Quite quickly after landing I realised that in Australia, every occupation seems to have a nickname. You'll know what I mean if your already living here, but you'll notice when you land if not. Just put the news on the TV and you'll see what I mean. (If you manage to catch the first lines of the news after an ad break....but that's for another post)
So there's been a car crash....but don't worry because the "fireies" and the "ambos" are at the scene. (Fire brigade and the ambulance / paramedics)
So it's 6 AM and you hear a lorry outside....ahhh its just the "Garbos" (Bin men) another point to note...no one knows what a lorry is...its called a truck.
I'm sure there are more examples of this but I cant think of them now...feel free to have your input.
I've been here 9 months now and I still say things sometimes and get the strangest looks, and the reply..."the what?"
Lorry is one of those...sweets is another one, they call them lollies...I know, weeeeird. Lolly's are called ice blocks if your wondering.
You'll also need to find the right time and place to ask for chips. Chips are crisps....hot chips however are....well....chips.
Avoid embarrassment by not telling anyone that your thong is wedged up your bum. You definitely WILL get a funny look. What the Aussies call thongs are what the Brits call flip flops. I don't need to explain why that could be embarrassing.
There will be a lot more of these you'll come across, I wont go telling you all of them, I'd rather you learn the hard way :)
Thursday, 19 January 2012
Australian War Memorial
A very moving place to be. All of the names of those Australians who have lost their lives in conflicts all over the world. Sadly it's still being added to.
Helpful but slightly boring booklet from DIAC on settling in Australia
There's a helpful booklet from the Department of Immigration and Citizenship (DIAC) outlining what you need to do and other various things when you arrive. It's not very specific, but you can learn a thing or two from it.
Feel free to get in touch with me if you want to know anything too.
http://www.immi.gov.au/living-in-australia/settle-in-australia/beginning-life/_pdf/eng.pdf
Feel free to get in touch with me if you want to know anything too.
http://www.immi.gov.au/living-in-australia/settle-in-australia/beginning-life/_pdf/eng.pdf
Highest working post box in the southern hemisphere!
Snapped this while in Sydney when the family came over for our wedding. It's at the top of the Sydney Tower. Go check it out for yourself!Wednesday, 18 January 2012
The job hunt...
So settling in nicely so far, I will however, need to find a job...errggghh.
I hit the websites, and papers hard.
There was no real shortage of jobs, however, newly arrived off the boat, I was somewhat limited with what I can do (And still am)
In Wales I was a chef, but had a break from it before leaving for Oz, (Working in Argos would you believe)
I wanted to go and try something new, but as time went on I found myself thinking of going back to it. I had the experience and needed a job. So I went ahead and applied for a job at the Royal Canberra Golf Club. (A verrrrry posh place) I got the job...not cooking however. Washing the dishes.
I went for my first shift, and promptly decided.....nope....this is not for me. Back to the job sites.
It's worth mentioning that when you do arrive here, you're not entitled to claim any public funds (quite rightly so) My visa (Partner Migrant Temporary) means that I can live and work unrestricted in Australia, and enter and leave as I please. However, it means that I am only a temporary resident for the first two years, so I'm not entitled to government funds (And a lot of other things like loans etc which is poop)
If you want to take a look at jobs out here, the best site (In my opinion) is http://www.seek.com/
Another tip is nobody in Australia calls it a C.V.
Avoid putting this in big letters at the top of the page if you can, you'll stand out like a sore thumb. Businesses use the term Resumé, and so should you :)
Take a look at those job sites and you find a fair few of them will require you to be an Australian citizen. at least here in Canberra, it's teaming with public servants and government departments. that rules me (and you) out. You will need to go from a temporary resident, to a permanent resident, and then apply for citizenship for these jobs. This is mainly as you'll need a security clearance for them. Note that you will need to surrender your native citizenship in order to do this. Now that's a BIG decision.
Anyhow, I got a job in the end through word of mouth. Em's best friend in Oz put me onto her boyfriends dad, who was looking to take on somebody to train up in the role of building big super computers. I jumped at that. And here I am.....writing this......it's a quiet day OK?
I hit the websites, and papers hard.
There was no real shortage of jobs, however, newly arrived off the boat, I was somewhat limited with what I can do (And still am)
In Wales I was a chef, but had a break from it before leaving for Oz, (Working in Argos would you believe)
I wanted to go and try something new, but as time went on I found myself thinking of going back to it. I had the experience and needed a job. So I went ahead and applied for a job at the Royal Canberra Golf Club. (A verrrrry posh place) I got the job...not cooking however. Washing the dishes.
I went for my first shift, and promptly decided.....nope....this is not for me. Back to the job sites.
It's worth mentioning that when you do arrive here, you're not entitled to claim any public funds (quite rightly so) My visa (Partner Migrant Temporary) means that I can live and work unrestricted in Australia, and enter and leave as I please. However, it means that I am only a temporary resident for the first two years, so I'm not entitled to government funds (And a lot of other things like loans etc which is poop)
If you want to take a look at jobs out here, the best site (In my opinion) is http://www.seek.com/
Another tip is nobody in Australia calls it a C.V.
Avoid putting this in big letters at the top of the page if you can, you'll stand out like a sore thumb. Businesses use the term Resumé, and so should you :)
Take a look at those job sites and you find a fair few of them will require you to be an Australian citizen. at least here in Canberra, it's teaming with public servants and government departments. that rules me (and you) out. You will need to go from a temporary resident, to a permanent resident, and then apply for citizenship for these jobs. This is mainly as you'll need a security clearance for them. Note that you will need to surrender your native citizenship in order to do this. Now that's a BIG decision.
Anyhow, I got a job in the end through word of mouth. Em's best friend in Oz put me onto her boyfriends dad, who was looking to take on somebody to train up in the role of building big super computers. I jumped at that. And here I am.....writing this......it's a quiet day OK?
What to do now
After getting off a 24hr flight, and jumping into the car for another 3 hours, needless to say you're not going to be all that that excited. It's been a loooong day. We had the fortune of being picked up by Ems family at Sydney airport who needless to say were very happy to see us.
For our situation we we're going to stay living with them until we could find a place to live. It was nice, being able to adjust with your second family for a while, rather than being plunged into the unknown.
The opportunity of a place for us to live came up just before we left the UK. Friends of Em's mum and dad we're going touring around Australia for six months and were looking for people to house sit. Of course we jumped at the opportunity.
So we had a place to live...now to get down to getting all the things I needed to get to start the process of being able to live here.
Spent about a month going around in circles trying to get the basics.
Tax file number, easy peasy, the rest of the things? not so easy.
Drivers Licence - Easier and quicker than the UK. Because I had a full UK licence, they simply swapped it with a full ACT one, you get your eyes tested and your photo taken there and then (So be prepared ladies) and they print your licence on the spot. All done in about 30 mins.
HOWEVER
You need to provide several forms of ID. Example, household bills (Which I didn't have as the bills remained in the house owners names) Medicare card (Public health insurance card, which I didn't have because you needed to show your Oz driving licence) Bank statement and card (which I didn't have because I didn't have a Oz driving licence or Medicare card)
Do you see the circle???
Eventually a very nice man at the Medicare office agreed to take a Statutory Declaration (A legal statement made by another person to say you know them, or vouch for them etc) from Em's mum so I could get my Medicare card. After that the ball got moving and I got my driving licence, tax file number, medicare card, and bank account all up an running. Phew.
I started to feel at least a little bit less of a foreigner!
For our situation we we're going to stay living with them until we could find a place to live. It was nice, being able to adjust with your second family for a while, rather than being plunged into the unknown.
The opportunity of a place for us to live came up just before we left the UK. Friends of Em's mum and dad we're going touring around Australia for six months and were looking for people to house sit. Of course we jumped at the opportunity.
So we had a place to live...now to get down to getting all the things I needed to get to start the process of being able to live here.
Spent about a month going around in circles trying to get the basics.
Tax file number, easy peasy, the rest of the things? not so easy.
Drivers Licence - Easier and quicker than the UK. Because I had a full UK licence, they simply swapped it with a full ACT one, you get your eyes tested and your photo taken there and then (So be prepared ladies) and they print your licence on the spot. All done in about 30 mins.
HOWEVER
You need to provide several forms of ID. Example, household bills (Which I didn't have as the bills remained in the house owners names) Medicare card (Public health insurance card, which I didn't have because you needed to show your Oz driving licence) Bank statement and card (which I didn't have because I didn't have a Oz driving licence or Medicare card)
Do you see the circle???
Eventually a very nice man at the Medicare office agreed to take a Statutory Declaration (A legal statement made by another person to say you know them, or vouch for them etc) from Em's mum so I could get my Medicare card. After that the ball got moving and I got my driving licence, tax file number, medicare card, and bank account all up an running. Phew.
I started to feel at least a little bit less of a foreigner!
An Introduction
I'll start by giving you a little background...
In 2010, I made the huge decision to make the move from a small country town in Carmarthen, South Wales, to Canberra, Australia.
Now this was not on a whim I might add, while living in Wales, and working as a chef at Vincent's restaurant in Swansea, I met a gorgeous Aussie girl. Em came to work for us as a waitress, and the rest as they say is history. We're now married and expecting our first child.
This of course was a big factor in deciding to up sticks and move to Oz. It wasn't a decision rushed, and I needed to do a lot of thinking before deciding to take the plunge. Leaving your whole life as you know it behind you and moving to the other side of the world is not done lightly!
Family and friends were told, and met with a fair bit of trepidation at first. Any mother, grandmother, father, aunt, uncle, would have their concerns.
It hit hard for the family at first, but they gradually came around to the idea and realised it was something I had to do.
Em had lived in the Wales for 4 years, at first with her parents and brothers who moved to Wales "for a year" and ended up staying 3. They eventually moved back to Oz, and let Em in Wales to live with me in Swansea.
As you can tell in this situation, one side of the family will be without their son or daughter, not easy for anyone.
So the visa forms were applied for, filled out, evidence gathered, medicals completed, police check conducted, statements taken, and all the necessities ticked off the list.
Then the wait.......
The agonising wait, hearing nothing, and taking months. Not knowing is the worst, you can't make any plans, you just........wait.
It all came through fine. I now had a "Partner Migrant Visa"
Packed up, said our goodbyes, jumped on the plane to start a new life in a new country.
I had been to Australia a couple of times before with Em so I had an idea of what the life, the people etc were like. Visiting before hand, and for a length of time is advisable before you up and move your life.
So....now I'm here I aim to blog my way through "What the go is" as the Aussies say.
Hopefully if your thinking of making the big move, some of the information in here you'll find useful. Things you might not have thought of perhaps, or stuff you just want to know.
Well....off we go!
In 2010, I made the huge decision to make the move from a small country town in Carmarthen, South Wales, to Canberra, Australia.
Now this was not on a whim I might add, while living in Wales, and working as a chef at Vincent's restaurant in Swansea, I met a gorgeous Aussie girl. Em came to work for us as a waitress, and the rest as they say is history. We're now married and expecting our first child.
This of course was a big factor in deciding to up sticks and move to Oz. It wasn't a decision rushed, and I needed to do a lot of thinking before deciding to take the plunge. Leaving your whole life as you know it behind you and moving to the other side of the world is not done lightly!
Family and friends were told, and met with a fair bit of trepidation at first. Any mother, grandmother, father, aunt, uncle, would have their concerns.
It hit hard for the family at first, but they gradually came around to the idea and realised it was something I had to do.
Em had lived in the Wales for 4 years, at first with her parents and brothers who moved to Wales "for a year" and ended up staying 3. They eventually moved back to Oz, and let Em in Wales to live with me in Swansea.
As you can tell in this situation, one side of the family will be without their son or daughter, not easy for anyone.
So the visa forms were applied for, filled out, evidence gathered, medicals completed, police check conducted, statements taken, and all the necessities ticked off the list.
Then the wait.......
The agonising wait, hearing nothing, and taking months. Not knowing is the worst, you can't make any plans, you just........wait.
It all came through fine. I now had a "Partner Migrant Visa"
Packed up, said our goodbyes, jumped on the plane to start a new life in a new country.
I had been to Australia a couple of times before with Em so I had an idea of what the life, the people etc were like. Visiting before hand, and for a length of time is advisable before you up and move your life.
So....now I'm here I aim to blog my way through "What the go is" as the Aussies say.
Hopefully if your thinking of making the big move, some of the information in here you'll find useful. Things you might not have thought of perhaps, or stuff you just want to know.
Well....off we go!
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