Final Arrangements

Right......... so things have been pretty hectic since our visa was granted.

We originally were intending on going over around September as we have to enter Australia no later than 19th November 2008 as per our visa requirements, but things changed after Conrad's job interview.

We were asked how soon we could be in Aus. for Conrad to take up a position with Clark, as Sept seemed far off. After re-looking at our figures, we informed the perspective employer we could be there end of June.

Flights: we contacted IOM (International Organisation Migration) who assist migrants whith cheaper one-way tickets, & booked our flights: 28th June 2008.

Then the real fun began as we had a date to work towards.

Our resignations: It's so funny that both of our bosses were depressed when we resigned! They all knew we had embarked on the process and it would inevitably happen. As we had promised to give ample notice & we needed to sort out medical aid & provident fund payouts we resigned mid April with our last working day being 25th June. It actually worked out well as the 2nd school term ends 27th June.

The next thing was a bank account: We decided on Westpac as their bank fees were reasonable @ AU$5 per mnth so completed their migrant banking application online. Our account information arrived via snail mail 7 days later, pretty impressive! We then phoned & set up internet banking to allow us to veiw the account (we chose to ignore the NIL balance :) ). As we had to make a deposit to activate to account by the 17th May, we make a TT deposit on Saturday 10th May, which will reflect by Wednesday, so another thing sorted!

Then the removal company: we called in 3 companies based on references from fellow forumites on http://www.saaustralia.org/ they were: Amphibious Freight, AGS Frasers, Britannia & Elliot International. After seeing all the reps on the 29th of April, we decided on Britannia. As the quote is linked to the exchange rate (which was pretty good that week) we arranged payment on the Monday to secure the quoted rate. So they start to pack us up on the 27th May & will load the container on the 30th to be on the ship no later than the 2nd June 2008. We decided to send the furniture ahead of us as it'll take bwtn 8 & 10 weeks to get to Aus.

RSA Rental: We then contacted our landlord & informed him of our plans, requesting to be released from our lease agreement, to which he agreed. We let a few people know that the house we're in would be available & by the end of the week we had introduced the new tenant to the landlord & the lease had been signed. They move in 1st June.

RSA Accomodation: So with the container being booked & a new tenant moving in we needed somewhere to go to! While busy finalising the container we started looking around for funrished accom. in our area for the month of June. We found a great self catering unit: Viola Cottage, a block from the ocean! The people are great & decided to include a maid service & all linen so we can send our stuff in the container. So we paid a deposit & booked the unit for 5 weeks.

Perth Accom: As friends of ours went on a look see trip in December to Perth & stayed in the Perth Central Caravan Park cabins, they could give us first hand info. We then checked out the website, & contacted them. We booked a one bedroomed cabin with a sleeper couch & all linen from the 28th June till 13th July with the view to extend our stay if necessary (only had to pay for one night as a deposit). Hopefully we will find a more permanent address by then as it's much cheaper to rent an unfurnished place!

Meet & Greet: As it's pretty daunting to arrive in a new country with no one to meet us at the airport, we decided to see if there was the possibility of an expat forumite who was prepared to meet us at the airport and help us get to our accom. (will have to buy a GPS ASAP!). We then began comunicating with an angel in Perth who has started assisting with info & will be picking us up! What wonderful people!! I suppose that's what they mean with "Paying it forward", we will hopefully be able to do the same soon.

The twist: Well we had been waiting for the employment contract to come from Clark, but with all the holidays in Aus. it was pretty delayed ( just plain slow if you ask me). During this waiting time Conrad continued to submit for all suitable positions, just in case! We received an e-mail from Hyster West in Perth showing interest & set up a telephonic interview. The interview went extremely well & they beat the offer that Clark had made verbally. Conrad requested that Hyster draw up an official offer as he wanted to accept the position. Sjoe, the written job offer was received the next day!! They are so excited to have Conrad on board, and as his new boss is a migrant from the UK 3yrs ago he knows what we are going through. He has offered to assist with tools etc. & Conrad will start in the workshop until the container arrives.

Transport: Although there is extensive public transport in Perth, we were told that for house hunting it is much easier to have a car. As we will obviously sell our car here, we plan on purchasing a car in the first week of arriving. Thought we had better rent a car to do the necessary car & house hunt, our angel in Aus recommended a company. I checked out a few & decided they were the best to use, so hired a car for AU$210 for the week! Not too shabby, a new Toyota hatch with 500km's a day in the raduis of Perth.

So with only 2 weeks left in our rental here we are very busy sorting & cleaning everything for the BIG move. We seem to fluctuate between feelings of anxiety & excitment & sheer panic as the big date approaches.

Well that was a summary from the 31st March to date. We will update as we progress.