sami Posted March 12, 2007 Report Share Posted March 12, 2007 Hi, my name is Sami and my husband Jose and son Michael, arrived in Perth, two months ago, from Portugal where we lived for the past 12 years, having previously lived in Johannesburg and George for over 20 years.My husband is a Project Manager for Railway Signalling and I am doing a medical reception course at the moment to get a job. I had my own picture framing business in Portugal but don't want to set up a business without knowing the market. I loooove doing all sorts of crafts, paint a lot and would love to give art classes soon ( I had a group of ladies that came to my art courses twice a week in Portugal)Our son is at Murdoch University, we are still in rented accomodation in Victoria Park, looking for a place to buy and waiting for our container to arrive soon.Hope to be able to meet some of you at the SA meetings one of these days.I came across this site while on our decision time and helped me a lot reading all about your experiences while living in Australia. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
celeste Posted March 12, 2007 Report Share Posted March 12, 2007 Hi SamiWelcome to the forum. I'm also portuguese south african....my dad was born in portugal. We have just started our visa application and hope to head to the Gold Coast. My folks say they would like to follow when we go...my sister is already there. Why did you leave portugal for aus if you dont mind me asking? My dad has always said he wants to live 6 months in sa and 6 months in portugal when he retires (i think they all say that : ) but now is thinking of aus as all his kids will hopefully be there soon.What was your reason for choosing aus over portugal?cheers Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sami Posted March 13, 2007 Author Report Share Posted March 13, 2007 Hi Celeste, good luck with your application to Australia.Yes it's strange how we came to Australia after having lived in Portugal for 12 years. We were happy there and settled and living well, but we had some friends here, he is Portuguese, she South african who had also lived in Lisbon for a few years and then left to Perth 6 years ago, and our friend and my husband had worked together for a few years in the same field .Last year he went over to London to recruit people for a project his firm had and went to Lisbon to visit family and as he knew my husband had the qualifications he was looking for he asked if we would like to come and visit Australia and check if we might like to mover over. We came in July 2006, visited Perth and Sydney, found the country to be very much like SA when it comes to weather, greenery, big open spaces, well...we were hooked.The firm made a good offer, but we came on a 457 visa since my husband was 47 years old, got our visas within 2 months, which gave us little time to pack up our life on the other side.Well we have been here 2 months and are happy, we miss our family of course - I still have my younger sister in Jhb and my husband has a brother in Jhb as well, the rest are already in Portugal.We left our oldest daughter 22, back in Lisbon as she is doing her 4th year at Uni, but she will be coming to visit in July and hopefully will enjoy it here and will want to move over next year when she finishes 5th year. She is very independent and has a long time boyfriend, and also we didn't think it fair for her to break up her course and follow us and maybe not get into the same year here. Also Uni there only costs about 1500 Aust dollars, while here for us on a 457 we are paying 12000 dlrs for our son. Pricey, very pricey!!! But we are happy we phone our family often, it's cheap with our phone cards.Have made an offer on a house and hope to be able to get finance.Once we settle into our own place and get our container life will be a lot better.But we love Perth, the river, the freedom, the outdoor life, the beaches....We liked Portugal too but I must say outdoor life is too short due to the long winters, the country is small and crowded, beaches are crowded in summer as you only have 3 months summer and the whole country takes leave during that period.Well hope all goes well for you and who knows we might meet up later Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Riekie Posted March 13, 2007 Report Share Posted March 13, 2007 Thanks for sharing that sami! It's all very interesting! We ARE the scatterlings of Africa...... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
celeste Posted March 14, 2007 Report Share Posted March 14, 2007 Hi Samithanks for that post. You're lucky to have gone over with a firm job offer. We are hoping to apply for a few jobs on-line closer to the time...well actually once we have shaken the dust off our CV's and have them ready to submit on-line!It's great to hear that you love the country (AUS). I, unfortunately don't speak portugues (just the odd words) so that wouldn't be an option for me. Hoping and praying all works out and we get the visa.I do do hope your bond comes through soon and you get the house! if it's meant to be it will be.CheersLyse Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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