Jump to content

1 Year In


dlmonnink

Recommended Posts

So yesterday was my one year mark of being here in Aus. Got a memory notification on FB with my status saying "Landed safe and sound in Aus" and the memories of that day came flooding back.

 

It's been quite a ride, uneventful as it has been compared to many others and loving it. I've been extremely lucky all the way through and for that I am grateful.

 

Luckily my GF had some friends staying here in Melbourne so we had a place to stay when we got here - that turned out to be 3 months long while I looked for a rental that could take pets. The day after landing I managed to secure an interview and got the job. I was actually a bit bummed as I had to start working so early after arriving as I wanted a holiday. I did think I would struggle for a while to get a job and had planned for 3 months of expenses without a job. My GF had to go back to SA to finish her term of teaching which was a bit of a downer but it gave me time to focus on work and save cash for when she got back.

 

The South African FB community has been great and managed to get a car for $3000 and have actually forged a good friendship with the people I bought the car from which was great. Also met lots of other friends along the way via networking etc. Middle of last year I managed to secure a rental for myself, my GF, and our 2 dogs and 3 cats :D People still think I'm nuts when they hear all the pets I have. There was lots of paperwork and vet appointments to get the pets here and even more money flying out of my wallet at an alarming rate but the whole process was pretty uneventful and they landed last October.

 

I managed to secure a decent raise at my previous job and I have just moved to a new position at another company with a great salary and my GF managed to land a job as a teacher after doing CRT (substitute) work for 6 months.

 

My brother also managed to move over just over a month ago and is staying with me. Glad he made the move to have a better life. My mother was robbed and shot 3 times about 5 weeks ago and he was there. It is a terrible feeling of helplessness when you are so far away and can do nothing to help. Luckily she has recovered.

 

In the meantime we have been exploring Victoria. Been to several different areas for weekends away and exploring which has been great. Will also be going to visit some people in Brisbane next week which I'm looking forward to. The original idea was to go to Brisbane but the job market wasn't great and we didn't want to risk it. I'm terrible when it comes to humid weather so it's probably for the best. :D

 

So only 3 more years to go until citizenship. In the meantime working hard and enjoying the great life that Aus affords me. Hoping to save up enough funds to put down a deposit for a house. If I'm lucky that will be next year some time but time will tell :)

  • Like 8
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Firstly, so sorry to hear about what happened to your mom. Cannot accept the levels of violence we see everyday here. 

Secondly, it is good to hear about your positive experience. Congrats on the new job. We are bringing 3 dogs over so would appreciate hearing more about that. I understand you have to apply for special permission to have more than 2 pets. How did that go for you? Also, how and where did you manage to find the elusive rental that allows pets? We currently live on a 1.5 acre property and know we are going to have to downscale a lot. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Just now, Husky said:

Firstly, so sorry to hear about what happened to your mom. Cannot accept the levels of violence we see everyday here. 

Secondly, it is good to hear about your positive experience. Congrats on the new job. We are bringing 3 dogs over so would appreciate hearing more about that. I understand you have to apply for special permission to have more than 2 pets. How did that go for you? Also, how and where did you manage to find the elusive rental that allows pets? We currently live on a 1.5 acre property and know we are going to have to downscale a lot. 

 

For the rental I basically just applied around until I got one. I think I was probably lucky on that too as the 3rd rental I applied for I got it; I just had to put down a $3000 bond (deposit) instead of the regular 1 month bond. I also created a pet profile with a picture of each pet, their name and a description of their personality and behaviour, makes the application more personal. The property we staying in now has a much smaller garden than the one we had in SA but at least it has one (probably 15m x 15m).

You can get bigger gardens but you need to weigh up the distance you want to be from work. My job is about 1h20m away currently, you can move further out if need be, just try be as close to a train line as possible.

 

Where I am (mt waverley) you can have 2 dogs and 2 cats without neighbours permission. We had to get permission from the adjoining neighbours for the 3rd cat.which you get them to fill out on a stipulated form from the municipality. Just take into account that each municipality has its own rules [eg] most don't allow cats outdoors after dark, my area allows them out 24 hours as long as they are sterilised. There is also a yearly pet fee, I just paid mine which was $45 per pet ($225).

 

As for the actual process, this needs to be started 6 months before the pets are due to leave SA. They need to go for a series of blood tests, injections and check ups over the period of the 6 months at very specific times. You can get more details from PetPort in Jhb which is who we used. Cost about R160k for 2 dogs and 3 cats. I image for your 3 dogs you looking in the region of R100k-R150k size dependent. Most of the cost is paid in Aus for import permits, quarantine etc. Was about R50k-R60k in SA and about R100k in Aus.

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

All round sounds like a pretty good landing story (on this side). I'm sorry to hear about what happened to your mom, glad she recovered though.

 

Oh my soul..! All those pets! And you brought them over with you too! They must have a wonderful home :) 

Glad Oz is treating you well, keep it up!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
×
  • Create New...