To all who have settled here!

[Carole Jolly]

Hi Tyke, you are right, I was never off this site back in the UK, planning to get to Adelaide, now I only guest now and again, whilst the rules have changed with visa's etc, I guess we do have alot of advice we could share with new members.
We have been here 18 months now, we have both found jobs fairly easily. Andrews earnings are about the same, although he says he has never worked as hard. My earnings are less, but I know I have Auzzies quirks to learn.
Andrew settled really quickly, for me it has took time and some days, still feel, is this where I am going to spend the rest of my life?? not sure??
The best things are, the friends we have met and how great the social life is here, I put that down to the better weather, I think people are generally happier because of the sunshine and that makes them want to get out and about. No point staying in TV stinks!!! lol
I agree with other posts, it is so clean here, seriously, no litter, bins emptied, even on a Public holiday.
You cant beat the sunshine and beaches.
Australians in the main are wonderful friendly people, willing to help.
Down sides are, its not cheap, most things are more expensive than Uk, except, fuel and junk food (IMO), as we came from the north of England, which is cheaper than other areas of UK.

Overall, I would not have liked to miss the opportunity to live in another country and who knows, I might spend the rest of my life here. England have made some huge mistakes and lost many great skills and people to oz, so Englands loss in Aussies Gain.!!

Life is not a rehearsal

Good luck to all of those planning to move and good luck to those that have done, but it wasnt for them, they tried and some can only dream!

Over and Out

[Trakki]

We have been here 19 months and have never looked back, we love it and like someone else said I personally sometime feel guilty coz I don't miss the UK, we call here home and not the UK. We have had many ups and downs since being here, the main one being a VERY unplanned pregnancy 2 months after arriving which meant no mat pay and being the main wage earner a great worry but Pete who until then was a house husband got the first job he applied for just to bring money in and as it turns out he loves it, he is a postie. We then had our gorgeous little man Kian and despite hard times wouldn't change all the worry for the world. I decided that shift work was not for me, I am a nurse and was lucky enough to walk into a job working 1030-630 3 days a week. so we have been very lucky on the job front. My mum visited for 3 months over christmas which was great.
The children have settled into life here with no problem, the big ones love school here and the little ones have a great kindy and child care. Would I do it all again now knowing what I know, YES I would, we know for our family we have made 110% the right move and do we thinkwe will ever go back to the UK? NO way.

We love it here and are a much happier family here than in the UK

[clare]

:)Thankyou for starting that post Tyke! What an inspiration you are to us all back in blighty! We will be joining you all in June and i really cant wait!
I am starting to be selfish here just thinking of my daughters and my hubby and our future
each one of you tells an intresting insight in to your lives and your families thankyou all very much off to work now lol only 9 weeks of work left in blighty! wooowhhh;);)

[Riponian]

Thank you so much Tyke for suggesting a positive post!

I am quite a positive person and needed the lift of these post to give me a kick up the backside!

We have been here nearly six months and have found things a little hard but generally having a great time. Finding hard meeting ozzies but those I have met have been friendly and helpful.

I am really starting to settle, my OH is very settled and is enjoying work and his social life. Kids are loving the outdoors life and have settled into their childcare well.
I am starting a photography course which i am really looking forward to and slowly building up a network of friends, thanks to this site.

The only hard part has been family, my dad is terminally ill with cancer and I feel gulity that I will not be there for him and his wife when the inevitable happens and that I often have days were he is at the back of my mind. He is whole heartedly behind the move for us and has been from the start, I miss him terribily but have to think of my immediate family and what is best for us all. Going back just to be there for the next few months would be a foolish move. I have been back recently and it recomfirmed my feelings that the UK is not for us.

I can say I like Adelaide a lot, the beaches, the hills the quirks some good some bad. We are worse off in the short term financially but the we are init for the long haul. Have just got just got 2 little kittens and we are definatley putting down roots.

I wish I had done a little more research before we came about salary and life but it would not have changed my mind just made the first few weeks months easier. This site has been a god send and I would not know what to do without it! for the little things to the big querries we are all here for each other!
THANK YOU

Bets of luck to all waiting to come out here, it will be your turn soon.

Michelle

[JoRed4]

Brilliant post. OH has just sent off initial application form for his AQF III in Landscape Gardening. Hopefully we'll go all the way & I too will be posting on here in a couple of years, when we're settled & living the good life :)

[andy and lindsey]

We arrived in Adelaide on Halloween 2007, having never been before and (visited Perth previously with every intention of moving there and realised that $$ didnt allow it) knowing no one. My hubby had sorted himself jobwise before we arrived here and the plan was that he would start the first week in January and we would have a family Christmas where neither of us were working (I'm a midwife and have only ever had Christmas off when I was on Mat leave), unfortunately the finances didnt allow - Im sure that others will confirm that you 'haemorrhage' money when you first arrive. Andy is still in the same job now and he loves it - says its the best job he's ever had - and its in the private sector! I have had quite a few jobs - midwifery here is very different a bit of a shock to the system, but think I've finally found one that I like (and I work alongside a fellow PIAer too) - office hours and no weekends.

We have some great friends here - friends that I know I could ring anytime day or night if I needed a hand, something was wrong or I just needed a chat. We did the same think when we first arrived and didnt turn down any invites but we soon realised the only thing we had in common with some people were the fact that we had emmigrated and now we have fewer but quality friends. Friends that I could liken to family.

We have rented and built a house and ours was a positive experience (didnt involve the Coast Estate - lol) We are settled in Aldinga (we love the far south in general) and are contemplating building again. We both love the area that we live in - has everything we need including friends and is within reasonable travelling distance to most places - but I am excited about a two way express way (sad I know).

The boys go to a fantastic primary school (public) and have some lovely friend and great teachers. We spend better quality time together as a family and do so many thinks that make great memories for us all. We love camping and have explored a little of what South Australia has to offer - although I do like my home comforts and have to take a hairdryer! We spend very little time in the house and are often out and about socialising. Andy and I once had a discussion about going back home although we wouldnt) and asked the boys there opinion and our eldest cried. Both boys have pretty sing songy accents and my eldest never brushes his hair!

I dont mind the shopping (dont miss Next or M and S - never really shopped there when I was in the UK). I even like the TV. Loved having visitors from the UK but loved it when they went home again! Are we glad we made the move - you bet. Oh and I forgot to add nurses are paid better here too! If you would have asked me that question the week before we left the UK I would have cancelled the tickets - I would daresay a lot of people would say the same when they get to that point but I dont have one single regret!

[cornish Busdriver]

Well we arrived November 18th 2008 and missus had to go back to the uk for 4 month to sort the house and dogs out and arrived again in march 2009 so we were apart for a while but wasnt as bad as we both thought it was gonna be.
We found a great rental realy quick and easy even with the 2 dogs within the first 2 days of arriving.
I took a month off before i started work to do some much needed fishing, chilling out and relaxing.
The main reasons we picked SA was the layed back attitude to life, the friendlyness of the people here, the climate, job prospects, cost of living, it just ticked all our boxes of what we were looking for.
The way of life here is not rush rush rush; its more like "no-worries mate, do it this avo".
All the people we have met and made great friends with are very friendly and open, love to talk and have a laugh.
The climate is more med here although im not sure if the med reaches 47C in the shade like it was back in feb 2009. Normal day time temps range from 13 - 18 in winter to mid to high 30s in summer.
Yes im not in my chossen field of work but hey ho im loving the job im doing and the pay is loads better than what i would have been earning in the uk and missus loves here job too so all is rosey with the world.
The cost of living is on average we find better, yes some thing cost more and others less but overall we find the produce cheaper and fresher.
We have brought a house we could have only of dreamed of back in Cornwall unless we had won the lottery, we both now drive decent cars, missus got the big marine tank that she always wanted and i got the little boat that i wanted and the dogs love the beach so once again all is great in our little world lol lol lol.
We had my mum, the missus mum and here gran over for a holiday back in feb and we have now been told that were not aloud to move back to the uk we have to stay here as we would be fools to give up what we have here.
Only advice i would give people who are on there way here or thinking bout it is ; come over with an open mind, take off the rose tinted glasses, be prepared for a bit of stress, do a reccie if possible but at the end of it all HELL YEAH its gonna be worth it. Were here, we love it and going back to the uk even for a holiday at the moment doesnt even enter our minds.
Oh yeah and one last thing if you worried bout missing family just remember that you wont have moved to a different planet, your only a phone call, email, msg, video link or at the most 24hrs away.

[jo_marnes]

Been here just over a year - absolutely LOVE it. We are still temporary (475) but can't wait to apply for permanent residency. We have both got good jobs (in health and IT), are earning more than in the UK, have bought our own home and have met fantastic people. Could not imagine going back to the UK. We are saving up to go back for a trip next year to see family, and to be honest, we don't even want to do that! Not that we don't want to see family, just that with 5 of us it's going to cost a fortune and we'd much rather be spending it on going elsewhere or on the house, lol.

[theforrests]

We've been here for just over 2 years. We recently moved into our own home and got our PR, so feel very settled now in Adelaide. We've been to other parts of Oz as well - but always happy to come back to South Australia - which definitely feels like home now.

[kfoley0681]

hi must admit we have had our ups and downs not relizing husband had to go to college to get plumbers licence after years of running his own business in uk, him earning less then he was in a major car crash but hey thats life! we came with our 3 girls 2 of which are at gulfview heights ps and they are loving it the schooling and facilities are excellent and they have made lots of friends even sound like ozzies!! 3rd daughter has a busy life with day care 2 days a week playgroups and creches she is a solicalizer! we found out i was 3 months pregnant 3 months of arriving now have an ozzie son who does swimming lessons ad playgroups! i have taken up netball was never a sporty type made lots of friends and we are always going to beach having bbqs visiting friends etc! we travelled round oz before settling and love it have friends all over thecounrty to! myself and the kids are settled as but my husband sometimes misses uk which is ok he will just have to get over it i dont regret the move whatsoever and sometimes feel gulity but hey i did it for my family and they are better off i find it differcult to understand why people would want to go back we all leave for all bad things bout uk and the place is only getting worse my brother has jst arrived for a visit and already extnded his plane ticket another pommy to sa in the making i think!