Extended holidays

Since loading all our earthly belongings onto the Stuttaford truck and moving out of the house two days after that, we've been on one long extended holiday, living from our suitcases and bumming with family. (Thank you to everyone who was willing to put up with us!)
Now, after a whole month of hanging around I can honestly admit that it's getting to be enough.

We've received an early morning call on Anchen's birthday, 6:00am, from Sydney to say that our visa has been approved. What good news! We then called the Australian Embassy in Pretoria who informed us that they'll be closed until 30 December 08. We shipped our passports nevertheless in order to get the visa fixed. Now we're waiting, hopefully the final wait, on the call from the courier.

Loading the truck

Stuttaford Van Lines estimated two days: one for wrapping and getting everything into boxes, and another to get it on the truck. Fortunately Anchen had already done a large amount of the work and eventually it took them only one day to get everything on the truck.

Might I add that we were extremely impressed with the job! The guys came on time, kept us updated to their progress, didn't bump into any walls once, and were extremely friendly to top it all. I can really recommend them! (http://www.stuttafordvanlines.com/)

We spent two more days getting the house cleaned (mostly Anchen's labour) and we were out by 29 November for the people who will be renting to move in the same day.

Final touches

The day before the loading of everything was going to take place, I got onto the roof for a few final touch ups. I painted around the chimney with water sealant, and then did the cowl with a rust resistant paint.

Vodacom Divorce Settlement

Let me apologise right at the start for sounding a little negative about this experience.

Background: I've been on a month to month continuance of my 24month Vodacom contract and Anchen's contract would expire in March 09.

You probably know that even if your contract has expired, you need to still cancel the month to month continuance more than a month in advance, which I went to do in September, the 26th to be exact. I submitted the notice in writing and had a representative of the VodaShop in Tyger Valley sign for the receipt and acknowledgement that the contract will be expired.

We also submitted the resignation of Anchen's contract at the end of her 24month period, having in mind that someone could use the contract until then.

Fortunately (it's already quite sad to admit that one cannot trust such a reputable service provider to do something properly!) we went to the Walk-in Customer centre in Canal Walk late in November, only to learn that they were never notified of the termination of either contract!

On their advice, I immediately changed my contract to pre-paid, and paid a substantial penalty to have Anchen's contract terminated prematurely - simply because we cannot trust Vodacom, or any of their VodaShops to 'actually' terminate the contract at the end of the 24 months as we've requested (it sounds really simple, doesn't it??)

My advice to anybody: stay clear of any contracts with Vodacom - once they've got you ensnared, you're not going anywhere! Out of principle, I will not support them again.

(I really hope this is the last 'bitchn' you'll get from me!!)

Electrical certificate

While we still considering selling the house (we've decided to rather not sell considering the current markets and have found a very pleasant looking couple to rent for at least a year - for now), we had to get an electricity clearance certificate for the wiring of our house.

Now remember, the house is just over 3 years old and had to comply when we bought it. So we got some guy from Techno-Bugs (http://www.techno-bugs.co.za/) to have a look. Rather than go into too many of the details, I'll just mention that we've decided not to make use of their services, and will not recommend them to anyone. (I accept the fact that it might have been an isolated instance and that my experience is limited to dealings with one person representing them.)
They charged us R425 to send someone here to throw me with the book on how we're not compliant. We received a rather hefty quote based on his observations (over and above the R425) with a note that if we wanted the quote to be detailed, it would cost another R171.
Note to industry: it is NOT good practise (I don't care whether it's standard) to charge someone for a detailed quote, unless you've got very good reason (!) for not wanting to encourage detailed quotes.
The outcome: I paid the R425 and informed them that we would not make use of their services.

Hint to all: Do not just accept what these guys tell you. It's your right to shop around and find the best deal, and not their right to force you into anything. I would also encourage you to try and find the ones who wouldn't charge you for a quote, let alone a detailed quote...

Giro! ...continued.

Good news: Anchen's parents have adopted him! We've gone for a trial period while we're still in SA, and at this stage he hardly seems to notice us when we visit. Of course it's a little sad and on our side there's quite often still the odd old tear if neither thinks the other is watching, but all in all, I'd say he's clearly being spoilt to unknown ends and couldn't have asked for a better home. Thanks to Ouma Anna and Oupa Joe!

Anchen pondered on the fact that he probably thinks life consists of three phases: One, where you have to stay outside with another large dog and gettting attention takes the form of destruction and punishment.
Phase two sees the large dog leaving and suddenly one is permitted into the house but still with extremely strict controls and hardly any room for fun inside the house while the people animals are only around on weekends and evenings for entertainment.
....and then phase three: a 'Father Christmas' type man and a lovely lady allows you anywhere you want to go, while they feed you all kinds of nice things. You have a new friend your own size, you go for long walks on an almost daily basis, and there's always someone around to either talk to, or just snuggle at their feet as much as you like.

Phase three must be his idea of heaven.

Giro!

Of all the things (apart obviously from family and friends and taxis) we might leave behind, or rather can't take with us, I think we'll miss Giro the most (and of course my motorbike - that's shallow!)

We've run the stats: It takes 6 months in quarantine - of which at least 3 must be in SA, Jbg in specific. The kennels in Jbg are fully booked until June next year, which really translates to 8 plus 6 months (a year and 2 months - in case you ran out of fingers like me) that he'll be "kennelised", not knowing what happened to us, and also not knowing that he must wait for us. In addition, the SA leg of this excursion will cost around R30 000! Yep, you've guessed it, we've decided that he'll miss the taxis too much and will have to stay.

Now take into consideration that we don't have kids of our own, and that he has kinda taken over that role in our home, plus, he's about 6 years old and can probably easily do another 6, plus he's just become tame (ie not eating plants or digging in the garden) and most of all, he's around the house when I'm not there, and even though he's just a dog, he's really quite a persona and a really great companion, now imagine how we feel about having to leave him behind. At this stage we're counting on family or friends to provide a home. "Ouma" and "Oupa" Coetsee have got Eddie, but what the heck, we believe the two will get along fine - now we just have to convince them as well!

Removals

We've contacted 4 removal companies - of which one didn't even bother to respond after two prompts. Yep, they're probably too busy advertising "being the biggest doesn't mean that you're the best - well, actually, it does..." You know, the one that was 'crowned' the "best" - yep, they didn't even bother to reply to my queries.

Of the 3 we got, the prices on a similar offering varied from R40k to R60k. We eventually signed with Stuttaford Van Lines.

The actual move takes about 2 months of which around 5 weeks are spent at see. They can collect within a 2 week warning period and their busiest time is toward the end of the month. We intend packing and getting everything ready in the week of 10 November 08. I think it's better that we get it done as late as possible for two reasons: one, we need to be in the country to receive the stuff, and two, we first need to find a place to rent!

We thought of staying in a b&b for a few days until we find a place to rent for 6 months to a year after which we'll try and find something to buy.

Selling stuff

I've realised that I'm too soft when it comes to people buying stuff from me. The sad stories and droopy eyes are my death blows when it comes to negotiating a price. I've decided to not make things negotiable anymore. Once one knows what a good and fair price is for something, stick to it, and if someone wants it, they can make one offer which I will accept or reject.

I've been dragged down by sympathy to a ridiculous price for Anchen's car and eventually let it go for much less than fair. Anyway, I was a little upset at the start, but am over it now. I've realised that greed is really as bad as we were raised to believe. It makes you unhappy. The thought that you 'could get more' is a horrible thought, and I'll be trying very hard to focus only on getting / paying what is fair and not try to wing another few coins either way for the sake of a "better deal", and hopefully people will do unto me... (...and by the way: Cash is still king!)

I have also received a few quotes from removal companies, but as previously said, that's another story for another time.

The garage 2: Notes on cleaning and packing

One thing that I've learn't was that we need to make extra sure that there are no organic substance on any of the things we need to take with. I've got a little steam cleaner thingy that helps a lot with getting into the small corners of things - especially the things that have gathered mud or soil or sand, like the mountain bike shoes, clips, gears, etc, but also on tools that have gathered plant saps or wood bits.

We've been keeping inventory lists of everything that's been going into boxes or containers. Last night one of the removal agents (I'll write more about that later - we're still waiting on the final survey's and quotes) made it quite clear that we're really wasting our time packing everything ourselves, and that it'll be better if we just put everything aside for them to pack - they obviously know better. The price of packing is included in most quotes, and there's no discount for packing yourself!

The garage 1: Notes on plugs

This weekend has been dedicated to the garage. As previously mentioned, I am a gatherer of note! ...and the garage has been my domain. I've been packing, cleaning, re-packing, throwing away, fetching from the dustbin, throwing away again for quite a while now and have managed to pack two containers!



One of the things that's been troubling me, was whether I could take electrical appliances etc with. It appears as if the currents and voltages are similar to what we have in the R of SA, but the plugs are substantially different. I've been putting aside all gathered plugs and fittings that I've always thought I'd need at some stage or another, since the plugs in Perth look like this this:



Check out the following link if you need more info:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AC_power_plugs_and_sockets#Type_I_.28Australian.2FNew_Zealand_.26_Chinese.2FArgentinian_2.2F3-pin.29

Remember

Remember to:

• Give notice for settling car finance
• Give notice for settling mortgage
• Check out bank accounts (Aus has got capital gains tax on money in bank accounts when affected by the exchange rate- or something...)
• Switch off your MNet / DSTV account before the new/last/full month starts - you won't have much time to watch tv anyway
• Arrange for your mobile phone contracts / ongoing monthly extensions to be terminated
• Cancel your telephone landline & ADSL (if you have one)
• Arrange for someone with signing rights to do deals on your behalf
• Get your driver's license 'internationalised' by the AA
• Give notice to your Medical Aid - get the timeframes right
• Check out your life insurance for international coverage
• Smile

On mobile phones: My contract has expired a while ago. I opted not to renew, but as you know, some of the providers keep the contract running, and you need to give more than one month's notice should you want to cancel this arrangement (yes, it is in the fine print).

The minute I start making lists I get really nervous. Don't forget to enjoy the adventure - it's a challenge, and it's fun! (Get enough sleep!)

Show house

We had to get everything ready to 'show' the house on Sunday. My goodness, we've suddenly done so many things that's been lying in waiting for the past 3 years - why only now that we're moving away? Take my advice: make believe you've put your place on the market - it's amazing how nice you can make it for yourself when you still plan to stay there!

We dropped Anchen's Yaris off at the Valley Motor Show on Sunday. Cars get parked there for a nominal fee of R55 for everyone to view. One person showed an interest and we're awaiting his decision at the moment. We also still have to sell the Corsa bakkie.

In the meanwhile I've made some progress with the visa application forms (Forms 1066 and 956). Note: Keep all your certificates for all the courses you ever attend - they do help when having to fill out things like this.

I promised some pics of the house:

Listing our house!

We worked till well over 11pm last night.  Anchen did the floors, I did outside (cleaning the stoep and getting a problematic water feature to work properly - the pipe kept on falling back into the water leaving the feature dry!)

We moved some of the furniture still standing around lazily, as if scared of the wet paint, back into their positions (some put up quite a fight - you know how it is:  once a bookshelf gets used to standing in the middle of the room, they're hard to convince that they actually belong against the wall!)

This morning the house is looking snazzy - maybe I'll add a photo later!

This afternoon an agent is coming to see if she'd like to market it with Anchen.  We've decided to go for only one agent that will market with us - no signing the sole mandate thing, though!   Fortunately Anchen knows everybody on that circuit, so she was quite convinced of whom she'd like for the job.

Now we're holding thumbs that the market price is somehow in range with our expectation  -  if you know of anybody looking for a house in the Durbanville / Bellville area, let me know! (There might be a small commission or a box of chocolates...)

Gatherers of stuff...

I can confidently declare myself a gatherer of stuff!  Anchen, on the other hand, travels light.

The gemorst I've gathered in the short time we've been at our current house is currently being carted away by the bakkie loads.  ...and it takes hours and hours and terrible back aches to get everything out of the way.  This moving abroad is very different from just moving house.

For the first time in my life I'm leaving behind my plants.  This is horrifying, but I hope the people who buy our house will look after them with the same love. (The selling of the house is a different topic - one of much prayer!)

There are also the things one cannot just dump at the 'asgate'.  We're taking pictures and advertising on Gumtree (www.gumtree.co.za)  It's a snazzy site to publish anything for sale - with specific focus on the Cape Town area.

(By the way - we've considered a garage sale, but realised that it will only result in one spectacular party and even though we would really welcome the party, I doubt we'll do much with respect to clearing some of the stuff away!)

Painting the house

One of the things on our list was to get the inside walls of our house painted.  We've been living there for close on 4 years now, and it was due.

A note to industry: word of mouth is your strongest ad campaign!  We got hold of someone who did work for friends of ours (let me know if you're in the Cape Town area and I'll forward the details) and despite the normal little things here and there, the overall job was well done.

Lessons learnt:

• Move your own stuff (furniture, portraits, lights, etc)
• Cover your stuff with your own covers, and let them cover those with their's.
• Impress on everyone the importance of NOT cleaning any mess without consulting with you (I mean: paint on the extractor fan of your stove unit should be cleaned differently to paint on the tiles outside)
• Don't allow access to your own tools - let them use their's and only their's.

After all is said and done, the house looks beautiful, and it was definitely worth it.

Continued

One of the biggest concerns was the visa  (..no, the credit card will apparently not do  -  I did ask!)  My new employer offered to act as a sponsor - this means that they'll vouch for me coming to work with them, and not that they'll pay for anything.  Once you've got a sponsor, there are a few ways of going about it (check out http://www.workingin-australia.com/ for more)

• Do it yourself (embassy, letters of motivation, etc)
• Do it online (too many places to choose from)
• Get someone to help you with the process - this is the one we opted for.

Getting an agent to help is a little more expensive (around AUD2300 - including the actual fees for the documents), but I'm beginning to think that it's worthwhile.  We've got enough other things to keep us occupied, and there's a risk that if you do it yourself, it might not align to your timelines!  At this stage we've received some forms that we need to fill out and send back to get the process going.

On request

So many people have asked us what where and how this whole 'moving to Aus' thing came about. Once answered, we're all wondering: "What now?"

I thought I'd share some of it here.

After working for the same company for almost 7 years it was time to change something. Options were to stay in SA, or move to the UAE. Despite my total dedication and addiction to my job, I also needed to consider other options including moving from my safety zone! (Never nice...!)

I managed to get hold of someone from Australia to discuss possibilities, implications, wonder-abouts, fears and more fears. On 2 September 08 I was offerred a position at that company, based in Perth.

That is how it started.