1 month in Sydney

[LM17]

So we have been here for a little over a month - what a roller-coaster, below are-extracts from a long email I sent to friends and colleagues back in SA. (I have taken out some personal stuff)

Some of the info will be obvious if you have been here for a while , but hopefully it will help some if you still on the journey,  

We got our 189 PR visas Sep 17, we came to activate in Melbourne in  Feb 18, luckily I got  transfer with my employer in SA to their Parramatta (Sydney) offices and we arrived on 9 Aug 18. 

here goes...

 

 

 So our family left on Wednesday August the 8^th – we just got the neighbours to drop us at the airport, no friends and no family to avoid the teary goodbyes, and I must say it worked well. (for me at least) We did not leave SA sad, but rather excited.

We checked in 11 items of luggage and 2 car seats – 13 in total , and we maxed out our carry-on. It was epic.

So we landed in Sydney on Friday 9 Aug at 3pm – and we caught a maxi taxi (driven by a Pakistani "doctor") to our Air BnB in Winston Hills (google it). Its in the North West “Hills” district, (about 40 minutes form the city with no traffic and 10 minutes from where I work in Parramatta)

We unpacked a bit, then walked to the mall to get some food (the girls were very good).

We got back and unpacked until 2am (about 8pm on SA team) then we bathed the girls and we all went to bed. We got up at 7am and voila jet lag beaten and on we carried on.

The first few days were very busy (especially for my wife while I was at work) and frustrating since they don’t place any value on your passport or ID here so to get anything done you need a bank account, with your Aus address, Medicare card and drivers license etc.

When we tried to get our licenses converted we were told there is a new rule and we must first get a letter from SA National Roads Agency via post (hahahahahaha) (easier said than done), but it’s done now so all good.

In the meantime we bought a car and I managed to arrange insurance, medical insurance e-toll, e-tag, all while trying to create a good impression in my first week at the new job (that started 3 days after we landed).

 

Looking back everything works very well here, but that’s the thing, it works so well that it takes time and it’s a process – you must just be patient and respect the steps in the process.

Now we are a lot more settled. Our AirBnb host also offered us a long term lease – so we will stay put, great news as we have  grown to like the neighborhood we are in.

He is a great guy, lives next door and actually built both properties – we have had a few good whiskeys together and I suppose he is my first aussie mate ;-)

In the middle of all this my amazing wife went to visit 3 day care centres – and the girls settled in a wonderful facility, and they are very happy there.

I take the bus to and from work, takes about 25 mins and get a nice walk in every morning.

We also joined a 24hour gym (only staffed in buss hours)

Oh we also went to the biggest IKEA in Sydney, amazing,

 

We are  still learning about life here….but so far I have noticed

• we are spoiled in SA. We always complain but we are used to having paid help – here you clean after yourself at work and at home, you pump your own fuel, you get your own popcorn at the movies etc
• No one makes excuses here, they work hard and  they do not feel anyone owes them anything – they just get it done.
• Property is VERY expensive here – but we have to get back in the market – so we plan to buy in a year if all goes according to plan
• Weather is very similar to home
• Sydney is huge – really big,  it starts on the east coast and spreads west – we don’t feel at all that we live in a coastal city BUT we are very close to the beautiful blue mountains that border the north and north west of Sydney (google it)
• Cars are relatively cheap here
• Everyone drives automatics – manual cars are scarce and even cheaper
• our girls are doing so well – I am sure they have matured so much already – the daycare they go to is great and everyone loves them
• Aussies generously embrace immigrants – they  want to help you settle and do well
• According to  (our neighbour), Australia is really the best example of a multicultural nation working well together
• It’s very diverse (just like SA) , the big difference I find is that everyone respects each other just the way you are with all your customs,
• There is a big culture of doing the right thing and honesty  - not for any other reason than its just the right thing to do
• All 4 wheels on shopping swivel, this is a disaster and they go all over the place  
• Cockatoos are wild birds here ..and they are all over the place, I keep thinking a pet store doors have been left open

 Anyway its early days  , but we are loving the experience  so far ,

It’s not easy , in fact it’s hard, but so worth it for us

 

[Riekie]

Hi there!  Welcome to Australia!  

 

You seem like a positive, level-headed  "get-it-done" kind of person so you'll do well in Australia!  It's very hard to find happiness here when you arrive emotional, doubting your decision and looking for things about Australia to criticise or compare with South Africa.  There are so many "back in South Africa"ns who simply can't settle down and who can't/won't embrace their new Aussie home.

 

Thanks for sharing your experience and tips.  We arrived here in 2004 and I feel that my advise is not really relevant anymore as I haven't had to open my first bank account, convert my licence, etc. so it's good when new arrivals share their advise as it will definitely be more helpful than anything I could add from way back when... Back in 2004 you still had to redo your driver's licence - drivning test and all!  Scary!

 

Australia is a very diverse country with so many cultures and colours! We love it!  You can literally walk down one street and find cuisines from China, Thailand, Italy, Spain... all in a row! Not to mention the amazing stories everyone has.  We tend to forget that they are immigrants too (or 1st generation) and they left their home countries to get away from something too and to find a better future in Australia just like us. 

 

Yep, those shopping trolleys STILL frustrate me after all these years!  Haven't figured them out yet... Ha-Ha!

 

I love that birds are free to fly and not locked in tiny cages just so that humans can look at them...  

 

Enjoy your early days of discovery and amazement.  Keep in the back of your head that reality will eventually kick in and you'll become part of the daily slog to work, pay the bills and queue for buses that drive past the stop cause they're full.  (First world problems...😎) so be ready for it (mentally).

 

Best advise I can offer is to go out there and be social - don't just go to work & go home. Don't create an environmnet to feel alone, isolated and that you don't belong, cause that's when doubt kicks in. Join parent groups, volunteer etc and meet Aussies from all backgorunds - not just other South Africans.  

 

Enjoy Australia and keep sharing your experiences!