To all who have settled here!

[majortom]

Haven't been on this site for ages, I suppose as time goes by I needed less support from this wonderful site. It was a great help to me before we came, and when we first arrived in Dec 2006.

Since the age of about 18 I always wanted to come to Adelaide, and to follow my 2 sets of Aunts and Uncle's who arrived here in 1964 and 1966. That dream became a reality for me at the tender age of 49 in April 2006 when our RSMS visa's were granted. My wife and daughter arriving in May followed by my son and me in the December. The biggest challenge for us was to leave our 2 eldest daughters behind in Kent. I did, and still have this horrible feeling of guilt in splitting up my family.

The 2 children that came with us were 17 (boy) and 4 (girl) at that time. we had major problems with my son who at that age had to give up being with his mates and taken 1200 miles to a place he didnt want to be. My daughter knew no better and adapted really well, gaining an Aussie "twang" in her speech after a couple of months !!.

We came with little money, and could only dream about those big houses everyone looks at in realestate.com. We rented for the first year, which burnt a hole in our savings and put both children into nearby schools to test the water on wether we liked the suburb (Wynn Vale), and they liked the school. After that first year we bought a little house in a nice street in Wynn Vale.

Coming to Australia hasnt made us any better financially, but our everyday lives are much better. Adelaide is a wonderful place and has so much to offer on our doorstep.

Nearly 4 years on.........I am still feeling guilty about leaving my 2 daughters, who have both since had children of thier own. We had a brief 5 weeks back in the UK to be with our families, but it was real upsetting to go through the leaving process again.

My son is now nearly 21 and is enjoying life in the Australian Airforce, something me and my wife are very proud of. we dont see too much of him as he is stationed in Sale (Victoria). He's doing some training in Edinburgh soon, so his bed will always be here for him. Our daughter is doing real well at school, and loves the little athletics club that she joined a couple of years back.

We called Adelaide "home" after the first year here, and we still feel that now. We love our life here, but still wait for those 6 numbers each week !!!. Then we could look at realestate.com again, and spend 6 months a year in the UK ..............dream on !!

It is better to live life with failure than regret

Jim

[Jersey Bean]

Thanks Jim for your for the honesty having lived around the world a bit, everywhere has its faults unless youve got the cash to do everything you want to do without a worry! its reality..

So without a job & cash will be tight I`m not expecting a miracle just somewhere that I can call my home.

I¬m looking forward to living somewhere normal so I`ll take anything I feel quite lucky in that I think Adelaide seems just right for us.

Thanks

Claire

[niknjas]

Hi
We've been here five months now (relative newbies). Feel we have been quite lucky at how things have turned out.

Had two interviews lined up before we even got here. Jason got offered both jobs when he got here as long as he got himself a car. Bought an old banger for $900 which is still going (we pray every day). Decided not to take either of the jobs that were offered to him and is working for a really nice chap whose details he got from Boral. Our son loves school and has told us that we made the right decision with that school (old man's head on a seven year old body). Daughter is at occasional care once a week and loves it. Have met a few people but have met what I would call two really good friends in that short amount of time which did not expect. Am sure more will follow.

It has not been all plain sailing -
We left both Jason's eldest children behind in UK. His son was on our visa and was here a few weeks ago for a visit and is coming over for good next year but his daughter still is saying that he abandoned her and refuses to talk to him.
I gave Jason the fright of his life and got bitten by something when doing the garden and ended up in hosiptal with cellulitis and on iv antibiotics.
His boss went on holiday for two weeks and he had to work for two different guys or to give them their proper names "COWBOYS" who din't know the difference between their bums and their elbows (know it's upside down here so that could explain some of it).

BUT as a result of this though, he is in the process of getting his licence so we can set up our roofing business again over here.

To sum it all up, you have to take the rough with the smooth. Wages are less than we were used to but knew it would not be plain sailing for at least a couple of years. Have already come to the decision that might not get as much monetary wise but our standard of life is far better and the quality. We see more of each other now as a family than we have in the last five years.

Also bought a barbecue yesterday now so Jason thinks he's an aussie properly now.

I would definately recommend it to anybody thinking of taking the plunge and have no regrets at all.

Jason, Niki, Charlie & Phoebe

[HEAPS GOOD !!!]

Hi
We've been here five months now (relative newbies). Feel we have been quite lucky at how things have turned out.

Had two interviews lined up before we even got here. Jason got offered both jobs when he got here as long as he got himself a car. Bought an old banger for $900 which is still going (we pray every day). Decided not to take either of the jobs that were offered to him and is working for a really nice chap whose details he got from Boral. Our son loves school and has told us that we made the right decision with that school (old man's head on a seven year old body). Daughter is at occasional care once a week and loves it. Have met a few people but have met what I would call two really good friends in that short amount of time which did not expect. Am sure more will follow.

It has not been all plain sailing -
We left both Jason's eldest children behind in UK. His son was on our visa and was here a few weeks ago for a visit and is coming over for good next year but his daughter still is saying that he abandoned her and refuses to talk to him.
I gave Jason the fright of his life and got bitten by something when doing the garden and ended up in hosiptal with cellulitis and on iv antibiotics.
His boss went on holiday for two weeks and he had to work for two different guys or to give them their proper names "COWBOYS" who din't know the difference between their bums and their elbows (know it's upside down here so that could explain some of it).

BUT as a result of this though, he is in the process of getting his licence so we can set up our roofing business again over here.

To sum it all up, you have to take the rough with the smooth. Wages are less than we were used to but knew it would not be plain sailing for at least a couple of years. Have already come to the decision that might not get as much monetary wise but our standard of life is far better and the quality. We see more of each other now as a family than we have in the last five years.

Also bought a barbecue yesterday now so Jason thinks he's an aussie properly now.

I would definately recommend it to anybody thinking of taking the plunge and have no regrets at all.

Jason, Niki, Charlie & Phoebe

What a great post and with that attitude you are going to settle in nicely.:)

It is all about up and downs...its how you deal with the downs which makes you really really enjoy the ups....;)

Lovely.....


HG

[RockDr]

Thanks for all the posts from all you settled people, it's a breath of fresh air after all the disaster stories I've been coming across on other forums while researching the ins and outs of various visas. Yes I realise forums are always biased this way as it's the people wanting support who tend to post, but it had been getting me a bit down...

I came out to Adelaide at the end of Feb to finally be with my 'partner' (word I have yet to get my head around, where I grew up 'partner' was mainly only used by people trying to hide the fact they were in same sex relationships...). Soooo nice to put the whole 'long distance thing" behind us. Having just finished my PhD I proceeded to sleep for a couple of months. Then started looking for work, and landed a great job within a few weeks. On a temporary contract at the moment, but will go onto a permanent one in October, so all good there. Loving Adelaide, have a great nike ride to work through parks, back streets and along the river (well apart from the last five minutes though the city which sometimes feels like I'm taking my life into my own hands...). My partner's friends have been very welcoming, and I've got some semblance of fitness back.

There are some negatives, I still have to go through two visa applications in the next 6 months, which will be "fun"... I am missing my family, and it's hard knowing that after a visit home in Sept it'll be over a year before I will have accumulated enough leave to make another trip (and timed things with when my partner can take leave). I'd sleep better if there weren't possums fighting in the wall/ceiling cavities, and if I didn't have to get up to put buckets under the leaks everytime it rains. It would also be nice if it was possible to heat the living room to more than 13C, and if the whole place wasn't so dark (windows don't get any direct light because of the carport). Then again, it is a rental place, it won't be forever, and for all it's faults, it is in a very good location...

And it will be summer soon, or so I'm told, which I am very much looking forward to (and my toes are too, they'll enjoy having circulation again), have only had one full summer since 2002. I'm always so much happier when it's sunny.

Anyway, I'll stop rambling, just wanted to say thanks for all the positive posts, it put a smile back on my face.

RockDr

[welshboy]

Been here since Dec 2006 (4 years 5 months) with the wife,had a rental for 3 months waiting for the house to sell in the uk, money arrived then bought in flagstaff hill area with views over the sturt gorge and Glenelg and the airport
Managed to get a job 3 weeks after arrive been there since,Had the parents visit the first year they loved the weather
so last year we visited the uk May 2010 it was nice but glad the come back to what we call home
no rush to return to the uk

[thewhitehouse]

Brilliant, brilliant, brilliant - thread that is all!

[Tyke]

Brilliant, brilliant, brilliant - thread that is all!

I hope you are on this thread giving your story of how you settled here in a few years time

[thewhitehouse]

Hope so Tyke it sounds amazing!

[niknjas]

Hi

Been meaning to do an update for a while but never seem to get round to it, so here goes.

Now been here 18 months. Knew no-one, never been here, two job interviews lined up and that was about it. Got job with someone else although got offered both jobs and long term rental within days of each other.

The kids settled really easily, so much so that the eldest (8) has said that when he grows up he wants to be an architect and build us a big house. Niki asked him where UK or Australia and he said Australia of course - did make us smile. He also gets confused now about things that happened in UK and here when he talks about UK stuff.

Work was plentiful last year but not so much this year but no use moping about it, things will pick up. Put buying a house back a bit but no harm in waiting. Had a few hiccups with purchases of big things but have learnt our lesson

Made some very good friends here and one that went a bit pearshaped.

Better standard of life here. We basically didn't have one in UK as never saw each other. Some things are expensive but you just don't buy them and some things are cheap, swings and roundabouts.

Niki would not go back to UK if you paid her. I get a bit homesick every now and then and think was I wise to leave UK but only when things are not going the way that I really want them to.

All in all though I would say it is the best thing we ever did for all of us.