Tres: Yet another newbie

[Tres]

HI there, just a quick intro to me and the family.

Well, my hubby (Dave in real life or Vortex online) and I (Pam in real life or Tres online) finally decided to get in to gear and make the decision to relocate.

I am a pharmacist with Netcare, finished at Rhodes University in 1998. Dave is in IT, we're not really sure what he does but it involves a lot of management stuff and writing software and designing graphics for the security industry. He is currently converting his diploma to a BTech at UNISA. We have two georgeous kiddies, Timothy who will be 4 in April and Samantha who will be two in February.

The recent loadshedding debacle in SA was the last straw for us. We have been averaging 8-9 hours a day without power. This posed a bit of a problem when my daughter broke her arm and I had to travel to three different clinics to find somewhere with power to do the x-rays. Oh, and we spend a lot of time online recreationally - which is rather difficult at the moment and not likely to improve in the forseable future.

We're still trying to decide between Canada and Oz.

I really am glad I found this site - has a wealth of information. And also really awesome to find people I actually know registered on the site and making the same decisions

Thanks

Pam/Tres

[Nilo]

Hi Pam

Welcome to the forum. Good luck with your desition as to which to choose.

We decided Australia because of the climatic similarities between the two countries, very glad we did.

Lovies

N

[no longer interested]

Hi Pam

Welcome to the forum. Good luck with your desition as to which to choose.

We decided Australia because of the climatic similarities between the two countries, very glad we did.

Lovies

N

We decided on Australia as Nilo said because Canada you a freeze the brass balls of the proverbial monkey and dh didnt want to be relagated to snow shovelling duty

[Tres]

Thanks. It's not only the temperatures that make a difference (I must say that in that dept Aus wins hands down, I have Nam blood in me even though I was born in SA ) We're also concerned about the technology - how good are the internet connections and prices etc, My hubby may need to do all his work via the internet if necessary and super expensive lines or unreliable connections (like we have now) just wouldn't work. I have to say I don't think he would fancy snow shovelling all that much either. Funny no-one on the SACanada forums has mentioned it - don't want to scare anyone off

[Springbok]

how good are the internet connections and prices etc

I've signed up for Vodafone wireless (with USB modem) - $39 p/m for 5GB. No worries so far. You have to be a citizen or permanent resident though, can't get it if you have 457 visa. But there are plenty other options, e.g. Telstra, Optus, 3, Unwired.

[Nicki G]

Hi Pam

Another local on the move!!

Welcome to the site it has a wealth of info, also check out www.immi.gov.au to make the visa choice best for you

Nicki

[Jordy]

Welcome to the forum.

We have a cousin in Canada and he said that for four months last year the temperature never went above zero. Can you imagine? FOUR MONTHS below zero!

Regarding the internet, I must say I was a little disappointed in what Australia has to offer. Dont get me wrong, they are nice, but still I was hoping for more. Seems the highest speed available in the area we going is maxed at 8Mbs and capped at 12 gigs. But the fact that they still offer speeds of 256kbs is rather disappointing too.

[Nats123]

Welcome to the family!

Good luck with the application process.

Nats

[Tobold]

Hello and welcome!

All the best with your new adventure.

[TereMel]

Hi guys,

And welcome to the forum.

I just loved your comment on "the last straw" for you. It was the same here, and no small matter when you consider that it was just that last piece of the motivations-puzzle that has been cumulative for some time (no power, when you are fully prepared to pay for it if you could get it, is no small matter in any case - I am a 1st world country type of person, and now want to move to one with a sore heart).

All of the best with your visa process!

Cheers,

TereMel

[Tres]

Welcome to the forum.

We have a cousin in Canada and he said that for four months last year the temperature never went above zero. Can you imagine? FOUR MONTHS below zero!

Regarding the internet, I must say I was a little disappointed in what Australia has to offer. Dont get me wrong, they are nice, but still I was hoping for more. Seems the highest speed available in the area we going is maxed at 8Mbs and capped at 12 gigs. But the fact that they still offer speeds of 256kbs is rather disappointing too.

OK, my Nam blood is crying out for Aus, I get cold in SA, don't think I could cope with 4 months below zero!!

Thanks everyone for the info on the internet speeds, hubby seems to think it's doable

So, I now research in earnest for cities that look the most appealing to us and try convince my cousin who just changed his mind, to change it back again. Slowly but surely we'll all migrate. Already have 1 cousin in Sydney and 1 in NZ.

[dixie]

Hi All,

We are also ready to start the process now. With all the load shedding, we just can't go on.

Unfortunatly, we have lost hope in RSA now.

My hubby is in IT and I am a goldsmith with a degree in jewellery design and manufacture. Been scanning the web and think I am going to battle with a job there! maybe have to be a sales lady for jewellry for a while!

I just have a few questions, if someone is able to answer please.

Does the whole family need unabridged birth cert?, or only the kids?

Do we need an unabridged marriage cert, or is the written one the minister gave us ok?

Is it better to do all the applications through an agent?, if so, can you let us know who would be best to use?

What kind of salary should we look for , for a family of 4 to manage?

I know we will take a huge drop in lifestyle, but there has to be a better life than this, My children need the chance to be normal children.

Thanks so much for ths site, have found it very helpful

Till later

[powell's2brisbane]

hello tres

we are glad to see you and family are makeing the move its somuch better in the land of milk and honey.

we are on the last steps of a 457 visa to brisbane.

i have seen very good houses and then some houseing you cant belive this is a house.my problem with this is its wood and at a price of 500-750k

i got a good price at optus for $99 for 20 gig plus a phone and some exstras coz you see gerda my wife will be on the internet like all day.

at the end of the day sa / ausssie aussie land is better and atleast you and your family have a future.

lastly we hwave alot of looking up on plenty sites for work cars houses and are very happy with what we saw.

chers for now

derek (powells2brisbane)

[Jordy]

Hi All,

We are also ready to start the process now.

Hi Nix welcome to the forum. Krugersdorp will be empty soon at this rate.

[Polyanna]

Does the whole family need unabridged birth cert?, or only the kids?

Do we need an unabridged marriage cert, or is the written one the minister gave us ok?

Is it better to do all the applications through an agent?, if so, can you let us know who would be best to use?

What kind of salary should we look for , for a family of 4 to manage?

Hi Nix

Yes, everyone who is included in the application will need unabridged birth certs.

We sent a copy of the marriage cert that was given to us by the minister and that was accepted.

Lots of forumites have lodged the application themselves with DIAC. There is loads of experience here on the forum (saves lots of money too).

The last question is not that easy to answer. It depends on where you will be living amongst other things.

Hope this helps

Kim

[dixie]

Hi,

Thanks for your response Kim,

I am on my way to home affairs tomorrow, I have to start this ball rolling!

Did anyone do all your applications through an agent?

Is it better to do it this way?

JUst so weird to be arranging this now. We had only finished building our "dream Home" in october.

But what is the point of that if your life is at risk everyday?

Sorry if I sound so stupid with all this stuff, still finding out all the ins and outs and dealing with the fact that it is now time to go search for a better, safer, life with more freedom for the kids

Thanks to everyone at this site, I have found so much info here.

Have a good day everyone

Nikki

[Tres]

JUst so weird to be arranging this now. We had only finished building our "dream Home" in october.

But what is the point of that if your life is at risk everyday?

Nikki

Hi Nikki

Like Jordy said, Krugersdorp seems to be emptying out pretty fast now, maybe because we got hit so very badly by the rolling blackouts

I had to laugh though when I read about you just finnishing your house in October. We have the same thing. Just went through the heartache and stress of building on and making my dream kitchen (took 4 months - finished in November) and now I'm planning to leave the home I was born in. Buy as you say, what's the point if we're no longer safe here

I hope we have a good journey together to get to the "other side".

Cheers

Tres

[Johnsons]

We too had our house with a view of the sea in Cape Town, which we sold, just after a 18 months ! We bought the house, then visited Australia in 2006, when we returned we began with our visa application, had a baby, sold the house .. and the rest is history. We on our way soon, we had not felt safe too, almost every house in that area had experienced a burglary or 2 in the past 6 months.

nix76, if you have an easy application, you can apply without an agent. Assistance is on the forum if you need questions answered.

Good Luck everything will go well for you.

Edited February 6, 2008 by Johnsons

[dixie]

Hi All,

I was checking last night, does seem simple enough to apply ourselves. Just really feels like we are going into this blind. Thanks to all the replys and advice, really appriciate it.

Off to home affairs today, going to spend quite a bit of time there, x4 birth certs x1 marriage cert. x3 passports and hubby and I really do need new ID books. LOL, my daughter used mine as a colouring book!

I am also trying to find out the ins and outs of doing my work from home inOZ. I am self employed and work from home at the moment. I am a goldsmith, so there is a bit of hassle to find out about a gold licence ect. Really don't mind being the stay at home mom, but I love my job and it just keeps me busy while the kids are at school.

We will be applying through my hubby, so it can also be sorted once we get there. Just don't want to ship all my equipment there if I will not be able to work.(It weighs a ton and the rust issue, not sure if it will come out ok on the other side being on the sea for so long)

Chat soon

Nikki

[Nicki G]

Hi Nikki

I would not worry too much about the ID books you do not really make much use of them. Where in Krugersdorp are you based? There are 3 currently in SA that are leaving soon

Nicki

[dixie]

Hi NikkiG

We are in Rangeview Ext 4.

I do think it has been all the load shedding we have been having that has urged people to make the move.

Krugersdorp was hit very badly, normally out 3 times a day, each time longer than the two hours that they say.

Hubby and I were talking about it last night, can't pinpoint exactly what it is that made us finally decide to go.

Hubby is just very worried about the drop in lifestyle! Shame he has worked so hard for what we have and finally our ship came in and now we are abandoning it! LOL, all part of the adventure.

Later

Nikki

[Jordy]

We are in Rangeview Ext 4.

It really is a small world. We have enough people from Krugersdorp for our own Coffee Group

• Mercia Ferro
  
• Jan en Renee
  
• Nicki G
  
• nix76
  
• reichel
  
• Tres
  
• Wannebee
  
• Jordy
  

[dorry]

HI there, just a quick intro to me and the family.

Well, my hubby (Dave in real life or Vortex online) and I (Pam in real life or Tres online) finally decided to get in to gear and make the decision to relocate.

I am a pharmacist with Netcare, finished at Rhodes University in 1998. Dave is in IT, we're not really sure what he does but it involves a lot of management stuff and writing software and designing graphics for the security industry. He is currently converting his diploma to a BTech at UNISA. We have two georgeous kiddies, Timothy who will be 4 in April and Samantha who will be two in February.

The recent loadshedding debacle in SA was the last straw for us. We have been averaging 8-9 hours a day without power. This posed a bit of a problem when my daughter broke her arm and I had to travel to three different clinics to find somewhere with power to do the x-rays. Oh, and we spend a lot of time online recreationally - which is rather difficult at the moment and not likely to improve in the forseable future.

We're still trying to decide between Canada and Oz.

I really am glad I found this site - has a wealth of information. And also really awesome to find people I actually know registered on the site and making the same decisions

Thanks

Pam/Tres

Hi ek het jou post gelees. Ons bly al 5 jaar in Kanada en is besig om Australia toe te immigreer. Jy sit vir 7 maande in die huis en al wanneer jy regtig buite iets doen is as jy sneeu showel en as jy dit nie doen nie kry jy 'n vet boete. Dis baie moeilik om aan te pas en die mediese sisteem hier stink. Jy is gelukkig as jy 'n dokter kry. Ek moes gister gaan vir 'n medies vir my nuwe werk en het 4 ure gewag dat die dokter net 'n briefie teken en hulle het my $150-00 gevra. Dis belaglik. Baie mense verloor hulle werk hier en meeste mense werk part time so hulle gee jou nie voordele nie en kan vinnig van jou ontslae raak. My nuwe werk is as busdrywer en ek mag nie meer as 24 per week werk nie en hulle waarborg my nie eers ure nie. Moet elke dag inbel en hoor of daar werk is vir die volgende dag. Ek doen dit nou al vir 4 jaar. My seun werk by 'n hoender verpakkings fabriek. Hy werk partydae net halfdag en ander dae werk hy tot 10 ure in plaas van 8.

Elke land het sy probleme. Ons het laas jaar George toe getrek en dit was wonderlik daar, nog baie veilig maar ons het terug gekom vir my seun wat agter gebly het en my dogter het ons baie probleme gegee daar. Die kinders hier gebruik geweldig baie drugs en die polisie kyk net weg omdat daar te veel is. Vandag helder oor dag het 3 seuns loop en dagga rook verby ons huis. Ouers het geen se hier nie. My dogter het gedreig om ons dood te maak en toe klap my man haar terwyl ons gery het en se toe ek moet polisie stasie toe ry want hy is moeg vir haar dreigemente wat toe al 'n ruk aanhou. Hulle het hom vir 3 dae toegesluit vir aanranding en nou moet hy deur hofsake gaan. Dis baie unfair want ons was raadop met haar. Sy bly nou nie meer in ons huis nie. Hulle wou my man uit die huis belet toe weier ek want hy is nie verkeerd nie. Sy het my al aangerand en ons het niks gedoen nie. Hulle drink en rook by die skool en rook ook dagga by hulle smokepit.

Sterkte met julle besluit want dit is 'n baie groot een.