What is stressful about moving to another country

I am promoting my poll. Please see link below.

http://familytrekker.blogspot.com/2008/04/what-is-most-stressful-part-of-moving.html

I knew for sure what has been the most stressful part for me when moving to Australia... I'll tell you more about that later.

Moving our home

Just thought I tell a few things about moving our home. We chose to let a removal specialist take care of moving our home since we did not want to get rid of furniture and things with high sentimental value for us. I simply would never want to get rid of some of our stuff unless we did not have any other choice. Added to that it would be more expensive for us to buy everything new in Melbourne.

The first thing we did was to get quotes from a couple of removal specialists. We both contacted Swedish as well as Australian removal companies. We finally chose ICM Kungsholms (this is a Swedish removal company, based in Stockholm) mainly because they gave us the cheapest storage costs (we knew in advance that we would have to store all our furniture for a couple of months), we received good references and feedback about ICM Kungsholms from other customers and finally the total impression of the company was good. (The other companies that we were in contact with seemed ok to but the total price of moving our home ended up higher)

Our home was estimated to have the volume 37cbm (our home in Sweden was an apartment of 100 m2). We also had a 2 m2 big storage filled with things as well as a garage containing some further furniture and paintings.

Below are some figures we received from ICM Kungsholms:

Prices are in SEK

1x20’ (30 cbm) container
Price 1x40 container: 103744 SEK
Price: 1x20’ (30 cbm) container 64566 SEK
Insurance (if you would like to have your things insured to the correct value you have to pay this extra insurance) costs: 2,5% * value of your furniture
Storage in Melbourne per month: 1367,52 SEK (1x40' container), 1108,8 SEK (1x20’ 30 cbm container)
Handling in Melbourne (one time fee): 1823,36 SEK(1x40' container), 1478,4 SEK (1x20’ 30 cbm container)
AQIS (customs fee – do not remember exactly what this stand for): 3511,2 SEK (1x40' container), 2094,4 SEK (1x20’ 30 cbm container)

We chose the smaller size; the 1x20’ 30 cbm container which meant we could not bring everything. But that was ok since we knew we would managed to squeeze in the important stuff.

Looking at the figures above I am still sighing – it is not cheap to move your home abroad. This was also a private expense since it was our choice to move while we still were on parental leave. Therefore were our removal costs not sponsored by a company… but well…..sometimes you need to do things even though the costs are high. (We are still not regretting this :-) )

The actual preparation and packing of our home was a unique experience. Not long after the removal company people arrived, our home started to look like the storage area at IKEA where you pick up your packages before you buy them. We also soon started to feel that wherever we went we were in the way - IN OUR OWN HOME - that is a strange feeling. The removal company staff literally took over our apartment. Although, the packing went quickly. Everything was completed in one day. After that we felt quite good not only because we were done with one of the important action points but also emotionally we could relax a bit. The last 2 weeks before moving to Australia were enormously emotionally tiring because of saying goodbye to family and friends (probably among the toughest weeks in my life). When seeing the apartment empty I felt that we had finished a chapter in our lives. We were now on our way. It felt like we could start focusing again on the positive parts of moving to Australia.

Our home is currently stored in Melbourne by our removal company. I miss our things but not to long before I see them again since we will move in to our OWN HOME in april :-). Below is a picture of the container containing our home.

Reached destination!

We are here!! We have moved to Melbourne, Down Under ! (I really like the sound of it)

Although…. It is not like we JUST came here. We actually arrived on the 28^th of October, 2008, which means I have either been lazy updating this blog or being so buuuuuuusy fixing things after our arrival. Well, I guess it is a bit of both. We have stayed with my partner’s parent’s house and it has constantly been things to do. Especially since we now do not have much support when it comes to babysitting our kids. Every weekend we have been several inspections in order to find our own place. On top of that it has been some administrative things to take care of like health insurance, translating driving licence, conveying admin for our new house (Yes! We found a home! I am so happy about that) and so on..

Although… all of this does not mean that we had no time for the beach J. I adore the beach and the sea and so does the rest of our family. As soon as we have had the opportunity we have gone to the beach for some fun in the sand and water.

Anyway, I have not updated this blog for a long time and there are some things that I have experienced that might be interesting for other people such as when and how to exchange money, joining playgroups (this is a parenting run system for parents and the kids to join in groups and having a good time), looking for a home, how spider-snake- fears actually decreases after a while (in the beginning I had my doubts about that …), adoring the connectivity the internet-broadband-computers-IT gives you when your local network of friends is kind of smallish etc. I hope I will remember to write about some of those things… If not please feel free to contact me and I will share my experience.

At last – we have been here for about 3 months now and we have still not by far regretted moving to Australia. Even though the lack of family and friends in Sweden has been quite hard to cope with from time to time, it still feels like an exiting adventure. Also this is such a cool and (to me) a bit mysterious country. Adding to this we now have our OWN HOUSE (I really do understand how important it is with your own space - I have had my share of claustrofobimania after living with my partner’s parents for 3 months ;-) ) which makes the total sum end on a far positive side :-).

Wow - I have a Visa for Australia!

I have got my VISA to Australia and it is a PERMANENT VISA!! After 30 minutes meeting with a case officer in Berlin I received later, the same day, a permanent visa for Australia. It almost felt strange that it all went so quickly with the final part, which was the interview with the case officer, after all work with forms, medical checks etc etc. Maybe those things go so quickly since they have easy access to all information - during the meeting I could really feel the "big brother see you" phenomena. They seemed to know lot of things about me and were just writing short notes to probably be ticking off my answers according to the filled in forms that we handed over to them.

Anyway I am really glad that I received a permanent visa instead of the 2 year spouse visa. Me and my partner were hoping that I would qualify for a permanent visa but we were not sure, since for example none of us have currently work in Australia. This permanent visa has to be renewed every fifth year but I will have the same rights and responsibilities as a citizen in Australia. The only thing that I can not do is to vote.

Feel so good to tick this off the "to do list".....

The end of the Spouse VISA application is within reach..

It looks like we are seeing the end of my Spouse VISA application. I have done the X-ray, medical examination, getting files from the police and tax department, collecting photos from our relationship including other evidence of our relationship for example invitations to social gatherings directed to us as a couple etc etc. We should also not forget all the forms we filled in. The other day we also discovered after reading through 80 pages of information about the visa application that we also needed 2 friends to fill in “Statutory declaration by a supporting witness relating to a partner visa application”. The signatures of our friends’ had also to be witnessed by authorities. Luckily one of our witnesses is a police officer and she asked one of her colleagues to witness her signature. For the second witness we had to find a lawyer who has been assigned Notorius Publicus to witness our friend’s the signature. Anyway, now the meeting, to go through our application with a case officer in the Australian Embassy in Berlin, has been set up in the middle of August. Hopefully after that meeting I will have my Spouse Visa!!!

Oh my…. this has taken much energy and time. Do not know how the visa process is in other countries but it certainly feels that this is almost as bad as it gets. Well, when I have my Visa then I will certainly celebrate!!!

Round and round the garden, like a teddy bear....

Sweden may not have poisonous spiders but look what my parents just saw in the garden of their vacation house in Hälsingland (Hälsingland is a province the northern parts of Sweden).

I would definitely think twice before I took a stroll in the garden with this teddy around.....

Where are the spiders???

As I mentioned in earlier post many things seem poisonous and dangerous in Australia…. But where are they? Last trip I only found this ant!!! I almost got a bit disappointed. See picture below.
















Added to that I received a mail from another Swede living in Australia and she had seen all those dangerous and poisonous spiders, snakes, crocodiles, sharks and you name it……….but ONLY AT THE ZOO… In Sweden, a normal summer day when walking in the forest next door to our apartment, I usually see 2-3 snakes every day. Hmmm… is this a sign that I should stop freaking out about deadly spiders like Red back and so forth?

Well, I guess I need a little more evidence before settling down - being a bit overprotecting mother. I mean, there has to be some truth in all those shows I have seen on Animal Planet including prejudices going around about all the dangers in Australia ;-). Well for sure there is a difference in number of poisonous and dangerous creatures in Australia compared to Sweden. When for example searching for spiders in Sweden at http://www.toxinology.com/ the search result says “No matches were found for your search” but when doing the same search for Australia the following was shown:

Spiders Search Results

1 Atrax robustus Sydney Funnel Web Spider Australia
2 Atrax species 1 Australia
3 Atrax species 2 Australia
4 Hadronyche adelaidensis Australia
5 Hadronyche anzses Australia
6 Hadronyche cerberea Southern Tree Funnel Web Spider Australia
7 Hadronyche eyrei Eyre Peninsular Funnel Web Spider Australia
8 Hadronyche flindersi Flinders Ranges Funnel Web Spider Australia
9 Hadronyche formidabilis Northern Tree Funnel Web Spider Australia
10 Hadronyche infensa Toowoomba Funnel Web Spider , Darling Downs Funnel Web Spider Australia
11 Hadronyche meridiana Australia
12 Hadronyche modesta Australia
13 Hadronyche pulvinator Australia
14 Hadronyche species 1 Australia
15 Hadronyche species 10 Australia
16 Hadronyche species 11 Australia
17 Hadronyche species 12 Australia
18 Hadronyche species 13 Australia
19 Hadronyche species 14 Port Macquarie Funnel Web Spider Australia
20 Hadronyche species 15 New England Funnel Web Spider Australia
21 Hadronyche species 16 Australia
22 Hadronyche species 17 Australia
23 Hadronyche species 18 Australia
24 Hadronyche species 19 Australia
25 Hadronyche species 2 Kosciusko Funnel Web Spider Australia
26 Hadronyche species 20 Illawarra Funnel Web Spider Australia
27 Hadronyche species 21 Australia
28 Hadronyche species 22 Australia
29 Hadronyche species 23 Australia
30 Hadronyche species 24 Australia
31 Hadronyche species 25 Australia
32 Hadronyche species 26 Australia
33 Hadronyche species 27 Australia
34 Hadronyche species 3 South-western Slopes Funnel Web Spider Australia
35 Hadronyche species 4 Australia
36 Hadronyche species 5 Australia
37 Hadronyche species 6 Australia
38 Hadronyche species 7 Australia
39 Hadronyche species 8 Australia
40 Hadronyche species 9 Australia
41 Hadronyche valida Australia
42 Hadronyche venenata Tasmanian Funnel Web Spider Australia
43 Hadronyche versuta Blue Mountains Funnel Web Spider Australia
44 Lampona cylindrata White-tailed Spider, White tailed Spider Australia
45 Latrodectus hasseltii Redback Spider, Jockey Spider, Red back Spider , Red-back Spider Australia
46 Loxosceles laeta North America
47 Loxosceles rufescens Global-land only
48 Loxosceles rufipes Central America + South America
49 Missulena bradleyi Mouse Spider Australia
50 Missulena dipsaca Mouse Spider Australia
51 Missulena granulosa Mouse Spider Australia
52 Missulena hoggi Mouse Spider Australia
53 Missulena insignis Mouse Spider Australia
54 Missulena occatoria Mouse Spider Australia
55 Missulena pruinosa Mouse Spider Australia
56 Missulena reflexa Mouse Spider Australia
57 Missulena rutraspina Mouse Spider Australia
58 Missulena torbayensis Mouse Spider Australia

Guess this gives me a reason to freak out some more…… ;-D

It seems at least that some Australians take procausious actions to protect themselves from the dangers they may encounter, see picture below. The picture is taken in Melbourne.