Aussies - where are you living in the USA

[TracyOz 0]

Hi all - just thought I would see where y'all are living and where you came from... and WHAT Aussie "thing" do you wish you had made sure you packed and took with you?? I just want to ensure I don't forget it... LOL..

Me - Born and Raised in Melbourne (Dandenong area actually) moved to the ACT, currently live in Adelaide. And will be moving to my DARLING SO with my kiddos - Cleveland Ohio.. Certainly will be a SHOCK to our system from the warmth and beach setting to the cold and snowy areas... <grin>

have a GREAT day

Tracy

[astrid and alex 0]

I'm currently in Los Angeles, originally from the Goulburn Valley in Victoria. I love LA but home is always where my heart is!

I bought my whole life with me, though I wish that I had taken all my Geelong Football Club gear with me when I moved, I was not decked out head to toe when my beloved catters won the premiership this year!

I have done pretty well with home comforts, I bought the biggest jar of vegimite money can buy with me, and it is yet to run out (yes, I ration!) And my lovely mother sends me Killer Pythons and Tim Tams!

[patriciaofoz 0]

Hi

I moved to Adelaide in '91 from the Philippines and have lived in Adelaide ever since. I'll be moving to the US (hopefully early '08 if all goes to plan) with my fiance who lives in Columbia, Missouri. We'll live there for at least 6 years (while he finishes his PhD).

I'm already thinking of things to take to the US...I've been told that I shouldn't even bother bringing any of my coats/jackets because they'll be usually against Missouri (or American) winter!

Edited November 25, 2007 by patriciaofoz

[Kath 0]

hi ya tracy

your not going to be too far from where i am .. there is also another aussie in cleveland that frequents here too tracy....i am in toledo ohio..i didnt bring that much over with me actually

some things i would of like to of remembered to bring was potato peelers..you know the cheap thin ones..they are too big and thick over here...the wire that you can thread net curtains through cant find anything like it up here..

there's isnt much else i can think of that i havent found over here..the only other stuff is food that i miss but ya cant pack sausages and sausage meat or bread lol...

take care

kath

[TracyOz 0]

<grin> ahhh yes the potato peeler... discovered that problem when I was last there (we have bought a house in Chagrin Falls/Bainbridge area)...

will be great if we could one day perhaps have a get together....

Very true about the Aussie winter coats... THEY DO NOT HOLD UP to true USA winters... as I discovered earlier this year... sheesh I FROZE when I visited there.. ESPECIALLY having lived in the more "climatic" Adelaide for the past decade... so I agree... don't bother packing it - buy new when there...

Vegemite... (double check) LOL... took over a few jars the other month, will be sending my fiance' back with a few after his visit here at Xmas (even though he and his kids HATE the stuff) I and mine LOVE it... so all of us will be certainly bringing a stash when we move... and it is on all of our friends/families' "gotta send us list - with TimTams"...

RE: Geelong CATS "ouch" I did live in Geelong for about 2 years as a child - went to Bell Post Hill PS... BUT I (AND my kiddos) are ONE-EYED... GUESS IT??? LOL... Magpie fans... True blue, black and whites... and we are VERY EXCITED to discover that Collingwood has a sister "magpie-afl" club in both NY and also in TX... (apparantly AFL is one of the fastest growing "interest" sports in the USA over the past 3 years)... so will be looking forward to that.

have a GREAT day folks and keep on commenting

Tracy

[Kath 0]

hi tracy

your kidding me on the coats aint ya... if you need a decent heavy wind, cold and weather resistant coat over here ya gotta pay an arm an a leg for one.. glad im not the only one that misses the potato peelers lol

they are so thin over here..lol...i had to put a lining inside my coat sleeves to keep the wind out...i find my legs get really cold in winter ....and the warmers dont seem to help me much...

that would be a great idea maybe on say australia day get together....an have a winter barbie lol..

take care

kath

[Niphredil 0]

North Queensland girl, moved to Brisbane for 3 years for a stint at animation school, but other then that, have always lived in a 'country outback' sort of town.

I'll be moving to... ARKANSAS! So it won't be the culture shock I'd be expecting if I was moving to say, New York or something. Only 2 difference I've noticed so far is whilst we're hotter, Arkansas is more humid, and a LOT colder *yet rarely snows*.

Right now, the thing I wish I could bring with me are my 2 girls - Lilah and Tilly, my English Staffy dogs Aside from the cost *and wait*, I think my 'rents won't mind holding onto them a little longer as they absolutely love them too, and the dogs help keep them sane I think lol

[TracyOz 0]

OOOOh I hear yah on your "girls" I have 2 little ones... Rascal and Starbuck (ummm yes I love coffee LOL) one is a maltese-shitzu the other a maltese-lahasa apso (they THINK they are human) unfortunately I have made the decision that the flights and then the quarantine for our girls when they are so so so used to ruling the house would be cruel and unthinkable... so they are staying here with my ex. and my son who is "following to join" LOL who HAPPENS to work at Starbucks at the moment... <grin> my two that are moving with me are a little upset that their "sisters" aren't coming with us... but they do understand how cruel it would be to put them through it... so I am bribing them with a pet of their choice when we move... UMMMM LOL... i think I might end up regretting that decision... <grin>

oh Kath HAVE you tried the outlet stores... this comes from a gal who (aussie as I am) have spent a LOT of time in the USA in the past 12 years... more so in the past 2 years... and <grin> A LOT of time shopping <double grin> but seriously you cannot go past the outlet stores such as Timberland (end of season) winter coat sale, I picked up $300 "pull apart" jackets for my sons only 2 winters back (it has an inner fleece jacket that comes out, and the outside is waterproof/wind proof etc) for ONLY $60 bucks US... you couldn't go wrong with that... admittedly back here in ADL they haven't used it (together as the two) but certainly did when we were at the Grand Canyon the other year while it was FREEZING and snowing... Another place to score - real bargains is the Columbia brand jackets... they have a LOT of sales (especially at Dicks and at Kohls) and they have a similar sort of jacket, a fleece "zip out inner" with a weather proof outer... and I LOVE that the jackets in the USA are longer at the back to cover your BUTT LOL...

and Kath a BBQ or something could/would be great - my fiance is fascianated by us Aussies - he believes I don't have a strong accent (possibly because I deal with the americans so often and am there so often for work, that I have worked out "how to speak" so they understand me <grin> that would be slow slow talking - normally I talk at a thousand miles an hour... <grin>) but when he has spoken with my family he is amazed at how each of us sound so very different LOL...

keep the ideas and the conversation flowing folks... I LOVE IT... and it is helping to kill these HORRIBLE waiting times...

Tracy

[patriciaofoz 0]

some things i would of like to of remembered to bring was potato peelers..you know the cheap thin ones..they are too big and thick over here...the wire that you can thread net curtains through cant find anything like it up here..

A potato peeler? Really? That'd be the last thing I would think to bring to the US

I'm glad I'm not addicted to Tim Tams - that seems to be the #1 request from many Aussies - even my American friends who had lived in the US is addicted to that stuff. I think I will miss Cadbury's Roasted Almonds more than anything, plus maybe Kit Kats. But something tells me that there's enough American chocolate range to keep me satisfied. I like the good ol' Hershey bar as I'm easily pleased afterall...

[astrid and alex 0]

oh, I completely forgot....why can't you get SAUSAGES here in the US? Not those things that lok like dog poo in Ralphs, proper sausages! I've been craving bangers and mash for about a year now, lol.

[Kath 0]

hiya

patrica about the snags...i dont think they know how to make them like the aussie butchers mate...gawd i wish i knew an aussie butcher to ask and try to get them made over here..i so miss the odd snag in bread with onions and as a meal...and yes potato peelers .. i know i bought about half a dozen but forgot to pack um...lol..i just feel better peeling spuds with a thin peeler..

hey tracy thanks for the tips mate..i actually just bought my hubby a columbia coat just like you described marked down from 150 to 60 dollars from kohls .. the one i liked was just too expensive for me was a nice leather long hooded one so that will have to wait and be happy with what i got at the moment..robert hadnt bought a coat in 10 years and was always looking for a thick coat like his old one ..so went to kohls tonight and found a decent coat for him...i havent got a broad accent..im a mixture of british and aussie...when i was 8 years old my family immigrated to oz so im more ozzie than pommie but hanging round the family ya just cant help talking like them sometimes lol..i often get the customers asking if im english or australian lol..i have a running joke with hubby when i talk .. when he cant understand me i say to him .. if i spoke american ya would understand me huh lol and he gets a laugh out of it...but its true...we phrase things differently or talk fast...

take care

kath

[AussieGal 0]

Howdy folks

I am a Brit that moved to Australia/Victoria when i was 11, lived in Victoria in various places for years then moved to Glenelg in South Australia in 2000, loved it there and miss that place heaps. Now living in Durango Colorado with hubby, my American sweetie

I miss chocolate teddy bear bickies and royales......constantly. I even miss vegemite even tho i did not eat it alot..lol

I miss my Aussie friends......and the accents.

I wish i had bought my pudding steamer....as some of you may have read that already somewhere else..grin

every australian needs one

Cheers

Parys

[TracyOz 0]

Hey Parys..

PM me your details... I found you one...

have a GREAT day

Tracy

[densusan 0]

Hi Tracey,

I'm an Adelaide girl (Adelaide Hills area) now living in a place called Castorland which is in upstate New York. I've been living here almost 2 years now and will be filing removal of conditions in february 2008.

Mostly I miss my kids (although all grown-up), my grand-children very much and I miss my family and friends which is all to be expected. I went back for a visit in March this year which was wonderful! Whilst visiting Australia I ate all the things that I cannot get here in the USA but most of those are perishable items, so I was unable to pack them to bring back here. Kath is right about sausages & potatoe peelers.............I miss just a plain pork sausage.........seems all I can get here is italian sausage. OH...........my favourite chocolate bar....Cherry Ripes.........packed loads of them!!!!!! I'm sure that you can get most things here if you live in the big cities but we live in a very rural area with limited shooping opportunities. Vegemite is a must have!

I also wanted to let you know that I flew my dog over here from Australia and had the same concerns that you do but she made it and is very happy. There is no quarantine period here in the USA, so they are able to get off the plane and be with you immediately. Considering that Georgia (chocolate dalmation) was 11 years old when she flew in the end the worry of putting her through it and the huge expense was worth all the grey hairs & money I parted with. Georgia flew Adelaide, Sydney and then LA ( where she was kept overnight), Chicago and then Buffalo and then she had to endure the nearly 5 hour drive home with us! She's amazing!

I hope the rest of your journey is a good one! Have a wonderful Aussie Xmas because no doubt your next one will be in Cleveland and will be white.

Hi to all the other Australians.

Susan