Mara Posted April 13, 2016 Report Share Posted April 13, 2016 @RedPanda Just had to laugh at the Tim Tams and stockpiling them! All you do is check the weekly sales for both Woolworths and Coles, as they often have them on special for $2 or less per packet... then you check the use by dates on the packets, and start packing them in the trolley... one packet a day until the use by date... hehe! I have not forgotten about the get together for forum members after you arrive. I will plan it for around 19th June, probably again at Bundoora Hotel on Plenty Road...as it has a playroom for the kids and the food is not bad. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BrendanH Posted April 14, 2016 Report Share Posted April 14, 2016 @RedPanda - I had jippo guts for the full week before we flew.The body shows its displeasure towards sustained stress in the strangest of ways. Glad it is sorted. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RedPanda Posted May 15, 2016 Author Report Share Posted May 15, 2016 It is done. We woke up in Melbourne this morning. (Ok, I woke up, and promptly got back into bed after fetching my iPad, GenDemo is still sleeping it off) But we're here now. The last few days in RSA went by so quickly, our house was packed up, we stayed with my in-laws, got a surprising number of our friends over for a supper-braai, and then off we went! I also got to see my sister in law, which I really appreciated, since she did some wangling to move her departure date (from the UK) up a few days to catch us. Our flights were good, for the long-haul we got the smoothest take-off and landing that we've ever gotten on a Qantas flight, and the change over and domestic flight were also fine. We had a few minuted between flights to swop out sim cards, so our phones are sorted. The PLAN for this week is to just ease into things... Have a coffee with here and there, collect post that's been kept for us, register with MediCare... Oh, gosh! I totally forgot to say, our landlady is a wonderfully friendly person, who picked us up from the airport, as promised, and chatted away most amiably all the way home. And the accommodation is exactly as shown on AirBnb. With some addedstorage space I was not aware of....yay! (More space to stock pile my TimTams! ) Ok, coffee seems like a good idea now...then breakfast! 7 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mara Posted May 15, 2016 Report Share Posted May 15, 2016 Welcome you two!!!!!!! The day has arrived, just sorry I am sitting in Florence, Oregon USA, otherwise I would have been at the airport with a banner! I get back to Melbourne on the 29th May, hope to arrange a get together for all, soon after that! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moose2014 Posted May 15, 2016 Report Share Posted May 15, 2016 Glad you arrived safely. Thrilled for you re: timtam space Good luck with your first week, let us know how things go! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted May 15, 2016 Report Share Posted May 15, 2016 Welcome to Melbourne Red ? I am sure that you relieved to finally be here after the months of waiting. Hope you don't suffer with dreaded jetlag like we did, we weren't right for about 3 weeks. Enjoy your breakfast and the Tim tams. ? Would love to have a get together with all the new families in Melbourne. Hopefully see you soon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Odendaal Posted May 15, 2016 Report Share Posted May 15, 2016 Finally! Welcome RedPanda! Can't wait to catch up with you guys over the weekend. Enjoy your week and good luck with the jetlag xxxx 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mel-B Posted May 16, 2016 Report Share Posted May 16, 2016 Woop woop welcome to Melbourne!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TracyClare Posted May 16, 2016 Report Share Posted May 16, 2016 Loved reading about your journey so far, so excited for you! Have an awesome day in Aus! Keep us updated, nice to hear what to expect! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EmNew Posted May 16, 2016 Report Share Posted May 16, 2016 Welcome - you woke up to a glorious sunny Autumn first morning in Melbourne Hope all goes well with the admin and coffee drinking. Apart from at Ikea, I have yet to have bad coffee ....... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JackoFam Posted May 16, 2016 Report Share Posted May 16, 2016 Good luck with all your admin - awaiting your further adventures Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doggit Posted May 16, 2016 Report Share Posted May 16, 2016 (edited) Welcome and well done! It's been a long time coming, at last you've arrived at the beginning Edited May 16, 2016 by doggit 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BrendanH Posted May 16, 2016 Report Share Posted May 16, 2016 Welcome to your new home folks. I'm sure you will love it here. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JonathanR Posted May 16, 2016 Report Share Posted May 16, 2016 Wow!! **Jealous** My wife and I just made the decision to move so we are at step 0 - Finding an agent (although we already have a shortlist, and now need to start moving our budget around to find the initial payments). So far it looks like I might be able to get a 190 in Melbourne. Congratulations on just landing for your new life. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RedPanda Posted May 17, 2016 Author Report Share Posted May 17, 2016 Thanks for all the well-wishes! We don't really get jet-lagged, but we were a little tired. Today we collected our VIC driver's licenses, and my TFN that a friend was keeping for us, and then we updated our bank account with the info. Now we have Australian identities, yay!(driver's licenses) We'll probably go into the CBD to register for MediCare on Thursday, if we travel on our own, or tomorrow, if we travel with our landlady. Whichever, by the end of the weekend we'll be covered. Compared to what we experienced last time we were here, Melbourne has been exceptionally well behaved ito weather, really lovely. I'll put up posts as things happen, for a while at least it should be fairly quiet. We are waiting to hear back from UJ about my M, should find out in the next few days. Then I can join Engineers Australia. GenDemo needs to find out what's what with his qualification, and how he needs to have it assessed. And once those are sorted we will start looking for work. (Also, we need to find a rental, before our container arrives, but that is still some time off, since right now it is sitting in a warehouse in Edenvale) Anyway...keep well folks! 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charne Posted May 19, 2016 Report Share Posted May 19, 2016 Welcome @RedPanda. So amazing to see how your journey has panned out thus far. I've been reading your posts for forever now!! So happy your accommodation turned out to be as advertised. (We're feeling the pressure to move out here, I'l probably do a post on that sometime). All the best for getting your administration all done. Have a good time settling in. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mel-B Posted May 19, 2016 Report Share Posted May 19, 2016 RedPanda where are you guys going to be looking at renting (suburb)? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RedPanda Posted May 20, 2016 Author Report Share Posted May 20, 2016 12 hours ago, Mel-B said: RedPanda where are you guys going to be looking at renting (suburb)? We want to rent where we want to buy, to get to know the suburb and the people. (Plan A) Belgrave or Selby, in the Faaaaar East. We will, however, rent wherever we ultimately can, as close to our suburb as possible. (Plan B ) Fortunately we have 2-3 months within which to sort this out, and try for Plan A. We are just considering Plan B because it looks like there aren't many rentals in our chosen area, mostly houses for sale, not flats or houses for rent. Currently, we've registered for MediCare, and should get our cards delivered where we rent at the moment, in six weeks time. I didn't know that we are in fact covered from the day we landed, in the sense that once we have our cards we can claim back relevant medical costs. We've also got ourselves new Aussie power cords for our laptops, so that will be two converter plugs available for other things again. (I still need to check out Aussie iPhone chargers...hmmm, although they might be expensive) I've read up a little on the HCF health insurance website, and Ambulance Victoria. At the moment we are considering just registering for ambulance cover, for one quarter, as a couple, and then using that time to figure out what we want to do with our health insurance. (who, what option etc..) And we visited Minotaur and Mind Games in the Melbourne CBD. I was totally disgusted to learn that neither of them have loyalty programs. (Swak! ) We also went to the state library, and it think it is quite impressive! I'm sure we will spend some more time there in the future. And we discovered that (in the CBD at least, Starbucks is not all that over priced). *panda wombles off, ostensibly to 'go do more stuff' but actually to get hot chocolate and sit in front of her PC, for a cosy 'day at home'...* 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ottg Posted May 20, 2016 Report Share Posted May 20, 2016 Welcome to Aus. Trust all works out well for you guys! Keep thumbs for your job search! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EmNew Posted May 21, 2016 Report Share Posted May 21, 2016 (edited) EB World has a loyalty program - you earn carrots ......I think those can be redeemed at Zing too on board games and general pop culture , as well as EB Games. Didnt know about Minotaur until your post - thanks ! Starbucks ............. Mmmmm, a Melbournite would probably banish you for life for admitting to drinking coffee there It's amazing - rentals seem prolific and generally affordable in areas where you can't really afford to buy, and the further out you go, to afford to buy, rentals are scarcer than hens teeth....... Hope you find something for plan A ! Edited May 21, 2016 by EmNew Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RedPanda Posted May 21, 2016 Author Report Share Posted May 21, 2016 3 hours ago, EmNew said: EB World has a loyalty program - you earn carrots ......I think those can be redeemed at Zing too on board games and general pop culture , as well as EB Games. Didnt know about Minotaur until your post - thanks ! Starbucks ............. Mmmmm, a Melbournite would probably banish you for life for admitting to drinking coffee there It's amazing - rentals seem prolific and generally affordable in areas where you can't really afford to buy, and the further out you go, to afford to buy, rentals are scarcer than hens teeth....... Hope you find something for plan A ! Minotaur is awesome! I have to find out about EB World and Zing.... Hey, we were looking for the cheapest coffee we could find, in the shortest time, in a strange CBD. We had two 'drip coffees' for $2.80 each(decent size btw), and I had a slice of coconut loaf, and @GenDemo had a beef pie. It worked. He didn't like his coffee, I liked mine. Life... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RedPanda Posted May 25, 2016 Author Report Share Posted May 25, 2016 After a week and a half in Melbourne's far Eastern suburbs (the hills) I have come to the conclusion that "singing in the rain" has a lot to do with attitude, and the correct gear. Thus far I have gone on several forest walks with our landlady, who cited 'chained-to-desk' syndrome and a serious need for exercise as excuses to show me the stunning walks in the area. We leave home at about 5pm and walk about an hour, so that is the dusk-to-night changeover. I have seen a lyrebird (I think it was the superb variety), several little wallabies, and missed the quick passing of an echidna over our track. For all of these walks it was cold, and during some of them it was drizzling. Frankly: the cold (mild cold) is invigorating! It allows me to really GO! without getting sticky and hot and yucky. I absolutely love it!!! And the drizzle is just like so many gnats, but they don't bite, so who cares? Ok, so the gear I started with....good quality hiking boots, waterproof, breathable, excellent support, with proper thick hiking socks! This keeps your feet happy, so they are not sore or cold. Then also a good two piece jacket, meaning one part is the warmer lining that is breathable and only mildly waterproof, then a robust outer layer with a hoody that is windproof and waterproof. This allows you to regulate your temperature as you exercise, keep warm when you need to (like at the start) and then to choose whether you want to be warm of just waterproof later on. Of the clothing I brought with me from RSA, only the shoes and the jacket are really well suited for the Melbourne weather. So I think lots of South Africans are miserable in the Melbourne weather, because they don't realise what they need, in order to 'sing in the rain'. 7 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EmNew Posted May 25, 2016 Report Share Posted May 25, 2016 Jealous of your forest walks! Chained to my own desk day and night at the moment, between work and studies, and am just itching to go and explore more of Sherbrooke Forest and other fabulous trails in those hills! Agree that the correct gear makes all the difference.I have a great all weather jacket with detachable lining which is great for hiking, but not so great for the walk from Flinders to my office. So have invested in a fully waterproof longer trench coat style raincoat that looks stylish and keeps me warmer and dryer than the hiking one. I can handle getting my legs wet on a hike as I know home, a change of clothes and a warm comforting beverage await afterwards, but it's quite a downer sitting in cold wet pants all day at work! For non rainy days, I am finding my Woolworths melton jackets perfectly adequate for standing on the exposed and windy platform waiting for my train in the mornings. I add a scarf and I am set. If anyone is still heading this way, I encourage you to stock up on those types of coats whilst still in RSA - the local prices here for a similar item will make you weep! ( Also please get nice bright colours - it does get a little depressing seeing a sea of black on the daily commute now that winter has set in ) 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RYLC Posted May 27, 2016 Report Share Posted May 27, 2016 On 19 May 2016 at 1:48 PM, Charne said: We're feeling the pressure to move out here Just wondering how you are going with finding a rental. Is there much available at this time of year? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charne Posted May 28, 2016 Report Share Posted May 28, 2016 @RYLC we've found a fully furnished rental and have signed the lease already but can only get the keys and move in 17 June. But the place is definitely worth it. There seemed to be an incline of places to rent being advertised in early May. But I'm not sure about right now. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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