How long did it take children to settle...??

[thebuckos]

Hi all,

I have been a PIO member for a little while, but thought I would venture over to you guys, as it is perth that we are hoping to emigrate to, if we ever get to oz.

Me & my husband have been wanting to make the big move, ever since we returned back from backpacking 7 yrs ago. In that time I have had 2 kids, and am currently re-training to be a nurse...just when I think the end is in sight soon, and we could potentially get our dream...my 2 children who are aged 4 & 5..suddenly got upset over the weekend. In particular my eldest one, saying that he loved his school and his friends and he didnt want to move when the time comes...Shocked wasnt the word!

One of the reasons we were wanting to make the move sooner rather than later, is so we didnt have to face that, as we knew with them getting older this would be the case...but at year 1 at nearly 6yrs old..i wasnt prepared for that this soon.
So now im worrying, is it really going to affect him..doing this?

So was just wondering to all of you that have made that move to Oz with kids, how quickly did they settle in? Has it affected them much? Of course I have family and friends here that probably think we are being selfish for doing this, but I cant help thinking they have a little alterior motive them making me feel this way, as they too dont want us to go...so just wouldnt mind your thoughts on this to hopefully balance this out?

[nadia and scott]

Hi there, congrats on retraining. I am a nurse also! We have just moved here 2 weeks ago and I also have 2 children 6 and 4. My 6 year old had a lot of moments of "I dont want to leave my family, school etc" but each time we just sat down and explained why we were emigrating how exciting our new adventure was going to be!! I dont think my parents and sister helped as they would often say to him (when they thought i was not listening) how much they didnt want us to go!! This didnt help matters much but we got there.
Now here in Perth the boys are loving it!! they cant get enough of the parks and beaches. One of the things we promised our eldest was that he could get to cuddle a Koala bear, so that was on our priority list!! They are both looking forward to starting school and kindy. We have an enrolement day for soccer (football) on saturday. We are using skype all the time so my parents are getting to see them and are already preparing for their visit.
Its still early days for us but so far so good!! any questions are welcome.

Nadia

[thebuckos]

Hello Nadia,

Thanks so much for your message, and wow, a nurse with 2 boys similar ages, loving football and moved over to Perth. Makes you the perfect person to bombard questions too! hehe only kidding, promise I wont bug you too much. ;)
But thank you for replying, its really good to hear that you & your boys are loving it in Perth. Hope your boys settle into school and kinder, im sure they are really excited!
I cant wait to be saying the same thing myself soon. I think I will have the same problem with my family, nearer to the time of us going. I was only thinking the other day, that by them getting upset will probably make the boys worse..so i guess I will have to prepare myself for it.

Whereabouts in Perth have you gone to? And what hospital? Im hoping to get on a newly qualified grad program, but have heard these are fiercely competitive..so I think I am just going to send my CV out to loads of hospitals around perth, nearer to me qualifying...

Hope you dont mind if we possibly keep in touch, I would love to hear how you are getting on..

Many thanks
Sarah

[ali]

My two were 11 and 7 when we arrived and settled really quickly once here. With my eldest the school here found her a pen pal before she arrived which made a big difference to her. I agree with Nadia and Scott find something that you can promise that is reasonable and realistic. You can literally do something new every day here. Cavesham wildlife park is brilliant - only takes half a day and you can pet the roo's. Take a picnic to have afterwards in Whiteman park (where it's based) ... they also have a big paddling pool ... and you'll have a lovely day.

My son (youngest) had just started year 2 when he left - they made a brilliant card for him (which made us all cry) ... but he's still in touch with all of his mates from the UK and has made heaps of them here too.

[nadia and scott]

hi there Sarah,
If you need to bug me or ask questions its okay!! Its a minefield out there!! I have a job lined up at Joondalup hospital with Ramsay Health Care, i dont start till the 6th of Feb. I would suggest that you contact the HR departments directly. I think we just learned to turn the other cheek when it came to our relatives ( it was and is hard for them). Just ride with the comments they will probably get worse the nearer it come to you leaving. The hardest part was the day we left everyone came to say goodbye and emotions were very high!! Skype has helped us loads, and them !! My parents are already planning a visit for July !
We are moving into our long term rental next week in Quinns Rocks which we got through gumtree as the rental market here is mad. Quinns looks lovely we have a park over the road from us and the beach is 5 minutes walk for us!!
When do you finish your course? where are you based about?

Nadia

[Arwen]

Hi all,

I have been a PIO member for a little while, but thought I would venture over to you guys, as it is perth that we are hoping to emigrate to, if we ever get to oz.

Me & my husband have been wanting to make the big move, ever since we returned back from backpacking 7 yrs ago. In that time I have had 2 kids, and am currently re-training to be a nurse...just when I think the end is in sight soon, and we could potentially get our dream...my 2 children who are aged 4 & 5..suddenly got upset over the weekend. In particular my eldest one, saying that he loved his school and his friends and he didnt want to move when the time comes...Shocked wasnt the word!

One of the reasons we were wanting to make the move sooner rather than later, is so we didnt have to face that, as we knew with them getting older this would be the case...but at year 1 at nearly 6yrs old..i wasnt prepared for that this soon.
So now im worrying, is it really going to affect him..doing this?

So was just wondering to all of you that have made that move to Oz with kids, how quickly did they settle in? Has it affected them much? Of course I have family and friends here that probably think we are being selfish for doing this, but I cant help thinking they have a little alterior motive them making me feel this way, as they too dont want us to go...so just wouldnt mind your thoughts on this to hopefully balance this out?

Mine were 7 and 3 when we moved here and they settled no problem at all. They may be a bit upset at first but once they get into school and make some new friends and get a new routine they will soon forget. My youngest who was 3 can't remember anything at all and my eldest who was 7 only has very vague memories of her life in the UK.

[thebuckos]

Thanks guys,

It has made me feel much better, I was walking to school with my eldest today, and I was telling him about other children moving over to oz, and getting initially upset, etc but once they got there, they are loving it, and their parents promised them they could feed the roo's and cuddle a koala, etc. He was mega excited! So thinking that one is working already! hehe Thanks for that tip!

It is a way off yet admittedly as I dont qualify til Aug next yr...but Im just starting to prepare for it. Nadia I am based in Peterborough. Wierdly I too have been looking at joondalup hospital through ramsay health care.
I have currently been trying to build my nursing CV up, and have just applied for a job at a my local private hospital for a bank hca job, just simply as its a ramsay health care hospital, so hoped that if I gain experience with them, it will stand me in good stead for a future job overseas.
Also been looking at that new hospital they are building in perth..fiona stanley is it?

How many yrs post grad experience do you have, and do u have a specialty?

Im thinking of going to 'down under live' expo next month so we can start gathering information and making contacts, as I believe WA health will be there..so will see how it goes!

Anyway, glad to hear that you are getting there over in Perth, moving into your long term rental must be exciting. I heard that the rental market over there is also fierce! Did you not have any problems them or did you arrange stuff like that and schooling before you got there?

[nadia and scott]

Thats a great idea to get a job with Ramsay, might provide a good stepping stone!! I definately recommend working as a hca to get valuable experience. 1 year in August is not that far away, with all the planning.
I qualified in 2004 and have worked in acute medicine for that time, love it!! We only had our short term accomodation sorted for when we arrived so had to search like mad when we got here!! The rental market is crazy took a few times of viewing properties to get to grips with it!! we got our long term rental off of gumtree (its our best friend at the moment!). The schools dont start till the 1st of feb but i believe the staff go back the week before so thats on our todo list for next week!
Good luck with everything and like i said if you need advice / help just email me!
Nadia