Tuesday, November 6, 2007

Preparedness

We've finally received notification that our Visas have been approved. That means that we can start pushing ahead with the move. I wish moving to Australia was as easy as preparing a home anti-terrorist kit...finding duct tape is a lot easier than choosing an insurance company. Australia has a socialized health-care system, but foreigners aren't allowed to use it, so we need to have our own insurance. We are also choosing a bank to give our money to. Currently our selection criteria is based on who has the best automated email response. You'd be surprised how little these companies actually answer your questions. Most respond with "Our website makes it very easy to sign up for our service," to questions like "What fees does your bank charge for currency exchanges?"

We also have to prepare to ship our stuff overseas. Jenni continues her insurgent-like techniques of slowly getting rid of any item purchased outside of our relationship; "We won't need to take these towels with us, they have a loose thread." We actually do not have that much to ship; no big furniture items, no bed, etc. The hardest choices will come with which books to take. They have to be books that we are not too attached to, because, apparently, the humidity in Darwin does a number on the paper. Hugh and Basil (pronounced Basil) are packing up too, picking their favorite leaves, bottle caps, and wads of paper to take with them.

Well, I can only ramble on for so long about online application forms, but this is the point where we are in the move...just getting started.

2 comments:

J. Torrez said...

Wow... I am surprised the cats are allowed to take ANYTHING... having lived with Jenni and all I feel your pain regarding the "It has a loose thread, get rid of it." I once witnessed her throw a family bible away...she is ruthless!! ;-) LOL
?Why do you need to do currency exchanges all the time? ARe they paying in US dollars? Do you have bills to pay here still and if so, isn't it automatically converted upon payment? Are you sending money back to those of us left in the States so that we may save up and join you in Darwin!!?? SWEET!! :-)

Julie

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