In bound

[Londonmum]

:wave: Hi all :wave:

My family and I currently live in London England, we are in process of emigrating (just waiting to sell flat) and then me my OH and DD will be in bound and planning to live in Adelaide, possibly around the Adelaide Hills area.

We were there last year (before I was pregnant) and found Adelaide to be very friendly and welcoming hence our choice to move there above anywhere else.

Now we are posed with some problems, which I hope you Adelaide mums and dads can help us with.

Such as are there any good/reliable mother + toddler groups/nursery's/pre schools? (sorry don't know what you call them there so covering all bases) :) Whats the education like ? Are there any parent/toddler groups who meet up for socials? Basically what we are looking for is any help and advice you can give us to make our transition easier.

Thanks for reading and replying (hopefully)

[anak]

Hi London Mum and welcome.
Not really sure how much info I can give as it can get very confusing etc with all the choices.
I have found some sites for you that may get you started on your research into schooling.
http://www.decs.sa.gov.au/decs_home.asp
This one gives a whole heap of information on the South Australian Education System and you can also search for schools.It lists public schools only though I think.It also lists all preschools/kindys as well

This one is for all independant(private) schools in South Australia.
http://www.isd.com.au/search_sa.php
Its excellent in terms of the search engines as you can put in all your info that relates to your needs and gives you a list of what is available.

http://www.saaspc.org.au/ (http://www.saaspc.org.au/)
This is a good site if you are interested in joining any parent groups affilliated with the schools your children may attend

and this one..... http://www.playgroupaustralia.com.au/sa/ gives info on all the playgroups that are run around the state. There is also lots of independant ones as well that you may see advertised in your area that you choose to settle in.

And finally this one gives you info on just about EVERYTHING else you may want to research including those that I have already mentioned.
http://www.parenting.sa.gov.au/links.asp

Good Luck sorting through all the info and making your choices:thumbsup:
I agree Adelaide is fantastic but then I have lived here all my life (apart from my stint overseas)so I am biased:D

[Londonmum]

Hi Anak. Thanks for the prompt reply, we will look at sites with interest. You have certainly made life a lot easier for us :)

Now I'm going to be really cheeky and ask some more questions :o

Whats the health service like there? Do I need to register with a GP/local Doc or can we see anyone? and is there a list of GP's we can reference to see who's in area we are looking to move to?
Do you go to GP for things like prescriptions or is that something the pharmacists deal with? (My LO is on a high energy feed which we can only get through a GP here)

Do children get benefits there like they do here? If so how do I go about finding out what my LO is entitled to (if anything) ?

Sorry if I'm waffling :ecomcity: too much or asking loads of questions but they are not things we would have thought about if not for LO and I'm sure I will have lot's more questions in time so please be patient with me :D

Thanks loads

[angelwinks]

What part of the hills you looking into because I used to live there until 1 1/2 yrs ago and had my babies there so I could help if I knew where you were going? :yelclap:

[uptheduff]

HI Londonmum :wave:

We moved to Adelaide from Scotland last year, I'm aussie originally, but DH is scottish.

Here in Australia, you can see any doctor you like, no need to register. You will need to fill out a form at your first visit though. It's the same with dentists, etc. not sure about a list of gps in the area, but you could try asking on sites like this one once you know where you will be based. You could also look on www.yellowpages.com.au I think you'll need to see your GP for prescriptions, but they should be able to give you a repeat perscription, so you won't need to see them every time you need a renewal iykwim.

YOu may be entitled to benefits over here, but it will depend on your income and residency status. have a look at www.familyassist.gov.au to see if you are entitled to anything.

good luck with the move, and if you have any more questions, please feel free to send me a pm!

[Londonmum]

Cheers all for the responses :)

Not sure where in Adelaide Hills we will be moving to, we are ultimately looking to buy a little land and have a house built but we can't do that till we sell the flat back here in London (which is taking forever :banghead: ) But before we can get place built we would obviously be renting.
We have already looked some estate agents up on website but again we can't say for sure where we will land up as will depend on whats on offer once we get our plane tickets so :fingerscrossed: But any info you all can think of that we may find useful would be very welcome.

[Nan]

...My family and I currently live in London England, we are in process of emigrating (just waiting to sell flat) and then me my OH and DD will be in bound and planning to live in Adelaide, possibly around the Adelaide Hills area....

WOOHOO! I might FINALLY have a fellow Hills dwelling bubhubber!! :smiliedance:
Hello Londonmum. I'm in the Hills in MT. Barker. It's basically as far out as you can go before the city becomes the country!! We LOVE it here. Lots of land on offer here and close by, too. Feel free to PM me if you need help that way. Good luck with your move. It is a big step for you.
Love,
Nan. xx

[Londonmum]

Nan, PM sent, I hope :) as i'm still getting used to this forum.

[angelwinks]

I used to be in the hills (like I said) in Meadows so was constantly in Mt Barker NAN :o
If you want to know more about doctors and hospitals in that area let me know as hmmm things are ok but not always what you need at the time.

[Londonmum]

Cheers Angelwinks, ant info you have would be great, would you like to PM me. :thumbsup:

[anak]

Hi LM:wave:
The Australian Health system is a pain at the moment and it may be very hard to find a GP that is suitable. Depending on what area you live in you may not be able to get in to the local GP as alot now dont take on new patients which in turn sees alot of people go to emergency wards for simple things and then that clogs up that part.Its all very frustrating sometimes.You may actually get an area though that have a pletherer of Gps willing to take on new patients.It is a bit hard to tell until you settle.
Also in regards to prescriptions some doctors will just write out repeats if you have seen them before and allow you to collect them from the reception,but many are fazing this out now and depending on how many repeats you can get, each time you run out of medication, you will need to go back and see the Gp for another.
HTH

[Londonmum]

That doesn't sound very promising. Good job i'm getting 3 month px from my UK GP before I leave.
Still I guess I'll just have to try and be persuasive to get on GP list.
Over in UK if you can't get in with GP then you can apply to local health authority who then assign you to a GP and even is their lists are closed they still have to take you as having a GP is one of those fundamental things you 'have' to have. Can you do that in Auz?

[flowerpot21]

hello londonmum

im a new pommie mum in adelaide too. i arrived last year at about 6 months pregnant - seems such a long time ago now :eek:

i initially registered with a local gp (we live not far from the city in the western suburbs) and was seen at the women and children's after that as a public patient (nothing but good words about the whole hospital and staff, both prior and after birth)

anyway keep in touch!

good luck with the flat - we had problems selling too so sympathise with that..

take care
x :wave:

[Londonmum]

Hi again everyone, just popped in to say hi again and to say we 'Finally' have a buyer for our flat. So fingers crossed please everyone that we will be joining you all end sept/beginning oct.....another summer :smiliedance: I'm really looking forward to it and meeting all of you.

[Nan]

Hi LM:wave:
The Australian Health system is a pain at the moment and it may be very hard to find a GP that is suitable. Depending on what area you live in you may not be able to get in to the local GP as alot now dont take on new patients which in turn sees alot of people go to emergency wards for simple things and then that clogs up that part.Its all very frustrating sometimes.You may actually get an area though that have a pletherer of Gps willing to take on new patients.It is a bit hard to tell until you settle.
Also in regards to prescriptions some doctors will just write out repeats if you have seen them before and allow you to collect them from the reception,but many are fazing this out now and depending on how many repeats you can get, each time you run out of medication, you will need to go back and see the Gp for another.
HTH
Must say, if you are planning on living in Mt. Barker I can only rave about the GPs here! The ones at our clinic are EXCELLENT and I have had no troubles with health care at all. In fact, its been better than in town!! :yes: Also, because the hospital is smaller the public patients get private specialists for free as they seem to see everyone. I know this is what happens with OB/Gyns. They see private and public people. Its great. :thumbsup:
:fingerscrossed: that your flat sells!!
Love,
Nan. xx

[*Sparkles*]

Hi Londonmum,
How exciting that you are emigrating down under, good luck with the move :thumbsup:
I am an ex pom too and have been in Oz for 13 years.
One thing you will need to do when you get here is register for a medicare card (for you and your family) so that you will be entiled to medical care through the national health service (it's similar to the national health card). As previously mentioned, you are not restricted to just one doctor over here. However, some doctors charge a fee to see them and you can claim most of it back through medicare. Other's will "bulk bill" (cover the full cost of the consultation) although this is more rare these days. Also prescriptions are quite expensive, eg around $30 per script.
All adults will also need to apply for a tax file number so when they start work the tax will be at the permanent resident's rate. This is also needed when opening bank accounts too.
Hope this helps.
Hels :)

[anak]

Must say, if you are planning on living in Mt. Barker I can only rave about the GPs here! The ones at our clinic are EXCELLENT and I have had no troubles with health care at all. In fact, its been better than in town!! :yes: Also, because the hospital is smaller the public patients get private specialists for free as they seem to see everyone. I know this is what happens with OB/Gyns. They see private and public people. Its great. :thumbsup:
:fingerscrossed: that your flat sells!!
Love,
Nan. xx
Totally agree Nan.
Alot of the out of town areas have fantastic GP services.Mt Barker I agree is brilliant and you get alot of the "better" specialists travelling to these areas, which is great for us public patients.
I use to live out of the city as well and liked my GP much better than what I have had in Adelaide.
It has taken me nearly 2 years to get a GP, as my area doesnt take on new clients and the clinic has just employed 2 new doctors and I registered IMMMEDIATELY to be able to get on the books.
Good Luck with everything....and looking forward to your updates on your big move.

[Londonmum]

Thanks all, Now DH has asked me to ask another couple questions :rolleyes:

What number/who do we contact for the Medicare cards ?
Who do we contact to get the tax file number?
Can any of you recommend a good bank which has the least amount of charges?

I'm sure he'll have more questions at some point........I knew it would be no easy thing this emigrating lark but it seems to get more and more complicated. :eek:

[Nan]

I'm sending you a PM!! :thumbsup:
Love,
Nan. xx