What do I do now?????

[samandcraig]

So we have our visa in place, we have our flights booked, we have a short term rental sorted, we have the shipping company booked in........what now???

I feel like I just don't know what to do with myself, we sold our house in March so everything has been sorted and in storage, I'm selling my car next month as the tax runs out then and I can use my mams car until we leave, I keep looking at long term rentals online but obviously can't sort that until we get out there, I have looked into loads of schools but also can't contact them until we have chosen where we will settle , feeling very frustrated!!! Anyone else feeling the same??

[Guest vikkiann]

Sam

 

How you are feeling is normal.

I thought I was going to have a nervous breakdown just before we moved here.

 

Is is it March that you move? I've just looked at your signature

[samandcraig]

Hi, oh that's good to know!! I'm driving myself insane!! Ha ha

yeah we arrive in March, can't wait. How long have you been out in Oz??

[samandcraig]

Ah just seen you've been out since 2012.....how are you liking it? X

[tomamylancaster]

Yes!! Although we have so much to do, we're feeling frustrated that we can't do much until we sell!!

 

We've just put the business on the market last week! Finishing off the house & touchinh up paintwork etc, which is going on the market in the New Year, but until they're both sold & going through we kind of feel stuck!!!

 

We're going to have a major sort through of all our belongings & weed out what we won't be taking, but other than that, there's nothing we can be doing!!!

 

Can't book flights, accommodation etc etc

 

Where abouts are you looking at settling?

[samandcraig]

Yes!! Although we have so much to do, we're feeling frustrated that we can't do much until we sell!!

 

We've just put the business on the market last week! Finishing off the house & touchinh up paintwork etc, which is going on the market in the New Year, but until they're both sold & going through we kind of feel stuck!!!

 

We're going to have a major sort through of all our belongings & weed out what we won't be taking, but other than that, there's nothing we can be doing!!!

 

Can't book flights, accommodation etc etc

 

Where abouts are you looking at settling?

 

Very frustrating, we like the southern suburbs, but are going to have a good look around when we arrive, it also depends on schools........how about you?

[Guest vikkiann]

Ah just seen you've been out since 2012.....how are you liking it? X

 

We've been here nearly 2 1/2 years and love it. I'd never live anywhere else!

Cherish the time that you have left with your family, that's the hardest part of living here.

[samandcraig]

Brilliant......most of my family live abroad to be honest, I have a few close friends that I see and my auntie and uncle, but other than that there isn't a huge hold, so we are quite lucky, whereabouts do you live?

[Guest vikkiann]

I'm in Aldinga Beach, it is a bit far out but I'm happy to travel to live by a gorgeous beach.

Loads of us head to the southern suburbs, cheaper property, sea views, wine region. What more could a girl ask for?

[Guest Guest75]

Have a beer................. speaks an entirely settled Pozzie .... < Pommie /Aussie>

[Reena1991]

So we have our visa in place, we have our flights booked, we have a short term rental sorted, we have the shipping company booked in........what now???

I feel like I just don't know what to do with myself, we sold our house in March so everything has been sorted and in storage, I'm selling my car next month as the tax runs out then and I can use my mams car until we leave, I keep looking at long term rentals online but obviously can't sort that until we get out there, I have looked into loads of schools but also can't contact them until we have chosen where we will settle , feeling very frustrated!!! Anyone else feeling the same??

 

We are arriving at the end of March/beginning of April and You are way more organised than me, to the extent that I feel panicked now ;-)

havent done anything! Just sorting house sale out now which should hopefully be completed by January but reluctant to book anything/give notice until then but feel that we should be doing things as we will be arriving 4ish months! I still need to sort out my teacher registration and get rid of so much clutter and furniture we aren't taking......need a list I think! You can come and organise us if you feel the need to keep yourself busy

[EmmaB]

I have looked into loads of schools but also can't contact them until we have chosen where we will settle , feeling very frustrated!!! Anyone else feeling the same??

 

Don't worry too much about schools, you are guaranteed a place in the school for which you are zoned. The alternative would be to look at non-state schools (faith schools, most are not heavy on the religion just affiliated with a particular faith alternaitve fee paying privates) they can accept people outside of the zone and would be able to let you know now if they can accommodate your kids. If you want a school place in a particular school for which you are not zoned then they will only accept the application if they have places to fill, otherwise, you need a 12 month agreement to secure a place. There is no harm in making contact with schools, I have bombarded many schools with my questions and they have not yet told me to go away.

[samandcraig]

We are arriving at the end of March/beginning of April and You are way more organised than me, to the extent that I feel panicked now ;-)

havent done anything! Just sorting house sale out now which should hopefully be completed by January but reluctant to book anything/give notice until then but feel that we should be doing things as we will be arriving 4ish months! I still need to sort out my teacher registration and get rid of so much clutter and furniture we aren't taking......need a list I think! You can come and organise us if you feel the need to keep yourself busy

 

I must admit I'm so great full for my mam letting us live in her house for the last 12 months (she lives in Africa) it does make it so much easier and has given us time to save more money! With us we just focused on one thing at a time and ticked it off the list! Things just seemed to work out. Don't get me wrong I'm worried about arriving and sorting health care, a long term rental and everything else that goes with arriving, I think that makes it more frustrating as I know when we arrive I will probably be super stressed!!

so will you just put your belongings into storage when your house is sold? Try not to worry, I'm a big believer in everything happens for a reason and will work out the way it's supose to......

[samandcraig]

Don't worry too much about schools, you are guaranteed a place in the school for which you are zoned. The alternative would be to look at non-state schools (faith schools, most are not heavy on the religion just affiliated with a particular faith alternaitve fee paying privates) they can accept people outside of the zone and would be able to let you know now if they can accommodate your kids. If you want a school place in a particular school for which you are not zoned then they will only accept the application if they have places to fill, otherwise, you need a 12 month agreement to secure a place. There is no harm in making contact with schools, I have bombarded many schools with my questions and they have not yet told me to go away.

 

thankyou for that Emma, it's very reassuring, so many things to consider and not knowing how their system works, how old are your children?

[Reena1991]

I must admit I'm so great full for my mam letting us live in her house for the last 12 months (she lives in Africa) it does make it so much easier and has given us time to save more money! With us we just focused on one thing at a time and ticked it off the list! Things just seemed to work out. Don't get me wrong I'm worried about arriving and sorting health care, a long term rental and everything else that goes with arriving, I think that makes it more frustrating as I know when we arrive I will probably be super stressed!!

so will you just put your belongings into storage when your house is sold? Try not to worry, I'm a big believer in everything happens for a reason and will work out the way it's supose to......

That's very handy to be living at your mums, we will be moving into my old bedroom for hopefully no more than 2 months once house is sold, myself, OH, 2 year old and 1 year old.....not looking forward to this to say the least! My partner may go ahead of us if he can't hack living at the mother in laws and sort things out with no children to worry about! We will be shipping our stuff once house is sold. Getting quotes for this is on my list, just find it hard trying to sort these sorts of things out with 2 energetic boys!

[samandcraig]

Oh no, I feel your pain, although I only had a two year old when we originally got our first house and relocated from Lancashire to Cumbria, all three of us in one room! But it will only be for a short while won't it, that's all you have to keep thinking!! I bet you don't have 2 mins to yourself! My children are 11 and 5 now so much easier (the toys do eventually get smaller) ha ha.

do you have any shipping companies in mind?

[samandcraig]

Have a beer................. speaks an entirely settled Pozzie .... < Pommie /Aussie>

 

Sounds like a plan

[Reena1991]

Oh no, I feel your pain, although I only had a two year old when we originally got our first house and relocated from Lancashire to Cumbria, all three of us in one room! But it will only be for a short while won't it, that's all you have to keep thinking!! I bet you don't have 2 mins to yourself! My children are 11 and 5 now so much easier (the toys do eventually get smaller) ha ha.

do you have any shipping companies in mind?

 

Well I have the evenings, most of the time but by the time that time comes I'm just shattered and can't summon the energy to sort things out! I'm sure the panic will hit me soon and il be organised and be ploughing through my to do list......

havent thought about companies but getting round for a quote will be my starting point, I have pretty much decided what we are taking so at least that's something

[snifter]

Yeah, with you there. Remember it well.

 

The run up to our leaving was the English summer so we planned loads of day trips to places we wanted to see/visit or revisit, rather than a week or two holiday. Also had a few group get togethers with friends then I organised a massive BBQ for early October a week or two before we left. 70 or so adults, plus kids at a lovely old pub with a huge beer garden that hired out their BBQ for £20. Was a fab afternoon and evening with everyone (friends only, we did the family thing a few days before we left). I loved organising it all, gave me something to do and bought some cheap kids toys like a soccer ball or two, some plastic cricket bats and frisbees. The kids had a fab time. One of the kids said to their Mum could they please move to Australia so he could have a leaving party like it

 

We asked our son if there was any place he wanted to go or see, he chose castles, lots of them and fossil hunting at Lyme Regis for a weekend. We also found all the Grommits (we were in the Bristol area so they were around) and had a day trip to London as a surprise for our son to find the last Grommit at Paddington and then hit the museums and Hamleys and a few other places.

 

I made sure I'd done all the little things like notifying all the official bods of emigrating. Or at least checking for each thing when I had to notify them as some would not accept anything till the date of our departure. I had a big file of it all broken down into weeks for the month before we left and worked through it all.

 

Oh, if bringing your mobile phones, get them unlocked before you leave. Do it while still on a plan/contract, should be fine.

 

Most important, enjoy the time you have left there. Spend it with people who matter or seeing some sights if inclined.

[samandcraig]

Yeah, with you there. Remember it well.

 

The run up to our leaving was the English summer so we planned loads of day trips to places we wanted to see/visit or revisit, rather than a week or two holiday. Also had a few group get togethers with friends then I organised a massive BBQ for early October a week or two before we left. 70 or so adults, plus kids at a lovely old pub with a huge beer garden that hired out their BBQ for £20. Was a fab afternoon and evening with everyone (friends only, we did the family thing a few days before we left). I loved organising it all, gave me something to do and bought some cheap kids toys like a soccer ball or two, some plastic cricket bats and frisbees. The kids had a fab time. One of the kids said to their Mum could they please move to Australia so he could have a leaving party like it

 

We asked our son if there was any place he wanted to go or see, he chose castles, lots of them and fossil hunting at Lyme Regis for a weekend. We also found all the Grommits (we were in the Bristol area so they were around) and had a day trip to London as a surprise for our son to find the last Grommit at Paddington and then hit the museums and Hamleys and a few other places.

 

I made sure I'd done all the little things like notifying all the official bods of emigrating. Or at least checking for each thing when I had to notify them as some would not accept anything till the date of our departure. I had a big file of it all broken down into weeks for the month before we left and worked through it all.

 

Oh, if bringing your mobile phones, get them unlocked before you leave. Do it while still on a plan/contract, should be fine.

 

Most important, enjoy the time you have left there. Spend it with people who matter or seeing some sights if inclined.

 

sounds like you had a lot of fun, thanks for the tips

[Mazza227]

So glad I've read this post! Were early stages of planning /getting qualifications etc arranged, but read a few negative things recently and it's great to read some positives about people settled well out there etc! Was starting to think we are making a big mistake! I know everyone is different in things they like etc but feeling more positive again now!

[samandcraig]

So glad I've read this post! Were early stages of planning /getting qualifications etc arranged, but read a few negative things recently and it's great to read some positives about people settled well out there etc! Was starting to think we are making a big mistake! I know everyone is different in things they like etc but feeling more positive again now!

 

Hi, yeah I know what you mean, I read your thread and there seems to be a lot of people who don't seem to love living in SA, but just put up with it! Does make you start to wonder! I do believe it also depends on where you are moving from! And how your life is in the uk. I agree with the fact that it may not be living the dream as we will be going out there to work, but what I don't think they are looking at the fact that life in the uk is different for everyone as well! I live in west Cumbria, and if you haven't been here then you wouldn't know how we live! We rarely have a summer, (this year wasn't too bad mind) typical eh! But usually we are lucky if we get 2weeks of nice weather, it's freezing up here, as soon as November hits it gets so cold, we live in a coastal town too and although the shore is lovely you can't go down there very often because of the weather! Not many jobs up here, a lot of drug use, not a lot of opportunities for children, you feel like your wasting your life as your stuck indoors! Now my brother and his young family live in Darwin and he loves it! We considered Darwin ourselves but the heat there was going to be too much for us so opted for Adelaide as we liked the fact that it is seasonal, along with other factors obviously. So I do believe each circumstance is different, and everyone's expectations are also different, we in no way think we are going to live the dream, but go with the outlook that if we can have more time together as a family (quality time) and be worse off financially then so be it! All you can do is head out with positivity but not expecting anything and I'm sure everything will work out how you want to make it work out.........

[Mazza227]

I guess life is what you make it, I know 4 people who have moved out there over the last 10 years and all love it, but the one thing they have all said to me is don't expect things to come to you, you have to make the effort to get our there, get jobs/new friends etc.

At least with my children being young and at school, that's the best time to meet people anyway through your kids, or certainly is over here anyway!

[samandcraig]

Yeah that's it it also depends on if you do depend on your friends a lot! To be honest my husband is my best friend and I probably spend most of my time with him and with my kids, I do have a couple of close friends but I am quite happy to be alone, I enjoy my own company too. How old are your children? Where are you moving from? X

[alexandkaren]

Sam, what shipping company did you use? We were thinking of using a move cube but think we may have too much!

Thanks

Karen x