Nadine Posted December 29, 2006 Report Share Posted December 29, 2006 Hi All,We have been here for over a year now (we landed on 5 Dec 2005) and it's been a very up and down year.Although I have not made may posts in the last while I have been reading other members posts with great interest, so thank you all for continuing to post and reminding me why I came helping me get through the tough times. In short this is what we have done, arrived last December, myself, husband and 2 young kids (then aged 18 month and 4 years). When we got here we stayed in a furnished apartment almost like a holiday home for 10 days, in this time we secured a rental lease which we signed for 6 months. We did not bring any furniture with us, so in those 10 days we furnished our entire house and then moved in. I booked both kids into a Kindergarten and my husband and I started to look for jobs. My husband found a job quickly (within a month) but for me it took 3 long and agonising months to find a job, which made me very despondent as we got our visa (perm residence 136) on my skill sets.Anyways, I found a job in March, and I am still working here. I am doing the same thing as I did in SA but find the pace to be much slower and more relaxed. My bosses here have been amazing and very supportive of us. The major difference is that they believe in a work / life balance, and understand the requirements and responsibilities of family.A few months later my husband got ill, and is no longer working. We are now a single income family. Over this period we also bought a house and moved to another area, I placed my daughter who had turned 5 into Prep at a state school (which is free); and my son (who has now turned 2) stayed in Kindergarten but only goes 3 days a week as we are a single income family and Kindy is expensive.Placing my daughter into prep has been the best thing we could have done for her, she has learnt so much and is now ready for grade 1 next year. Both kids have made friends and we as a family now have a great circle of friends, a lot of whom we met are parents of the kids friends.We also have a dog, as we did not bring our 2 dogs with us, as they would not have survived the quarantine. This to me completed the family circle.So all in all looking back its been a great and very difficult year, but we stuck through the hard times.I feel very settled and happy here, Brisbane now feels like home. What I can say to those of you who are thinking about immigrating or who are waiting on papers and visas, do it. You will go through hard times, and without support of family and friends it is difficult, but keep a sense of humour and remind yourselves why you have chosen to make the move. It's really worth it!!!Thanks for reading my rumblings, its great to get it down on paper (well virtual paper).CheersNadine Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sa2auz Posted December 29, 2006 Report Share Posted December 29, 2006 Hey thereWho would have thought a year back that so much would have changed in your life. I think you are doing great, you go girl. We all have our ups and downs but its what makes us stronger and wiser and who we are. I know you are going to be fine, just think positive, you have done so much in such a short time. Keep us posted its great to hear how you are doing.S Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WannaB Ozzie Posted December 29, 2006 Report Share Posted December 29, 2006 Nadine, thanks for the letter. It shows us, still in SA, that it can be done! What type of work do you do? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nadine Posted January 1, 2007 Author Report Share Posted January 1, 2007 Hi there,I am a service delivery manager, in the IT industry.What do you do? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dedrei Posted January 2, 2007 Report Share Posted January 2, 2007 Congrats on being in Aus for a year already!!Glad we aren't the only "crazy" ones to have only come over with our suitcases.So sorry to hear that you have had such a difficult year and hope your hubby is alright. You are a tough girly and should be proud of it. You have made your first year in Aus, despite all your circumstances.When times are tough, I just remind myself"Everything happens for a reason" (even though you might not see it immediately)"wat jou nie breek nie maak jou sterker"Sterkte vir julle en hou ons op hoogte.GroeteD Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nadine Posted January 2, 2007 Author Report Share Posted January 2, 2007 Hi,Thanks for your kind words and encouragement. I believe that 2007 will be a wonderful year for us, and hopefully all forum members Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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