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Ons Storie


Kanniewagnie

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Ons storie

Thank you to each one who shared their story – here is ours:

In April 2007 we moved from Middelburg MP to Pretoria and really struggled to adapt from a “small town” to “City-life”. Load shedding made it even worse having to deal with major traffic jams. In 2009 (during the recess) I thought about immigration the first time, but was not certain. Only in 2012 I seriously researched the idea and came across this forum.

We went to see an agent, got quotes and decided to do it ourselves. Then we informally asked our parents how they felt about the idea, who indicated that they would not stand in our way and understand our reasons. My MIL, who lived with us at that stage, also had no problem but said that she does not want to go with. Only later, she realized how serious we are about immigrating and started to get really negative about us leaving her behind. About May 2013 she moved to the old age home.

We know how much she misses the grand children and that she will always hold it against us.

After a few hick-ups (our first application had to be withdrawn), our Visas were approved in April 2013. We did the LSD in Perth during end Sept 2013. The (direct) SAA flight was looong and we were thankful for the Melatonin to help us sleep. Our funds were limited and could unfortunately not visit other places, but explored Perth as far as possible:

Thursday, 26 Sept ‘13: Bays Water (where we hired a car), Como (where we lived), Coles Karawara (where we bought some of our groceries);

Friday: Kings Park (Beautiful botanical garden),

Saturday: Hillary’s Boat House (where we met some “Forumites”), Kirinyup, Joondalup;

Sunday: a rainy Freemantle;

Monday: Sandringham, Ellenbrook, Bennet Springs, Belmont;

Tuesday: Westpack Bank (to present ourselves and our identification for the bank account that was opened from S-Africa), Citi Beach South, Scarborough, Cambridge, Wembley;

Wednesday: Zoo;

Thursday: Floreat Beach; Friday: Mindarie, Quins Rocks, Clarkston.

The kids truly enjoyed the clean play grounds in each neighborhood. Most of the times, we packed sandwiches, cookies and water, which saved us a lot. Further Hungry Jacks was the best option for lunch. We also braai’ed Hamburger patties and mutton chops next to the beach or at the playground – The best picnics ever!

Further impressions: Some neighborhoods were visibly more neglected than others , one could clearly see that the people walking and kids playing in the streets of the more neglected areas (litter in the streets, overgrown gardens, houses need paint/maintenance, etc) were “volksvreemde mense” . However, not once we felt unsafe. The GPS was very handy! We also visited the WA Museum (free entry!), where parking was very expensive... The Perth city center is unbelievably clean with a good mix of old and new buildings, all well maintained. The amount of people using public transport amazed us.

The shop assistant’s friendliness was noticeable and our “foreign language” did not turn any heads, because we heard a lot of other languages in the supermarket isles.

Afrikaans people spontaneously came to meet us (at the zoo, in the park etc).

Australian kids have a lot of self-confidence and our shy kids experienced them as a bit overwhelming, but I’m sure they will learn to handle it.

We did not see hills or mountains, Perth is totally flat! In a way we felt “home” it did not feel different from South Africa. The people are very friendly and welcoming.

The police station buildings reminded me of the buildings of our old “plattelandse dorpies” in the Free State or Mpumalanga.

It was an absolute pleasure to watch their TV - even news!

It was “wow”.

Each person takes pride in what they do – from garden services (a one-man business), the refuse guy, the ticket seller to the banker.

We were so impressed, we wanted to stay!

Back in RSA:
Our house was sold and registered in July 2014. It was really difficult to let go of the place where our kids could run around and had so much space.

We worked so hard to get everything to our taste. It was 300m from school.

It is a huge adjustment to live in a very small town house with not much space for the kids in a busy street and 3 km from school. I am now a full time mom since May 2014.

We had a buyer for one car, but fact is that we still need 2 cars until December when the schools close. So we decided to wait until Des / Jan before selling our cars. We are losing all the way with each item sold. To sell furniture is a sad feeling.

Now the house content is right. The kids’ toys WERE clean, but they love playing with it in the garden, so it will have to be cleaned again!
A big project completed, was the boxes in garage and tools. Washing the ladder, scrubbing some equipment, each day this was postponed…. Oh my, it really took an effort to get this done.

During August, we got 9 x quotes for the container. Each agent gave another story w.r.t. gas bottles. One said that the gas has to be let out and then we can take it. No Problem. Another said that we have to pay $500 extra for taking “Hazardous material” (???) Other simply refused to pack it.

In the mean time my husband keeps on applying for positions and even had 2 x Skype interviews. They all say he has to be there.
He is busy with a view exams and yesterday (20 Nov) he did another CCNA qualification and passed with flying colours!

Things to do:
1. Varnish kids wooden toys.
2. Husband has to get courage to resign.
3. Sell cars.
4. Cancel some of our life policies.
5. Appoint a mover.
6. Arrange flights and accomodation
7. Cancel contracts: DSTV, cell phones, rent, ens.
8. Get doctor’s scripts for our chronic meds.
9. Close bank accounts and keep one open for last payments.
10. Deal with In-Laws day-to-day issues…

Today is the 21st of November… Time goes too fast. Our oldest is busy with her Gr 4 Exams.

It became clear to us that leaving January 2015 is not going to happen. We had a painful discussion and decided that we’re going to stay a few more months.

Mother in Law’s health is not good at all and it does not “feel” right to leave while she is so ill. Husband also decided to take on a few extra exams (towards CCIE) to better his chances of getting employment. …and while the Rand is not strengthening at the moment, we feel a bit anxious regarding our savings loosing value, but we decided to renew our passports and see if we will be able to land a job from this side during 2015. His employer also offered him a great opportunity which makes resigning now extra difficult!

I am disappointed and relieved at the same time. I argued, cried… Now we just trust that the Lord will lead us and prepare us for the next chapter.

It is truly a personal journey and when we started this process, I never thought that it will end up being so difficult to “just let go”.

Good luck to all of you who had to courage to resign and to book their tickets. Our journey is postponed, but definitely not cancelled.

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Ahh dis 'n bakgat post Kanniewagnie!

I think we all share the same kind of emotions and hardships.. Best of luck with your future plans and may God open the right doors as you go!

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  • 3 weeks later...

The past view weeks felt like a roller coaster ride to say the least! Hubby had an interview with a company in Perth who were very interested, but they said if he come to see them by 1 Feb, they will employ him. They did not want to commit in writing though.

We were extremely excited for a while... Even resigned and gave notice on our rental!

Then my Husband (who is an extremely responsible guy) 's Manager called him in and convinced him to reconsider (he is with the company since 1997).

Then his best friend (who strongly believed that immigration is not the way forward) phoned one night to tell us they are starting the process and that they already have their unabridged certificates! They were surprised that he wants to stay while we have a ticket out.

Well honestly, I am relieved that we are staying a bit longer for various reasons:

1. You mindset have to be right. I believe that will make or break the move, and I could see that he was extremely stressed because the majority of work in Oz requires qualifications /experience in 1 or 2 additional hardware names that Hubby does not have experience in. No doubt that he is an expert with Cisco systems, but he wants to be confident in Checkpoint too. He is busy studying/reading up Checkpoint systems and wants to get that certification to add to his CV before June '15.

2. Both our mothers' health are not good at the moment, although it is not the major reason for us staying, we feel that we are needed here and we want to still be able to give that bit of extra support while we can.

3. We learned over the years that if something does not feel right, it is not. Well, 'something' held us back. We are convinced that it is the right thing to go, but when our time is right, our Heavenly Father will show us and lead us to be ready in our hearts and minds.

4. We were not built for stress. I could see after he resigned how totally stressed he became. I was really worried about him! We shall keep on applying from this side and if it is God's will - we'll get employment from this side. I know we'll get employment once we are there, but the total stress between resigning here, packing, booking flights, forking out huge amounts for the move and accomodation while being unemployed, well I have new respect for those of you who went through all of that and came out whole on the other side!

Now we are going to enjoy our December holidays in S-Africa and I am certainly going to do some more sorting in the new year while Hubby has to be kept motivated to keep on booking exams.

Keep well!

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  • 4 weeks later...

We're sitting next to the pool at Dikhololo, a holiday resort in the Brits area. The weather is lovely, the kids enjoy the water and wildlife while we have ice cream, cold drinks, snacks and just chill... Or try to chill, because yesterday, 6 Jan, Hubby got an e-mail from the company in Perth asking him when he can start, because the contractor they appointed is not meeting their expectations.

He replied that he can start 1 March if they can give him a written letter of appointment (it will be only 6 months, because they first want to see if he can do the job before making it permanent). They replied that they are working on the contract 'as we speak' and that they really want him (the team lead is also a South African guy who assured my husband that he need not to worry about any thing, as this job will offer us a soft landing in Oz, with definite opportunity of being employed permanently).

Sooooo, now how can one let such opportunity pass? We've decided that, once we received the job offer in writing, we'll resign, tell the rest of our family and appoint a moving company!! (Luckily we already had all the quotes done during last year and I already identified the lowest 3 quotes)

The most difficult part for me, is saying goodbuy to our Mothers, as I know it might be our last goodbuy. She is frail and will possibly not be able to visit us in Oz. The rest of the family are able to visit and are still healthy.

...and then there are our two lively, stoutgat Jack Russels. My brothers already have dogs and I do not know any one else who will be willing to adopt them.

All I can think of is that, some days I find it difficult to love them, but still they are so deep in my heart - what if we give them to someone who get tired of them just being their naughty doggy-selves, and neglects them? So I think it's best to take them to the vet and put them to sleep- peacefully.

Am I a monster even thinking about doing this?

Well, first we'll have to see if the written appointment ever comes through- in the mean time, we're listening to our lovely African birds' songs under beautiful African skies. This might be our last vacation where the dishes are washed and beds are made when we return to our chalet! (Lekker man, lekker!)

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Re saying goodbye to your mothers: I left when my mother had just finished cancer treatment and wasn't out of the woods. She was amazing and wrote us the most wonderful letter of encouragement to read on the plane. Still makes me cry just thinking about it.

Anyway I digress... To make it bearable for all of us I told her I would be back to visit after the first year. I was able to do that but if circumstances had changed then that visit could have been postponed as needed. The thing is that it made the parting a tiny bit easier by giving hope that I would be back and it was not "forever" full stop. It's the finality of migrating for those left behind that is the hardest thing to bear. So I always leave things open ended with a "maybe next year - we'll see how things go" with the family I have left in RSA.


We're sitting next to the pool at Dikhololo, a holiday resort in the Brits area. The weather is lovely, the kids enjoy the water and wildlife while we have ice cream, cold drinks, snacks and just chill... Or try to chill, because yesterday, 6 Jan, Hubby got an e-mail from the company in Perth asking him when he can start, because the contractor they appointed is not meeting their expectations.

He replied that he can start 1 March if they can give him a written letter of appointment (it will be only 6 months, because they first want to see if he can do the job before making it permanent). They replied that they are working on the contract 'as we speak' and that they really want him (the team lead is also a South African guy who assured my husband that he need not to worry about any thing, as this job will offer us a soft landing in Oz, with definite opportunity of being employed permanently).

Please please make sure that all the t's are crossed and i's dotted - especially if it is a 457. Eyebrow (forum member) was promised the world and only on closer inspection did the holes appear. For example, free accommodation for the first few months turned out to be a house on Phillip Island with a loooong commute each way to work and no close facilities. Work vehicle provided turned out to be broken and she had to use her own vehicle.

Otherwise, congratulations and all the best with the final plans.

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Thank you, we're fortunate to have PR. This will be only a contractor's position. No extras. We're super excited, but the doggy issue is eating away on our hearts. Maybe I should start reading up on taking them with? It would have been so much easier if it was to Canada, as I understand, they're not as strict regarding quarantine. But it is not, and either way is going to cost me eiher my conscience, or an arm and a leg.

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We are still waiting for the letter of appointment. The excitement starts to feel like false hope. Are HR departments generally taking that long to draft contacts / agreements?

It is raining in Pretoria and the house is empty because kiddies started school today. If I cannot see the sun nor hear my children, I feel... Well... Very alone.

I really hope that we'll have the confirmation of appointment by end of this week. This is seriously worse than waiting for the Visa.

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  • 3 weeks later...

Hubby resigned on Friday. The Personnel Agent contacted him on Thursday and he feel quite confident about the offer, although the actual written contract will only be ready on Monday (2 Feb). He had to resign on the last working day, so we could not wait longer!

This weekend we sorted and scrubbed a few items in the garage (ladder, bicycle etc) and we sold a few things too.

I also looked for furnished places to stay and hope to hear back from one or 2 by tomorrow.

The reality of it all totally starts to work my emotions...

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Keep that chin up Kannie,

You have that precious PR. I fought, clawed, scratched, bit, spat, kicked shoved for four long years to get mine. I won't even mention the blows I received in the meantime. Even if you land and there is nothing, Cisco people are in high demand. The main thing is that you escaped that cesspit of crime and violence and utter corruption. See you guys soon!

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Kannie,

Please stay in touch regarding hubby/Cisco. I have a mate who is too old to coome to Aus, but he desparately wants his sons to leave SA and come here. The one is a Cisco ninja, with Cisco qualifications up to his gills. Once hubby gets in, will you mind if I put them in touch and see if your man can help him? Awesome Christians they are.

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Thanks SurferMan,

I've send you a PM

Progess:

Tickets were booked (ouch!) accomodation for a week is booked, int. movers come and see us this afternoon, family & friends goodbye appointments were made, cars were sold yesterday, school informed.

Eyes red and tearful, we're going to say our goodbyes to my parents and other family this weekend.

What have we done? Oh, may we just by the Grace of God be able to stand strong to get through this challenging times.

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The goodbyes are hard. Perhaps you can think of it this way: you are not leaving, just casing out a new holiday destination for everyone.

My mum had cancer when we left so I told her that she would see me in a year and booked a return ticket to put my money where my mouth was. Have a plan for when you can visit or they can visit or a schedule of weekly Skype etc so that they have some thing to hang onto. It's always harder for those left behind.

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Oh, the toughest part lies ahead - the goodbyes on the day when you fly. Many of us have been through it, and nothing anybody say can make you feel better...... At least you know what you're getting yourselves into, you've experienced the lifestyle here, you know it's going to be good. Having a job secured really takes away a lot of the extra worries. Spend as much quality time together these last days or weeks, it will be worth it! I have to add that my parents, brothers and I call, text and email each other a lot more now than in the past. They live in London and Centurion and I lived in the Cape. Best of luck, stay strong -keep your eyes on the prize!

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Today I went to the bank to arrange the last details with the banker. Then the power went out. Pitch dark in the bank in Menlyn...

Since yesterday I have this hollow feeling on my stomach and when I eat, I feel nausious (no, I'm not pregnant) - so I realised under how much stress I really am and now try to consiously calm down.

I'm waiting for the final quote from Brittish Int to see how much the insurance will work out. I made a 2nd appointment with them to come & see us at 17:00 Yesterday in order for my husband to hear everything, because he was at work each time a mover came to quote - and with yesterday's loadshedding at exactly 16:30 (peak traffic) and with an overturned taxi on the R21, he could not make the appointment.

I must say, after yesterday and him having to deal with Telkom, and some certain persons at work to hand in his laptop and i-pad to finalise the documentation for the resignation, we do not wonder any more if we are doing the right thing.

Typical lying on the 7th vertebrae while chatting to the cleaners for 5 minutes, while hubby stand in front of the desk to wait for service and then finally be asked ask in a rude manner: "what do you WANT". And then telling you you must come back tomorrow as the person dealing with it is not in, just blew his top. He told the person very firmly that he will not be coming back tomorrow and that he has to assist him, as it is his job description and that he will not leave the office untill the cerial numbers are recorded onto the system as handed in and signed off.

Now I have to go clean out the kitchen cupboards to see what Groceries are left to hand out to family...

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Oh Kannie.

These are tests my dear, as I say with my Johnny Cash voice, "How bad do you want it son?" Keep that chin up girl, it's the last few yards that are the worst. When I lost my 3rd attempt at PR, with 5 months to go on my 457, I thought all was lost. This guy went into the deepest hole you can imagine....UTTER DESPAIR. Even my wife said to me "Are we going to roll over and die?" I said...I guess so" She said to me, okay, let's go back with our tail between our legs and die(be killed by some violence..). That cut me to the bone. As in to the MARROW.

I went to bed, and the next morning VOWED to NOT STOP SWINGING. Again. And Again. And Again. And Again. I'm no Rocky Balboa, but bloody hell I'm swinging for my crew. I been at this 4 years with 4 attempts, and NOBODY but God will take it from me. Jesus gave it to me, and He is the only one to take it away.

Keep at it girl. It's worth itl. I KNOW it's tough, but please don't give up. Keep swinging. I don't know your family composition, but go for it. Man I'm holding back tears as I write this, please keep going SA is not far from a hectic self-eating mode, aka altruistic, but with none of the defined features of the word.

I'll sign off now....

Keep the faith, please.

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Ok, so I sort-of recovered from a very emotional weekend. I knew I was going to be a bit tearful, but I did not know how much energy it takes to fight my own emotions.

Monday, 9 Feb, I went to the dentist - good thing, because what I thought is only sensitivity was really a cavity. :blush:

Tuesday an old school friend came to say her goodbyes. Yesterday I had to go to the police station to certify documents for Cashkows and Exchange4Free and courier same. Went to Pick 'n Pay for some groceries and to the bank for proof of my bank account to cancel my Sanlam policy.

Each visit to each one of the above institutions was a confirmation that leaving is the right thing to do.

In the afternoons I help the kiddies with home work and try to finish supper before load shedding (luckily this week we did not have any yet). Then I quickly try to sort out a box or 2 in the garage (the damn dust in there!) and take pictures of whatever needs to be sold.

Then hubby gets home and complains about things not being "orderly" enough... :boxing:If only I had an extra room to use to sort and store things, but this tiny doll house we are living in at the moment does not even have enough space for my daughter's dolls! So after something is sorted, or washed or painted, it has to go into a plastic bag into the (single) garage, which feels like a sauna through the day.

Shame, I know he is also stressing and with the heat wave the past week I don't think he (who sits in a lovely air-conditioned office) really understand that it is muuuch easier to do something in the garage after 17:00 when it's much cooler outside.

This weekend friends want to visit for "oulaas" - so we won't be able to get anything done (again).

OK, off I go, have to hang out the washing and vacuum and get the place tidy. My daughter's "maatjie" is also visiting again this afternoon (since yesterday) to do homework together, because she does not want to go to the afterschool knowing they only have a few days left...then I really struggle to get my son to concentrate on his homework. I'll take a Centrum Vitamin supplement now to get me through this day.

My bathroom scale is somewhere in those boxes in the garage and I have to find it to weigh our luggage! (maybe I'll just borrow the neighbour's?)

:whome:

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Kanniewagnie, I will say a prayer for you... cannot imagine how hard it must be if you have youngsters, to do this move.

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  • 2 weeks later...

The past week was the most difficult so far. We gave the Jack Russels to their new family. The yard is empty - each time I opened the door, they used to come, so excited and wagging their tails, playfully next to me in the garden, now it feels just ... Empty. Each time I go outside I cry endlessly, no, sob!

My children didn't want to play outside, they just kept themselves busy indoors, but by the weekend it was a bit better already.

On Wednesday I baked cupcakes for the kids' classmates - on Thursday it was their last schoolday. We woke up on Thursday with no electricity - stolen cables! I was so glad electricity was restored before 12 that night.

In the mean time I started packing our luggage for the plane. On Saturday we went to the pharmacy to get our 3 months' scripts to take with. Yesterday we visited my husband's sister who live nearby - we'll see them again on Thursday.

My daughter (who turns 11 on 9 March) had her last playdate this weekend with her 'maatjie' whom she really grew close to. Seeing them saying goodbye made me feel extremely guilty.

When we started this process, the children were much smaller. Now 3 years down the line they understand much more and I silently hope that all this sacrifices are worth it.

The container will arrive on Wednesday, 25 Feb. We already disassembled the bunk beds and the kids are now sleeping in the living room. There is no other space, as the luggage is on the bed in the spare room.

Today and tomorrow I have to do the last washing. Our fridge is almost empty. I really wish that we can just get on that plane now. This is dragging out too long!

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Phew, what a week! Container was packed, we said our last goodbyes, cried a bit, tried to sleep, basically just took it day by day. During this time I was thankful for us started cleaning and sorting a year ago already. The last 2 weeks were hectic, organised chaos.

We left Pretoria yesterday after we had 5 hours of load shedding the night before and no water the morning the container arrived.

I am so grateful for the people who did the smallest of things to make our lives easier, ie the neigbour (lovely old lady) who took my kids in to watch TV and play board games while the moving co. was packing.

Now we are with old friends, relaxing a bit. They will also take us to the airport tomorrow. They are also in the process of applying for their Visa - it is comforting to know that they may also end up in Perth one of these days!

We have an old family friend who will pick us up at the airport on Monday night and take us to our rental. They live 600 km North of Perth, but will be in Perth to enroll their daughter in Uni - what a lovely co-incidence!

We are fortunate to have came this far. Thank you for everyone's advice n this forum - even critisism sometimes help us to keep in line.

I decided to wait until our container arrives before sharing my thoughts about the moving co we chose. I was a bit disappointed about smallish things, but I do realise that one can be overly sensitive during tough times...

In the mean time, please keep us in your thoughts and prayers - I hope we'll have a safe and comfortable trip tomorrow from Jhb Int to Sydney and then to Perth.

I'm anxious to get there and to be able to tell you how we experienced our arrival.

I'll also start to make a list of tips of things I would have done differently and things we did right first time round.

Chau for now!

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Good luck Kanniewagnie! Hope you have a smooth and safe journey. I also can't wait to hear from you once you are there.

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Good luck Kanniewagnie, thinking of you and your family through the journey!

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We arrived in Sydney, enjoying the free WiFi. Waiting for connecting flight to Perth. Man, I'm going to hit that bed tonight, if you guys in WA feel a light tremour tonight, it is us snoring!

All went smooth so far. Thanks for the good wishes.

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