Hi All

Just thought I'd give you a taste of how things have gone for us so far.

We arrived in Adelaide on 19th Nov after spending a couple of days in Singapore and managed to time it brilliantly in regards jet lag, none of us suffered at all which was great.

We had OAA in Christie Downs. I had heard that this is quite a dodgy area and to be very careful when leaving the property as it had been broken into in the past. This did worry us but decided to give it a try and if we really felt uncomfortable would move into a holiday park or something similar.
We were picked up from the airport by the meet & greeters (expect some of you know Dennis and Irene) and it turned out they were living next door. Lovely couple really helped us out with things we needed but left us alone to get things sorted if we wanted too.
The property was quite a surprise, very clean everything we needed to start with, lovely back garden for when the dog arrived only down side was it's right by the railway line but didn't really bother us. The area was better than expected and has a good park for the girls to play in close by.
I suppose if you're used to 4/5* hotels might not be your cup of tea but we don't mind cheap and cheerful (never really had the choice I'm afraid).

We used Golden Arrow for shipping our dog and cat across to Melbourne and would thoroughly recommend them. Just remember you need to drop your pets off to them at Shropshire. Although I believe they can arrange transport at a fee of course.
Melbourne quarantine kennels were fantastic. Our Dobe doesn't eat well at the best of times and we were very worried how he'd go but they said no worries we'll just keep trying him with different foods till we find one he likes. Sure enough he came out virtually the same weight he went in with a lovely glossy coat and none the worse for wear. The cat however, well lets just say I think he was eating well but not exercising himself!! Their quarantine fees this end were $795.50 for the dog and $514.50 for the cat. They didn't even charge any extra for the vet to have a look at Rums when he developed pressure sores on his elbow because he insisted on sunbathing on the concrete instead of on his huge quilt! That's his show career over!! :(
One tip for anyone shipping a large dog be aware that their crate won't fit in the smaller planes that fly them from Melbourne to Adelaide (they have to be turned on their side). The company we used this end didn't advise us of this and tried to charge us another $30 for bringing the crate over seperately and another $45 for hiring one of their cages to ship the dog in. I might also add the animals arrived at our place with no water in their containers on a very hot day too so would not recommend the company we used this end. Needless to say we refused to pay the extra and had to fight with them to get our crate back!

We used John Masons for our furniture and they were great as were the guys (Wridgeways) this end excellent service. Our fees this end for the customs check etc was $374.

Geoff (sparky) done his wiring regs course no probs and is just waiting for his ARTC to come through. Has applied for quite a few jobs but no luck yet they keep asking him when he's likely to get his ARTC.

There is so much to say but don't want to bore you all with it but so far we've all found things have fallen into place nicely and feel very at home here. I suppose for us it's a bit easier because were not that close to our families.
The only problem I foresee is that both Geoff and I are not very good at chatting easily to people and so don't make friends very easily. When people say give us a ring if you want a chat or pop round anytime you're passing we never do in case they were just being polite, never wanting to offend so best keep our mouths shut that sort of thing. I remember saying to Pickled Possum yonks back that I knew it would be something we would need to work on but it's always easier to talk the talk. Oh and I'm also very good at prattling on about nothing instead of saying exactly what I mean, have you noticed at all? :loopy:

If anybody's got any questions I might be able to help with please feel free to pm, will try and help if we can.

Good luck to all those still waiting to get here believe me it's worth it in the end.

Terri, Geoff and Girls.xxx

Good post, hope you settle in well, suprised you have trouble making friends you seem to put things into words OK here!
Keep on posting updates they help us still over on the dark side.

Glad things are panning out nicely for you Terri. Hopefully we're not going to be too far behind now.

Terri Geoff and girls

so glad its all good

Now get out there and be make friends,,you wont look back :D

If people say call or pop around,,then go 4 it,,you wouldnt turn anyone away ,would you?

DEBBIE

Hi Terri,Geoff and girls. So glad to hear you made it ok,and that you like it.Pleased for you,about the dog.Now Terri,remember what i told you, you got to be the hostest with the mostest.You have got to put your self out and meet new people, you did it for me, and it wasent that bad, was it.We found plenty to talk about.Good luck with everything else.Well done to you for being so brave to make the move.I will pm you and give you my hotmail address.Dionne said hello to the girls.Take care.Love ,Sharon,John.x

Thanks for the encouragement guys and all the pms.

Sharon when you said that day I needed to be the hostess with the mostess I thought you meant I needed a boob job :D :bouncy: . But seriously we are trying and once Geoff and hopefully I start working I'm sure things will really take off.

Good luck to all.

Terri.xxx

Hello there,
just wondered who you used to ship your dog from Melbourne to Adelaide as we are in the process of sorting that bit out.
Regards
Cookie

Hi there Terri and Geoff

Lovely to hear from you - we must meet up for a coffee when we come over.

Hi Annie

Would love to meet again might get time for a good chat this time. :D

Bet you can't wait to get back out here.

Terri.xxx