LAND DOWNUNDER, Aussie Aussie Aussie Oi Oi Oi

[VanessaTony 3,567]

Completely agree. I've had people tell me I just have to marry an American and I'm legal. Others don't realise that permanent residency exists and think that I'm a citizen now... even my family thought I was a citizen! Turns out I mustn't have fully explained the process to them but I only realised when my BIL got a job with the Government and had to do some security checks and one of the questions was whether he was related to people who were citizens of other countries. So he knows I'm a UK citizen as well from birth so that's dates easy but he calls to ask how long I've been a US citizen.. I was like.. "I'm not.. I'm only a legal permanent resident" I think he even asked if that was kinda the same thing, and I said NO and I could get into trouble claiming to be a USC when I'm not.

Tony's family (mother and maternal-grandmother specifically) were pissy that I couldn't work and while I don't know for sure they complained about me being lazy, they definitely didn't make me feel like they weren't whining about it. They didn't understand that I needed PERMISSION to work (this was while I was waiting for the EAD) and occasionally would suggest under-the-table work. Neither Tony nor I even considered that. We didn't go through this process to risk me getting kicked out, or fined, or locked up for a couple of bucks. We got the EAD and didn't tell ANYONE because we didn't want me working while the house was being purchased (Tony worked erratically and anytime they called for more info they called me and I got it done) and we KNOW I would have been pushed or pressured to go out and work.

[CareBear 18]

Hurry up EAD I need a job NOW!!!!!!!

[Dave and Shannon 9]

Hey

I am only a few days old to this site so if this has been asked before then im sorry.. I am trying to read up and be prepared for everything so when it all comes through ill be right (hopefully) Can anyone tell me what immunisations I will need? I got the normal Heb shots and all that.. just not sure if there is anything else.. is there any sites i can get a list from?

Cheers for your help in advance

[Wayne-Rachel 8]

Hey

I am only a few days old to this site so if this has been asked before then im sorry.. I am trying to read up and be prepared for everything so when it all comes through ill be right (hopefully) Can anyone tell me what immunisations I will need? I got the normal Heb shots and all that.. just not sure if there is anything else.. is there any sites i can get a list from?

Cheers for your help in advance

I have the workbook from the CDC that has a chart in it showing all the immunisations, but can't remember where I downloaded it from. send me a email to beattiew@y7mail.com and I will send it to you...

[Dave and Shannon 9]

I have the workbook from the CDC that has a chart in it showing all the immunisations, but can't remember where I downloaded it from. send me a email to beattiew@y7mail.com and I will send it to you...

email sent, thanks

[TerriandEric 4]

Hey everyone,

It has been a long time since I have logged in. I am glad to read everyone is loving life in their new homes. Life here has been hectic as always. After my medical issues were resolved life returned to the usual rushed pace that it has had since I started working. The only difference was instead of working part time my work had me working 40+ hours every week and with Eric on 3rd shift and Bek in school I was not seeing my family a great deal. The kicker came when Bek told me she felt abandoned because I was working 6 days a week and Dad was sleeping through the day because he worked nights. I went into work that Monday and told my boss I want back to part time hours from 8-1 and every other weekend off. He was fabulous about it and finally got the district manager to approve hiring of support staff. I am now loving my hours and enjoying life with my family once again.

This winter has been beyond brutal. I am permanently numb with how cold it gets lol. I know most people on this thread are used to the cold from their home countries but this Aussie girl is not used to it in the slightest. I had never seen snow until I got here let alone had to drive in it or plow a driveway. Though it was fun to build my first snowman,have a snowball fight & wrestle in the snowbanks. I am just looking forward to spring!

Hope everyone else is doing as well...It is almost my 1 year anniversary of arriving in Ohio to be with my husband and I truly can not wait.

Bek has started on the track team at school so that is another activity that keeps us all busy and sadly she is starting to lose her accent I knew it would happen but I am kinda sad it is happening so soon. She just celebrated her first birthday here in the USA and she had a blast.

I have to say I have not had a rough time here at all...everyone has been wonderful that said my family back in AUS have been giving me guilt trip after guilt trip since I left. I am to the point of not bothering to keep them updated on what is happening. Nobody back there even bothered to send Bek a birthday card this year and when I asked why they didnt I was informed that they work and are too busy to mail a card. So I have said that if that is the stance then I wont be mailing cards either as we work and lead very busy lives here. I hate to be that way but I am truly tired of the stress this causes every single time.

Anyway, I have rambled enough. Best of luck to all those waiting at whatever stage of the process you are at...the stress is so worth it when you step off that plane & fall into your loved ones arms & you know you wont ever have to be apart again.

[Wayne-Rachel 8]

Hey everyone,

It has been a long time since I have logged in. I am glad to read everyone is loving life in their new homes. Life here has been hectic as always. After my medical issues were resolved life returned to the usual rushed pace that it has had since I started working. The only difference was instead of working part time my work had me working 40+ hours every week and with Eric on 3rd shift and Bek in school I was not seeing my family a great deal. The kicker came when Bek told me she felt abandoned because I was working 6 days a week and Dad was sleeping through the day because he worked nights. I went into work that Monday and told my boss I want back to part time hours from 8-1 and every other weekend off. He was fabulous about it and finally got the district manager to approve hiring of support staff. I am now loving my hours and enjoying life with my family once again.

This winter has been beyond brutal. I am permanently numb with how cold it gets lol. I know most people on this thread are used to the cold from their home countries but this Aussie girl is not used to it in the slightest. I had never seen snow until I got here let alone had to drive in it or plow a driveway. Though it was fun to build my first snowman,have a snowball fight & wrestle in the snowbanks. I am just looking forward to spring!

Hope everyone else is doing as well...It is almost my 1 year anniversary of arriving in Ohio to be with my husband and I truly can not wait.

Bek has started on the track team at school so that is another activity that keeps us all busy and sadly she is starting to lose her accent I knew it would happen but I am kinda sad it is happening so soon. She just celebrated her first birthday here in the USA and she had a blast.

I have to say I have not had a rough time here at all...everyone has been wonderful that said my family back in AUS have been giving me guilt trip after guilt trip since I left. I am to the point of not bothering to keep them updated on what is happening. Nobody back there even bothered to send Bek a birthday card this year and when I asked why they didnt I was informed that they work and are too busy to mail a card. So I have said that if that is the stance then I wont be mailing cards either as we work and lead very busy lives here. I hate to be that way but I am truly tired of the stress this causes every single time.

Anyway, I have rambled enough. Best of luck to all those waiting at whatever stage of the process you are at...the stress is so worth it when you step off that plane & fall into your loved ones arms & you know you wont ever have to be apart again.

Hey An Aussie in Ohio huh??? I'll be the same soon, just waiting for NVC to finish with our file and get the consular stage finished, then I'll be moving to Dayton to be with my girl

Gongrats to you guys for all your successes so far, and best ofluck for what you have to come. Hopefully I'll be settled in as a ohio resident real soon

[VanessaTony 3,567]

Guys I have FABULOUS news

I was out shopping today and bought this book: http://www.amazon.com/Baking-Murdoch-Books-Test-Kitchen/dp/0681026081 (in case the link doesn't work it's called "Baking: A commonsense guide"). It started out as a joke 'cause it was only $5 at borders (well $4.99) and I wanted to get something for my sister who is 29 and only JUST learning to bake and stuff. She's doing well, I just thought this would be funny 'cause of the whole "commonsense" part... I like to pick on her (she put 2 minute noodles in the microwave... without water... TWICE!)

So I started flicking through the book to check whether or not the recipes are too American (which is kinda pointless to send to Australia) and I noticed some of the recipes were listed weird. Like "plain (all-purpose) flour" and "icing (confectioners) sugar" and I realise that the bracketed words are the American ingredients so I think "huh.. this must be a UK book" and try to find the location and it's AUSTRALIAN!!

Even better than Australian guess what's inSIDE the book?? LAMINGTONS!! ANZAC BISCUITS! SCONES!! QUICHES! And on and on. So I ended up buying one for myself and one for my sister. So if any of you are in the vacinity of a Borders go and check it out I'm super-dooper excited to have Aussie recipes (and good ones) "translated" for me to make here in the US

[Deb+Steve 13]

I'd love it if someone could tell me where to get Caster sugar.

[CareBear 18]

Awesome Vanessa - thanks for the heads up

My happy joy moment for the day - Tom Thumb is selling Hot Cross Buns freshly made in their bakery!!!! First time I seen any sign of them since getting here

[KiwiBird 132]

Okay, so here's a random question... What's the best way to transfer money from an Aus bank account to a US one? Apparently my bank isn't 'big enough' and doesn't use a SWIFT code. And if I get I get a bank account at a 'major US bank', and he transfers the money to me, I don't have to worry about getting in trouble counting that as income for taxes, do I?

Or can he open a US bank account without a SSN?

[CareBear 18]

Okay, so here's a random question... What's the best way to transfer money from an Aus bank account to a US one? Apparently my bank isn't 'big enough' and doesn't use a SWIFT code. And if I get I get a bank account at a 'major US bank', and he transfers the money to me, I don't have to worry about getting in trouble counting that as income for taxes, do I?

Or can he open a US bank account without a SSN?

I was added onto Ted's bank account without a SSN the day after I arrived here. I bought my money over in a money order and deposited it that day. Some banks will do it and apparently some don't. Check with your bank, ours is Wells Fargo.

[VanessaTony 3,567]

Okay, so here's a random question... What's the best way to transfer money from an Aus bank account to a US one? Apparently my bank isn't 'big enough' and doesn't use a SWIFT code. And if I get I get a bank account at a 'major US bank', and he transfers the money to me, I don't have to worry about getting in trouble counting that as income for taxes, do I?

Or can he open a US bank account without a SSN?

I personally send it via Paypal. I have an Australian Paypal (one set up for my Aussie bank account) and a US one for the same. I send the money from my Aussie bank to my Aussie Paypal, then Aussie paypal to US paypal, then US paypal to US bank account. It's MUCH cheaper than the other methods I've read about (and sounds more convoluted than it actually is. It's actually just logging into Aussie paypal to withdraw funds from Aussie bank, then logging back in once the funds are there and sending to US account. Then logging into US account to send however much i want to US bank). You can also get a paypal bank card. You don't even need to send it to YOUR paypal. You could send it to your spouses or friends or whatever.

[Wayne-Rachel 8]

Okay, so here's a random question... What's the best way to transfer money from an Aus bank account to a US one? Apparently my bank isn't 'big enough' and doesn't use a SWIFT code. And if I get I get a bank account at a 'major US bank', and he transfers the money to me, I don't have to worry about getting in trouble counting that as income for taxes, do I?

Or can he open a US bank account without a SSN?

I opened a second account with my bank, had them issue me a visa debit card and sent that to my fiancee in the US. Now anythime I need to transfer funds to her, I simply use my internet banking to transfer between accounts (free and instant) and she withdraws the cash from her local atm machine.

[Giggles 1]

Guys I have FABULOUS news

I was out shopping today and bought this book: http://www.amazon.com/Baking-Murdoch-Books-Test-Kitchen/dp/0681026081 (in case the link doesn't work it's called "Baking: A commonsense guide"). It started out as a joke 'cause it was only $5 at borders (well $4.99) and I wanted to get something for my sister who is 29 and only JUST learning to bake and stuff. She's doing well, I just thought this would be funny 'cause of the whole "commonsense" part... I like to pick on her (she put 2 minute noodles in the microwave... without water... TWICE!)

So I started flicking through the book to check whether or not the recipes are too American (which is kinda pointless to send to Australia) and I noticed some of the recipes were listed weird. Like "plain (all-purpose) flour" and "icing (confectioners) sugar" and I realise that the bracketed words are the American ingredients so I think "huh.. this must be a UK book" and try to find the location and it's AUSTRALIAN!!

Even better than Australian guess what's inSIDE the book?? LAMINGTONS!! ANZAC BISCUITS! SCONES!! QUICHES! And on and on. So I ended up buying one for myself and one for my sister. So if any of you are in the vacinity of a Borders go and check it out I'm super-dooper excited to have Aussie recipes (and good ones) "translated" for me to make here in the US

Hahaha!! Cooking 2 minute noodles in the microwave without water is hilarious!!! Those recipes sound good....I love scones with jam and cream. I've been meaning to make lamington cupcakes - yum! I had so much trouble trying to find desiccated coconut here - finally found it at an international supermarket, in the Latino and also Indian sections. I've been wanting to start my own cookies and cake business for a while but I've had to put it on hold because my husband is up for new orders soon....we were going to Japan but that's uncertain now after the earthquake and tsunami

I'd love it if someone could tell me where to get Caster sugar.

Caster sugar is called extra fine or super fine sugar.....you can get it at any supermarket.

We just just got back from our first holiday together since we've been married so it was kind of our honeymoon and we had our one year anniversary while we were in London too. We had an amazing holiday in Germany and England (my first time to Europe). We went on military space available flights so we practically got our flights for free (round trip from Baltimore to Germany cost about $80 for the two of us and Germany to England was free). A lot of people in the military don't take advantage of this perk. We went from Germany to England in a KC-135 refueling tanker - it was so cool.