RYLC Posted May 14, 2018 Report Share Posted May 14, 2018 Many prayers and "sterkte" to you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vitchie Posted May 14, 2018 Report Share Posted May 14, 2018 (edited) This is the most personal decision ever and being in Australia already having feeling that I came here for push reasons makes me quite sympathetic to your son. If your son doesn't feel like he made the decision himself I think it will be very hard for him to ever be at peace over here. Quite the predicament. A person can have all the facts, but if your heart is not in it, it's not in it. We have been here a year and we all struggle. The kids still cry over missing family etc. People are very liberal with the application of the "kids adapt" theory. Edited May 14, 2018 by vitchie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
March2 Posted October 16, 2018 Author Report Share Posted October 16, 2018 THE LAST THREE MONTHS.... Been a while since my last post. What a whirlwind...when people tell you that you have to start de-cluttering and packing/throwing/donating stuff from early on, DO NOT underestimate their advice and think you got this one covered.... So we put our home on the market and it was sold within a month...that effort was painless as we had a great agency and everything was done professionally. We used Leadhome in case anyone is wondering. I definitely recommend these guys, we chose when to showcase our home and by ourselves, who best to sell a home than us who have lived in it for years. Their rate was a flat rate of ~R40 000 irrespective of the value of your home. I quite preferred their method as we scheduled the times best suited to us, like about an hour a day and just two over weekends and it did not stress us out with potential buyers just barging in with an agent because we were a "listing close by while they were in the area" type of thing! So house is sold and so are all our furniture as the "new" owner has bought or helped us sell everything. Now the daunting task of packing....shew the amount of stuff we have accumulated over the past 24 years is somewhat out of this world!!! I had not realised we were hoarders of note. Time is flying and we are almost there with the decluttering and trying to pack only the most important and sentimental stuff, but even as we go through this, when we look at what we have achieved in that day, it feels like we did absolutely nothing. Right now, my home looks like a tornado tore through it and I feel it's so dirty!! Everything is out of its place and the only rooms in the house that are neat and tidy are the bathrooms! But like everything else, this will soon pass. Those of you reading this and have done this are smirking, right? Not funny, guys! At the moment we are toying with removal companies, as it's a bit costly seeing that we want to ship to Tasmania. We got quotes from Cargopak and Execu-move. Cargopak has not as yet given us anything in writing, (been a week now, even after a few calls) is a tad bit more than Execu-move but since we going with groupage (shared container), Cargopak already has us paired with another family (verbally) and we have an approximate timeframe for delivery....not yet with Execu-move...hoping to decide in the next few days as I want all those boxes out of my sight! We also managed to book an AirBnB with a very lovely ex South African gentleman, whom I am fondly referring to as Grandpa. He has been really great with his accommodation cost and I am looking forward to meeting him in December. We will be with him for a month and then we have to look for a rental. Flights have also been booked and luggage cases upgraded. Just wondering how to pack so much of stuff into them. We have allowances of 2x23kg each. Not going to get each of us another suitcase though. Have to work out the method of carrying the other 23kg. Also busy applying for work, nothing yet but keeping fingers crossed…have heard that this is much easier when you are actually on the other side. Have to get on this really soon..cannot afford to spend in Rands. As for my boys…well, my 22-year-old is still somwehat battling with this move. As advised we are giving him his space. He will be flying with us in December but will return to RSA after 3 weeks to complete his in-service training. He will then fly back (hopefully no drama) mid-March, after getting all his documents, transcripts etc sorted from his Uni. Recently (like in the past 2 weeks) he seems a bit more involved….the glass half full side of me is saying he’s slowly seeing the light, I am just leaving it at that! My 18-year-old on the other hand is full force into moving, though not helping us much as he’s visiting friends, studying etc. The great news is that he’s been accepted to study civil engineering at UTas and he’s on a CSP where he will receive discounted fees like a domestic student due to us having PR….God is wonderful…all the time! So all in all, things are moving along nicely…now back to the decluttering and packing….remembering the story of the Elves and the Shoemaker….how wonderful if those elves were to come pack for me while I sleep peacefully at night!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Husky Posted October 17, 2018 Report Share Posted October 17, 2018 Great post. Pleased to see things moving ahead. One step at a time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
March2 Posted October 18, 2018 Author Report Share Posted October 18, 2018 17 hours ago, Husky said: Great post. Pleased to see things moving ahead. One step at a time. Thanks so much @Husky.....such an adrenalin rush at the moment. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
March2 Posted November 12, 2018 Author Report Share Posted November 12, 2018 6,5 weeks to go but who's counting...? We eventually decided to go with Execu-move to move our belongings to Tasmania. A wonderful team who are so clued up with packing and who really understands your thoughts and emotions during this process. Even after we realised we had forgotten some stuff, a very important and overly used potjie pot and a couple of boxes, Execu-move was happy to pack those for us at no extra cost, even though we went slightly over our quoted space in the shared container. So we finally moved out of our home....a very very emotional day indeed....hubby, sons and myself cried buckets Have now moved in with my parents and although we are all being spoiled, living off suitcases and boxes is definitely not fun! Had our first "Farewell Get-together" with hubby's side of the family...must admit I was pleasantly surprised that I was not inundated with questions about why we are doing the move and all the other comments that generally pop up around the "grass not being greener on the other side". In fact, no one really asked anything! We have just about 6,5 weeks to go and whilst some emotions are popping up now and then about our leaving, generally I am quite numb at the moment. Applied for a teaching position at the Dept.of Education and went on to the online video stage....that was a total disaster....I have never been exposed to that type of interview before where no one was on the other side. I just had to read the questions and record myself answering them....the timer that ticked away in the background was distracting and for someone with so many years of experience, I sure came across that I never taught a day in my life...I just could not get going with the answers...I was dumbstruck and I could not think of how to say what I wanted and to explain myself properly....a real DISASTER!!! Am so angry with myself! Hubby tells me it couldn't have been that bad...just being nice and supportive but I know myself and after that interview, even I won't hire myself!! Well, it is what it is and I hang on to the fact that the Universe must have something else planned for me 🤞 My son and his girlfriend have decided that long distance relationships will not work for them and have decided to break off their relationship. So in that front, he's moody and irritable. Trying to talk to him and just give him support, though sometimes this is not going so well. She was kind enough to send us texts to explain and also say her goodbyes as (understandably) she doesn't want to do it personally. This is really difficult to deal with....and I feel really bad for them...but I am stubbornly focusing on the reasons we have to do this move and hopefully someday he will understand that this was for his benefit or better yet, they work things out and she comes over too, when her studies are done. Whatever God has planned, will be....who are we to question His will? I have seen Him work His miracle and I know that He will make things all right for them too. I have said to my son, that God never puts us in a situation He knows we cannot handle....it may be difficult and painful at first but with faith in Him, we will overcome anything. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ocean Posted November 12, 2018 Report Share Posted November 12, 2018 What a lovely post. I do feel for you with the interview, ozzie works so differently from SA that we are newbies at so many things. Our son was refused entry to one the schools we applied for because we were not there (as in in front of the camera) during his Skype interview and we received a long written diatribe about what terrible parents we are. Silly us thinking it was HIS interview. Keep us posted... We will be arriving a few weeks after you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
March2 Posted November 12, 2018 Author Report Share Posted November 12, 2018 49 minutes ago, ocean said: What a lovely post. I do feel for you with the interview, ozzie works so differently from SA that we are newbies at so many things. Our son was refused entry to one the schools we applied for because we were not there (as in in front of the camera) during his Skype interview and we received a long written diatribe about what terrible parents we are. Silly us thinking it was HIS interview. Keep us posted... We will be arriving a few weeks after you. Thanks @ocean. Will definitely keep you posted. Where about are you guys going? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ocean Posted November 13, 2018 Report Share Posted November 13, 2018 We are going to the Sunshine Coast, very excited to be living by the sea, having lived in Jozi /Joeys my entire life. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aleku Posted November 13, 2018 Report Share Posted November 13, 2018 @March2 just looking at your timeline, looks like you have had a huge gap from visa grant to when you leave, was that influenced by the timing of your PCC and Medicals? I have just submitted my VISA application and am worried if its issued in Feb 2019, we might not be ready to leave ASAP. Just seeking clarity. thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.