6 months since we arrived

[ozzieclare2be]

Well its now 6 months since we arrived and i thought id do a little update, cant believe its gone so quickly!!

 

We arrived in a very cold July to be greeted by my rellies and stayed in a rental in Henley Beach for three weeks. We quickly decided we liked the south and soon found a rental with a pool in seaford. Next few weeks were spent doing the usual admin stuff medicare, tfn cars etc. From the day after we got here (and before we got here) chris applied for tons of jobs and got literally no-where. We asked suzer to do his cv and the first job he applied for after revamping it he got!! Hes still in this job now, he manages the contracts for SAPOL, SA ambulance uniforms etc etc. Its nt his dream but its a door opener. Meanwhile i started work at Ashford hospital and enrolled alex into nursery.

 

Work has been work really, before i left the uk i really wanted a change from acute / critical care, and frustrated with the hospital system after 13yrs i start my new job in the community tomorrow!!! One huge mistake i feel i made was to jump into a job with an agency even though i have a 136 visa, luckily ive found my way around the financial clause that tied me in for a year!!!

 

Initially we were in holiday mode and got caught up with land and house packages, within 6 weeks we had put hold on land at the point in noarlunga and were planning to build a house. Within a week or two i really regretted it and it began to feel like we had made the wrong decision for us, luckily we managed to pull out and lost all of $500:jiggy:. From then on in i had a really difficult time adjusting to our new life, i cried almost every day missing family and friends, familiarity and felt really lost. If someone had given me a plane ticket 8 weeks in i would have happily gone back to the uk. I really had a downer on everything aus, i think it was because alot was happening in our lives that we had little control over. My dad (who has dementia) was taken into hospital, i started being ill with raging stomach pains which meant time of work. I had a really bad experience at flinders hospital where my mobile got stolen , I then had a health scare when they found a lump in my spleen which after tests turns out to be ok, but will still need to go into hospital in next few months for an op to take out my gallbladder. (that explains the pain lol)

 

A few other things happened along the way, but lets just say it wasnt easy and i probly came across as really really negative on here, but i guess i was hoping to step off a plane in australia and fall instantly in love, when i didnt i began to doubt it all.

 

So where are we now....well i have to say if it hadnt been for the friends we had made before we got here and the ones we have met since we had been here, i probly would be back in the uk 4 months ago lol. They have become like family to us and 6 months on i am just beginning to settle. we bought a house which for me has helped 100% as we now have something solid here, for past year i felt like a gypsy lol. Alex loves nursery and has even got an aussie twang to his voice

 

Its only now i really feel like our life here is starting to begin. A few words of advice for people coming, dont underestimate the homesick/peoplesick feeling, do do your research but dont comitt to anything til your here and youve seen it. Be kind to yourself initially its a big life change and everyone reacts diffently to it.

 

I still miss family and friends that will never go away but when i see the blue sky and the life our son will have as he grows up i feel we definetly made the right decision as a family

[Guest tooeasy]

cograts on 6 months and many more years to come all the best for the future

[Guest Lulujim]

Great read - and I think it's good to hear that other people go through hard times and come out ok.. as I'm sure we'll go through some tough parts when the Honeymoon period id over.

So sorry to hear about your health problems... you've ha d a lot to cope with but am sure things will be much better for you in 2009

Hope to meet up with you when we get out to Adeliade in May time.. we've got a 2.5yr old who is also a bit of a monkey.

 

TC x

[sue2oz]

great to hear your update clare i do remember you homesick and what happened in hospital but you have made it this far and everything sounds so possitive now.

its great to hear a update like this good/bad it helps people understand abit more.

take care gurly happy 6 mths anniversery

 

suexxx

[Liz and Kris UK]

Congrats on making six months, hope you enjoy many more years here.

 

 

Kris

[Guest wemadeit]

I think you have summarised beautifully the feelings of many new arrivals - plus the fact you have had to deal with health issues. We wish you all the very best and, like you, we have no regrets being here - best move we could've made - albeit family and friends will always be missed!!- it is a great city and country - wishing you all the best for the future

[Guest HALT]

Hi Claire

 

Just wanted to say good luck with the orientation tomorrow and no doubt i will see you at the end of the week when you go into southern! I am with team 3, think you are with team 7 but may be wrong on that. If i see you will try and say hello!!

Really good post, I have felt the same and have been here 1 year yesterday.

Hope to see you soon.....

[Guest Dave & Carole]

Well done for sticking with it! Sounds like you've had a nightmare but still think it was the right move. We keep thinking we are preparing ourselves for it being tough to begin with - but I'm sure that's very different to actually being there.

Its the loneliness bit that worries me - 2 small children (one at school) - husband at work (if he gets a job).

The main pull for us (apart from the climate & beautiful city) is the sense of community which we feel is missing here. Its nice to know you made such good friends so quickly.

 

Hope your new job goes well & things continue to be on the up.

 

Carole

[Guest happy feet]

Hi Claire

Great thread, nice to hear people's stories, good or bad. Good luck with your new job, andhope all health problems get sorted so.

take care

 

cara x

[Guest Django]

Nice one Claire a good read. Glad you got out of you build. Blimey!!! you could have had Graham as a neighbour.

 

Well done on sticking it out. Lets hope the second 6 months are a little easier for you.

 

Pete

[Guest Jamie&Carrie]

Ello Claire,

 

Remember me from Britishexpats? (Jam76) We used to chat on there via posts and threads. Carrie think she briefly saw you when the Burnside was interviewing in Manchester.

 

Well as you might well guess, we finally made it over here. Carrie got that job in the oncology unit and she is loving it. The staff are lovely and welcoming and her manager and the senior nurse she works with are great characters to. The environment is more relaxed also which is exactly what she was looking for.

 

We've been here 4 weeks now and it feels like longer? Mad I know. We're enjoying it alot so far but like you said I think the first 6 weeks feel like holiday time although I am in the middle of getting a job and as you might know that ain't a holiday or picnic!

 

I just read your thread and kudos and congrats for making it this far considering some of your awful events/circumstances that have occured. I hope the next 6 months for you are a helluva lot more stress free.

 

I see you're way out in Seaford? We're staying in the CBD and it seems like a million miles away on the map in comparison.

 

Staying at a lovely hostel (can you believe I said lovely and hostel in the same sentence! lol) but seriously, the people here are great and alot of them work to. It also keeps us stay entertained as alot of people who come out here tend to find themselves lonely without friends and fam around them and we thought that it wouldn't help the homesickness if that were to happen to us.

 

Just want to wish you all the best for the future, for you, the fella and the little un and a happy new year to.

 

Maybe we'll cross paths if you come to any of the meetups or the ones that Suzer organises. We'll be at the one at the Griffinshead this week.

 

Take care!

 

Jamie

[ozzieclare2be]

Ello Claire,

 

Remember me from Britishexpats? (Jam76) We used to chat on there via posts and threads. Carrie think she briefly saw you when the Burnside was interviewing in Manchester.

 

Well as you might well guess, we finally made it over here. Carrie got that job in the oncology unit and she is loving it. The staff are lovely and welcoming and her manager and the senior nurse she works with are great characters to. The environment is more relaxed also which is exactly what she was looking for.

 

We've been here 4 weeks now and it feels like longer? Mad I know. We're enjoying it alot so far but like you said I think the first 6 weeks feel like holiday time although I am in the middle of getting a job and as you might know that ain't a holiday or picnic!

 

I just read your thread and kudos and congrats for making it this far considering some of your awful events/circumstances that have occured. I hope the next 6 months for you are a helluva lot more stress free.

 

I see you're way out in Seaford? We're staying in the CBD and it seems like a million miles away on the map in comparison.

 

Staying at a lovely hostel (can you believe I said lovely and hostel in the same sentence! lol) but seriously, the people here are great and alot of them work to. It also keeps us stay entertained as alot of people who come out here tend to find themselves lonely without friends and fam around them and we thought that it wouldn't help the homesickness if that were to happen to us.

 

Just want to wish you all the best for the future, for you, the fella and the little un and a happy new year to.

 

Maybe we'll cross paths if you come to any of the meetups or the ones that Suzer organises. We'll be at the one at the Griffinshead this week.

 

Take care!

 

Jamie

 

 

Hi jamie, yes i do remember you both and i also remember that shockig burnside interview lol im still traumatized:wacko:. So glad carries loving her job, is she missing christies hospital much? ive just started a new one working for the royal district nurses. If you fancy popping down south for the day give us a shout, would be great to catch up with you both

[ozzieclare2be]

thanks for all the lovely comments but after today im definetly going back to uk, a giant huntsman was in my car and i had to wake the neighbour up to get it as chris had left for work.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

ok only kidding , but my car has been violated and will never be the sdame

[Guest Jamie&Carrie]

Sweet jesus! If Carrie saw that she would be on that plane with ya!

 

She saw a red back and lost it and that was behind glass at Adelaide Zoo! LOL!

 

Carrie said she doesn't miss the Christie hospital but she does miss the girls and the familiarity of it all.

 

Yes, we must meet up if we ever get to visit you and sammy the spider

 

Congrats on the community nurses post, I think it was something you always wanted right? Good luck anyhow

 

thanks for all the lovely comments but after today im definetly going back to uk, a giant huntsman was in my car and i had to wake the

ok only kidding , but my car has been violated and will never be the sdame

[Guest honey57]

Thank you Claire for sharing with us your difficult moments, it really seems as though you have been through the mill in the past 6 months. Homesickness is a really difficult one to deal with, and the majority of people who move away from home suffer from it, although they do not always recognise it for what it is. Stick with it, you seem to have such a positive attitude, it shouldn't be too difficult, it really does get easier.

 

All the very best (and good luck with the hospital)

 

Honey

[Guest Pies]

Thank You!

 

Found this post really informative, stripped of the usual "life has its challenges but it is OK, really" varnish.

 

Currently right in the thick of things in the UK (jobs, visa, all the planning stuff) and sometimes lose sight of the goal of all of this - do you feel, 6 months on, that you are starting to achieve some of the things you moved for?

 

Pies