Ryk and Yo: Perth here we come!

[Ryk and Yo]

THANX SO MUCH ALL OF YOU! THIS IS GREAT NEWS, IT SEEMS LIKE THEY ARE QUITE FAST WITH THE APPLICATION PROCESS!

CAN ANYONE JUST TELL ME WHAT YOU MEAN BY MEDICALS FRONT LOADED? I AM OF THE UNDERSTANDING THAT YOU ONLY DO YOUR MEDICALS ONCE THEY ASK YOU TOO?

YO!

[Jordy]

CAN ANYONE JUST TELL ME WHAT YOU MEAN BY MEDICALS FRONT LOADED? I AM OF THE UNDERSTANDING THAT YOU ONLY DO YOUR MEDICALS ONCE THEY ASK YOU TOO?

YO!

Yo Yo!

You can wait till they ask in which case you have 28 days to get them to your CO. But you might struggle to get a doctors appointment in such short notice.

Or you can "Frontload" which is a term we use when you go for your medicals and PCC and submit them prior to being asked for them. Therefore your CO will have all the info he/she requires when he/she first looks at your application thus avoiding the 28 day delay. There is a negative side to frontloading in that obviously your visa validation date is based on the date of your medicals, but as most people want to get to Aus sooner rather than later, it doesn't really matter.

[Ryk and Yo]

Yo Yo!

You can wait till they ask in which case you have 28 days to get them to your CO. But you might struggle to get a doctors appointment in such short notice.

Or you can "Frontload" which is a term we use when you go for your medicals and PCC and submit them prior to being asked for them. Therefore your CO will have all the info he/she requires when he/she first looks at your application thus avoiding the 28 day delay. There is a negative side to frontloading in that obviously your visa validation date is based on the date of your medicals, but as most people want to get to Aus sooner rather than later, it doesn't really matter.

Ok great, THANX! Will definetely start to make our doctors appointment sooner than later!

[Johan Venter]

Congratulations!! We would love to meet you when you arrive.

Perth is a wonderful city. We stay in Waikiki, Rockingham. We arrived in March 2006. There are about ten SA families that stay in a 200m radius and that is the families I know off. I travel by train to Perth CBD and back everyday for work.

We (me and me wife and two kids) came over with only our suitcases and 2 boxes with wooden picture frames. Wooden frames are OK if there are no signs of any rot or pests. You have to declare all wood products, in your possession, at customs when you arrive. The company that brought us over gave us 2 weeks accommodation, so we had to find a place to stay. We could settle quickly because we didn't have to wait for a container. We moved into a 3 bedroom unit. We bought the essential household furniture during the two weeks, like mattresses, fridge/freezer, kitchen ware, washing machine, lounge suite, TV, computer etc. and the rest from garage sales for next to nothing over the next few months. Some of the stuff was still brand new when we bought it. Some furniture you can even pick up from the curbs, only during the summer months and in designated suburbs. To say the truth, I bought 40% of my stuff new and the rest from garage sales and pick ups. Enough to fill a large 4 bedroom house, a shed and a double garage. I could even help my daughter settle in her own place. I accumulated more furniture in two and a half years, than what I did in 20 years in South Africa. People can’t believe it when they walk into my house.

If you ask me if I will do it again, I would say, definitely!!! My wife and kids agree to that.

I used the money that I got from selling all my furniture in South Africa, the cost of a container, the money that I would have had to spend waiting for the container. I was in my own place and life could go on. It felt like we were on holiday for the first few weeks. At the end it was like moving from one town to another.

If you have good/new furniture and are very sentimental about them, it is good to bring them. It is good to settle in a place that is familiar to you, especially woman. If you take in consideration the exchange rate it is expensive in AU. The rand is not worth much anyway, so yes buy most of the stuff in SA. Remember if you pack it away in the container you might wait for it and that can take up to 3 months. What is important is that you need to survive in the time waiting for your container. You need a bed or a mattress, a fridge/freezer, washing machine, etc. Please take that in mind, even if you move into your own place. To rent a fully furnish place is very expensive. If you have family/friends and you can stay with them, it’s a winner. It is not always very comfortable, but I would say the cheapest way.

Nobody can tell you what to do, so you have to decide for yourself. As my daughter always say, if things doesn’t work out as you have planned “Built a bridge and get over itâ€.

Hope that all your plans will work out best.

I think you made the right decision to move to Perth

Johan Venter

[Johan Venter]

Yes, you can make an appointment at a doctor, specified by the Australian Immigration, the moment you have a number. This will be the number that they gave you when you lodge your VISA application. You have to specify this number on the form that you fill in, when you go for your medicals. You have to use this number in all your correspondence. Your whole family have to go for medicals.

[Ryk and Yo]

Thanx Johan! We got our number last week and are booked for medicals on Thursday..things are happening fast now!

We love our furniture and got a few nice new stuff recently - just difficult to choose a removal company coz they all cost more or less the same. Hier te lank en daar te kort jy weet.

We have uploaded all our documentation (birth certificates, pasports etc) this weekend so as soon as the medicals are done Im sure things will go fast from there. Still my to do list is feeling to long at this stage..think of me as hubby is going to Dubai for work for old times sake - leaving me with all the work for 2 weeks!

We will love to meet our fellow South Africans once we are there, I think one can do with the support.

Anyways will let you all know about our progress!

Yo!