This "trip" began in early 2012. Rusty was working nights at UPS, I was working from home with my Juice Plus business. We were settling in with the "empty nest syndrome." Rusty had recently remodeled the kitchen and bathroom and the house was really shaping up. We weren't looking for a change as 55+ year olds. All our daughters had gone to university in Australia (another story) and married Australian boys and were permanent residents of Australia. I was just glad they were all together.
About May, 2012, Candace started having bad dreams.....felt the need for us to move to Australia. We just laughed. We had always planned to move out of California, or at least to northern Cal, maybe Wyoming or New Mexico, but no intention of leaving the USA. She was persistent....."as least look into an early retirement." So we did. Rusty found out that he could retire and collect his full pension at 59 1/2.....June, 2012. Candace started looking into the immigration laws for parents. The cost was out of our range. So on July 4 we felt that all doors were closed for us to go to Australia and decided we would stay in USA, live frugally and save for flights to Australia.
On July 5, Candace went to see an immigration lawyer and they found another parental visa that might work for us. It would cost considerably less for us to migrate to Australia on a parental visa. We checked our 401K savings.....the exact amount! We took that as a sign and we started getting serious about moving to Australia. Then the 'signs' started piling up: Rusty's pension paperwork and first payment should have taken up to four months to be approved and paid. The paperwork was finalized in four days and we received his first payment four days later. Additionally, Rusty thought his benefits would begin September 1; however, he qualified for benefits as of August 1. Candace even arranged for a place for us to live.
From the day we decided to 'go for it' on July 5, it was exactly 2 months, September 5, when we boarded the plane to fly to Australia. In that time we downsized our belongings to a 40-foot container and had it shipped to Australia for the girls. We sold, gave away or stored everything else.
We arrived in Australia on a 3-month visitor visa. After a couple of weeks staying with Candace we moved to the 125-acre farm that would become our home. Such a beautiful place! The house was very run down, but we found ourselves in the middle of paradise.
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| Views from our veranda |
I have always dreamed of having a wrap-around porch......well, it's called a veranda here, but I got my wish! Rusty started fixing the place up (good thing he had all that practice at our house in Fresno :) Soon we had a very comfortable home, nothing fancy, but comfortable.
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| Before |
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| After |
Visitors to the farm:
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The laws continued to change every few months and our residency was excelerated. With the new laws they wanted our whole payment at once in 15 days. Normally in order to transfer the funds it would take at least 30 days. My parents helped us work it out from stateside and it transferred in 24 hours! (Thank you Mom and Dad!) With the exchange rates our money grew and we had the amount we needed, even after Uncle Sam took his cut, which was a concern.
In order for our residency to be complete we had to actually be "off shore." We decided to go to the closest place off shore of Australia, Vanuatu. I had never even heard of it, but it is a small group of islands between Australia and Fiji. We were told we needed to stay 3 to 5 days....depending on how long it took them to process us. We were set to travel on Monday, 9 March, returning on Saturday. Beautiful place, lovely people. Very humid! We were told that on Friday a cyclone would be skirting the island, but wouldn't hit land, no worries. Well, the storm hit land and hovered for 12 hours. It destroyed most of the island. We were safe, but stuck there. We finally were able to leave on Monday. It was an experience that I thank God for and pray never happens again! (If you'd like to read the details about it you can at: http://gale4health.blogspot.com/2015/03/cyclone-pam-port-vila-vanuatu-friday-13.html
We found out later that as soon as we left Australia they had processed our application and we were permanent residences by the time we got off the plane in Vanuatu. Oh well, who wouldn't want to stay and experience a category 5 cyclone?
We have enjoyed our first 3 years on the farm near Beaudesert, QLD. It was a perfect place to start our journey here in Australia. Sometime this year we plan to move closer to the coast where we will have less driving. God is still opening doors to keep us in Australia with our family.
There have been so many wonderful experiences since we started this journey. The biggest joy, of course, are those grand babies! We are so grateful to be here. Thank you for all the prayers that have accompanied us through this journey. God is definitely in the details!
"For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." Jeremiah 29:11 When you put your hand in God's Hand, hang on tight, He will take you places you never dreamed of.
2018 Ammendment: We now live on a farm near Murwillumbah, NSW. Our family has grown to 13 with the addition of 3 more Grands. Such a blessing! We still miss our family and friends in America, however, I can't imagine being anywhere else right now. God knew I couldn't handle being an ocean away from our kids and their children. We do a lot of babysitting! I have taken up quilting and Rusty has been improving his golf game. Retirement is good!
Family and friends have visited occasionally and we enjoy sharing our new home country with them. It will be 6 years on 5 September that we began this journey and God continues to be in the details. We trust God for the rest of the story........
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| May 2018, Visit from Mom and Dad, Vicki and Kelly 2022 amendment: We have purchased a home just north of Brisbane, QLD. We moved shortly before Covid hit and we would have been locked in NSW away from our kids for two years. Again, God’s timing! We are well and enjoying being grandparents in this beautiful country. We became citizens of Australia in 2019. So we have dual citizenship. Rusty has remodeled our home. A major task. He survived a major heart, with no damage, a year and half ago. We are cherishing life and taking one day at a time in this crazy world. God is good, always! |
