Shall the Aussie Mumsnetters have a thread to chat a bit?

[HennyPennyHorror]

I suppose AIBU to put this here...but it IS the busiest area. I just thought...I'd see if there were any other MNrs in Oz who'd like a little chat thread together?

HHello! Aussie living for ten years in London here. Miss Oz but love London!

December make sure to visit some of the outlying areas....McLaren Vale, Willunga, Port Willunga...beautiful wine country if you like wine there are some lovely wineries and restaurants.

Fleurieu peninsula one of my all time favourite places. It will be hot and dry in Feb.

Startup It's magical isn't it?

@latedecember1963
Sean's Kitchen do some lovely fish dishes as well as meat etc. On the pricey side.

A good place to look up local restaurants is The Fork. If he's living in the city he could walk down Rundle Street and take his pick really.

A lovely restaurant in Adelaide is the River Cafe. Has fish and veg options.
If there is a car available, go to the Victory Hotel at Sellicks Beach. Stunning views, great food, wine and atmosphere. victoryhotel.com.au/

Thank you so much to all of you for your help. I've WhatsApped your ideas to DS2 who also says thank you.
I've googled the places you've suggested and it all looks stunning. 😍 It's rained relentlessly for days here in Lancashire so seeing sunny places is very welcome.

Oh god yeah StartUp is right. If someone can drive then Adelaide has restaurants galore. Go out to the Barossa or Maclaren Vale. So many vineyard restaurants to pick from. Saltrams, Longview, Mt Lofty, The Lane, Bird In Hand.

I'm a bit late to the party but I'm in Sydney. I came to Australia from Germany with my family when I was a baby. English/German family background. Grew up very close to my English grandparents that lived over here. Was taught to speak English by my Cockney Grandpa

How's it going for the MN Aussies today?

I'm frantically squashing a ton (or is it tonne?) of gardening in because I'm on school holidays. God I wish it would rain, as I need to mulch and as all my garden is mulched ground I'd rather do it after some steady rain.

On the cultural front, and one for Melbs MNers, I went to to the Balenciaga exhibition in Bendigo. It was frocktastic. I like the way that not everything goes to all the capital cities when it comes to art, so people (and their money) travel into the regions and interstate. I remember the 2K queues to get into the Impressionist exhibition in Canberra. We drove up and made a weekend of it, seeing places we otherwise wouldn't have gone to: that place with the submarine on the main street, the Dog On The Tuckerbox.

Another Perthite here. Gidday!

I’m in inland NSW. No one is ever near me. Boo hoo.

Reading this thread with interest. DH and I are primary school teachers in Dubai debating making the move to Aus if you'll have us! The only states with Primary Teacher shortage are Tas and Victoria. We've got enough points and been approved by the AITSL but DH is now having second thoughts because of distance from family in UK and Ireland. Anyone teaching in Victoria or Tassy willing to help me convince him??

Hi Echt I wish it would rain too. I’m on day two of a horrific migraine and pretty sure the change in weather and increased pollen around has brought it on

On the plus side, my work is pretty good with sick days (I rarely take them anyway) so at least I won’t have a back to work meeting or have to worry about the Bradford factor. It hasn’t been a relaxing sick day though. I can still barely eat anything and have spent most of the day in bad sleeping or with my eyes closed.

Poor you, bluetongue. I think I remember reading somewhere about the astonishing hay fever/asthma rates in Oz and have always wondered if it's because there's always something in flower in Australia (well, Victoria anyway). The long range forecast shows naff all rain for the next fortnight

The only way of provoking rain will be to have several cubic metres of mulch delivered and no time to spread it. Result: the heavens will open. :o

Hello, Thecaravan. I've been teaching in secondary in Victoria for 12+ years, and it's a distinct improvement on the silliness of the UK system, though. bless them, the Victorian government is trying hard to catch up.
There's no OFSTED, inspectors were seen off by the union (note the singular form) years ago.

As for family being so far away, that's unalterable, and you have to find your way round it. On the other hand there is long service leave, accrued on your seventh year of service and added to every subsequent year where you can take leave on full/half/no pay which many Aussies with family in the northern hemisphere use to go and see them. And yes, teachers can and do have term time holidays using LSL.

I forgot to say how beautiful Victoria and Tassie are. I know Vic better and love living here.

I really feel for those who suffer with the pollen here - it’s brutal! None of us has ever been affected before, but here even the dog’s on medication! Poor DD2, like bluetongue , gets migraines and sinusitis and dizziness. Apparently, the hay fever season in Vic is short - it doesn’t feel like it.
Hope you’re better soon, bluetongue.

Yes I do feel for hay fever sufferers. Where I live there are bottle brush plants everywhere, I know some of my friends hate them because they set off their hay fever!

We had a fairly quiet long weekend, my son is getting ready for his Year 12 exams, and its not beach weather yet. Watched the rugby, did a bit of shopping, met friends for lunch. Rain showers forecast here for Thursday and Friday, wish I could send it over East!

I would say, to anyone thinking about making the big move (and it's in no way to put you off just something many expats have mentioned to me), if you have really close ties with your family ie see each other many times during the week/very regularly you might find it quite difficult to get used to the email/phone /FaceTime replacement.

Just to help prepare those who may have this setup thinking to makes the move. A few mentioned they tried to make bigger gaps between the visits with family whilst still in the UK a few months before their move. I know we're all different and I'm not suggesting this is for everyone but just thought I'd mention as it seems to be a bit of a theme from my conversations with different expats.

Rain forecast for Perth this week. Have had some gorgeous sunny weather the last week

Hi to everyone who has joined the chat.

For those who have mentioned difficulty making friends maybe somewhere down the track we could arrange a picnic in a park meet up?

Funny you mention Bottlebrushes alwayscrashing. My street is lined with trees in full flower with bottlebrush like red flowers at the moment.

Any thoughts on the interest rate cut? As much as it benefits me as I have a mortgage, I’m aware that it’s a sign all is not well in the economy. I feel people won’t loosen their purse strings unless there’s a boost to wages.

This rate cut I’ll probably pocket unlike the last two but only because my house needs some work and I’ll put the money towards that.

Another one with a daughter heading into year 12 exams.

Sorry to intrude from the UK again, but for those thinking about distance from loved ones between Oz and the UK, I think of it like this, when the distance between me (in Yorkshire) and DD2 (in Melbourne) feels a long way.

If she'd stayed in the UK but gone to work somewhere remote and difficult to access (like one of the Scottish Islands) it would STILL take me about 24 hours travelling to get to her. As it is, if I could afford to buy a flight right now, I'd only have to get a train to Manchester, fly over (around 24 hours) and get off in Melbourne.

If she worked in Kirkwall, and I decided to drive up to see her even if I left now it would still take me the best part of 24 hours (and ferries) to get there.

Feels less far if I think of it like that.

Zap it does doesn't it? I always say, it's just a day and a night away. And let's be honest...relatives in London can feel hard to get to if you live up North too. I think for many, the big problem is the cost. I'd go back more if I could afford to for sure.