Diary of an Excited Immigrant #1

The Impossible Dream

"Dream is not something that you see in your sleep, it is what keeps you awake!" These are the words of the great former Indian President A.P.J Abdul Kalam. Over the last two years I have lived my dream - ever since I found about the Permanent Residency mode of moving to Australia, I kept dreaming about it, day in day out. Dreamt about starting a new life, a new job and a new challenge in a new country, the dream of ‘Life 2.0’. Let's call it the 'Sweet Australian Dream', since 'great' is what Americans believe is reserved for the USA! And what is this Sweet Australian dream you ask? It's a life which would ensure the all-important work-life balance, a house in an Australian suburb, a decent car, time to keep yourself fit and get a chance to travel this beautiful continent of a country with my family. My dear friend has been in this country for more than a decade and I became fond of this country through his experiences. And a few you tube videos of Sydney made me a fan of this wonderful city!

The magnificent beach at Brighton Le Sands

I have had my fair share of shattered dreams, there was no guarantee that this one would work. But I am a day dreamer; if I get a call from Human Resources of a company, I start dreaming about working there and wonder how the experience of working there would be! Similarly, I kept pursuing the Australian Dream despite people questioning the sanity of going there without a job, going on your saving, not having any support except a few close friends. Would give full credit to my parents, my wife and my in-laws who stood behind me firmly and backed my rather optimistic ambition.

The important thing is don't restrict your dreams, because if you dream, you want it from inside and you know you would do anything to make it come true. There is an old saying "As you think, so shall you be". Seven words which represent possibilities, possibilities which are completely dependent on your mindset. If you wish to achieve something, keep pursuing it, you will get there one day, no matter how big the ambition is! A very touching example is of Hollywood actor and one of my favourite comic Jim Carrey, who used to visualise success when he didn't have anything. He once wrote a cheque to himself before he became a star, for 10 million dollars and dated it for 3 years later. And he did achieve that goal before 3 years when he signed 'Dumb and Dumber'. The learning which he shared was ‘visualise clearly, precisely and frequently, work hard towards it and it will manifest into reality’! Typical of Jim Carrey, he concluded it with a joke, “Of course, you can’t visualise your dream and then go have a Sandwich!”

Uncertainty of my Bubble

I started thinking about applying for PR in May 2015, I did get my skill assessment quickly but getting the invite was the hardest bit and also the most uncertain bit, because I wasn't sure whether my bubble was still afloat or not. It took me 7 months to get the invite, it was a real long wait and a blind wait because you don't know where you stand in the queue and what your chances are! I still remember the day I got my PR, I was at work, just about to go for lunch and randomly glanced through my mailbox to see the visa grant letter! It was the second happiest day of my professional life (me passing my CA will always remain my happiest). I was on the moon! I immediately called my wife and I was beaming with the prospect of a bright future ahead!

The Plan

People love to give advice and I got a lot of different views about how and when I should plan my move there. I don't think anyone was right or wrong, but I got to hear contrasting views on when to quit my job and when to move there. Some people suggested that I go there on a month's leave and search for a job there. But thankfully i was very clear in my head as to what I wanted to do. I assessed my financial situation and calcaulated an approximate amount required to survive in Sydney for 4 months without a job. Also, advice from a very friendly and helpful recruiter from Sydney helped me decide when I should be making the move. I knew I had to make a choice and stick to it. I sacrificed my year-end bonus because I wanted to be in Australia by mid-June since job placements pick up in July. I took the call and booked my tickets immediately so that I could work backwards to ensure I am all set on this D-Day. I used to open my ticket occasionally, adore it and smile at it and why not, it had my name on it and was a one way ticket to Sydney!

Saying Goodbyes

The last month before I left was very exciting. It was a well-deserved break after working continuously for six and a half years. I was given farewells and good wishes by my colleagues and was touched by their gesture. I also got to spend time with my family, relatives and friends which I couldn’t previously due to work commitments and was surprised with the amount of gifts and warmth I received from these well wishers; it was incredibly supportive of them to provide a helping hand in my misadventure. I was able to detach myself from a lot of things, my city, my home, my motor bike, my belongings, etc. but I knew I would miss my family and my school friends (who are also family since they are friends for more than 25 years).

Packing and Unpacking

How do you pack 32 years of your life in 47 kgs of baggage allowance? It's tricky, perhaps a management lesson on weights and space. Plastic wrap, cling wrap, bubble wrap, zip lock bags, shopping list, packing list, packing list #2, final packing list, last minute adjustments; it was mind boggling. It's funny that this entire packing process becomes a family thing, even though it's just one person who's leaving. It took several rounds of packing, weighing and repacking to finally arrive at the final set. Besides, the shopping never ended, since I felt like taking so many things from here since they were cheaper in India than buying from Australia. Moreover, I was bombarded with so much advice on what to pack and what not to; it wasn’t complicated to my mind until I got the advice.

The Dawn of a new Sun

I barely noticed sunrises, having always been a late riser; but on this day, the 15th June 2017, the sun felt special. Special because I was awake before sunrise and I saw the sun rising into the sky while in the cab to the airport, special because it was the dawn of the day I dreamt of over and over again. When it finally came closer I thought it would never arrive, thought it would get jinxed. But it did, ladies and gentlemen, the day of my migration, the day I left Bombay to move to another country, Australia.

I have lived at the same address in Bombay, India for 32 years, born, raised, schooled, graduated, married at the same place. I never had to worry about my documents having different addresses. I had never travelled so far away from my home in my life, have never been to the southern hemisphere and had never visited Australia before I moved here. And to top it all, I was moving here without a job, converting my lifetime of savings into a wad of foreign currency which easily fits into my wallet. Talk about putting all eggs in one basket !

All this sounds like a lot and it was a big deal (I realised it when it actually happened), but when I dreamt about it these firsts did not scare me, they just made things more exciting - new country, no relatives, hardly any friends, no job! The Australian permanent residency opportunity was hard to let go. I always wanted to have the experience of moving to another country, meeting new people, getting professional experience of another country and its culture. I found it thrilling to be able to do something out of my comfort zone. I had left a stable, decent paying job, my comforts like car, air conditioner, my lovely parents who till now took care of me, to migrate to a city where I 'll have to fend for myself, win the bread, cook the bread, eat it, and then clean up the mess too. I had to leave my dependent parents to fend for themselves as I pursue my dream, which I regret.

In hindsight, it's shocking to know that I never owned any important assets such as land, house property, etc. Nine years of work experience and no assets to show for, is not a sign of financial success. While packing, I realised that all I owned was loads of old clothes, which aren't good enough to be packed but not old enough to be given away. Wish there were a market for this, would have atleast recovered part of my money spent.

The Opera House at Dusk

I landed in Sydney on the morning of 16^th June 2017. I made it a point to visit the Opera House and Harbour Bridge the same evening. It was so beautiful, the weather was pleasant, the water was pristine, as the sun sank into the Pacific, and the night took over in a beautiful well-orchestrated handover as the moon popped out behind the Opera house. The moonlight gradually turned brighter, making the wings of the opera masterpiece shine radiantly in its guiding light. So peaceful!

Experiencing Australia

The beautiful North and South Heads of Sydney are the entry

point for all ships arriving in the city

Australia is a continent, not just a country. It has desert, it has snow, it has beautiful coastline as well as the hilly ranges. It is so picturesque; the might one must have taken special care while making this country since it is blessed with so much natural beauty. Few things which I realised over time, Australians drink more coffee than beer, are extremely fit, are excellent in their outdoor sports and fitness endeavors. You will find Aussies in great shape and are quite health consciousness. It's such a nice trend to have in their culture to be competitive even in their health and physique. They are perceived to be laid back, but the truth is that they just value their work life balance and respect other people's private life. They are extremely professional and customer centric. I found difficult to get used to shops getting closed down early and people eating their dinner at 6 pm, but it is a healthy practice and something which I’ll have to adapt to. Also, since Sydney is a cultural melting pot, there are several accents which I need to get used to, Australian, American, Canadian, English, European, Chinese among others. The trickiest accent which I faced till now was the Geordie accent, since it felt like the guy had an extremely heavy tongue and might have gargled a few words before spitting them out! It is also a challenge that sometimes people don't understand what I am trying to say, due to my Indian accent.

The spectacular view from the EY office, 34th Floor

Sydney, like the whole of Australia is gifted with abundance of natural beauty. So much so, that you don't need to be a photographer out here, just aim your camera onto something and it would turn out to be a great capture! Sydney is bustling city, full of beautiful bay side views, landscaped parks, beautiful houses as well as clean, well planned suburbs. It has a rich heritage, its British built town halls, historical buildings and monuments still standing tall and elegant! The Queen of England (who is also the Queen of Australia) would be continuously getting hiccups as one often reads, hears and says her name while traveling in Australia, since a lot of historical monuments, streets as well as the currency are commemorated to the Queen. A tall plaque was built just to celebrate the visit of the Queen to Sydney on the occasion of Australia's Bicentenary in 1988. Must be the benefits of having a good breakup!

Sydney's Town Hall which was built in the 1880's

Plaque commemorating the Queen's visit

Finding a job in Australia

This was the trickiest part of the move here. Job application is a continuous, relentless pursuit of finding an ‘aye’ among the ‘nays’. It's almost similar to cold calling, where 1 in 10 will be willing to talk to you (i.e. look at your CV) and only 1 out of those 10 will consider buying from you (i.e. looking to hire you). The biggest constraint is 'Australian experience' which is considered to have more weightage than your overseas qualifications and experience. The cultural fit is more important to them than technical skills. I was surprised to find out that interviews do not comprise of technical questions, but more around whats and hows of my previous role. The Australian experience criterion is a major challenge for a new job seeker, since few employers wants to take a chance on an Aussie Fresher, making it difficult for people to get their first job. I was ready to do any kind of work here, including casual jobs but was very fortunate that I didn't have to, since I found a job within 2 months of moving here.

I will definitely write more as I experience Australia even more and as I start working again! It's been an extraordinary journey so far and the 3 months work break has given me such wonderful experiences. It was the most amazing gift I could give myself, a new challenge, a new life, a new journey and a new city I now call home!

Coming up next : Finding a Job in Australia