Theshi Posted September 12, 2016 Report Share Posted September 12, 2016 So, in exactly 14 week days we will handing in our resignation letters!! I cannot believe we are at this stage already. Emigrating was the last thing on our minds. the plan was we get married and start our family in our 2nd year of marriage. THAT WAS THE PLAN!! God had other plans, He surely does work in mysterious ways. My husband had no intentions of moving to Oz but now he is the main applicant... After attending a Working In Expo at some Hotel in Fourways, we were so impressed by the one lady from Santa Fe Immigration Services, she explained the process telling us all the right things that we were hoping to hear from the lady at the Canadian stand, after all that is where our hearts were. We were already seeing ourselves there wondering how we were going to survive the cold winters they have that side. However after attending this expo we had changed our minds thinking of the endless possibilities....after 2 weeks, we still had no communication from the agent then i sent an email to their woodmead offices and that's when this amazing journey started April 2015- May 2015 We got in touch with our Agent Debbie, we went to her offices she did the assessment again and i think the fact that we showed her that we were genuinely prepared to take this step made her see how committed we were. We engaged her services and she informed us it was not going to be an easy journey and that it has not been. Luckily my husband and I had done our IELTS in 2014 so we did not have to worry about that, we discovered my husband was better suited to be the main applicant as his skills were on the list. We had to prepare documents for him to the paper based assessment of which he passed. Yay!!! Bummer was when the agent informed us that my husband could only do the practical assessment in November and only then could we lodge our EOI. In 2014 practical assessments were done twice a year in cape town March and November. our main worry was whether he could be able to get time off work in November to go for the assessment which was 7 months away!!! we were so fortunate that the owner was around and leaving for Sydney the following Tuesday so he took my husband's documents with him and he posted them to VETASSESS when he arrived in Sydney. it took less that 2 weeks to get positive skills assessment feed back even the agent was pleasantly surprised. we continued with our research and the more research we conducted the more convinced we were that this had been the right decision for us. we had so many what if's. we were on the dibp website every single day going through the different tabs and trying to under the process better. at the same time the agent was preparing us for lodging our EOI. This stage was a bit stressful as it required that we call our parents back home and request for info without letting the cat out of the bag. Fast track November 2015 my husband managed to book time off in order for him to go and do the practical exam. months of planning and studying culminated into this one day that would determine whether we made the move or not. December 2015 2 weeks later, we received fantastic news from our Agent....my husband had received a positive outcome...to say we were elated is an under statement. my husband then had to travel because of work and i was left to continue with the process. luckily we had gathered all required documents which i had to double and triple check as well as check the documents that the agent had completed on our behalf. She then lodged our EOI on the 15th of December, happy we were but we new we would only get an ITA in 2016. December holidays pretty much sucked!! my husband had been away for a month and came home 2 days before i went home to see our parents and he was here on standby at work... 2016 22 January we received our ITA, 2 February we received our grant letter and its been a roller coaster ride from then. my advice, if you are planning to sell household goods, please do not use those people that say they help people that are downsizing or emigrating, they will reap you off. you are better of selling the stuff yourself and you sell it for the amount you want. make a decision before the grant letter comes on whether you will move once and for all or you will do an LSD or activation trip as well as a rough idea of when you will leave so that you buy tickets earlier and finalise accommodation. informing the family went even better than what we expected. they have been very supportive and its only very close friends and families that we have told. before when we were hinting some did not want to hear about emigrating surprisingly they are they same people that are now coming to ask how the whole process works. not having someone to talk to other than your souse is the hardest bit. as i am working i sit in meetings and talk about things that i want to do in two months time and next year, knowing full well that i will not be around then. we have started compiling our resignation letters and we vcannot wait to submit them lol our house is almost empty, we have no couches and wondering if you will ever be able to get back to the level that you had reached.... in the past ,after completion of each stage you tell yourself this is getting real.2 weeks before i submit my resignation i find myself thinking "This is it!!!" it so painful watching your possessions leave your house. we leave south Africa on the 3rd of November and on the 10th we fly from zim to our new home.... this is a trip we are really looking forward to... 11 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yuvi Posted September 12, 2016 Report Share Posted September 12, 2016 Best of luck with the move. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted September 13, 2016 Report Share Posted September 13, 2016 All the best with the next chapter in your new life. It is so worth it !! :-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deezo Posted September 13, 2016 Report Share Posted September 13, 2016 What a long road it has been @Theshi but now you can enjoy this exciting part of the journey as you begin your new life!! All the best and i pray that its everything you and your husband had hoped for!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Theshi Posted September 13, 2016 Author Report Share Posted September 13, 2016 Thanks so much for the encouragement. With a few weeks to go, we are starting to get excited for what lies ahead. just a few small things that need to sell before we go. really excited about this move. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Husky Posted September 13, 2016 Report Share Posted September 13, 2016 How wonderful that everything is falling into place. Good luck with the last few weeks finalising everything. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Theshi Posted September 14, 2016 Author Report Share Posted September 14, 2016 thanks so much @Yuvi, @emmayenkanna, @Deezo, @Husky my parents and sister were around for a family function yesterday, all three arrived on Saturday and are leaving today. As they were packing yesterday, it then hit me that that was the last time we would all be in that house together!! it then hit me again that we have exactly 12 days before we submit our resignation letters and about 2 weeks to start preparing, cleaning and packing the staff that we will send with Seven seas after which we will only have about 3weeks to say our goodbyes to our close family and friends and dedicate the last two weeks of October to pack the stuff that we will be flying with. our landlord has people that are coming to see the place hopefully she will get someone to take over our rental when we leave (this is the least of my worries right now.) Did i mention that my husband travelled again, at least this time he will be home by the end of the week. for those that have reached ,passed through or are going through this stage where you are packing, how do you deal with the whirlwind of emotion that engulfs you where one minute you are excited about what the future holds, the next you are worried about how you will fit in and you almost give yourself anxiety attack, how do you deal with such? i just reminded my husband that we will need to get disposable plates and cups once the shipment is gone...lol...this is so unreal 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mel-B Posted September 14, 2016 Report Share Posted September 14, 2016 Just focus on THE PLAN. It passes in a wild tornado of feelings, and its a crazy time!! Good luck with last bit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Theshi Posted September 23, 2016 Author Report Share Posted September 23, 2016 By this time next week Friday our letters will have been submitted!! doing my happy dance... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deezo Posted September 23, 2016 Report Share Posted September 23, 2016 8 hours ago, Theshi said: By this time next week Friday our letters will have been submitted!! doing my happy dance... Exciting stuff!!! Hope it goes fast and you can be on that plane to freedom 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RedPanda Posted September 25, 2016 Report Share Posted September 25, 2016 Which city are you coming to in Oz? All the best with your move! (I'm so glad to read about other people who have good experiences with support from their families, I think it goes a looooong way to helping you emotionally on the journey. You are lucky in that regard.) 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Theshi Posted September 25, 2016 Author Report Share Posted September 25, 2016 @RedPanda we are going to Brisbane. The support has been amazing. If it were up to our parents we should have been long gone by now. We will start off in Brisbane then see from there. Thank you for the good wishes... 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Theshi Posted September 25, 2016 Author Report Share Posted September 25, 2016 Thanks @Deezo... all of a sudden time is moving so fast....we are so excited now 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Theshi Posted October 3, 2016 Author Report Share Posted October 3, 2016 So last Friday we handed in our resignation letters!!! it was one of the scariest days of my life... my hubby spoke to his boss the day before to let him know he should expect a letter the following day. to his surprise it really went well. i on the other hand was a bundle of nerves, my boss is very unpredictable so one will understand why. i made an 8am appointment with her for the next day and the next morning traffic in Joburg was so unforgiving, only made our appointment 30mins later. though she was not happy she accepted it. Load of my shoulder...except she has a list of things she wants me to do before i leave and my subordinates have not even started on the work so will focus on those things that i can do and finish before i leave. weekend was not so bad, been a while since i last looked forward to a new work week... weird right? i figure people are going to try to be very nice to us but then there is no need to as i will be working like normal. our reasons were different lol, my husband told his boss that he had to go home to look after the family legacy i told them my husband was going to work in their head office in some foreign country indefinitely and therefore could not continue working. the reason for the white lie being, we do not want people in our business. they will know in due course and so that if there is witch craft its sent on a wild goose chase hahaha. we have started packing our boxes. a bit disappointed in the size of boxes. bought vacuum bags for clothes and blankets. figured if they are going to be at sea might as well protect them from water damage, mildew and even mould. fingers crossed it will work and if it does it means even less boxes with seven seas and money in our pocket. this journey has taught me a lot about myself, some days are better than others. just need to keep focused on why we are doing this. its not easy being so faraway from family but has to be done, conditions here are not so favourable neither are conditions back home (zim) what does one do? we choose to do the best we can for our children to come. give them some stability and bring them in an environment where there is minimum strife. 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joweni Posted October 3, 2016 Report Share Posted October 3, 2016 I know a young family who went back to Zim-they have three young children and it has just been an absolute disaster. Mum is desperate to come back to Oz and give her children the stability and opportunities they deserve and Dad won't even discuss it. She is working full time and stressed to the max with all the upheavals in Harare where they are renting a tiny cottage. Here in Oz, you can use your energy to build on the many positives and yes, it can be tough but most migrants from Southern Africa find their feet with time. Your cyber family will help to get you through some of the tough times but remember to plan for those really hard days- have a "go to" list and reach out to your local community. Most councils run all sorts of different programs for all age groups and provides another place for you to find support. You can do this ! From one Zim to another, I wish you great strength, great courage, much laughter and plenty of light at the end of the migration tunnel ? 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Theshi Posted October 21, 2016 Author Report Share Posted October 21, 2016 So seven seas came to collect our boxes today YAY!!! it brought about a sense of finality. there is no turning back. i work my last full week next week in a country that i have called home for the last 13 years and we start afresh in a new country in under 2weeks... now to start packing our suitcases....if we are feeling like this now what more when we leave the country...its been a real emotional roller coaster. This is it.... 8 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
niro Posted October 21, 2016 Report Share Posted October 21, 2016 Wow, Theshi - that is so exciting!!!! Feeling nervous just thinking about it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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