Do have have good news story?

[Onfinals]

Hi!

 

We are a little family of 4 with two little girls.  We have lived in the UK as well as USA.  After gathering good international experience as an IT Auditor (IT Systems auditor / IT Security auditors / SAP Auditor, I get called many different things), we are now seeking our home-for-ever place.  We will never say never, and we do have passports for both, but the UK and the US does not fit the bill for us.  We are heading out to Australia in May to check it out during an LSD trip.  We will be looking at the Sydney and Melbourne areas.

 

I want to know of the success stories of SAFFAS that have made it out there.  I need some encouragement and signs that it is doable (again! for the 2nd time for us!!).  So, any stories and insights are welcome!

 

Thank you!

[DXB2OZ]

Onfinals, this is our 6th country. Not saying I couldn't/wouldn't live in the others, however we were looking for something else. We found it here. I love the fact that my children will become Australians. I will one day be proud to call myself an Australian.

 

Here, you are measured on who you are, not what you have. Family time is real, natural occurrence, not something to be scheduled. Yes, you pay higher costs for many things, but that ensures a pretty decent basic standard of living for a minimum wage earner, which in turn brings up the standard of living for the country as a whole. Having said that, last night we went to a stunning Shakespeare (the best bits) production in the botanical gardens for $40 per head (my sides are still sore from laughing). February is a busy month for us as we have three free concerts in various parks around Melbourne to attend (opera, Broadway musicals and symphony under the stars), all top performers, all free.

 

Next month the aim is a camping trip on the Murray River with the kids and the lab.

 

The kids are both at an excellent high school. We are whining a bit as we just had to fork out for a new laptop for each of them, but the school "contribution" of $1,500 (books included) a year is pretty fantastic when I look at what they get. My husband and I both work in the CBD and use the excellent public transport to get to work with minimal hassle and fuss. The first part of our walk to our offices is along the Yarra River and I always enjoy those few minutes - it sets the tone for the day. I genuinely enjoy working with the people I work with and find the work ethic to be very good. Too much overtime is more likely to get you a reprimand than a reward - a work-life balance is something expected.

 

Making friends is a slow business, but also depends on your personality and clubs you join. We have a small circle and we are very happy with that.

 

Our LSD was a bit of a shock as Aus was nothing like I expected and so much better. Within a week, my catch phrase was "where do I sign". We fell in love with it - almost 3 years later it is a good and happy relationship, set to continue quite happily for many years to come.

[SurferMan]

Welcome Onfinals, 

 

you will find MANY success stories here in this forum. This is a stunning country, much like the US in rural areas. you will find aussies to be friendly, happy and very easy going. 

[Mara]

Onfinals, we are definitely a success story, 5th country for me, 4th country for hubby. The only reason we would leave here is to move back to New Zealand on retirement, as our eldest son lives there. We left RSA at age 44!

[SurferMan]

Ahhh young Mara, 

 

Would you leave our lovely shores for NZ? *points toes at the ground...*

[Mara]

Surferman, to me the greatest thing about NZ is that I do not have to worry about snakes (except the two legged kind) or poisonous creepy crawlies, you just have to love that!

[SurferMan]

ROFL, two legged snakes...hmmm....methinks you should fear those, all though it may be late to be developing a fear of those...LOLOL. 

[elleneo]

Every country has the common one-eyed snake......scary character that one!

[SurferMan]

Man I wish my kind of projects were reprimanded if we worked OT. LOL. What a change that would make.  

[Onfinals]

Hi DXB, what do you do for work?  It sound interesting.

[DXB2OZ]

Onfinals, I confess to being merely an accountant. Hubby is in IT and I have been a professional "husband follower" around the globe. It makes for interesting experiences.

[PleasantlySurprised]

Welcome Onfinals 

 

I know exactly where you are right now, we were there too. I was uncertain about Aus, I just wasn't sure, I didn't like the idea of Aus but then we came on our LSD trip and fell in love. 

 

There are so many different aspects to it that sometimes I think, its very British and then other times I feel like we could be in various parts of the States. My parents who grew up in Zimbabwe are convinced that Australia is like a grown up version of Zim (I'm not entirely sure what that means) but what it does feel like is what I remember feeling when I was growing up in PE. My son is in daycare three days and week and when he isn't we're either on the beach or exploring somewhere new. I am free to move around with the two kids and when I get stuck somewhere people are quick to lend a hand whether it be getting off the train or my 3 year old running round a shop like a crazed lunatic.  

 

Australia is huge so there are a lot of different options as to the feeling you get in different places, Brisbane, Melbourne, Perth and Sydney all have very different feels to them and even within the Cities there are different vibes. Coming from SA we like living Sydney's North Shore because of the space that is available whereas my sister who is the US prefers inner-City. 

 

I'm not sure we're a complete success story, we've only been here 8 or 9 months but let me give you the low down:

 

- we came here and decided we loved it then had another baby which delayed us, despite this within 6 weeks of our baby being born we were granted a 189 visa; 

- we sold our house in SA on its first show day 

- we found a place to stay in Sydney on airbnb for a month and they allowed us to use their car and au pair (we didn't use the latter)

- within a week my husband had been offered a job

- within the first five days we had applied for our drivers' licences, registered for medicare, registered at centrelink (to get a rebate on the day care costs) and had our bank cards

- within two weeks my son was enrolled in day care, a fantastic daycare that we got into after a brief phone call, it was one day to start because of availability but i wasn't turning that down, it was too good an opportunity to miss

- within 3 weeks we had a rental, the price of which we managed to negotiate down (love a good haggle)

 

We've made heaps of friends and feel settled already. In fact we're so settled that we complain at the thought of having to move should we want to get a bigger house or eventually have enough money to put down a deposit. Also, I go to the airport to collect or drop visiting family off and think "now why would i want to go anywhere else" which is awesome. 

 

Its all about being confident in your decision and then executing it, I think  but i could be completely wrong. 

 

Good luck!!!