malJohann Posted July 10, 2009 Report Share Posted July 10, 2009 Hi, my name is Johann and I'm a Senior Analyst Programmer. Why does this statement make me feel like I'm in an AA meeting?About a month and a half back a friend of mine in Sydney sent me an e-mail asking whether I'd be interested in a job in Australia with relocation on a 457 visa. I said I'd get back to him after I spoke to my wife. The next day I sent him my updated CV and four days later I got a phone call from my potential employer in Melbourne. Questions were asked, intent guaged and an appointment for a face-to-face in Cape Town was made for the following week.Fast forward a month of stressful negotiation and I signed the contract exactly a month after my face-to-face interview. We're going to Melbourne and it only dawned on me that evening how big a mental shift it really is. We're keeping our home in SA, because we don't feel its the right time to sell. You see, we bought our first home right before the property crash, so we have a lot of debt to cover in a time when repo's are going by the dozen.Obviously with some aspects the stress levels are high, like with leaving everything in SA behind but our clothes, personal effects and some photo's. We don't have children yet and no furniture of real value, so decided that a fresh start would be best. What lies ahead is getting rid of some loose debt, like our car that's still on HP, and packing everything we want to take into 94kg worth luggage, but I trust and believe everything is going to work out just fine.Anyway, so here we are, with little time to pack and landing in Melbourne early November. Its certainly going to be an adventure! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TBL Posted July 10, 2009 Report Share Posted July 10, 2009 Congratulations, I am sure you will never look back. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mara Posted July 10, 2009 Report Share Posted July 10, 2009 Congratulations and may I say welcome to Melbourne! If there is anything we can do to make your journey easier, or any questions that we can answer for you, feel free to ask them here or to PM me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Durbanite Posted July 10, 2009 Report Share Posted July 10, 2009 Hi, my name is Johann and I'm a Senior Analyst Programmer. Why does this statement make me feel like I'm in an AA meeting?About a month and a half back a friend of mine in Sydney sent me an e-mail asking whether I'd be interested in a job in Australia with relocation on a 457 visa. I said I'd get back to him after I spoke to my wife. The next day I sent him my updated CV and four days later I got a phone call from my potential employer in Melbourne. Questions were asked, intent guaged and an appointment for a face-to-face in Cape Town was made for the following week.Fast forward a month of stressful negotiation and I signed the contract exactly a month after my face-to-face interview. We're going to Melbourne and it only dawned on me that evening how big a mental shift it really is. We're keeping our home in SA, because we don't feel its the right time to sell. You see, we bought our first home right before the property crash, so we have a lot of debt to cover in a time when repo's are going by the dozen.Obviously with some aspects the stress levels are high, like with leaving everything in SA behind but our clothes, personal effects and some photo's. We don't have children yet and no furniture of real value, so decided that a fresh start would be best. What lies ahead is getting rid of some loose debt, like our car that's still on HP, and packing everything we want to take into 94kg worth luggage, but I trust and believe everything is going to work out just fine.Anyway, so here we are, with little time to pack and landing in Melbourne early November. Its certainly going to be an adventure!Good for you Johan and family, are you bringing yr family with??? I can honestly tell you it can be very very lonely and U won find much class or good conversation with Ossies, at least that is our experience>> were in Melb for 2 months and is very scary the kind of people you can encounter on the trains (metro) So good luck, Please don't feel bad to ask for help, your employer could be yr best link the Ossies if he is willing to get you around and introduce you and yr family to his>>> Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lyn Posted July 11, 2009 Report Share Posted July 11, 2009 Welcome to the forum and congrats on the job offer in Vic.Dont stress too much - the Ozzies are a relatively friendly bunch - just remember whatever you put in you will get out !!Happy packing and all the very best with the move. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
malJohann Posted July 11, 2009 Author Report Share Posted July 11, 2009 Thanks all for the welcomes and such. I'm looking forward to contributing to the community in the near future myself. I've been lurking for the last month and have read up on many subjects and some humorous stories.Congratulations and may I say welcome to Melbourne! If there is anything we can do to make your journey easier, or any questions that we can answer for you, feel free to ask them here or to PM me.Thanks Mara. I've seen that you're as much a part of the furniture in Oz as a Saffer can ever hope to become. Your story is inspiring and surprising to say the least. When I read the bit about Saffers maybe having to think twice before coming over during the current recession and that it’s not recommended to come with a 457 visa my eyebrows raised a bit, so if you could elaborate a bit about that it would be comforting, especially since I’ve already signed some extensive contracts thinking that a 457 sponsorship was the best way to go.I have a couple of specific questions, but it’s actually about luggage if you would believe. The major things have been covered to a big extent by doing some research on this forum.Are we allowed to pack the following into our check in luggage?My wife works for Annique (a beauty products company), so she wants to take lots of creams, beauty products and some Rooibos tea along for personal use, enough to last her a couple of months.I want to take along some biltong, a small Opinel biltong folding knife with a wooden handle and a fairly large (17cm blade, 13cm grip, so 30cm total length) fixed blade fighting knife that's got sentimental value and is made of steel with a rubber grip.We have some photo albums we want to take along, and some of them are made of leather. Also, my wife has some clothing items with faux fur and some teddy bears she possibly wants to take.Anything other than that with wood in it we're going to ship over, like the couple of paintings and picture frames we want to keep, will be done through shipping and the usual customs/quarantine procedure. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nicov Posted July 11, 2009 Report Share Posted July 11, 2009 Hey Johann,Relax, they have rooibos tea and biltong here. Rooibos tea would be okay to bring, but not the biltong. The knife may be dodgy. Perhaps ship that with the paintings. I would recommend you put a post in the advertisement board here to see if anyone going to Melbourne has space in their container for you. That would be the cheapest way to get stuff here. Unfortunately Andre's stuff was shipped a few weeks ago already.Good luck with getting the car sold. Nico.PS. Helen says hi. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
malJohann Posted July 11, 2009 Author Report Share Posted July 11, 2009 Hey Johann,Relax, they have rooibos tea and biltong here. Rooibos tea would be okay to bring, but not the biltong. The knife may be dodgy. Perhaps ship that with the paintings. I would recommend you put a post in the advertisement board here to see if anyone going to Melbourne has space in their container for you. That would be the cheapest way to get stuff here. Unfortunately Andre's stuff was shipped a few weeks ago already.Good luck with getting the car sold. Nico.PS. Helen says hi.Freak! If it weren't for you, I wouldn't be shipping! Didn't expect to see you on this forum. If I haven't said thanks for thinking of me yet, then THANKS! What about all the creams and beauty products, or does it count as a potential explosive hazard? Also, the other stuff I mentioned? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oosie Posted July 11, 2009 Report Share Posted July 11, 2009 Hi JohannCongratulations on your job in Melbourne, its a great place to live. We live in Ballarat, its about 100km from Melbourne and we love it to take the train into Melbourne once in a while.I see you are from Benoni, we also lived there all our years except for the last 2 years before we came to Aus we moved to Pretoria.All the best with all the arrangements.Linda Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nicov Posted July 11, 2009 Report Share Posted July 11, 2009 They creams should be okay. You are just not allowed more than 100ml of any fluids/creams in your handluggage. Put all that stuff in your ckecked baggage. All that other stuff should be fine, as long as they are clean. If in doubt:http://www.qantas.com.au/info/flying/befor...avel/quarantinehttp://www.travelbug.gov.au/documents/What_cant_I_take.pdfYou will see some stuff you can take, but must declare. With a lot of stuff it's how it's prepared. You cannot bring in a pieco of cowhide, but leather shoes are okay Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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