I've been living here for about a year & a half and had a fairly easy time settling in, you really don't notice the accent after a while.
I just keep in touch with friends from home via email etc. There are a few sites around like Mates Up Over where you might be able to find some Aussies that live nearby if you want people to catch up with.

Brooke

My husband thought he would be a lone Aussie in Ohio, but he as been surprised by meeting a number of them through his work in the area. Mates up Over is a great site to find some fellow Aussies in the area as well. And well, sometimes he still finds thick american accents annoying, I don’t think he will ever get over that. And then there is having to explain where you are from every time you go out…

The biggest thing my hubby has had to adjust to is the food - he misses (and I confess I do too) a good meat pie, Bundy, and even little things like his favorite bbq sauce. I have found some sites on line that carry Aussie groceries http://www.simplyoz.com/ is a good one and we find that more and more grocery stores are starting to carry a few English/Aussie brands, though they can be expensive – we think it’s worth the cost the be happy.

We joke that we speak “Aussie” at home, and he is always happy to switch into “Aussie” when he meets one around. I know when I was over there it was sometimes just nice to hear your native tongue. To bad you are in Texas, you sound like just the kind of Aussie we wish we could find around here.

Email and Skpe help tons also!
Best of luck and Congrats!
MERP

What, no VB or Vegemite??? I've looked for the former, not available under that label here, but my fiance says Foster's Special Bitters is essentially the same thing, and that I have found. She sent a small jar of vegemite over in a package before visiting earlier this year, and I love it! Wish it could be imported. Thank you for the link. When Danni was visiting, she was frustrated with a couple recipes she wanted to prepare, couldn't find an exact equivalent here for some ingredients. We'll give that site a look over when she comes back.

And on Skype, I second this one if it works for you.
Though there are cheap rate calling plans available, I conservatively estimated that the conversations we've had through Yahoo's voice chat would have run over $100,000 at the $3/min standard rate! Yes, we talk a lot, sometimes 3-4 times a day! We tried Skype, and it bogged both our computers to the point of having to reboot. We've been putting up with the occasional glitches in Yahoo's service, but did just try Google's Talk service. It's as basic as it gets, but it's free and seems to work quite well..

Jon

Oops, my bad, Simply Australian DOES have Vegemite. I'd been told it couldn't be imported into the US, so didn't really look for it since I didn't expect to find it there. Well, now I don't have to worry about getting busted for smuggling it into the US!

Jon

Thats right - when my husband was moving here he brough two of the extra big jars over for fear that he wouldn't be able to get it again! He was worried about being caught smuggling it in. Thats one Aussie food I still just can't get a taste for!

You are welcome for the link, we have ordered a few times from SimplyOz and have always had good luck. Only once did we have a couple of chip packets that we out of date - but that isn't a big deal at all - they were on sale.

Hi everyone!

I decided to join the thread too My fiance and I have been together for 5 years now..orginially, I was going to petition him to move down here with me in Sydney but due to his job opportunity, we decided for me to finally move there....Still not officially on the USCIS system yet but hanging on there...

Welcome to the wonderful world of US immigration MzMo!

My hubby lived in OZ for a while but we also ended up here (US) because of his job.

Good luck with your petition!

hiya all
welcome to the new aussies in the thread..

merp where abouts are you two in ohio..im in toledo been here for 2years now..not many aussies up here..i always hear i got a boss thats aussie and met the husband of crickey pies and thats about it...ohh and an old lady that came over here as a war bride..

mates up over has a map with all its members on it...even as a guest you can look at your state and find other aussies near you ...

no news here ... completed my biometrics at detroit now just waiting for approval which will probably be around november i reckon..

take care
kath

Glad things are going well Kath with your process! We'll be removing conditions in about 10 months. Wow time is flying!

Thanks for the tips again Kaffy with the ATO filing! That e-tax filing app we downloaded is pretty good. We reviewed the resulting tax file and had to play around with answering the interview questions to get it to answer correctly with the Medicare MLS section but other than that it was pretty easy! Wifey was frustrated at first when we used it LOL. I told her this is a sample of what I had to go through when filing my own taxes and our visa. She has a whole new appreciation for me now haha. She also feels ripped off now for paying to get her taxes done in years past.

The ATO was a little contradictory though because there is a tool on the website that determined she was to file as a non-resident but when clicking through the tips section on the same website it specifically mentioned to file as a resident LOL. We did that instead and it made sense in the end because there was a section that covered a "threshold". That date coincided when she left to migrate so everything was pro-rated properly. We hope it all checks out because we triple checked before lodging. She was super happy because we are supposed to be getting back more than she usually does since she stopped working earlier and her yearly income was below the current taxable bracket. I hope it all checks out but I guess we find out in a few weeks when they are supposed to deposit the refund into her bank account.

Hope everyone is doing well!

Thanks J_Girl and Kath! Yes, a long journey sure awaits!

Hi kath

We are down in Cincinnati.

Hi All

USCIS sent me three welcome notices... but they can't get my name right They've put my first name and middle name in different orders on my visa, my SSC and now my welcome letter. I made an InfoPass appointment because I need to make sure they issue it correctly on my green card. silly government!

That is annoying!

Incompetence seems to be their forte.

Good luck getting it fixed!

HI KAFFY
good idea about going for an info pass..hope it gets sorted out for ya...
hi vylex..yep time flies when your having fun don't ya know...and you sit back and wonder where has the time gone..
removal of conditions isn't as exciting as the other parts of the journey...just costs too damm much lol..no wonder we have so many il-legal immigrants in this country...they can't afford it...
be interesting with a new president how he deals with it

has any of the aussie's in the states been keeping track of the presedential election...goes on too damm long for my liking and too much money spent on campaigns especially when they are ridiculeing each other silliness..stick to the issues and be done with it i reckon...
take care all
kath

Hi fellow Aussies

Nice to read and keep up on what is going on with everyone
Wishing everyone all the best in where you are on the journey.
I am in the Removal of Conditions process, just thought you may like to know my time line with it.

The waiting game

Cheers
Parys

2008
18 April sent documents and cheque
23 April received at California
25 April cheque cashed
29 April received NOA (extended 1 year stay)
5 May received letter for biometrics
16 May Biometrics in Albuquerque
16 May touched
18 May touched

Tell me about it! Could you imagine living in OZ and having to watch Rudd & Howard slug it out for a year?


(Hi Aussie Gal!)

love you guys!

Hi Rings! Hope all is well!

Hi all, I interviewed this morning for a Health information tech job at one of the hospitals nearby... hope I get it!! I am soo tired of sitting around at home during the day.. I neeed a job

How long did it take you all to find your first jobs here?

Good luck!! My first job in the US was working as a medical biller at a Home health service department within a hospital....but that was years back on a J1 visa for 4 months so I wouldnt count that

Hi all!

Today my fiance recieved his interview date for Sydney-October 7. Two weeks from now. I can't believe the wait is almost over!!

Thanks again for everyone's help on answering my (millions of) questions!

Heather

That's wonderful! Congratulations and I hope you guys are reunited soon

re: job interview at hospital. They have contacted my references... this is a good thing I hope!

wow congrats! good luck with that!


Positive news

I got the job! yaay

whoo hooo on all the great news in here

congrats to you kaffy...hope you enjoy the new job...and make some good work mates..is the job similar to what you use to do in australia

congrat also to hednjimmy...your journey is nearly at an end..well this half anyways..good luck all will go well im sure..

me well not heard anything as yet ..not expecting it either lol..
in my life i am either getting visitors from england or i am going to england to visit my mum and bro and sis not sure what is going on as yet...

waves to rings...and the rest of the aussies.....

take care
kath

Seems everyone is getting some good news!
I finally found out my EAD has been approved, I still haven't had my biometricts taken......weird how that worked out.

I can't wait to get it in hand and start working...going nuts at home!

congrats on the EAD ..how long is it for 1 or 2 years..?

that is way strange thing to be doing letting you work before the fingerprints done on you...goes to show you the name check excuse might be a big fib and its the backlog of files that is the real reason why some have to wait ages to be approved...

arhh well good on you for pushing their buttons mate...ya gotta do what ya gotta do huh..happy job hunting...
take care
kath

My other half mentioned his family had rissoles last night for dinner and all of a sudden it made me miss being there!! I found a lot of the Aussie diet to be odd, but that was on thing I actually enjoyed! Do any of you gals happen to have a recipe for them that can be made here in the US or something similar? I don't know if the ingredients would all be able to be found here or not? Thanks!

Char

That's funny that you meantion rissoles-on my last night visiting my fiance in Australia, we had a goodbye BBQ and his family made steak and rissoles, and I fell in love with them! I asked his mum how to make them, and she said she just adds bread crumbs and diced onions. I was going to try it here and just buy a container of those Progresso dried bread crumbs, and mine would have chopped garlic in them

Congratulations on the job Kaffy!

Heather

Hey Kath,

Well they still want me to get the biometrics before I can start working it was just weird how they approved it first. I did have my biometrics taken last year for something else, I have an Info pass appointment I'm going to on the 3rd of October so I'll ask if they can just use that.

On another note,

I make rissoles probably every couple of weeks, my hubby loves em'! I think everyone has their own slight variation on what to put in them I found this recipe online which is pretty much how I make them: http://www.recipezaar.com/63195
yumo!

Thanks Kath! yes.. sort of. My degree's in health science and I have some experience working in health - I was a medical receptionist and dental assistant while I was in uni. I'm at the very start of my career though and soo glad to have been hired for this job! I tried for months to get an entry-level health admin job back in Brisbane and had no luck - kept getting told I had too much education, not enough work experience So yeah.. I really like it here

What did everyone do this weekend?

hi j_girl
so happy that its the job you want mate...
gawd the weekend went so fast ...i just caught up with my washing gasbagging with my neighbour who told me her daughter told her that a bloke at her work just married an aussie..so fingers crossed i can hook up with her ..ya know if each town had a resource thing for all immigrants it would be so neat..that way you wouldnt miss your hearing your accent... tapeing a whole lot of stargate onto dvd for the hubmister...and reading my dragon book that has just come out..and trying to catch my manager at work ..been waiting for 3 days to do that just for permission to book my flight to the uk..

myperfect flaw..the mates up over has a recipe section both aussie and american recipes im sure you would be able to find something on rissoles in there also they use american ingredients and explain what is equivilant to aussie ingredients..

night all take care
kath
p.s. nice talking to you susan ..talk to you thurs..edit to add.. susan you should post the dimmies and sheep pics..im sure the aussie's over in the states would love to see them...lol...i just wanted to sink my teeth into those dimmies mate but happy you ate them for me...

Congrats on the new job!

I went to a party at my hubby's bosses house...needless to say I had a few drinks and somehow lounge room karaoke got involved. Ummm yeah. haha.

hi ya all
well i am off to manchester england on saturday to see my mum, bro and sis and family i have never met before..for two weeks..

i havent been back to england for 40 years..i was born there and when i was 8 we immigrated to australia..so it will be quite the adventure...

my mum knows i am going over but she doesnt know that it is all booked and i arrive sunday morning...so cant wait to see the look on her face havent seen her for 2 years ..and havent seen my sister for about 10 or 11 years and my bro for about 7 ... i am very excited and a bit sad that hubs cant come with me..it will be the first time we have been apart for 2 years...

if i get chance will post from england...
talk later
kath

Have fun!!

Hi guys!

I posted this in the regular K-1 thread, but then thought this might be a better spot to get an answer!! My other half is living in Queensland, but he's previously lived in NSW (since age of 16), so when he gets his police certificate, does he need to get one from just the police in Queensland or does he need one from each state? And if so, how does he go about getting the one from NSW?

Char

P.S. Hope you have a great trip home K!

Im pretty sure you need a police certificate for each state you've lived in but not exactly sure about the procedures on obtaining one out of state however, the contact details for NSW is:
NSW

Visa Clerk
Criminal Records Section
PO Box 7777
Parramatta NSW 2124
AUSTRALIA

Tel: 00 61 2 9689 7834
Fax: 00 61 2 9689 3724

You might want to check, but i think that if he has lived in QLD for over 10 years i think he only needs one from there. I am certain i only need on from QLD, I was born in Tassie and lived there till i was 8, in QLD ever since.

If you discover that i'm wrong let me know lol.

- Mara

Thanks for trying to help guys! I still hadn't gotten any concrete answers, so I just called headquarters in Brisbane and it turns out their police certificates are country wide, so as long as he's only been in Australia the one from Queensland will suffice. Glad to know that didn't end up being more of a hassle than I though it was gonna be!!

Cheers!
Char

Hi everyone!

Just a quick question for those Aussie's that have moved to the States..............was just wondering how you all moved your belongings over there? I'm not planning on taking any furniture with me, but I hope to take my books, dvd's, cd's and alot of my picture frames, vases, knick-knacky stuff to make the place feel like home!

Thanks in advance!

hey kath!!
in two weeks i have my interview ... and i've yet to schedule an appt with the civil surgeon ... life has been hectic and this just jumped on me lol ....especially being pregnant i've forgotten a few things!!

good to hear your well and happy!!

Packed everything we could in our suitcases (5 x 23kg bags.. airline gave us an extra bag for free) then sent the rest (4 x 10kg) via sea-mail. It's about $100/10kg and takes about 8-10 weeks to arrive. Keep in mind if you bring DVDs they may not play unless you have a region-free player. hope this helps!

I looked into shipping stuff over but in the end gave up and left most of my gear at my folks house.
I ended up bringing two massive suitcases and one large carry on with me when I arrived in the US, best piece of advice I can give you is get some Spacebags! I would have never fit as much in my luggage if it wasn't for those things! I got all my cd's a lot of photos etc in them, another good idea is to upload pics to a site like Photobucket which you can access when arrive here. Login, save the pics to your computer then upload them to somewhere like Walgreens or CVS and have them reprinted, doesn't cost a lot and will save you some room. I have done it with quite a few photos I have around the house, all the best with it!

Here in the States, generally it seems that the el-cheapo DVD players are pretty good about playing all regions. There are unlock codes for many players also, I found one for my Daewoo. But no codes available for my Panasonic or Sony DVD players. Google and a bit of time will help you determine if a DVD player you are considering can be unlocked for all regions.

And if you have video camera, they will output to US TV sets, but the picture will be B&W and pretty grainy. Google 'PAL NTSC' and look around, there are a number of inline converters. Can't vouch for how good they work, but I would imagine a decent unit should work good.

Unfortunately I haven't found a clean and really safe way to play PS2 game from other regions.

Jon

Had to ask.....did anyone happen to watch the US version of Kath & Kim last night on NBC?

yes and it was HORRIBLE!!! What were they thinking!?!?!

My husband and I both like the Aussie version but we found this one plain stupid

My hubby and I both like the Aussie one too, I guess time will tell if it appeals to people here in the US. I know Magda Szubanski wouldn't sell her character of 'Sharron' to NBC.

well i have my immigration interview in 2 weeks ... and had to go to a civil surgeon to fill out the medical examination form for the green card ... all fun and peachy ... (note sarcasm) .. had to do the TB skin test plus go thru a physical examination (note : i am 8 months pregnant) ... and i refused a vaccination which the doctor assured me would not harm my pregnancy but i refused it anyways and she noted it down on the form .... i told her i was more then happy to have it after giving birth but not before and thats something i will say to immigration as well .....doctor was following protocal as she stated when i saw her ... so i'm following my motherly instinct and protecting my child ....

Yay!! Received NOA1 in the mail today, woot woot! I know it doesn't technically mean a whole hell of a lot, but I can't help but be excited anyways Here's hoping the rest of the process runs smoothly!!

Char

Yay myperfectflaw

So I have a quick question for all those of you Australians who have been through this whole ruddy process.

We filed in August, and at the moment our predicted NOA2 is end of December/early Jan, from the NOA2 point should how long expect the rest of the process to take? I have heard that with sydney it is anywhere between 4 - 8 weeks? Am I right in guessing this?

Chris and I just want to work out prices (roughly) for my ticket home, and I need to consider if if it is worth me looking for extra work at the start of next year ( I am a teacher so the school year up QLD isnt really back till last week of Jan).

Also, when is a good time to start shipping some of my stuff over? Does anyone have a good, reasonable priced company they used when they moved?

Thanks for any help in advance!

- Mara