OUR MOVE FROM THE UK TO PERTH, AUSTRALIA
It was something that my Husband & I had been thinking about, on & off, for about 10 years.
I was born in Fremantle, near Perth, WA and although moving to the UK when I was a baby, had always wanted to see what WA was really like. So some thirty years later, we both decided that a trip was in order.
We first visited Perth in 2003 and immediately fell in love with the place. We did all the usual tourist things, cruises up the beautiful Swan River, a trip to the Zoo, a visit to Aqua etc. But we also checked out the different suburbs & real estate agents, as well as the job agencies.
Our arrival home made us realise that although we had the love of our family & some fantastic friends, there was not a great deal going on in our lives. The last 7-8 years had been difficult for various different reasons & we thought that the time was right to apply for Pauls Spouse Visa...
Sept 2003: After filling in forms as thick as a phone book, we sent the completed application form to the Australian High Commission, London. After collating huge amounts of information to prove that our relationship was genuine. (Even after being together 14 years & married for 8!!) We even asked my Mum & my best friend to go to court for us & swear a declaration. We also had to send the fee.
Nov 2003: Paul had his medical & more money had to be paid!!
Dec 2003: 5 days before Christmas we received a letter, confiming that Paul had been granted a perminant residency Visa. We could not beleive that it had only taken 3 months to arrange!! We start to plan our move for next year.
Dec 2003: Our best friends invited us for Christmas, as it would be our last in the UK. Had a wonderful time.
Mar 2004: Decided that we should have another "educational" trip to Perth to look at houses etc, so putting all flight & hotel fees on the "never never" we came back to Perth, hired a car and got every bit of info that we needed. When we returned home, I read every book & website & watched every TV programme on moving to Australia that I could find. If it could be researched, I researched it!!! We decided to aim for August to move.
April 2004: House went on the Market. On the market for less than a week, before we were offered the full asking price!! I resign from my job, giving 3 months notice.
July 2004: House sale almost finalised. We arrange for quotes for the furniture to be shipped. (replacement value will work out more than taking it with us) We accept a quote from PSS & arrange with the buyers to sign at the end of the month. I also leave my job.
August 2004: It takes 5-7 weeks for the furniture to be shipped, so once it has been packed & taken & we've moved out of the house, we move in with our best friends. Flights have been booked for the 6th September with Singapore airlines & we've still to arrange the leaving party. Paul resigns from his job.
End of Aug 2004: We hold our leaving party & almost all of our family & friends are there to say goodbye. It was a fantastic night & thank you to everyone that shared that night with us.
September 4th 2004: Friends wedding. All our smart clothes had gone in the container, so we were the 2 scruffy one's at the back!!!!
Sept 5th 2004: The goodbye's to family were awful. We said goodbye to Pauls family first and after spending time there, we went to my Mums, to say goodbye to her & her husband & my sister. So many tears all round.
Sept 6th: A horrible goodbye again to our friends that we'de stayed with. I was a mess and Paul did not want to say goodbye. My Dad was taking us to the airport & when he dropped us off I started again!!!! We were happy we were starting a new life, but sad because of the people we had to leave behind. We soon boarded the plane & a large drink was in order to calm us down......
Sept 7th: Landed in Perth!!!
Once we arrived, we stayed in appartments in South Perth for the first 10 days. (These had been booked over the internet once the flights had been arranged) We hired a car to make it easier to get around and decided that top of our list of priorities, was finding a place to rent, as these 10 days would soon be over and we didn't really want to sleep in the hire car!!
While looking for a place, we also found a car to buy. There's no MOT in WA, so we were a bit wary. We wanted a medium 4 wheel drive, that wouldn't fall apart if we hit a Kangaroo.....which seems common place if you drive in the country. We found a Toyota, which had been regularly serviced and looked after. Cars, in comparason to the UK, are more expensive here, as you have to pay stamp duty when you purchase it. There is a similar system to road tax, in that you have to pay a fee every 6 or 12 months (your choice)for the car to be licenced. This also included 3rd Party insurance, which coveres anyone who is driving the car. It covers injury, but not damage to property, so we also got seperate Comprehensive insurance.
Then once the hire car went back and we'de sorted out a new sim card for the mobile phone, we continued our search for somewhere to live....We looked at 3 places, a unit, an apartment and a villa and we agreed on the villa. In a southern suburb, 10 minutes from the City. We filled in the forms, for reference checks & payed the bond money..we would hear in a few days...
A few days later, we received the call to let us know we'de been approved. It ws only then that we realised that we only had a week left in the apartments, our container was not due to arrive for a while & we did not have any furniture!!!!! So a couple of day before we moved, we went to Cash Converters & bought a 2nd hand Sofa & a bar fridge. We then had to go & buy a bed...all of which we arranged to get delivered to the Villa, the day we moved in.
Our container eventually arrived, having cleared customs....it was a bit late, as the ship had been held up, but with all our furniture in the house, it felt more like home.
Next on the list was sorting out Medicare, Tax file numbers and taking our driving tests. Getting Pauls Medicare & Tax numbers were easy, but because I am classed as an Australian Citizen, I had guess what.....yes more forms to fill in!!!! But after a further trip to the Medicare & Tax Office, we got it sorted out. Then on to the Licensing Centre for the driving licences.....we only had to take theory tests, as we had full licenses from the UK, but as we both take blood pressure tablets, we had to have a medical, before they issue the licenses to you! So off we go to find a doctors. (We needed to get some more medication anyway!) The Doctor we visited, turned out to be from Croydon!! and we passed our medicals. The forms would be sent back to the licensing centre & they would contact us, to have our photo taken...
While we were waiting for this, we decided to start looking for work. We were both in Management in the UK, so looked for similar roles here. Paul was interviewed for the first job he applied for & was subsequently offered the position. Which we were suprised at, as the application process seems fairly slow, compared to the UK. I am waiting to hear from the jobs that I have applied for. We are really excited about the future and what it may hold...........
OUR ADVICE FOR ANYONE PLANNING A MOVE TO WA:
Be prepared for bad days...you will have days where you think "what the hell are we doing!!" and there will be tears & arguements. Just try to remember why you are making this move and what you want the end result to be....
Australia is not for everyone. Some people love it, others feel the isolation from their friends & family and want to go home. Some people come here, hate it & go home, only to realise when they get home, why they moved to Australia in the first place & then move back again. Remember that true friends, will stay friends wherever you are & it's easy to stay in touch, e-mail has been a godsend to us, but for family back home without it, good old fashioned letter writing or use of the phone has been required!! Some people experience huge problems with guilt, leaving family etc, but you just have to try and deal with that the best you can.......
Don't expect anything to be done quickly, it won't be......
If you can, visit before you move out, or if you can't visit, at least do all the research you can....
And finally...enjoy yourself, you only live once.
If anyone is planning to move here & you have a question or 2, feel free to e-mail us & we will try our best to help. We've attached a few links for sites that helped us.....
Good luck to everyone!!!
Paul & Miki 17/10/04
A huge thank you to our families and friends for your help, support and encouragement with everything.
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