Thursday, November 1, 2012

Welcome to Melbourne!!


Hello Everyone,

I know that this blog post is ridiculously late and we sincerely apologize for the wait.

We arrived in Melbourne on September 8. The city itself has so much to offer, it is a multicultural hub which means amazing food options, music and arts events. We spent the first week apartment hunting. Here in Australia apartments are listed with several different property management companies. They list inspection times that involve a 10-15min window. That’s right folks, if you want to see a specific apartment you need to show up on Tuesday at 5:10-5:20pm. We were also able to book appointments with agents who may or may not show up. The other frustrating part is apartments won’t be shown until the tenants move out which greatly limits your choices when you need to find a place quickly. We ended up with a furnished 1 bedroom apartment right by the State Library in the middle of the CBD (Downtown). We moved in on September 14 and are now nicely settled in. We have signed the lease until June 14 and will then look into a 2 bedroom apartment a little closer to the beach, since we are hoping for some visitors by then!

After moving in we went on a serious job hunt. I had interviews at the Royal Children’s Hospital. I had an interview with the Emergency and Medical Imaging Department.  I accepted a full-time position with the Medical Imaging Department. The department includes: four general x-ray rooms, a multi-slice CT (Computed Tomography) scanner, two MRI (Magnetic Resonance Imaging) units, four ultrasound rooms,
one nuclear medicine imaging room, one digital fluoroscopy room, one OPG (Orthopantomogram) and two DSA (Digital Subtraction Angiography) rooms. Nurses work alongside a diverse multidisciplinary team, co-ordinating and assisting with individual specialized care which includes, recovery, scrub and scouting for procedures (diagnostic and interventional), and sedations among other responsibilities.  I am really excited to learn a new skill set and am really looking forward to the normal hours that come with it. The department is Mon-Fri (0800-1730) with weekends and holidays off except for the occasional on-call. I start the position next week. Finding a job here was relatively easy; it was registering with the Australian Health Practitioner Regulatory Agency (AHPRA) that was painful. I am happy to report that despite applying in June; I will finally be a Registered Nurse here in Australia tomorrow (5 months later!).

Neal will be starting his new job on November 5. He will start a position as a Manufacturing/ Engineering Recruiter with Michael Page. It was a very unique opportunity as Neal was initially just meeting with the recruiters of Michael Page just to get a manufacturing position. However, with his manufacturing background and the experience he had from working at Nexus they ended up recruiting him for their company and 8 interviews later he got a job offer! It is also really convenient that the office is only a 15 minute walk from our apartment. He is really excited for this new opportunity!

On paper five months without work sounds fantastic but when you are not travelling every few days and staying in one place; the days go by really slow and start to blend together. Not to mention receiving paychecks is not something to be taken for granted.  We are really looking forward to starting work and meeting people. It will also be nice to sit down at dinner and genuinely not know what each other did that day!

We have spent a lot of time at the Melbourne City Baths, which is a gym around the corner that we joined. We have spent the last 2 months going 4-5 times/week and are finally getting back in shape. It’s a great way to kill some time and meet new people.

Along with job hunts and interviews we have spend several days just wandering around the CBD and exploring. We have made trips to the incredible Melbourne Zoo, Federation Square, Melbourne Aquarium, the numerous gardens/parks and the Queen Victoria Market (just to name a few). The market is around the corner from our apartment and offers an amazing selection of fresh produce, meat, seafood, cheese and fresh pasta. We usually go several times a week as it is also much cheaper than the grocery store.This comes in handy since the cost of living here is more than Calgary. 

November 6th is Melbourne Cup Day and is a public holiday here. We are in the midst of the Spring Horse Racing Carnival which is basically a classy version of Stampede where people trade in the cowboy hats and boots for suits and fascinators. It still ends in drunken debauchery, so stay tuned!

Melbourne CBD consists of several lane ways that are filled with cafes and boutique shops. If you spend your time walking along the main streets than you are seriously missing out! Another aspect we really like about Melbourne is that surrounding the CBD is an inner city ring filled with different communities such as Carlton, St. Kilda, Richmond and Port Melbourne that you can easily reach by tram that has its own cafes, shops and smaller town vibe.  The beach is located near Port Melbourne and St. Kilda which is only a 20min tram ride from our apartment. We are looking forward to some great beach days!

It is really difficult to meet new people and make friends when you are the age we are. We joined the Canadian Club of Victoria and got to meet some fellow Canadians for a Thanksgiving Dinner in October. We also have gotten to spend time with a lovely couple Jen & Eric (and their dog Snickers), who moved here last year. Neal and Jen used to work together at Flextronics. It has been great to have friends here and nice that they have been through the same things and have given us tips along the way. Neal is also safe as now I have a new “twilight” friend to go see the new movie with!

We are happy to report that our hard work preparing for our permanent residency visa has paid off. We were granted the visa last week, only 6 weeks after formally applying! That means that we can work for whoever we like for as long as we like and can stay here for up to five years. We also qualify for Medicare. We did end up purchasing some private health insurance as well (Employers don’t provide them here). We are pretty proud of ourselves, we were able to successfully move to another country and figure out what we needed to do. In the first day we had a bank account and cell phones. We had an apartment in the first week. We got our Medicare and Tax Numbers sorted. We had job offers in the first month (starting work in 2 months).  And got our permanent residency granted within 6 weeks.  It hasn't all been easy though. Being homesick is something I have struggled with a lot since arriving here. Neal has been a great support but feeling like we are in limbo with no routine and missing out on so much at home has brought on the feelings I have never experienced before. Considering I was born and raised in Calgary and only ever left on holidays; I didn't really know what to expect. It’s funny the little things that come out of nowhere and make you miss home so much! We are very lucky to have such supportive family and friends at home and I can’t express how much I love Skype. I don’t think I could have managed here without it. Back in the old days waiting for letters to arrive in the mail would be torture. Thank heavens for facebook, email and skype. I am sure once my time is filled with work and meeting new people the homesick feeling will subside. We have already tentatively planned all of our holidays for the next 2 years to fit in everything we want to do with our vacation time and long weekends; that I am very excited for.

Well that is Melbourne in a nut shell. Neal will have a post soon on the excursions we have taken to the Great Ocean Road, Philip Island, Yarra Valley Wine Tours and the Mornington Peninsula.

All the best, 
Love Laura & Neal
 The Lane ways, Our Apartment and Caufield Cup Races.
 St. Kilda & Luna Park
The Melbourne Zoo

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