The Sudden happy twist in the tale - Canberra is Calling with an awesome Job!!

Well, its time to say Hello Canberra :)

       All these days right from day 1 we were thinking about Melbourne and even made our first landing short trip to Melbourne. And then, one fine morning everything changed.

        We both randomly were applying jobs all over Australia, as ours is an independent visa (visa 189). After our surprise short trip to India this Jan 2015, the blessings from all elders and temples worked out instantly and we both were greeted with interview calls in our emails when we had landed back in Singapore. We both had skype interviews on Jan second week. And now, for the climax we both were successful. By February first week I had an offer letter for full-time Phd in Melbourne and when were about to celebrate my victory Arvind's offer came pouring in after that.

        My husband is a lark and I am not that much of a morning person. And all the good news, be this job offers or our PR or any other news for that matters comes to us early in the morning and Arvind rushes to me, wakes me with a jerk and shouts the whole thing even before I get conscious. The same happened for this and my heart skipped few beats for seconds when he told be about his offer.

        That's only when I realized we are not only a smart-working couple but we can't get more lucky for 2 reasons,

1) Our plan had always been that we would be migrating by June 2015, look for a Job and that's why we had saved money to face the migration expenses and sustain financially during the job search period. But now, we not only land in Canberra with a job, but the relocation expenses are covered by Arvind's employer too. I know its all bragging but I can't be more proud.

2) My only concern to Arvind was not to limit himself by searching only for satellite related jobs, which is current field in Singapore. To encounter more opportunities I requested him to expand his search/interests in anything related to embedded systems. But very fortunately, all thanks to LinkedIn he was able to find the same kinda defense job in Canberra too. Now, I can proudly brag that my husband works for Australia Defense Research, Canberra ACT.

        Eventually we decided to let go my Phd offer, as the purpose of this whole migration itself is to stay together and start a family. So I find it meaningless when I have to stay 500 Kms far from him. Fortunately Arvind tops my priority list. And more importantly I will be going as a student and Arvind as a full time employee with maximum benefits. So obviously we chose Arvind's path. This may put an end to my Phd and Melbourne dream temporarily, but with a supportive husband like this, I am sure that I will make myself worthy some day in Canberra too.

        Now we are all set, one way flight bookings - done, Shipping - arranged, temporary accommodation - done, Sg matters- settled, investments - closed, contracts- terminated, Packing- done. We leave Singapore on April 14 th and the date is not far away :)
Years became months, Months became days, Days became minutes and Canberra here we come.

"Good bye Singapore" post and "Things to do during Migration" post coming right away. Stay Tuned!

See you in Canberra :)

Migration to Australia- (Part 1) - When the going gets tough only the tough gets going !

Disclaimer: This blog post is not a guide for migration or an advertisement. This is purely based on our experiences and my understanding, written by me.
Thanks to few friends and family who inspired us to do this. Everyone has been a great source of inspiration, guidance and information for the past 1 year guiding us through each and every process. 

You can read our other parts of migration experiences here.

Precap: We both did Bachelors of Engg @ India, met at a conference. We fell in love, landed in Singapore,  did masters at NTU, got married, moved to 3 different houses, and here we are with the Australia Permanent Residence in hand - all ready for the next big step.

Why Migrate:

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A) From India:

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We are born and bred Indians. We love India and India is our first home. Having said that, coming to practical reasons, it’s not just money or career or the standard of living, it’s a loss of faith. Of course Arvind and I have had an awesome childhood in India. But to me have that childhood, my parents were in constant fear protecting me 24/7. They never did allow me alone to a shop nearby. I have traveled very few times in a local bus/train and have experienced many atrocities those few times. I was never allowed a night out/ sleep over with friends, nor a movie at theater with friends, unless it is a huge group, where the whole group is known to my parents individually or the whole group is guarded by one of the parent. I am sure many of the girl children would have experienced the same.

Now this is not just pampering, but it was all about protecting. And these days no matter how many good things are spotted, the bad things get worse.

Indian Passport- Awful for Travel:

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      Again, we love India and our roots are tied to India. Having said that again, Over this 4-5 years of travelling, the only few good things holding an Indian Passport is just collecting colorful visas and for people visiting Bhutan/ Nepal it’s a visa free entry. An Indian Passport needs a visa to enter almost all the countries in the world except for 50 countries roughly. With all the nationalities just swooping inside, we have to encounter the suspicious looks, showing our return flight tickets and our funds (??!!). It’s indeed an embarrassment. So I made a point that day. My kid should never ever suffer this.

PS:  My experience is not for everyone.  Though I try to see goodness in everything, this was way out of my acceptance.

(B) From Singapore:

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Singapore has given us numerous things. If it isn't Sg money, we could not have afforded staying at a beach front villa or visiting exotic countries or luxurious exclusive branded products or diamond jewelries. But among all these luxuries, relaxed lifestyle is not one of them.

We are done being ‘Foreign Talents’ for 5 years now. It’s high time we settle down, buy house, car, have kids. To do all this is Sg, it takes a minimum of 8-10 years from now, just for this. Forget the education system, the national service, the cost of living, ‘the tiny island- not so much to do’, and the work-life balance.  At the end of the day, life is nothing but a fast race here.

PS: I am sure all the foreign talents and the newly granted PR’s would agree.

Migration- Solution?

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      With all this being said, things aren't going to be rosy, out anywhere in the world. But giving it a try with hope isn't the worse thing.

Why Australia?

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      Every time I get back to India, my first few minutes have been great. The hugs at airport, the smile at faces, sure feels at home. But enough reasons mentioned for why we do not want to continue our lives there.

      First being comparatively easy and safe, affordable luxurious life style, high standards of living, relaxed and calm lifestyle (it’s kinda black mark when a person stays at office after office hours). This is just awesome for me because of my workaholic husband. Besides India is just hours away. It takes 10-12 hours from Chennai to Coimbatore in trains and almost the same time from Australia to India in Flights. Truly it’s no big deal.

It’s very obvious that we ourselves have to do laundry, clean toilet, mow the lawn, cook every day, drive my car and cannot even think of having maid, helpers, drivers, cleaners like an upper middle class family in India could afford. But this is far better than corruption and rapes.

And people who whine about the racist problems, “Stop complaining that the rose bush is full of thorns, be happy the thorn bush has roses”. The cast creed discrimination in India is no better than the racism in Australia.

The Steps, Processing time and all other details followed in Part 2.