You know you’re in Australia…

… When you’re bitten by an ant and your girlfriend says: better an ant than a crocodile or a shark!

From tourist to local

Botanical Gardens

I haven’t posted for a while, not for lack of news but because the days have been quite intense and filled with new discoveries. Slowly we are getting used to life down under but I am aware that we still have a long road ahead of us ;-p
We have managed to solve the imminent boring stuff such as the tax file number, the bank account, the internet contract, the mobile number, etc. There is still plenty to do around the house in order for us to feel at home but that is still a work in progress 😉 Mind you that a lot of our stuff is still in a ship in the middle of the ocean!
Now things have slowed down and I aim to start to enjoy life here and to slowly become a local as opposed to a tourist with a map and a travel guide in my backpack 🙂

We’ve got the keys!

YEAH 😀

The hunt over!

The house hunting was quite intense! We had several viewings a day, which meant lots of bus and train rides, lots of walking and lots of waiting around… We saw some awful places, in one flat there were even dead cockroaches on the bathroom sink!, and that was quite disappointing. We also saw some pretty nice places and at the end we decided to follow our head and choose the best place for us for now.
The flat has been completely renovated, it is pretty spacious and the location is very convenient. Public transportation is at our doorstep and we are at a short walking distance from the supermarkets and the shopping centre. There are also nice cafes and restaurants in the surrounding area. And the best part is that hubbie is a 5 minute train ride away from work, and we are a 10 minute train ride away from the CBD!
We are very pleased and the application and approval was pretty quick, which was a huge relief. Although it was tough to understand the real estate rules and conduct here. The agents are not personal and show no empathy whatsoever to the fact that we have just arrived and do not know he rules of the game… But in the end it all turned out alright and we’re getting the keys on Monday!
And now, some much-needed furniture shopping 🙂

The arrival

We have arrived in Brisbane!!!
I can’t believe that we’re actually here 😀
I am still jet lagged but it feels amazing to wear shorts and to be sitting outside at 23:30 on my iPad!

There are lots of things to do in order to get settled and the house hunting is now taking priority in our lives. Not only do we spend a far amount of time looking at pictures online and booking the viewings, we also have to arrange our travel plan and coordinate how to get to house A to house B. The first day was a bit disappointing and well tiring but I have a good feeling about two places we’re visiting tomorrow. Fingers crossed!!!

Everyone we have spoken to has been very friendly and helpful. It’s a strange feeling because we are not tourists but we’re definitely not locals either! Yet!

Tired but happy 🙂