Hello Australia!

Wow, the first three weeks have gone by fast. Tomorrow marks our 21^st day in Australia and it feels like we just arrived.

Our last few days in Florida went by in a flash. Without some last minute help from the Svercek’s I doubt we would have completed out packing. Still, Noel and I made it to Melbourne safely with our 226 Kgs (that’s 500lbs) of luggage. The airport crew at Fort Lauderdale International went beyond their line of duty to get our bags successfully checked through for what would be a two airline, double stopover, 21 hour international journey. In total, we had 13 bags including an oversized kiteboard carrier. When we arrived, the driver KPMG hired looked as if we were out of mind. A second van was required to fit our luggage.

KPMG put us into a serviced apartment for the first two weeks. That gave us enough time to look around the city and find a spot to call home. The temporary apartment was small but centrally located. It was a short, two block, walk to work. The location was key since induction training was scheduled the day after we arrived.

The first four days of work were short and filled with training. We were also introduced to the 105 people within our group. By contrast, our Florida team is less than 40. Everyone was extremely friendly and outgoing. People offered to take us out to lunch and dinner nearly every day. What’s more, several offered to take us shopping, lend us furniture, appliances, and even their car. We spent that first weekend with our new colleagues shopping, dining, and learning the city. We soon realized that our work/life experience would be quite different from that of the states.

A relocation agent was assigned to assist in an apartment search. Since we decided to go without a car in Australia, we limited ourselves to locations with walking distance to public transportation. Fortunately, the Melbourne train and tram system is the best in the southern hemisphere – according to the locals. Melbourne is densely populated with some 3.5 million residents living within 15 kilometers. We opted for a brand new apartment in an area called the Docklands. The area was recently developed from a shipping port and is within walking distance to the central business district.