First few days in Australia

[BriD]

I have to say how much I admire your frankness and honesty. I am a true believer of being honest about the bare bones of what is happening and that is what you are doing. You will probably never know how many people that you have helped be more realistic about things...but I can assure you your updates will have that effect.

Nothing about immigration is for the faint hearted...if it is the beginning stages of trying to gather documents from incompetent government departments, or trying to sell homes, or waiting endlessly for news about VISAS...to the actuality of immigration and arriving in a foreign country and starting from scratch. Balls of steel is indeed what is required.

I think what you guys have managed to accomplish in the short time you have been there is awesome. You are making progress with every step of the way. Before you know it you will be one of those honorary Aussies that we all look to for advice and as a complete success story of immigration. When ever you feel overwhelmed and down just look how far you have come.

Hats off to you...you have my deepest respect and admiration.

[africancowgirl]

Hey there HEOJJ and OYBR....understandably things seem a bit a lot difficult at the moment so be kind to yourselves and each other. You guys have been such a pillar of strength so I REALLY hope that things start looking better soon. You know that old saying about eating an elephant.... (If you don't then PM me.)

Have a great week and all the best with job hunting!

[Eyebrow]

Hope you are doing well!

The whole forum felt it when you went for an emotional dip!

But thanks for being honest (and now we know you are human like the rest of us )

Stay strong!

[Kanniewagnie]

Ek is baie bly om te sien dat jul al so ver gekom het. Sterkte - jul sal bo uitkom. Groete, P

[Kas]

Thank you for sharing so honestly. It is refreshing and helpful to not only those who haven't yet arrived in Australia, but those of us who are here and can relate. This is the single hardest thing I have ever done. The range of emotions, and how quickly they change, is ginormous! One thing for sure is that once you secure a rental and your container arrives you will start to feel so much more settled. But be prepared - I was so happy to see all our possessions, but sad too, as each one reminded me of the home I left behind. Of course when you find a job and start earning dollars a huge weight will be lifted from your shoulders. Slowly but surely you will begin to slip into a normal life, with a normal routine. Taking your daughter to school, going to work, doing the grocery shopping - not running around opening accounts and buying cars and looking at rentals! Slowly but surely the good days, the truly happy moments will start to take over the sad ones. Of course this journey is different for everyone, but missing loved ones in South Africa is something we all have in common and I have started to understand and accept that these feelings are a normal part of the journey and will always be with me. However the pain has certainly eased as my connections here become stronger (we've been in Australia for 16 months). This journey truly is a roller coaster ride! Just know that your feelings are completely normal. Starting from scratch and leaving all one knows - how could it be easy. BUT... as others have said - bit by bit things will start to fall into place, and the life that you dreamed of living, the life that you moved here for, will be yours! Good luck with securing a rental, and I hope the interview with your daughter's new school went well. I have a friend who lives in Noosa and it truly looks like heaven on earth!

Take care.

Kas

[HadEnoughofJuju]

I am sitting here at the moment in tears because I know that I am not alone and that there are people that truly understand what we are going through. I will admit that we have not had the hardest journey of the forumites and I take my hat off to those of you who have faced adversity and triumphed.

I believe in being honest and not sugar coating anything about this journey and in life in general. It would be unfair to paint a one sided picture of this process and experience. I am truly humbled by all the support and kind words that everyone has responded with in this post and really appreciate all the support.

Sharing my feelings and emotions here on the forum has been very therapeutic and has helped greatly with dealing with the emotions and lows I have been through. Although we have had a tough week trying to get our child into school, find a rental and look for work it has definitely been a bit easier. We have seen lots of houses and applied for a few of them and hopefully we will get the one we want so all please cross those fingers.

Thank you once again for the support and kind words, they keep me going.

[Jamie]

You rock too, and we salute you. Hope you find an amazing home. Be good and kind, and gentle with yourselves!

[derricksmith75]

Ditto

[Riekie]

It's always great to read the experiences of new arrivals as we've experienced it so long ago and unfortunately you get into the Aussie way quicker than you think and before you know it, you complain about the sidewalk not being 100% level... It's just a reminder of how different life in Australia is and how much we have to appreciate! When a new immigrant is gob-smacked by something, its almost like a reality check that you were also blown away by everything back then and that it is so easily forgotten! Australia is not without fault - believe me, after enough time, you'll have plenty to complain about, but it is still the best country in the world to live in and now and then a reminder of that is a good thing!

Welcome to Australia! Enjoy all your new experiences and continue sharing!

[Tebbutts]

Thank you for sharing such a deeply personal insight into your arrival in Oz. We are still in the exciting stage and at the top of the rollercoaster at the moment. The thought of this great big adventure that we are about to embark upon is very exciting for me and I have pushed all the negative thoughts of leaving everything and everybody I know and love out of my head. It still seems so far away, but in reality, we have 6 months until our container is packed and we will be facing what you are now going through. I have a feeling that I will be reading and re-reading these posts over the next year or so.

[PrissyMissy]

Thank you for your honesty - when we immigrated the first time and tried to put posts like this on the SA2NZ forum - there were a handful of us only - we were belittled and degraded for expressing our emotions so openly.

We arrive in Brisbane in 20 days and know we are going to share the same emotions you are talking about - look forward to meeting up with those of you who have arrived in the last few months.

One thing is for sure, I could not see my beautiful daughters being raised in SA - I don't think I would sleep a wink.

Immigration is definately not for the faint hearted - it took my Dad 7 years to talk to me again as I was deemed a traitor. Strange how he came round just as we are doing a second round of immigration - funny how life works.

[HadEnoughofJuju]

Thank you for sharing such a deeply personal insight into your arrival in Oz. We are still in the exciting stage and at the top of the rollercoaster at the moment. The thought of this great big adventure that we are about to embark upon is very exciting for me and I have pushed all the negative thoughts of leaving everything and everybody I know and love out of my head. It still seems so far away, but in reality, we have 6 months until our container is packed and we will be facing what you are now going through. I have a feeling that I will be reading and re-reading these posts over the next year or so.

That's the thing about roller coaster rides, people forget that there are also dips, how fun would the ride be if everything was always up or level. At some stage what goes up must come down. I believe that sharing both the good an bad is important because if everyone who came to Australia thought that it was all going to be easy and plane sailing they would just pack their bags and go back after 2 or 3 months.

Although I have my bad days and things seem not so nice, I don't regret this move one bit. Just keep on focusing on the good things you get from this experience and learn from the bad ones. Thanks for taking the time to read and showing support, it really does help to know there are people out there in the same boat and that in the end everything will be ok.

[HadEnoughofJuju]

Thank you for your honesty - when we immigrated the first time and tried to put posts like this on the SA2NZ forum - there were a handful of us only - we were belittled and degraded for expressing our emotions so openly.

We arrive in Brisbane in 20 days and know we are going to share the same emotions you are talking about - look forward to meeting up with those of you who have arrived in the last few months.

One thing is for sure, I could not see my beautiful daughters being raised in SA - I don't think I would sleep a wink.

Immigration is definitely not for the faint hearted - it took my Dad 7 years to talk to me again as I was deemed a traitor. Strange how he came round just as we are doing a second round of immigration - funny how life works.

Hey PrissyMissy, I like your post (except the part abut being a traitor and your dad not speaking to you). People that belittle others for being honest are just too afraid to admit their own feelings and fears. I am at a stage in my life where I have stopped caring what people think of me and if they don't like the posts I make then well they should just not read them.

Thank you as well for taking the time to read and the support. Having people to share experiences with is a very important part of the immigration process and if you don't you end up bottling them up inside and exploding when you least expect it.

Good luck with the last stretch of the journey to Australia and I look forward to seeing you all on the other side.

[HadEnoughofJuju]

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

Tim Tam's really do fix things. :ilikeit:

[AndreaL]

Tim Tam's really do fix things. :ilikeit:

Haha....Tim Tams.....the prozac of Australia

[Sandelicious]

Hi, good luck and try Aami insurance as well.

[Killerjoe]

Thanks for all your posts HadEnoughofJuju I really appreciate it. Also for the emotional experiance your going through Im sure this will give many the strength they need to overcome the initial process of moving. I will be in Australia in August and will definately document my ride and call apon yours for strength during this trying and exciting time.

Keep the faith I think your over the initial difficulties and you must be alot stronger now having gone through it, thanks for always encouraging the others even though you also have alot on your plate at the moment. its nice when people are honest then others don't feel they wont make it, they realise that somebody else is going through a tough transition and that they can also survive just like the person they read about.

I will write soon regaing what we will be packing hopefully you guys can help me not forget anything, it will help those leaving after me not forget anything also.

[CherylC]

HEOJJ, thanks for all the posts and the honesty. We've been here for almost 2 months and I remarked to my husband how the first month feels as if it went a lot slower than the second month! Soon we'll look back and it will be two years!

We'll be moving into our rental next month (it's being built and will only be finished off then). In the meanwhile we've been staying for free in a fully furnished apartment and cannot complain at all!! The people from my hubby's work have bent over backwards to assist.

I can believe that with time, certain things will feel like a fuzzy memory when looking back. Immegration is all and all an overload of information, sights, scenes, emotions and on top of it awe.

I still can't get over how nice and helpful the Ozzies are. We feel that the general attitude of the Ozzies will add to our personalities changing here. We will most probably become kinder, more tolerant, more helpful to others and more patient - more like the type of person you'd rather want to be.

Good luck with your journey. You and your family are not alone along tis ride! :-)

[joweni]

Days like today and I remember just how lucky we are to live here in the Land of Oz. My husband is in hospital after complications with open heart surgery. I was sitting with him this evening when my phone rang-it was my neighbour to say that she thought our house had been broken into.......the front door was wide open and lights were on.I rushed home to find my neighbour and a concerned policeman standing outside the front door. After a quick look around with nothing missing I realised that in my worried state of mind, I probably didn't pull the door closed properly this morning when I left for work so the house has been wide open all day. I apologised to the policeman who was so courteous and replied that he was happy to be of assistance and it was so nice to see neighbours taking care of each other. He wished me a safe night and went on his way. My lovely neighbour stayed to make sure I was OK and went on her way. I am so so so happy to live here,not scared to be on my own as I was in South Africa and humbled by the time people take to help one another.

[Kanniewagnie]

Joweni, I'm glad you have such good neighbour (and police), and your house were not broken into! Sorry to hear about your husband's surgery. how is he doing now?

[HadEnoughofJuju]

@Killerjoe

Thanks for the kind words and encouragement. I must say that having this forum and to be able to share experiences has really helped me through this process. It definitely helps to know that there are other people in the same boat as us.

Good luck with the planning and last couple of months in South Africa. Before you know it they will have passed and you will be starting your new life in Australia.

[HadEnoughofJuju]

@CherylC, thanks for the kind words and encouragement. I also noticed that the longer you are in Australia the slower time passes. Life in general here is just so much more relaxed than in South Africa. People here are just so chilled and happy.

It also definitely dies change your personality, you actually start to care about those people around you because they also care. It's a very different lifestyle to South Africa.

Good luck with the move and before you know it you will be settled in and going about daily life and it will feel like that's the way it's always been.

[HadEnoughofJuju]

@Joweni, hope your hubby gets better soon. We are really lucky to be here. The one thing I have noticed about the police here is that they have a sense of pride in their jobs (as do mist Australians) and they actually care about the people and not just the pay cheque.

Glad your house is okay.