Meet And Greet In Adelaide Sa

[Yskas]

Hi There All

Our medicals were received by Diac on Monday 11/7/2011 and our Police clearances were sent off today. As I understand from our agent once medicals and police clearances are called for it is just a matter of time before final approval is given.

My questions:

1) How long does it take from here to final approval?

2) Depending on the above, our plan is for me to go over mid November and start with Job hunting and to find us a place to stay. My wife will stay behind and 1) wait for our Oldest (Gr 1) to finish school and 2) Its much easier staying with people as an individual than to arrive at someone’s home with a whole family, she will then join me early in December. Will it be possible for somebody to meet me at the Airport and assist me with accommodation for a night or two?

3) I’ve heard trough the grapevine that if like ourselves you are going over with a State Sponsorship the State of SA assist you with accommodation for a while. Is this true?

4) If I’m correct school years in Aus end in June meaning that transition between grades happens then. We are a Afrikaans speaking household will it be best for our son in Gr 1 to redo Gr1 over there for half the year and only then to move on to Gr 2 in June/July 2012 to overcome the language barrier?

5) Where does one start when looking for a suitable suburb to stay in and finding a school?

Any comments and inputs will be highly appreciated.

[Annette]

Hi Yskas

Firstly, I would suggest that you get very well acquainted with Google. It's amazing how much information is out there if you know where to look. If you do not have ADSL is there any chance you could get access to it at least for the last few months? You really do need to do an awful lot of research in my opinion before you arrive. Google is your best friend

My answers:

1) Don't know the timings any more. Ours was approved 6 years ago and things change month to month in the Immigration Dept. Hopefully someone with more recent experience can give you an answer, but you do need to realise that all cases are different

2) If you are able to get yourself to the city, you are welcome to stay in our spare room for a day or two, however we do both work full time so can't provide transport. There is a bus route quite near our house and it takes 10 minutes into the city where there are links to many other buses, trams and trains.

3) I’ve heard trough the grapevine that this service has been stopped. A quick Google search shows the following : http://www.migration.sa.gov.au/sa/immigrate_from_overseas/on_arrival_services/what_services_are_you_eligible_to_use.jsp

4) This is incorrect, the school year starts in February. Kids start Reception in Feb or July, depending on the school. It is best to have your child assessed by the school once you have decided where they are going, so that they can tell you whether they think it is best to repeat Year 1 or not. It would be very unusual for them to recommend a repeat of the year. Kids learn language very very quickly but there may be some support available.

5) You probably need to find a job first so you have some idea of where you will work. You don't want to commute too far. Adelaide is much bigger than people think in terms of travelling times. Also, you will need an idea of your income to know how much you can afford in terms of rent etc. In the meantime, you need to get familiar with Google Maps. Study the map of Adelaide and surrounds and then you can also use Google StreetView to take yourself on "virtual tours" of the suburbs. You can literally drive up and down the streets in the comfort of your own armchair! Search for other posts on this forum about Adelaide Suburbs and also look at sites like AdelaideBrits and PomsinAdelaide. Your best bet is to spend hours and hours in front of the computer. There are many many suburbs in Adelaide and there really is something for everyone.

Good luck

Annette

[trekarbeider]

Hi Yskas,

We are not in Adelaide yet, but I have been doing a lot of reseach, will try and help.

Firstly, it takes roughly between a week and a month after medical and pcc for the visa grant, longer if the medicals are referred.

Schools, there are 2 great websites: google "better schools adelaide", then choose primary, it gives the whole list of academic ranking, also the "my school" website gives the Naplan test scores of each school plus local school info.

Regarding housing realestate.com or homehound will help you to do some suburb and realestate research

Hope your visa is granted soon, best of luck with your move!!

[K-Vdm]

Hi there

our visa was granted 6 weeks after getting a CO - our meds and pcc were frontloaded...

Our daughter is starting 3rd term in our local school in year 2 - her teacher said she will assess her and take it from there. I can't see that any school will have a child repeat a grade...

I've beard that the job market slows considerably from Nov to end Jan (can anyone else confirm this) so keep in mind that you will need to be prepared financially for this too. It might take longer to find employment (that you need/want) during this time.

Areas are so diverse and Adelaide is big! Get a GPS! You will need to drive around and get a feel before deciding where to settle... Also as mentioned, first see where you will be working and take everything from there.. that will be the determining factor for everything!

Good luck - and read up as much as you can!!