Hello, I'm new.

[anj1976]

haha.. yeah, after we talk to them about their eventful day at the cultural society me and OH always discuss the same thing. what will they do at a place like AU. And then they are from a smaller town and I am sure U can relate to their thinking since u r form PK (hardly stayed there but u might be aware of ppl's mentality where women smoking/drinking is a taboo and less clothes women gets all the attention). It scares me at times.. fr me its all a passe since I have been in a metro forever.

and yeah i read so much about canberra that i am falling in love with it. It sure looks lazy and non active most of the time. its like the embassy area in delhi and I so love going there. but i really dont know what happens to our application. hv my fingers crossed. i soo want this to materialise. and then there is this issue of our medicals. i got lap-band surgery 2 yrs back. lost a lot of weight but I am so super scared about the meds.

[amaslam]

Yeah, I know all about conservative parents. It sure will be fun when you take them for a visit to Bondi Beach in Sydney - make sure you have the camera handy to capture when their jaws drop.

Actually Canberra is very much like that Embassy row you are talking about (especially the Embassy row in Canberra itself). The main thing is getting on track with your State sponsorship as all the other main docs are in. I wouldn't fret too much about the Medical. Just make sure your panel doctor is good and detailed. I think Immi mainly looks at TB and communicable diseases and HIV. Past surgery should not be a concern to them unless it means some costly therapy in later life (I don't know what Lap band is but it sounds like a one-time surgery without constant therapy in later life).

Originally Posted by anj1976

haha.. yeah, after we talk to them about their eventful day at the cultural society me and OH always discuss the same thing. what will they do at a place like AU. And then they are from a smaller town and I am sure U can relate to their thinking since u r form PK (hardly stayed there but u might be aware of ppl's mentality where women smoking/drinking is a taboo and less clothes women gets all the attention). It scares me at times.. fr me its all a passe since I have been in a metro forever.

and yeah i read so much about canberra that i am falling in love with it. It sure looks lazy and non active most of the time. its like the embassy area in delhi and I so love going there. but i really dont know what happens to our application. hv my fingers crossed. i soo want this to materialise. and then there is this issue of our medicals. i got lap-band surgery 2 yrs back. lost a lot of weight but I am so super scared about the meds.

[anj1976]

Official Site: the LAP-BAND® Adjustable Gastric Banding System for weight loss surgery, its bariatric surgery for morbidly obese people. they put a band around the stomach (organ stomach) and it reduces your food intake. i am down 60 kgs already. i believe it is very common in AU, UK and the US. and it is not covered in Med-claim at most places. in the US it is but u hv to prove that no exercise etc works for u..
anyway, as for cultural shock, a couple of days back i took them to the mkt and they saw this women wearing halter and hot shorts with tattoos on her back and she was smoking. they couldnt take it too well. I too have tattoos but I dont go displaying them when I know India isnt the place where these things will be accepted well.

[Sono]

Originally Posted by amaslam

It's often on my mind. While it is easier to live as the years go on I do miss being close to them. They are at age that they need some help (and they won't ask me for it as they know I'm very happy living in AU). The best way I can find to deal with it is to have them over for a few months visit and as they are retired they don't need to just fly over (put in a stop or two in a nice place like Hawaii/Singapore/Malaysia/Tokyo with hotel and let them rest). I would say the best time to bring them over is just before the AU Summer (November) and have them go back (if they want to) in the March/April time (Spring start in the US). That way they skip the US Winter and have nice sunny long days with you and the family in Australia. Make sure they have good medical insurance when over here.

If they are open to it, you might want to consider the Contributory Parent Visa if they would want to live in AU. It's not inexpensive but if they expect to come over to AU over the next 10 yrs it's comparable (i.e. two parents/yr flights ~3000) versus (32000 per parent contributory parent visa).

It's funny. I lived for years with out my parents around, due to the fact they were still in Singapore and I was in the states. Now that they have been back for the past 10 yrs and they are getting older everything is so different. It is a tough decision. Thanks for the advice amaslam.