to fully recover. Driving will be a problem for me an automatic car would be great but we have 2 manual cars so not sure how we'll manage. Got manual for daughter to learn to drive in. I know it'll be a painful recovery as it was with my right arm but at least knowing it'll ease is well worth it because of the pain I have every day now. Howard Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PontePom Posted April 6, 2011 Author Share Posted April 6, 2011 Everything is still going great for us... The house sale is still moving along and hopefully have a completion date soon. Still not heard anything from specialist about the operation on my elbow. Mother-in-law starts her journey to us from Manchester today leaving at 09.10 and will be with us 19.30 tomorrow So excited about her coming and proud of her for making the trip by herself at 80. But we can't wait to show her where we live now and as much of Australia has we can. The weather is a changing and quite cool during the night and early morning but lovely today apart from the wind. Forecast is wet for the next few days and then hopefully some dry weather on it's way. Pam's back doing the job she came over to do as she's been helping out at another base because of staff shortages and only has 3 more days to work then off for a month well apart from a few days here and there when they can't manage without her. Howard Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PontePom Posted May 15, 2011 Author Share Posted May 15, 2011 Time for another update... Pam's Mum has gone back home now and she managed the flights very well and Singapore were great and looked after her very well. There was a cock up at Manchester airport where she was not escorted from check in through security etc to the aircraft. She managed to find it herself no idea how tbh We we're not happy as you can imagine. In Singapore everything was great and at Brisbane she was wheeled to us waiting for her. I sent an email with our concerns about the incident and was told she had it offered to her and she declined it. So I emailed back to say that they we're calling her a liar and to please check with Manchester again. This time they accepted there had been a mistake and couldn't apologise enough and gave her a $75 gift cert to spend on the flight home. At check in at Brisbane the duty manager came to greet us and gave her the voucher and apologised again. Back to her visit... We tried to show her where we lived and the surrounding areas close by and she fell in love with it all. She loved our local beach. We showed her Tambourine mountain, Coolangatta, Currumbin beach, Hard Rock Cafe Surfers Paradise, Warner Brother World, Sea World, Dream World, Went to my Brothers at Wellington point where we went out on his boat and what a day we had including me falling over while videoing as a boat passed us as we hit the bow wave (Might be seen on Australia's Funniest Home Video) lol... She loved everything apart from the $'s she couldn't get used to em but I guess at 80 years old I'm not surprised. She got sick of smiling for photo's well we did take nearly 2,000. Not forgetting the videoing so she has so many memories and knows we're so settled with lives down under. She loved the BBQ's and the laid back lifestyle. Also she couldn't believe how easy the bin men and post men have it over here not leaving their wagon and whizzing around on their motorbikes lol All in all it was fantastic to see her but sad to see her go again. We got 11months until the next visitors Pam's Sister and husband. It's taken us a week to get back to normal and now need to get back on diet and walking every morning etc to lose the weight I gained. I've not heard anything about my elbow yet but hopefully it won't be too long because It's very painful now worse than ever before and not a lot I can do for it. Thankfully it's my left arm this time. Better news I've got appointment for some physiotherapy for my neck/back booked in for beginning of June. The children have settled so well into school and are working so hard but getting the top grades which really shows hard work does pay off. My daughter got an A in her English and it's only the teachers 3rd A in 10 years so really proud of her. Right my head is big enough now lol On the house front the sale is still not completed A claim has turned up from the 80's that was made against the coal board which owned the property at the time (ex pit managers houses) So more hold ups. The buyers have had a building inspector check the house on Friday so hopefully it'll be good news and the sale can finally go ahead. We spoke to the buyers the other day and we're worried we would pull out of the sale so can't see a problem. Plus we had no problems with the house in the 16 years we lived in it. I reckon that's about it for this update Howard Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
3 Piccos Posted May 16, 2011 Share Posted May 16, 2011 Glad to hear your MIL had such a good time. It is a long journey for us, but for someone her age it is a fantastic achievement, and on her own. Good for her!!! My grandfather also made the trip over when he was 80 and he also thoroughly enjoyed it. I am glad you took so many photographs of the visit. My FIL came over to see us and stayed for six months. He returned for a few weeks and then returned and stayed for 12 months. When we died (at the age of 93) we were sorting out his home and came across quite a number of photo albums. They were of his time spent in Australia. He had put them in the album, dated them, and put the name of the place and who he was with. You could tell the album had been looked through many times, and I bet he had many happy hours reliving those memories as he looked at the photos. I am sure Pam's mum will be the same. Best of luck with getting rid of the extra pounds!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Louey Posted May 16, 2011 Share Posted May 16, 2011 Hey Howard Great post....sounds like the MIL had the time of her life good on her. I am keeping my fingers crossed that my mother might visit at some point though she keeps saying no. She says the flight is too long she is only 61 years young!!!! Gonna tell her that if someone who is 80 can do it then so should she lol!!! How long have you guys been out here? Do you know of any regular meet up's on the Gold Coast? I am off to the Brisbannittes one on the 28th May but would be nice to have one closer to home. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PontePom Posted May 16, 2011 Author Share Posted May 16, 2011 Hey HowardHow long have you guys been out here? Do you know of any regular meet up's on the Gold Coast? I am off to the Brisbannittes one on the 28th May but would be nice to have one closer to home. We came here last August so it's just been 9 months... No idea on meet ups because its something we haven't looked at. We enjoy meeting people but just wouldn't want to do so on a grand scale of so many at once if you know what I mean. Howard Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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