Tommy Tucker Posted October 23, 2010 Share Posted October 23, 2010 Hi, Myself and my familiy emigrated lock stock and barrell just over 1 year ago and i would like to share some of my experiences, both good and bad. First thing you realise when you get off the plane, is that you are all alone and that invisable safety blanket that we all love back home is gone. This feeling was expected, but the reality is somewhat overpowering and humbling. Renting First thing to sort out was accommadation, which fortunetaley i was able to secure within a week. Looking back the property was a little overpriced, but overall i cannot complain. What i would strongly recommend is diong a detailed property inspection and cleanliness review as agents have a habit of charging $300 for cleaning at the end of a lease, plus charging for broken items that had been broken when you moved in. Always remember to give your notice in writing, i gave my notice verbally and it eventually cost me $500. The agent never mentioned the "in writing" bit in our discussion but was very adapt at stinging me for the additional rent. Buying a Car Car dealers in Australai are even more dodgier than in Ireland or the UK, so dont believe a single word they tell you. Even when they are not talking they are lying. If you know nothing about cars, be very very careful as these guys have all been trained by Fagan himself. I bought a 3 year old Toyota from a Main Dealer, thinking that this was the safest route for a newly arrived immigrant. Hey Toyota wont screw you, after all its Toyota, how wrong i was. Firstly when i arrived to pick up the car it was filty and had a major scratch on the side that i could see from 20m and the bumper had popped out. Unforetunately i only saw these items after i had signed the papers and was then politely and then unpolitely told to F**k off as it was now my property. It took 3 months of continous emails to every Toyota executive in Australia and then to all the board members in Japan before i got the scratch repaired and the bumber fixed. So Beware. Driving Australian Drivers are absolute maniacs and the Driving Points System is purely design to generate revenue. Having only pick up 2 infringement in Ireland & the UK over the past 15 years, i picked up 3 over a weekend and did not exceed 65km/hour on any of them. So beware, you haveto drive like a retard for the first 3-4 months until you get used to the aggresstion. And driving penalty points are transferable, so dont be lulled into a sense of false security dring on your internation licience. Schools I have to say, excellent and to date i have absolutely no issues complaints. My kids are going to a Catholoc School and the facilities are superb, i mean everything actually works. Medical Again, i cannot believe how good it is. Some of the front line doctors are a little worrying, but if you do have and real issue you are sent to an expert immediately. One of my kids had a reasonably serious medical issue during the year and the response was excellent. Work The work mentality is completely different and a lot more laid back. What i would say is work hard, but dont try to change the world as you will get a lot of push back. Believe me the Ozzies having been doing it their way for too long to change and lets face it, it works for them. Thats why we are here. Kids This country is set up for Kids and my kids love it. They are only young so the transition was easy, but they are now fulltime swimmers and outdoor freaks. As both myself and my wife can barely swim! and we can barely keep up. Money / Cost of Living Forget the Oz Wants You & Oz Property programmes and teh bull**** they spill out about cheap living and property. The reality is everything is **** expensive and to live in a decent Anglo / Celtic area is not cheap. There are affordable suitablke suburbs, but you will have to compromise in order to keep it affordable. Having beeing burnt before, i am containing my first property purchase to within 3 times my salary. Its will be tough but i will get there, EVENTUALLY. The Austrlians Foretunately I work and mix with a great bunch of Australians who have made me more than welcome into their countrty. I have heard some desaster stories, but generally the Ozzies have beem fantastic Overall / Summary Having spent teh first 10 or so months questioning my decision to relocate my wife and kids to the other side of the world, i can now honestly tell you that it was the correct decision. It did take 10 months before i could comfortably make a statement like that, as every day you meet new challenges and doubts. Dont be fooled however, Australia is far from perfect and may well not suit many people, however for me it sseems to be working out well or even better than expected i should add. Best of Luck to Every Would Be Immigrant Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest famousfive Posted October 23, 2010 Share Posted October 23, 2010 Great post,well worth a read.Great to hear things have settled down a bit for you all and the very best of luck for the coming years. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Tanner Posted October 24, 2010 Share Posted October 24, 2010 Hi, to live in a decent Anglo / Celtic area is not cheap. So you're saying non Anglo / Celtic areas are not as decent? What race has to do with this matter? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
calNgary Posted October 24, 2010 Share Posted October 24, 2010 Thanks for your post, i agree with alot of what you say. Glad your enjoying Oz so far. Cal x Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Huddersfield Jimmy Posted October 24, 2010 Share Posted October 24, 2010 Glad you have settled in here. I moved here 8 years ago when I married an aussie lass and love it here. I had to go home in Feb of this year due to family illness and it reinforced that I sure do hate the english winters. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest30038 Posted October 24, 2010 Share Posted October 24, 2010 So you're saying non Anglo / Celtic areas are not as decent? What race has to do with this matter? No, that wasn't said. What was said was: "to live in a decent Anglo / Celtic area is not cheap" You can interpret is as you want :rolleyes: but I would interpret it as there are also not so decent Anglo/Celtic areas that may be cheaper or other areas where other races congregate that are cheaper. kev Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Tanner Posted October 24, 2010 Share Posted October 24, 2010 No, that wasn't said. What was said was: "to live in a decent Anglo / Celtic area is not cheap" You can interpret is as you want :rolleyes: but I would interpret it as there are also not so decent Anglo/Celtic areas that may be cheaper or other areas where other races congregate that are cheaper. kev Hey Kev, I TOTALLY agree with you that there could be "not so decent Anglo/Celtic areas that may be cheaper" as well. And, that's why I asked the original poster what race has got to do with this discussion!!?? It could just be said "a decent area" without any racial profiling, which seems unnecessary and discriminatory. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest30038 Posted October 24, 2010 Share Posted October 24, 2010 Hey Kev, I TOTALLY agree with you that there could be "not so decent Anglo/Celtic areas that may be cheaper" as well. And, that's why I asked the original poster what race has got to do with this discussion!!?? It could just be said "a decent area" without any racial profiling, which seems unnecessary and discriminatory. There's no racial profiling either, at least not in my understanding of the term and certainly no discrimination as nothing has been stated that could be construed as discriminating against a race or individual. If the poster should have picked his words more carefully, then it follows that so should you. I'm not trying to be confrontational but just drawing attention to the fact that many folk see "injustice" where there isn't any, basing their assumption simply on perhaps inappropriate wording. It's no wonder that the accusation of "playing the race card" is bandied around so freely :rolleyes: kev Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest smileykylie Posted October 24, 2010 Share Posted October 24, 2010 Work The work mentality is completely different and a lot more laid back. What i would say is work hard, but dont try to change the world as you will get a lot of push back. Believe me the Ozzies having been doing it their way for too long to change and lets face it, it works for them. Thats why we are here. This bit I find interesting - as an Aussie who lived and worked in the UK for 7 years I was told consistently by my bosses and co workers that they loved having us work there as we worked bloody hard, did not complain and just got on with it. We also never complained about commuting and would go above and beyond to get the job done. I am a Social Worker but this was also said for Occupational Therapists, Physios and Nurses. I worked for social services (in the community and hospitals) and never once worked in a team that did not have an aussie in it! Maybe it was because most were there for a short time and weren't interested in the politics etc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mickyb Posted October 24, 2010 Share Posted October 24, 2010 Why the he'll would someone interupt a great positive post to start arguing about race ! Good on you tommy , keep em coming ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest The Ropey HOFF Posted October 24, 2010 Share Posted October 24, 2010 Sounds as though your loving it buddy and keep the good posts coming. How was it looking for work? Were there plenty of jobs? What do you do? How have you coped with the weather? Are you missing family and friends? Is there much difference with things overall from the uk? All the best and tell us more. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Saz Posted October 26, 2010 Share Posted October 26, 2010 What a gr8t post, glad you have settled. We have only managed 2 hols, I that lasted 6 mnths. We hope to move over full time on 457. Have been let down couple of times, but will keep at it. Hope things continue to work out for you & your family. Oh & just to say I didn't see any in your post that could be construed as racial. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
starlight7 Posted October 27, 2010 Share Posted October 27, 2010 That was a really good post and I imagine would be really encouraging for others. I didn't even notice the race thingo- I guess some people look for issues is all I can say. Like , for example, a Greek person or an Italian personyou might look for a community where you woulkd feel comfortable - maybe an area where there are a lot of Greek/Italian speakers and that is all the comment meant, I am sure. We have Chinese areas, Vietnamese areas, Greek areas, Jewish areas so why not Anglo-Saxon? When we came in the 1970s we were told lots of English people lived in Ferntree Gully, lots of Dutch and German people in other areas etc etc- nothing racist, just information. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joebloggs Posted October 28, 2010 Share Posted October 28, 2010 Good post Tommy, I been here over 6 years and have to agree with everything you say although cant comment on schools etc as I don't have any kids. It does take a while to get used the way things are done in Australia but really you have to accept the place warts and all, no point in trying to change an already better place. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joebloggs Posted October 28, 2010 Share Posted October 28, 2010 So you're saying non Anglo / Celtic areas are not as decent? What race has to do with this matter? I read the OP post and I understood what he was saying, not sure what you were reading. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ajs604 Posted October 28, 2010 Share Posted October 28, 2010 What a positive summary of your overall expereinces of being in Oz. Having been here 10 months myself I have to say I readily agree with all of your statments - especially the car one. How dodgy are car dealers here. I ended up paying 4k for a 12 years Daweoo lol. Oh well its all character building. I also agree that Australia is not the land of cookies & cream and that it dose not suit everyone. I guess that the moving here has to be for the right intentions - not just for the sunshine. Thankfully I have adapated well to the lifestyle here and can never seen myself going back to the uk. Once again many thanks - hope things continue to go well for you and your family. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul1Perth Posted October 28, 2010 Share Posted October 28, 2010 So you're saying non Anglo / Celtic areas are not as decent? What race has to do with this matter? I don't think he meant that at all. I read it to mean that a lot of the decent area where anglo / celtics' have chosen to live are not that cheap. As most emigrants do I think new UK emigrants, sometimes look at suburbs where there are a lot of other people from the same background, with the same experiences. Helps to settle in better sometimes. People really take offence easily.... Chill. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fleabo Posted October 28, 2010 Share Posted October 28, 2010 Nice post Tommy Tucker. Sorry you had a bad experience with the car - I had a similar dodgy experience with a Toyota dealer in Bankstown... Cheers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest sunnyday Posted October 28, 2010 Share Posted October 28, 2010 Brilliant post Tommy, thanks!! We've been here 3 months and I can completely relate to what you're saying, especially the bit about how you expect to feel and how you actually feel. I'm sure that we are going to be thrilled to be living here this time next year too, it is bloody hard work getting there but anything thats worth doing always is!! All the best for the future Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest The Pom Queen Posted October 28, 2010 Share Posted October 28, 2010 Hi TT What a great post, thank you for taking the time to share your thoughts with us, it makes excellent reading for people making the move and the ones that live here can relate to a lot of what you say. It's funny because I read the part where you said it took you 10 months to realise you had made the right decision, I come across this a lot, most of the families that come over, manage the first 4 weeks with no problems or regrets, but then 2 months in they really start to go in to a depression and start to question their decision for some this can take a total of 6 months to get over, others it can be a year, but for the ones who stuck through this they have all said it is the best decision they have ever made and would never go back to the UK. I understand not everyone is like this and some just click straight away, we were like that until our first Christmas then we really missed our family, since then we have never looked back. Hope you enjoy the next 12 months and I look forward to the two year update:) Kate Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maxine Posted October 28, 2010 Share Posted October 28, 2010 What a refreshing post this one is. I have been in Australia just over two years now and like most people have found it difficult at times, but balancing it out - I have a fantastic life here and I love it. In all countries you will find things you like and things you dont - England and Australia are no exception. What you HAVE to do is decide which negatives you can live with or which positives are more important and then you can either stay or go back - and going back is not failure, its just another decision in your path of life. My only advice to anyone would be keep an open mind - we all moved here for different reasons and one persons moan is another persons laugh. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest lilly mist Posted October 28, 2010 Share Posted October 28, 2010 Thank you for this .. I have been staying away from pio for about a year now as at one point all i seemed to read was people arguing and picking fights with each other, so to get back here today and read this was a breath of fresh air !!!:notworthy: A Postive post should remain just that ''postive'' So glad to hear you are enjoying your life and that it's working out for you. It is so good to hear of people doing well and being happy !! More posts like this to keep us bright and breezy! () Great post ! Great info ! Enjoyed the read ! Here's to another great year for you:yes: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gaz n family Posted October 28, 2010 Share Posted October 28, 2010 Thanks ever so much for taking the time to post this. Its great to read a "real" story Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ciaraj Posted November 21, 2010 Share Posted November 21, 2010 Great post thanks..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fantasia Posted November 26, 2010 Share Posted November 26, 2010 Great post. Re. cars try Government Fleet Sales - flatmate (Aussie) sitting next to me says that is a good bet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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