Rum & Dal

We did it, one whole year and what a fantastic year it has been.  Managed to get good jobs within weeks of landing made some good friends and our house is well under construction.

Yes that’s right; we have been here for one year today. The year has sailed past with no major glitches.  There have been high points and low point, but not so many of the low.  Many of you thought we would be back in six months and I bet you thought we were back for good when we turned up last Christmas, but that only encouraged us and made us stronger, we truly believe we made the right decision.  Though we miss everyone back in the UK the webcam is only a switch away.  Will we ever come back home, who knows; the adventure has only just begun.

We have been lucky enough to make some great friends, friends from Japan, Malaysia, Russia, Germany, Philippines, China, and many more; sharing their stories, culture and food.

We get out as much as the wallet permits, Poker night at the Sodhi’s, Tuesday football league, the odd sporting event and of course those weekends at home with a bottle from Dan Murphys and the Xbox 360.

nahalfamily.com has been a partial success, we’ve manage to keep you all up to date on what we have been up to, however we feel you guys could make more of an effort no matter how insignificant you may feel the news is.  We’d love to hear from you all and to know what you are up to.

It’s amazing the difference a little sunshine can make on your whole outlook every single day.  We also relish all the spare time we have to ourselves.  We were so busy all the time in the UK, here we seem to have so much spare time but nothing the Xbox can’t handle. The biggest bit of DIY we have done since being here is putting an IKEA sofa together.  We often go to Bunnings just to play with the power tools and to keep up to date with the DIY scene, well done to Ranbir for keeping it alive back at home.

Since we have been here there has been a change in government from Liberals to Labor, interest rates have gone up five times, what can you do the world is changing and taxes need to be paid.  Australia is not the cheapest country to live and has the most expensive bank fees in the world.  Groceries and electrical goods are more expensive compared to UK but eating out is reasonable with better quality food.  We no longer believe that Britain should hold the title of “rip off Britain” Having said all that, our wages are above average and that pretty much evens things up.  Housing on the other hand is excellent, especially if you come over with the strong British pound in your pocket.  More rooms than you need and there is ample land here.

Infrastructure for telecommunications and broadband is developing slowly and is still rather expensive. Countries like India are more advanced.  We are getting there slowly though, it’s just like being in the UK about 10 years ago.  Australia is in an economic boom and the dollar has never been so strong. There is much growth here and skilled workers are required in all trades, so if you ever thought of moving here then do it now.

The journey here has been easy and we have slipped straight into Aussie life. The adventure thus far has been fun and we look forward to many more.  Hope to see you all at Christmas, Melbourne Australia.