simon@sarah

Hi Claire Thanks for the reply. Thomas was a life guard in the UK, but has shown no interest in joining a surf life saving club...he works loads to be honest and prob wouldnt be able to commit to it anyway. He has met a group through PIA and seems happier in last few weeks though still not convinced he will be here this time next year. How did you cope with leaving your sons...im not sure i couldve got on the plane....but as you say it def helps having their dad back in the UK. My 18 year old is coming out in Oct and already cant wait..hope your sons will be visiting you soon.xx

Hi Lisa The time will fly, esp the last few weeks..and for me they were awful...watching 2 eldest saying goodbye to their girlfriends and mates was horrendous..and the journey to the airport was the quietest ever. But now we are here couldnt imagine living back in the UK..miss everyone loads but not the place, it is gorgeous here, when the sun is shining each weekend is like a mini holiday. Having said that it was cold when we arrived, esp in the house in the evenings, we put clothes on to go to bed and your nose would be like a block of ice!! houses just arent built for winter, so before this one kicks in we are off out to buy decent quilts and some heaters!! Any advice needed let me know and will try and help. Sarah

Hi Ella, PM me your fb name and i will pass it onto Thomas...wont make any promises as he is a nitemare to pin down and do stuff, but will do my best, as having seen Tom miss his mates i know where you are coming from. Sarah

Hi Elle, as before, only just seen your reply, sorry, not even sure if your still in Adelaide...let me know if you are and if your on facebook, will pass your info onto Tom.

Hi. It is def the hardest age to bring them over, my son has been lucky with work but is still broke all the time because of how expensive everything is here. I wish I could wave a wand, it is soo hard for them to meet people, spec if they arent working. Does your son like footie, I spoke to my cousins husband who emigrated 30yrs ago at the age of 16 and he said joining a local soccer club was his initial lifeline, and it wont cost anything for him to get involved, cept a pair of boots. Facebook is a great thing until you are trying to help them settle, seeing all the pics and comments made by his old mates in the UK makes it even harder. I hope your son manages to get work and settle. PM if you ever want to chat,im with you on the settling, it would be so much easier if they were settled..i do wonder if we have done the right thing, but have decided to give it 2 years and see. Good luck. Sarah

Thanks..that sounds ideal..iv passed the link onto my son, just needs a rocket up his bum now to do something about it! AAARRRGGGH!!!!!! Sarah

Hi Lisa It isnt easy bringing teenagers over, yep would have been much easier when they were all school age, but that wasnt to be. Iv come over with the boys stepdad so at least Lewis who returned to the Uk had his dad to go back to. Seaview Downs is a lovely area, and is so central when you have older kids..Westfield shopping centre and the Aquatic centre are 10mins up the road. The city is easily accessible by train, the nearest station being again about 10mins away. It is quite an expensive area to buy, being close to the beach,city and Glenelg so not sure we would ever be able to buy in the area, but as that is a long time away, it isnt something I worry about now. My 16 yr old goes to Seaview High which he can walk to and although it doesnt have the greatest reputation, he loves it and has settled brilliantly, which to me makes it the best school ever! I notice your from Bedfordshire, we abouts..we are from Kempston. Sarah

Hi Rachel, It is the hardest thing going, letting you kids go!! Im sure had i had to leave any behind when we boarded the plane I wouldnt have been able to climb them stairs!! Hope yours visit as I do mine! Sarah

Hi, PIA help is needed! We arrived in Sept 2011 with 3 sons, 16,18 n 21. The 18 year old has already gone back to uk, which broke my heart and now the 21 year old is showing signs of wanting to. He graduated in UK in Sports and Exercise Science just before we left and has got his dream job here..he is the strength and conditioning coach for the Panthers u16s n U18s and realises he wouldnt have a job anywhere near as good as that in UK. It is only 3 nights a week, and although he works in a bar as well to give him a bit more cash he is struggling. He is really missing his mates as he was a very social lad, loadsa mates and always out. He loved playing footie in the Uk and always played for a local team from young..so im trying to get him to join a team here, but he will struggle with his Panthers commitment..so does any know of a team that trains on either a Mon Wed or Fri and who play on a Sunday. If anyone has a son or daughter of similar age would be great to put them in touch (though he will kill me for interfering and would die if he knew i was putting this on, but I will do whatever I can to help him stay!). We are in Seaview Downs, but he has a car. Not sure how I would cope if 2 of my sons where in the UK, finding it hard some days to convince myself we have done the right thing and if it were to happen I would find it even harder! Thanks to anyone with any ideas Sarah

Hi Sharon We have been here since Sept last year and i have days when I love it, days when I like it and days when I wish I was still in the UK...on those days I try to get to the beach and just sit or stroll along it, it was advice given to me by someone who had been here longer than me and it does help..just stand and say to yourself the reasons you came to Australia. I have just got a job, which was a hard slog, but it def makes it seem more like home now, having that routine back in your life. Take each day slowly, and im sure you will go to bed and all of a sudden..think, wow that was a great day..I love it here! Sending you a hug and wishing the best. Sarah

Hi guys thanks for the replies..will look into Goodwood Road and the Adelaide Eye clinic in the new year...just more stress whilst trying to get a job and sort out xmas!! Sarah

Hi, we arrived in Adelaide 15 weeks ago, with 15,18 and 21 years old boys. The eldest and youngest were always keen to come but the middle one wasnt. When we booked the flights and he agreed to come i was gob smacked because all along he had said he wasnt going to come with us. Unfortunatly he has already returned to the UK much to my devastation! He didnt really give it a go here, stayed in his room 24/7 on skype to the UK and on FB to his mates and girlfriend, and after 10 weeks announced he was booking a flight for that week. Every teenager is different and from the other replies you have just as much chance as your son loving it as you do him hating it. I stopped asking my son if he was coming because i could tell he was under so much pressure from his gf and mates to stay in the UK that he didnt need the extra pressure from me. Back off, give him some breathing space and im sure he will come round to the idea. I, all the way through our visa process thought about how I would have felt if years ago (!!) when I was a teenager my parents had told me we were emigrating, I would have hated it, and refused to have gone,so try be patient with your son and see what the new year brings. Good luck and try not stress! Sarah

you can buy xmas cards with the exact same picture on in Myer, will have a look tomorrow when at work to see if it states where the pic was taken.

Hi guys To cut a veeeerrry long story short I had laser eye surgery before emigrating having been incredibly short sighted all my life!! It was a gift from my dad and unfortunalty it didnt go as well as good be expected and im still having to wear contact lenses daily. It has left my dad in the UK fighting for compensation from the company that carried out the surgery and they have asked me to go to a clinic here to see how much a 2nd operation would cost and whether its feasible to carry out. Has anyone had any dealings with an eye laser clinic that they would recommend so that I can obtain the information required. Thanks Sarah

Wow, thanks for that reply, made me cry, what an awful time it must have been for your family. My son has been okay since he got here, that is what is making it even more frustrating, but the girlfriend of 2yrs back in the UK has made it impossible for him to settle here. He is going back to stay with my dad which gives me some peace and everyone says he will be back..BUT i truly dont think he will be, it isnt his sort of place, he doesnt like the heat or beaches and is not an outside person. To be honest I was suprised he even came with us to begin with. I hope he will be back for visits and it is lovely that you have built your relationship with your son and grandchildren. I am dreading the goodbye but I have to tell myself it is not forever and like you say, he does still love me just doesnt share my love of Australia. Thankyou for the heart felt reply. Sarah

Hi guys thanks for the responses. Yep he does have a UK bank account (hasnt had a chance to get cold yet as only bin here 10 weeks!) so think i will get him to do the bank transfer as you have suggested, once he arrives back at the UK. Thanks again Sarah x

Hi My 18 year old son has decided that Oz is not for him and is returning to UK next week (absolutely gutted!!) and i wondered if anyone knew whether he will better to take the money out that he has in his ANZ account in dollars and change it to pounds once he arrives back in the UK or to take it out at ANZ in pounds.? Cheers guys Sarah

Hi we came through in September, a family of 5 and also 200kgs of luggage and from getting off the airplane to meeting our friends in arrivals took maximum hr and half, the longest wait was in the queue at passport control, that was probably hour and then when we got to the guy he looked at each passport, made a few comments about our passport pics, like "wow your hair has grown" to the youngest and then waived us through in under 5 mins,we had nothing to declare and by the time we got to the luggage it was already going around so we grabbed ours and was out of there. It was well quick and if hadnt been for the queue would have taken max 45mins, so id would say allow for that and book it no more than 2hours from landing. Hope that helps. Sarah

Hi Dean and Wendy. We arrived on 2nd September with 3 boys in tow, 16,18 n 21, though the 18 yr old has announced he is going back to the UK. We are in Seaview Downs, 5mins away from Brighton and are up for abit of socialising. Send PM if you want to meet up. Sarah

Hi Jane, We did exactly the same as Lisa.. opened an ANZ account online in UK, then used a money transfer company that ANZ recommended. exchanged our money into Aus $ using them and then when we arrived in Adelaide we just went along to our local branch of ANZ and activated our accounts. We have kept a small amount in our UK accounts for any emergencies, but the rest we changed in dollars because the rate of interest is much higher in Aus than in UK. Sarah

Hi The Seacliffe Beach Hotel shows all the games. Know doubt Simon will be going to watch it! Sarah

Hi Welcome to Adelaide! we have been here since 2nd April, so are newbies to, we are loving it so far just need to get jobs to make it perfect! We are around the corner from Glenelg so if you want to meet just let me know. Sarah:biggrin:

Hiya We used a company of the internet called Tor Fx and the guy we dealt with was Adrian Penhallow. They recommended ANZ and we opened a bank account with them then traded with Tor Fx, got a really good exchange rate and good advice and help. Would def recommend them. Hope this helps Sarah

Bedford hasnt changed...loads of £1 shops and takeaways! We lived in Kempston..u? Have you not been back at all?