So I'm not leaving

[Colonial]

As most of you should be aware, I was going to leave Australia for the UK. Yeah, well, things change. My job offer has gone, work offered me a promotion to stay in the country and some harsh words were exchanged with the girlfriend (who lives in Manchester).

So I’m staying here. And she’s coming out on a working holiday visa.

Basically, as a lot of you are from the UK, what sort of advice can you give someone relocating here? She’ll be staying with me (live just back from the beach so will be a slight shock to the system) and trying to find a job (although she has an MA it’s in English lit so hardly career based) so yeah, any general suggestions and how to acclimatise and things like that. I’ve lived here all my life so not much use. I think it’s going to be a shock coming from Manchester and drizzle to a place by the beach just north of Sydney…

[blu22b]

When we moved out here, although it was 30 years ago, there were favorite foods that we initially missed. There's a shop upstairs in Darling harbour that specialises in Uk foods, sweets and soft drinks etc.

Might help to soften the blow when the "munchies" hit

Richard

[deviant]

How long is a working visa valid for these days? Are you going to try for a spouse visa once it is finished?

Well done on the promotion and comiserations on not being able to go anymore!

Edited by deviant on Tuesday 3rd February 03:03

[Colonial]

deviant said:

How long is a working visa valid for these days? Are you going to try for a spouse visa once it is finished?

Well done on the promotion and comiserations on not being able to go anymore!

Edited by deviant on Tuesday 3rd February 03:03

12 months and then you can extend by 12 months if you meet certain criteria. So not to bad, and after that can apply for a common law/defacto relationship visa rather than the spousal as they are basically the same thing. We'll be living together (again) so is easy enough to prove. I just need to convince her that her getting a car is a neccisity. Mainly because I want a second car. A nice little 205 GTi or something...

Cheers mate, just one of those things. I can't control the economy, but at least my long hours are paying off (and they don't care about me taking 5 minutes off now and again to browse ph because I'm twice as productive as anyone else, apparently). We'll head back over there at some stage. Actually, the way the market is going we'll probably get something over here and just go back and forth between the two.

[deviant]

That first year will be all new and exciting but towards the end the 'shine' will begin to wash off and she will begin to think hard about what she wants to do. Most poeple can go a year without seeing family etc.

I think its important for her to have a homesick or get out plan. Lord knows there has been times I have been thoroughly miserable and desperate to see my parents and friends but without the money to do it there can be a real trapped feeling.

Try not to let her be a whinger I know we all have a go on here but you just run yourself down doing it. Thats why the P&P is full of miserable bastids

She will probably miss some foods (clotted cream!!) but I have found that restaurants here are much much better than anything in the UK so it evens out and its not that hard to find the little things.

Get a list of her hobbies and see what is available here. If she can jump in with a like minded group she will settle right in.

Make her bring a car!!!

[Colonial]

deviant said:

That first year will be all new and exciting but towards the end the 'shine' will begin to wash off and she will begin to think hard about what she wants to do. Most poeple can go a year without seeing family etc.

I think its important for her to have a homesick or get out plan. Lord knows there has been times I have been thoroughly miserable and desperate to see my parents and friends but without the money to do it there can be a real trapped feeling.

Try not to let her be a whinger I know we all have a go on here but you just run yourself down doing it. Thats why the P&P is full of miserable bastids

She will probably miss some foods (clotted cream!!) but I have found that restaurants here are much much better than anything in the UK so it evens out and its not that hard to find the little things.

Get a list of her hobbies and see what is available here. If she can jump in with a like minded group she will settle right in.

Make her bring a car!!!

All excellent advice, and why I posted it in here and not p and p. Where I can guarantee there would be 2 mentions of the oxo tower within the first page.

We've spoken at length about the homesick factor - and it is her biggest concern as well - and have worked out the best thing to do is for her to bury some money in another account (couple of thousand pounds) that she won't touch unless she needs to get home for whatever reason.

It's pretty exciting for both of us - we've been together a while, lived together, travelled together blah blah blah but this is going to be quite a massive step. Hell, it's not everyday you meet someone willing to move around the world to be with you.

The car thought did cross my mind, but she doesn't own anything worth bringing over (corsa anyone?) and it's to late to organise something decent. I think I'm going to have a little cry over that one tonight. Could have gone for a nice TVR to tuck away for sunny days.

Cheers though, all good advice. Now I just gotta find a new place. I had to let the lease on my old one lapse when I went over, and I'm kinda back with the parents now and that could put a cramp on things...

[toomuchbeer]

Colonial said:

We've spoken at length about the homesick factor - and it is her biggest concern as well - and have worked out the best thing to do is for her to bury some money in another account (couple of thousand pounds) that she won't touch unless she needs to get home for whatever reason.

Thats what we have done. Called it the emergency fund, the just in case account, and it's still in the uk, with an active current account to transfer the dosh.

There's only one real way to know for sure, and that's doing it. Good luck, I'm sure she'll love it.

Edited by toomuchbeer on Wednesday 4th February 11:26

[noumenon]

Exactly. I always said I'd never live anywhere that I couldn't return 'home' as often as I wanted. A slush fund just solidifies that. I think the trick is never to feel trapped.

Besides, what's not to like about Australia, apart from the strange desire to abide by every petty law and the enforcement by Neanderthal?

If Kevin '07 stops 7-4-sevening around, he might even improve the place too.

What's property doing over there? With interest rates falling, the exchange rate improving a bit, I'd be tempted to get another pad if prices are falling.

[Colonial]

Prices haven't gone down enough yet to make it tempting - although interest rates have just been cut again. Although houses are overpriced compared to average wages I can't see there being falls of a scale that are being seen in the UK. Unlike there we have a very different fundamental problem. Gross undersupply of land and buildings.

People are still paying the prices being asked because if they don't someone else will. There will be another price decline (November-Jan was only 0.8% in my area) but it won't be in the 20-25% bracket.

There are still groups sniffing around, doing all the background work waiting for the market to pick up and doing all the background work. Things have slowed, but not dramatically, and not enough to entice me into a house purchase. Yet.

[noumenon]

Thanks for hte info.

One other thing to bear in mind is the crap TV! It's worth getting a bittorrent client and finding your favourite search engine. I use Vuse.com and mininova.org. If SWMBO is really homesick, there's always eastenders!

[toomuchbeer]

noumenon said:

Thanks for hte info.

One other thing to bear in mind is the crap TV! It's worth getting a bittorrent client and finding your favourite search engine. I use Vuse.com and mininova.org. If SWMBO is really homesick, there's always eastenders!

Yep, my other half still watches Coronation street

Edited by toomuchbeer on Wednesday 4th February 11:26

[scruffy]

It's from last Christmas...

MA in English... does she want to teach?

...Scuba? stoppit...!

I think she'll have to alter her current philosophy and forget everything she held dear in Engerland and concentrate on the best bits of Aus... and maybe laugh at the weird anal bureaucracy... miss English curries, miss her family...

Just keep her occupied, cause when the honeymoon period ends and it's still bleedin 29 degrees, and you can't just go to the pub, and it's just like America in the 80's...

Good luck (BTW, I love it!!!)

[deviant]

Australia...

scruffy said:

...it's just like America in the 80's...

...So where the bloody hell is yous?!?






Sorry, I amuse myself far to easily.


Still...its funny 'cos its true

[Colonial]

What do you mean can't just go to the pub?

I'm going to be living 100m from my local. And 180m from the beach.

But yeah, agree with that. She'll be working as well which will pass the days.

[scruffy]

Colonial said:

What do you mean can't just go to the pub?

pint of reference - QLD

Of course she can nip out and join the 4 single mothers playing the pokies... and listen to the bevans talk about their modded V8 UTE's, all i'm implying is, she might have to leave a few IQ points at home...


however, on a lighter note... I've just bought a fishing vessel (so i suppose I've inadvertantly joined a bevan boat frat... the tinny has a Mercury 175 for what it's worth)

i still like aus...

[Colonial]

scruffy said:

Colonial said:

What do you mean can't just go to the pub?

pint of reference - QLD

Of course she can nip out and join the 4 single mothers playing the pokies... and listen to the bevans talk about their modded V8 UTE's, all i'm implying is, she might have to leave a few IQ points at home...


however, on a lighter note... I've just bought a fishing vessel (so i suppose I've inadvertantly joined a bevan boat frat... the tinny has a Mercury 175 for what it's worth)

i still like aus...

Ohhh. Qld. I understand. I live in the civilised part of Australia so didn't understand what was being said

[Vanya]

Colonial said:

scruffy said:

Colonial said:

What do you mean can't just go to the pub?

pint of reference - QLD

Of course she can nip out and join the 4 single mothers playing the pokies... and listen to the bevans talk about their modded V8 UTE's, all i'm implying is, she might have to leave a few IQ points at home...


however, on a lighter note... I've just bought a fishing vessel (so i suppose I've inadvertantly joined a bevan boat frat... the tinny has a Mercury 175 for what it's worth)

i still like aus...

Ohhh. Qld. I understand. I live in the civilised part of Australia so didn't understand what was being said

I'm lost too...

Pokies...
Bevans...
Bevan boat frat (get the boat and frat bit but again this term bevan)...
Is bevan = chav, sort of?
Tinny (as in alcohol vessel yes, but in tinny in the Scruffy's context)...

I guess my assimulation into the Oz/WA collective will take longer than I thought!

[Wanchaiwarrior]

Vanya said:

Colonial said:

scruffy said:

Colonial said:

What do you mean can't just go to the pub?

pint of reference - QLD

Of course she can nip out and join the 4 single mothers playing the pokies... and listen to the bevans talk about their modded V8 UTE's, all i'm implying is, she might have to leave a few IQ points at home...


however, on a lighter note... I've just bought a fishing vessel (so i suppose I've inadvertantly joined a bevan boat frat... the tinny has a Mercury 175 for what it's worth)

i still like aus...

Ohhh. Qld. I understand. I live in the civilised part of Australia so didn't understand what was being said

I'm lost too...

Pokies...
Bevans...
Bevan boat frat (get the boat and frat bit but again this term bevan)...
Is bevan = chav, sort of?
Tinny (as in alcohol vessel yes, but in tinny in the Scruffy's context)...

I guess my assimulation into the Oz/WA collective will take longer than I thought!

I think he means bogan, yes similar to chav
Pokies are slot machines/ 1 arm bandits without the arms
Tinny as in a small boat with an outboard motor on the back, used to fish on small rivers or lakes

HTH

Jamie

[Vanya]

Many thanks Jamie...

[Vipers]

Taking into account that my daughter, who lives in Manley, near Sydney is basking in almost 40 degrees, goes for a paddle most mornings, and I am scraping the ice off my windscreen again, on my car, trying to prise the door open, I would stay there.

Oh, not to mention petrol prices creaping up again, 1% interest, savings are out of the window, and the general demise of this country as well, as soon as my lottery numbers come up, I will be applying for my visa.

Edited by Vipers on Friday 6th February 07:30