To all who have settled here!

[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!

[Guest 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.

[Guest 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.

[Guest 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!

[Guest guest3462]

Tyke, what a great thread......

Well, where do I start.....

We moved here on a temp 457 visa in Jan 09. Since the day we moved we realised we were home. Our journey has far from been a smooth one, in fact we have had more upset and uncertainty in the last 15 months to last anyone a lifetime, and still every step forward seems to put us 2 steps back in the quest to become permanent residents!!!

At times it seems that Australia is against having the Churches on their books, but we are a stubborn lot and know that when we decided to risk everything to stay in the wonderful place we call home was the right decision for our family.Richards work have finally agreed to sponsor us for PR and we hope to have it sewn up in the next 4 months!!! (Hooray, street party at the ready!!!)

Rich came here with work already organised, and has changed employment 3 times due to having to retrain and resit his medical exams (Aussie anatomy must be different to the rest of the world! lol!) and I am still at home with the girls for now, we are financially worse off than in the UK for now, but know that in 5 years time we will be enjoying the finer things in life when things finally settle down.

We were extremely lucky in respect to settling into a circle of friends that we knew from the UK, and in turn their friends became our friends. We regard Andy and Lindsey Moore as our family along with the Poyntons and Purtons and know that we could turn to them as we could our UK family in times of crisis and they to us. I thank you guys infinately for keeping me sane and holding me together when everything seemed to be falling apart!!!

We enjoy a 100% better social life and spend much more quality time together as a family. we love getting outdoors and going camping and have enjoyed exploring some of the beautiful scenery that SA has to offer. The beaches, the countryside, bush and hills are all spectacularly beautiful and the feeling of open space is exhilarating.

Our children are happier and healthier than we have ever seen them and they have settled into Aussie life like they have lived here forever. They even go up at the end of their sentences and say quirky little australianisms.....very cute! The thought of packing up and going back to the UK and being stuck indoors for 6 months or more of the year fills us all with dread. The girls say the are Australian now!

In comparrison to the UK, the streets are cleaner, parks well cared for and playgrounds safe and needle free areas. Grafitti is kept to a minimum and there is generally more respect for the country. I love the fact that Australians are mostly a friendly race and ultimatley proud of their beautiful country and that pride rubs off onto me when I say I am proud to call Adelaide home.

Would we go back? Well never say never, as we do not know the entire story of our lives, but for the next considerable part of our story, we are home here, in Adelaide.....and its HEAPS GOOD!!!!

[Guest Messua]

We arrived here in May 1999 with three little boys, a lot of hope and even more nerves! We got the visas in September '98 but were determined that Hubby should have a job to go to before we made such a massive move. A few days after they arrived, Hubby was at a conference, met a couple of Aussies and within 2 weeks he had a job to go to!!!!!! We were advised about which were the better suburbs to look at and found a primary school within walking distance... it couldn't have been better. The boys have had longer, happier childhoods than I believe they might have done and Hubby is still in the same job, with as much job security as you can get in these difficult economic times. After a year, we bought what seemed like a big house to us at the time. Each boy (or should I say young man) is able to have a room of his own and Hubby and I have an en suite bathroom.... the height of luxury in the UK! Now our sons are older, the only thing we sometimes find ourselves short of, is people our own age to "play with". Time is precious and unfortunately because we seem to run a taxi service for their busy lives, we've never made it to any of the "get togethers". Life is good here though. I don't think we would have been as happy or healthy in the UK.

[Diane]

What a great thread this is turning out to be! Great to read everyone's stories and really uplifting.

 

We've been here since August 11th 2004. I was born in Sydney, but only lived there till I was 15 months old, and had been back in Essex ever since. OH and kids had never even set foot on Aussie soil till we moved here! Main reason for moving was for better weather: I was in a state of semi-hibernation half the year in the UK, we were both working full time (me for a boss I hated!), had childminders for the kids, and hardly spent any time together as a couple or as a family: as one came in the door from work, the other would go out to gym, horseriding, badminton, mountain biking...all great fun, but completely separate from the family unit. I watched many friends with similar lives split up and separate from their partners - in fact every couple we ever went on holiday with (at least six couples) ended up splitting up afterwards - was it us??!!

 

Anyway, OH was offered a job with sponsored four year visa here, we put the house on the market Whitsun weekend, packed up everything, and leapt in with both feet - about 8-10 weeks from when the whole process had started! Thinking back, we probably didn't do enough research, didn't discuss things enough, didn't think everything through, but hey...

 

OH started work two days after we'd arrived, leaving me with two bored kids in a city apartment, driving round calling into estate agents, asking to go on their mailing lists for suitable properties - how they must have laughed at me!! Two weeks after arriving we had looked at so many horrendous rental properties that when we finally found one that was almost ok, we decided we had to go for it regardless. Took the paperwork down to the agent who was holding an open at a local house, decided there and then (again, don't think we discussed it much!) to buy the house he was selling instead, and four weeks later our furniture arrived, we moved in, bought a dog and two cars, and have spent the time since then slowly devaluing our house and cursing the dog with every other breath!

 

Had more than a few ups and downs: OH was made redundant in Feb 2009 - automotive engineering, what more need I say? And I did feel a little bitter sometimes that the government was still encouraging migrants to come, when there was no work for those of us already here - but things have more or less settled down workwise now. I work in a small firm part time, great people, lovely boss, very flexible, and OH now in different field of work, working for the government rather than private, which has its plusses and minusses.

 

Got some lovely friends, great neighbours, kids in a great school (although youngest doesn't quite see it that way yet!), and still get blown away by how beautiful the place we live in is. Had lots of visitors, all rellies though - funny how friends say they'll come and see you but when it comes down to it there are other things they'd rather do! I'm really not one of those who feels 100% happy about being here, rather than there: I still miss UK TV and radio (still listen to the Archers omnibus every Monday!), UK newspapers (still buy the Intl Express and Telegraph most weeks), and cheap holidays to Europe. Dreading the day something bad happens to family back in the UK and I'm so far away.

 

This migration thing either brings you together as a family, or pulls you apart, and I think we're some of the lucky ones who have been brought closer by the experience. I love the way aussie kids stay kids for longer, and aussie teenagers are so friendly and articulate, and confident, and feel of everything in life we could have given our two, this is perhaps one of the biggest and best things. When they leave school, the world will be their oyster - whether they'll stay in Adelaide or even in Australia, who knows, but they'll have the choice, and the chance ..... and my daughter will never had to own a pair of white stilettoes in her life if she doesn't want to!

 

Sometimes it does still seem that as parents we've had to make the huge sacrifice of leaving behind the security blanket of close friends who've known you forever, and family just down the road, all to give our children this option and this lifestyle, but at the end of the day, that's what it's all about, isn't it?

 

Sorry if I've gone on!

[Guest Guest75]

Can I say a BIG thank you to all who have replied so far.:notworthy:

Some great points are coming out:)

[Anne B]

..... and my daughter will never had to own a pair of white stilettoes in her life if she doesn't want to!

 

 

 

I've never seen it that way before but I'm saving my daughter from those white stilettos too!!! Great post!

[carryon]

Great read so far........

We have been here for nearly 2 years, love it all, Haf had a job to start 2 weeks after arriving, she is Paediatric nurse at Flinders, enjoys the work and has really nice collegues, I started doing odd jobs and now am pretty busy working around the kids school hours, but im so much more less stressed and knackered as i was in UK.

Neither of us miss a thing about UK, we have made great friends here, we are always having people over and spend more time outside doing stuff, a huge improvement on our UK life, Have a far bigger house and live right near a beautiful beach, weather is fantastic, most of the people are lovely and upbeat. I sometimes look at the beach and out to sea and think ''My God, are we really here''.....

We actually wish we had come over years ago. The kids love it, Cerys is always having sleepovers( Very seldom did it in UK) Both kids love school.

To be honest i haven't found anything hard going and none of us have ever been homesick( Maybe we are lucky)..Saying that, it was our dream to come here so we said from day one we were going to make it work....No going back!

I for one do NOT find it expensive here, swings and roundabouts, but i dont mind paying a little extra to be where we are, it's worth it!!!!

Love living here...No worries!

Good luck to all who are on the way out, its what YOU make it, go for it and enjoy what this great country has to offer!!!!

 

Simon:)

[Guest rachinadelaide]

We’ve been here 5 years. We were looking into emigrating to Argentina to run a Bed and Breakfast but hubby was offered a job in Adelaide all expenses paid and we decided it would be foolish to turn that down! We compromised and went to Argentina for 3 months on our way to Adelaide to make sure we had a firm ‘plan B’. We still haven’t implemented ‘plan B’ (that’s not to say we won’t in the future..).

I struggled to get a decent job – I was a teacher in the UK and wanted/needed a change of career. I ended up going back to uni to study journalism, got a crappy job at the Messenger to make some contacts. Secured a 3 week internship and hated every second!! Pulled out after 2 weeks and dropped out of uni.

Luckily we were in a position to live off hubby’s wages so I didn’t need to be working but I was starting to feel useless and frustrated so I gave in and registered to do relief teaching. I also started volunteering with a dolphin conservation charity. I turned down lots of teaching work as I made sure I was too busy in my volunteer role!! Eventually I was offered paid work at the charity and ended up working there for 3 years until I was made redundant at xmas (along with everyone else!!). It was one of the best things I’ve ever done and I can’t believe I had the chance. If I had applied to work at the UK branch they wouldn’t have looked at me twice – you need a Masters in Marine Biology to clean the toilets there!!

I now work in a local library and love that too. Hubby worked in his job for 3.5 years then moved to state government as an official, paid train nerd and loves his job even though he works far too many hours. Our observations of working here are that once you are in an organisation and prove yourself to be hard-working and relatively bright there are far more opportunities than in the UK.

We love the weather and the time we spend outdoors. The weekends and evenings still feel like holidays. We haven’t visited the UK and have no visits planned. We may yet move on to pastures new but not because we don’t love living here but because we get itchy feet and need to explore. We still have ups and downs but they are nothing to do with living in Adelaide – I would nag my hubby if he worked too many hours in the UK too!!

[ozzieclare2be]

What a fab idea!! Well i have been here coming up for 2 years in july and im now fairly settled. Its been a bit of a rollercoaster ride for myself, i came here with my soon to be ex husband but we split up about 9 months here. We sold the house and booked flights to go back to the uk but i had a change of heart and decided this was where i wanted to be after all.

 

So in just under 2 years ive moved house bought a house sold a house lol, came with a husband split up and have now met a fabulous chap who is my missing half and i moved north from seaford to be with with him. Ive got the community nursing job i wanted and im also a patient educator for a drug company which is fantastic and im looking at going back to uni when i qualify for hecs.

 

Ive met some fabulous people on the way and for the first time in my life i feel 100% happy. The past 2 years has been a huge rollercoaster ride and its tough when you get here, you cant always have everything instantly you have to work bloody hard to build your life again, im glad i didnt go back, and i think people do seriously need to give it at least 2 yrs. Why would you expect to leave behind a life you built up over 30-40 years and have everything fall into place within 6-12 month?

 

Adelaide for me was a culture shock at first but its a vibrant beautiful city that i think has so much to offer people and especially children. Last weekend we spent with our Aussie neighbours at their property on the Murray river, the kids all went skiing on the river and the neighbours piled in for a party at night around the fire pit. You cant put a price on that it was fantastic!!

 

Ive experienced living south and now north and being a community nurse have probly driven through most areas of Adelaide. I can honestly say there is no-where i wouldnt live as its all got good and bad points but dot be swayed by opinion alone go and see areas for yourself. I miss the beach at seaford but i can be at semaphore in 25 mins so its not too bad. Compared to my life in the uk, theres no comparison this life is so so much better, one not obsessed with stuff or what label you have on, one full of relaxation and fun, great weather , fab wine on my doorstep, not crammed into a shoebox of a house and far more opportunities for the kids and myself and my partner.

 

Love it!!!

[Guest angiestaff]

well as some of you may know me n hubby have been in adelaide for just over a year now, we currently live in west lakes (we feel we have been spoilt living here as if we have to move out of this rental i don't know if anywhere will compare! lol)

 

we miss family (obviously!) and friends but have met some wonderful people, we ride a motorbike so that gives us another way of meeting people and have found that they have been so welcoming and friendly.

our next door neighbour is a born and bred adelaide man (for the last 60 odd years) and he has such a fantastic sense of humour and has welcomed us too (he stated that as long as we embrace everything adelaide has to offer and don't be a 'whinging' pom! we'll do ok!).

we've had our moments, and had thoughts about 'going back' but when it comes down to it i don't think we would, for one we couldn't afford to take the dogs back and i ain't leaving them here!

i wish i could work less and spend more time with hubby, but finances come 1st and we know that we're lucky (we have more money than we ever did in the uk and for once we have some savings! lol)

we have found now (as some friends predicted) that all our annual leave is taken up by family coming over! lol and i probably talk to my mom more than i ever did when i was 15mile away but i wouldn't have it any other way!

 

roll on the next year (or 40!) in australia

anyhoo i'm on a night shift so i'd better go and do some work

ange xx

[Guest JoTanCalOwen]

( yes you Paul - you had some really good insights:notworthy:)

 

Hello Tyke, (and Paul)

 

I would like to THANK YOU ALL for your honest words and descriptions of experiences, my family and I are waiting to get to Adelaide, I am usually the very positive one in our outfit, lately I have to admit to not being so positive and feeling rather anxious and deflated, even wondering if the migration is ever going to happen or if its the right thing etc etc blah blah .... its all been heard and said before, I know, and reading some of the 'not so positive' posts made me worry alot altho ... nope didn't tell hubby...

 

thank you mayjess for your ongoing support

 

This thread has reassured me quite alot, keep it going, so far it has taken me over half an hour to read from beginning to this point .... and I wil keep reading as long as the thread keeps going...

 

Thank you all

 

Tanya

[Guest Cope]

Hi Tanya,

 

I really like this thread alot too. I think doubt is an essential part of the process of adjusting to the idea of emigrating. Reading all the posts in this thread is a great way to confirm that what you hope to gain out of the move is actually there, but it isn't thrown in your lap! Thanks again to all who contributed here and good luck Tanya (and others) who are still working on or waiting for their shot!

[Skittle]

What a good idea for a thread. I too don't post very often and only seldom have a quick peek on here.

 

We have been here for nearly 3 years and can honestly say it's the best thing we have ever done. We arrived here with hubbie already having secured a job but with a house still for sale in the UK. This prompted me into getting a job sooner than anticipated but that was relatively easy with 3 job offers in one day. I am still at the same company and they are fantastic to work for, always got some social event going on and have regular 'one on one's' with my manager in the coffee shop across the road!

 

The kids were 10 and 14 when we arrived, 14 is probably not the easiest age to move to the other side of the world but they both took to 'aussie' life very well. The oldest is now nearly 17, drives himself around in his Ute and has got the surfie hairstyle to match. They found aussie kids to be very friendly and accepting.

 

Our social life is fantastic and rarely a weekend goes by without some event or other. We both earn more than we did in the UK and find living expenses to be slightly more on the whole but it is a case of swings and roundabouts. The council rates for example are much cheaper than we had in the UK.

 

Of course we miss our family and friends but with 3 lots of visitors this year that will keep us going! Oh and the annual leave is cumulative so you can save up for holidays or for when your visitors are here.

 

Oh, and i love the cheap interstate airfares, will be popping to Melbourne quite soon for $100 return to see John Mayer in concert.

[Guest katsmajic]

As Heaps said were about to do our 2yr update...

however a quick round up -

We came with the4 kids, and have had a rollercoaster and a half, no house sale in uk just savings, never been here before, no jobs lined up and after the 2weeks rental no where to live

Martin started work and we got our fabulous rental in seaford, got the kids started in school/kindy.

Started to settle in nicely, made some wonderful friends, our old neighbours are simply the best.

Then the teens went off the rails, Martin got laid off - hes had more jobs here than he had the whole time in uk...think hes on 7th one now!

Due to the kids we've seen inside and out of the juvie court systems, its come right now...

ive been back to the uk for a funeral (and theres nothing that can compare to the feelings of utter helplessness that overwhelm you, or the guilt that is with you every day for not being there)

coming home from the uk i knew Adelaide was home,

i got a job, went back 10yrs career wise, but enjoyed it - but was reminded why i'd left it 10yrs before, lol i stuck out my new job until we had managed to build up some savings then we looked at building our own home.

Our big kids have settled in really well now, they have their own plans and are both very independant, the littlies may as well be little ozzies, Seb wants to be an iron man - have just bribed him into a haircut as his hair was proper surfer dude looking, Maggie has got a nice circle of friends and is going to start high school next year...

 

We bought over our cat, but sadly he passed away last year, now we have 2 delinquent ozzie cats and a loopy ozzie dog, our home build is taking its time, but we'll get there...

I have a new job which i love - its fab and no unsociable hours at all. I travel all over, and like Clare says theres not an area ive seen that i wouldnt live.

 

All i can say is we hit the ground running, kept running, took us 18mths plus to get down to a jog, its damn hard work, our lives in the uk took all our lives to build so its daft to expect things to be 'normal' (life/career/friends) in a short space of time...

 

Good luck to those coming and well done to those here xxx

[Fenderman]

Hi all good to see some positive comments being posted, We fell in love with Adelaide on our 3 week recy trip in Feb 2009, we both knew then we wanted to live in Adelaide but we had no idea how we would get there.

 

We came home and started the visa process and soon realised this would not be an easy process so on the recommendations of our friends Judy and Mandy at H2H we used the services of Sherie @ migratemates who did an excellent job for us.

 

Me and Samantha were lucky enough to have had our 176 visas granted in January 2010, we then came out for 3 week in Feb to validate our visas on our honeymoon, since our return to UK we have been franticly re-decorating the house and as we speak we are having a new roof fitted in an effort to sell the house quicker and as soon as we do sell, we will be over we cannot wait !!!!!!

[Guest suttons]

reading all the posts has definately made me feel a little more positive about making the move now, visas are validated so we just need to decide when really,

 

thanks everyone x

[Guest Messua]

Make it soon, Suttons. We arrived in May, when the weather wasn't at it's best, but it was much easier to acclimatise and Summer wasn't such a shock.

[Guest coolio]

Hiya Tyke.

Now why do i feel the Dan Murphy referrence is directed at me At least i know that someone else frequents the place as often as we do, on account of we seem to ALWAYS bump into you whilst there.

 

Anyway, I'll keep this post short as we are approaching our 1 year anniversary and i intend to do a longer "1 year on" post.

 

We arrived May 2009, staying at Tykes Seaford Rise place for 6 weeks. The kids settled well into school and Matt found work (mechanic) with ease. We rented in Seaford Rise for 7 months before buying our own place and are all very happy and settled. I am working (dental assistant) and we have made a fantastic circle of friends.

 

I dont check in on the site so much these days, but promise to do a longer post very soon, more detail etc. Matt, myself and the kids are so gald we made the move, the kids both say they much prefer life here. What more could you ask eh?

 

Speak soon

Kerry xxx

[Guest smilesoz]

Hi all,

 

Ok new to this game although I have been in Adelaide for 2yr 8 months. We always talked about coming here to live long before my 3 kids arrived, when it came up I was running my own business and my kids very settled and hubby in good job. But hey we decided to shake the bucket and throw it in the air! You never guess what happened...it was hard stressfull for the first few months and then before we knew it we realised what a great lifestyle we had. The weather and family orientated surroundings. Beautiful beaches, camping, rock climing, mountains, affordable concerts. I use my bike 3 times a week rather than 3 times a year the list is endless and no one has the excuse to be bored because it is all here. The kids play all sorts of sport and may now take up archery next. There is always a pool, BBQ and much more family time to be had, it's the Aussie way. The weather dictates so much. Yes you have agro coming, settling but you can have that anywhere. It is all to do with positive mind set, if you want it to work it will. I have not once craved to go back to England, I had a good life there but I also know what is there and I much prefer what I have. Good wishes to all of you x

[Guest suttons]

thanks smilesoz, that was really truthful and helpful

 

Shona x

[Guest Guest75]

Hiya Tyke.

Now why do i feel the Dan Murphy referrence is directed at me At least i know that someone else frequents the place as often as we do, on account of we seem to ALWAYS bump into you whilst there.

 

 

:biglaugh: ........ The guilty speak!!

 

Awwww!! thanks for popping in,you lot are too busy living life to the full here now!!!

 

 

How did Mum & Dad like it?? Dad looked happy in Dan Murphy's;)