We’ve been here for a few weeks now and it’s been up and down. We are staying with relatives of John’s whom we had never met before. They have been kind but we hadn’t realised how difficult living with another family was going to be. We feel we have no space which makes life difficult, particularly as we are feeling vulnerable. In retrospect, we should have gone it alone from the word ‘go’, even though that’s difficult financially. You really do need to have enough money to live on for six months – you can work straight away once you get here, but part-time work isn’t always easy to find. I have a job in a clothes shop; the girls are nice but I’m bored. At least I’m out there meeting people. John is finding there isn’t much casual work for a 30-year-old.

We are spending a lot of time sorting out our documents – enrolling with Medicare, resitting our driving test (only the theory part, thank goodness, although if we were living in Brisbane you have to do the driving part as well and the roads are HUGE!) We are getting banks sorted out, and tax file numbers. All very time-consuming. We carry our documents with us at all time and never let them out of our sight!

Australians on the whole are very friendly. When they hear the accent they are full of questions and interest in us - a quick trip to the post office can turn into an hour and a half of chat with complete strangers offering  you advice. They all seem to say: “Oh, you’re from Scotland, my mum’s half-sister is from Glasgow.....do you know her?” People seem so supportive but I’ve learned not to trust the ones who tell you that you’d better watch yourself because you might get fleeced – they’re the very ones who try to pull a fast one on you!