Well, it’s official. We’re moving to Australia (affectionately called “Oz”) in April. Tim’s offer from the Australian Telescope has been finalized (benefits, visa requirements, etc.) and he gave his letter of resignation to NRAO. He decided to take 2 years Leave of Absence since NRAO offers it, but it is unlikely that he will want to return to NRAO – certainly not within 2 years (however, it’s always nice to have a safety plan).
Our timeline is mostly determined by the dogs. They have to be tested 6 months prior to the move and micro chipped (we did that last week) and then once arriving in Oz, they must withstand quarantine for a minimum of 30 days – hence, I have to withstand their quarantine for 30 days! They are not used to being in jail – I’m not sure who will be more miserable, me or them. At least the Australian Gov't allows visitation. Australia doesn’t have rabies, so that’s one reason they are so careful about testing. Can’t blame them for that – rabies is a nasty thing, to say nothing of the fact that is usually fatal. Which brings me to a fact that Oz has 15 of the 20 most lethal snakes in the whole world. That’s 3/4 of the slimy long things that want to bite and kill you all centered in one part of the world. And let me tell you about the spiders! Yuk – lots of killer spiders that if bitten you have about one second to get antivenom in your bloodstream – or you get to visit the great spider web in the sky. Sheesh, I finally get used to black widows (once even crawling across my chest!) and now I have to move on to spiders that can really kill you. Oh well, millions of people can’t be wrong about living in Oz – everyone seems to love it.
Currently, we are preparing our home for sale. We are planning on selling it ourselves, but if that doesn’t work, we’ll give a realtor a try. I’m a bit nervous at the prospect, but Tim thinks we can do it. Of course we are moving right after I finished painting our living room and bedroom –somewhat unusual colors. I know that it is a no-no to paint a “for sale” house anything than a version of white, but I refuse after all that work – and besides, I LIKE colors. If a buyer doesn’t, well, it’s obvious this house isn’t meant for them.
Our timeline is mostly determined by the dogs. They have to be tested 6 months prior to the move and micro chipped (we did that last week) and then once arriving in Oz, they must withstand quarantine for a minimum of 30 days – hence, I have to withstand their quarantine for 30 days! They are not used to being in jail – I’m not sure who will be more miserable, me or them. At least the Australian Gov't allows visitation. Australia doesn’t have rabies, so that’s one reason they are so careful about testing. Can’t blame them for that – rabies is a nasty thing, to say nothing of the fact that is usually fatal. Which brings me to a fact that Oz has 15 of the 20 most lethal snakes in the whole world. That’s 3/4 of the slimy long things that want to bite and kill you all centered in one part of the world. And let me tell you about the spiders! Yuk – lots of killer spiders that if bitten you have about one second to get antivenom in your bloodstream – or you get to visit the great spider web in the sky. Sheesh, I finally get used to black widows (once even crawling across my chest!) and now I have to move on to spiders that can really kill you. Oh well, millions of people can’t be wrong about living in Oz – everyone seems to love it.
Currently, we are preparing our home for sale. We are planning on selling it ourselves, but if that doesn’t work, we’ll give a realtor a try. I’m a bit nervous at the prospect, but Tim thinks we can do it. Of course we are moving right after I finished painting our living room and bedroom –somewhat unusual colors. I know that it is a no-no to paint a “for sale” house anything than a version of white, but I refuse after all that work – and besides, I LIKE colors. If a buyer doesn’t, well, it’s obvious this house isn’t meant for them.
Here are photos of our living room, entry way and house façade so that you can see what I’m talking about. The front door is now a bright blue since this photo was taken.
We are looking at housing in the northern suburb area of Sydney where a “starter” home for a “young family” is about $500K Au, which at today’s rates is $386,750!! That is a lottttt of money, especially when you come from an area where the housing is considerably cheaper (E.g., we hope to sell ours at $180Kish) and many homes here go for under $100K. Fortunately, one of Tim’s “perks” is a “free, leased” car, so that is one expense we don’t have to worry about. The public transit system in Sydney is actually pretty good, so getting around isn’t difficult – even for public transit phobic me. They have a web site that actually tells you when, where, how, how much, etc. It will be difficult to have trouble with traveling on public transit.
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