First few days in Australia

[AlBrough]

well done on getting this far! Best of luck and faith with your next few weeks

[Fish]

Boet, you've got my respect... few have the balls to say it like it is... good on ya.

Good to know, yup, 3rd party will be the best bet in the beginning

On the insurance experience, I wonder if a members/claims certificate from your previous SA insurer might help with the loading?

Good luck anyway... keeping an eye on your progress.

PS: Friend me on Facebook when you get the time

Over on the the Brit Expat sites quite a few have managed to get their previous British policies recognised...I think it may depend on the insurer and it is worth ringing around a bunch of them once you get the chance I reckon...

[Sa2Nz2Oz]

HEOJ - Go have a Tim Tam - the wife loves them ( get the generic Coles one they are a bit cheaper but the same thing)

[Fish]

HEOJ - Go have a Tim Tam - the wife loves them ( get the generic Coles one they are a bit cheaper but the same thing)

Or better still Aldi...probably half the price

[LizM]

Just make sure you do the Tim Tam Slam It makes everything seem better - even just for a moment

[Sa2Nz2Oz]

Bite both ends off, put one end into the coffee and suck the coffee through the Tim Tam!

[HadEnoughofJuju]

On the insurance experience, I wonder if a members/claims certificate from your previous SA insurer migh help with the loading?

Your South African history got you the visa but unfortunately that is as far as it will get you. Your work experience counts a little but everything else, no claim insurance, driving experience and credit history mean absolutely diddly squat down here. You will quite literally have to start all of that over from scratch. I know I was not amused by this fact either.

[Jacques Voogt]

btw, you only pay for the first 9 trips per week on the go card, so if you go to work every day you have free weekend use, works well to visit goldcoast or where-ever

As soon as you have some routine in terms of job, same home to return to every night, etc, things will be different and seemingly much easier.

This makes me think about a TV game show with a tough challenge: "BIG BALLS!!!"

[Mara]

When we first moved to Australia, we took out insurance through NRMA and they definitely recognized our years of no claim bonus in RSA, but I had a certificate from my RSA insurer to prove it.

It may well be worth a few phone calls when you upgrade to comprehensive to check this out.

[MarcK]

@HEOJ - your post brings back so many memories and emotions from our move in June last year. I can remember being totally overwhelmed by the worries of no job, no home and container on its way and pretty much our life savings divided by R8.32!!!

All I can say is take it one step at a time. Tick off the small things and everything will fall into place.

Looking forward to meeting you at the end of the month!

[AndreaL]

Well done to you both, and thanks for being honest, people really need to understand that they are not going to land and pick up their life where they left off in South Africa, so again, thanks for keeping it real.

Noosa is lovely, my sister in law loves getting away there.

Marc is right, it does fall into place in time

[BellaR]

I find it strange you were quoted so much for comprehensive insurance. We got comprehensive through Suncorp on a brand new car for only $500 odd per ANNUM.

[CloudNine]

Well done on your successes and the fortitude of you guys is admirable. Good luck with all ahead and thanks for sharing so open-mindedly.

[AndreaL]

Bella R is right, Our old skedonk model hyundai Accent 2001 is about $430 p/a through RACQ and the 2011 Great Wall is about $700 i think, then you also have your CTP.

[Sunnyskies]

HEOJJ I posted a while ago on Comminsure not taking into account SA driving experience. I had the biggest fight with them. I've moved over to GIO and they do accept your SA driving experience. Whatever insurance you take out make sure you read the PDS. At least cancelling insurance is relatively easy.

On SA work experience I don't think it counts for nought, but it is discounted. Having made the move and been through the adjustment phase I do understand why, I don't think it really matters what you do but all jobs seem to be done slightly differently here. Speaking to friends in all sectors they all mention how they had to adjust to how it is done here. This can be very difficult for people who struggle to adapt to change or who were very senior and are not used to being told that their way is the wrong way. I adopted the approach that I had to adjust and bite my tongue. Some of the people who have worked with me over the last 4 years remark that I must have been biting very hard, as I am now very vocal. However, I think that I was so busy processing the move internally that I didn't have the energy to get too involved and I knew that I had to work like an Aussie as no one cared about how my job was done in South Africa. Good luck with the job hunt.

[Lyn]

HEOJJ - your posts take me back a few years when I felt like you do. It was darn hard in those early days - starting all over again.

I'm pleased that you are being honest, way too many people arrive in AUS and gloss over those first few months. Its not the same for everyone. But I assure you that with your determination and a little patience everything will eventually fall into place.

RSA will eventually get out of your system - I know it did with me.

Good luck with securing a rental - having a place to call home will make settling in easier.

[Craig01]

I can only ditto what everyone else has said here. After arriving in January last year, January/February/March was a blur and although we knew this was right, it felt very unsettling and unnerving not knowing our @rse from our elbow. A year and a bit later and things are falling into place little-by-little. I have found that as soon as a person's financial situation improves by way of earning dollars then the rest gets easier to deal with.

My coping mechanism is thinking of the alternative, my kids being brought-up in SA ....

[rozellem]

Glad you checked in with us. Now we know where to send our good vibes.

Make a list of the things you have accomplished since stepping off the plane (never mind the 1000 things you did before that) and stick it on you fridge/mirror so you can see it trough out the day. Good luck with this last leg.

[Sunnyskies]

I can only ditto what everyone else has said here. After arriving in January last year, January/February/March was a blur and although we knew this was right, it felt very unsettling and unnerving not knowing our @rse from our elbow. A year and a bit later and things are falling into place little-by-little. I have found that as soon as a person's financial situation improves by way of earning dollars then the rest gets easier to deal with.

My coping mechanism is thinking of the alternative, my kids being brought-up in SA ....

Craig, next January you are going to have a moment where you look back on the last 2years and say, now it feels right. I don't know what it is about the 2 year mark but it almost visible in how different you feel at that point to how you felt before that point. Hang in there, as you say it is getting better little by little.

[Miley]

Thank you for sharing your feelings. It sounds like what you are experiencing is very normal. After the highs and lows of the visa process, and then the final high of being granted the visa and then 'reality bites'. I'm expecting to go through the same emotions you are describing when we arrive in Perth. Thanks again for your honesty,

[HadEnoughofJuju]

Thank you everyone for the kind words, support and advice. It really helps to know that there are others out there that have been through this and have survived the process.

I made a promise to myself and some friends back in South Africa that I would share both the good and bad experiences. It does not help to hide the bad parts of this. If people don't know about the hard times and they land here they are far more like to just want to pack up and go back because the "dream life" was not all it was made out to be.

Let me just make it very clear so that there is no ambiguity about this fact. I love it here, things are just so much more relaxed and the focus of the Australian society is just so different. People care about those around them and family is the most important part of daily life. I would not trade this for the world and do not regret this move at all. Yes it may be hard and it may feel like we have done the wrong thing at time but I just focus n what kind of life we had and the future my child would not have had if we had stayed in South Africa.

I hope that in time these feelings will go away and things will start feeling normal again. Thank you to those people who dropped me a call over the last couple of days (you all know who you are), it really helped and i am feeling much better today than I was a couple of days ago.

We have several viewings lined up for the next couple of days and there may be a job interview or 2 in the pipeline. We are also going to the school tomorrow that we hope to enrol our daughter in which should bring her a little stability as well. I just hold onto the hope that things can only get better.

[Alida]

I've learned that emotions is just what it is - emotions - it often is a barometer of how we interact with reality, not always an exact representation of reality. If one would shove the emotions apart for a little while and only focus on the facts of your existence here and now, one often get a whole different picture !! That is the value of that 'list of accomplishments' rozellem mentioned - it overrides the emotions and helps to focus the emotions. Emotions needs to get into the open air asap for it needs fresh air, but it should not rule the perception of reality. Let me preach while I'm not yet there ... .

Thank you, HEOJJ, you are an inspiration.

[VanWyke]

Thank you for updating us and sharing your experience. We appreciate it.

Good luck with securing a rental.

[AndreaL]

Good luck with this week. I think you guys have done amazingly well in such a short time, I think I just wandered round in a daze for the first few weeks.

I can't wait for you to find a home and then have your container arrive.......expect another huge range of emotions when you unpack.

A quick tip for those who use a prepaid Telstra mobile on arrival in Australia, if you set up messagebank, your credit is chewed up when you retrieve those messages.....so call 132000 and say cancel messagebank and switch it to Message to text and there are no charges.

Cost-effective - There’s no access fee and no charge to
receive Message2Txt SMS messages - so you could save money and stay
connected.

[Lyn]

You guys have taken a big leap of faith - you made it to Aus - now the rest will fall into place - sometimes a little slower than we'd like - I too was very raw when I first arrived - a fish out of water - I say acknowledge your emotions - but try not let them take over.

And once again I admire your honesty.

Really hope this week brings something happy and positive into your lives.