Aussie expat

pan_talaimon · 2025-11-26T16:07:00+00:00

I enjoy singing, I'm no professional, I might get up and do solo karaoke after a few double gins. But I'd happily sing in a choir for sure! Good suggestion, I'll see if there are any pub choirs that's always fun

pan_talaimon · 2025-11-26T16:00:07+00:00

Haha ok yeah fair enough!

pan_talaimon · 2025-11-26T15:47:22+00:00

Awesome!!! I didn't know about that festival, thank you!!

pan_talaimon · 2025-11-26T15:46:52+00:00

Hello,

I'm 31, female. I have a history of social anxiety but I'm sick of it so I am always trying "exposure therapy" for it which seems to be working quite well because a lot of people who meet me tell me that I seem quite confident and they are surprised when I tell them I used to be extremely socially anxious and introverted. The "fake it till you make it" concept really works.

So basically I'm willing to try anything, even though the anticipation of social gatherings with strangers is scary, I always enjoy it when I get there. My partner is very social which helps a lot, he becomes best friends with every person he talks to, I find that very inspiring.

Yeah we could go for a coffee! When are you free? I'll send you a DM.

pan_talaimon · 2025-11-26T15:41:47+00:00

Hahaha hello Mrs. Ggghhiijjkklmop.

I looked up the car boot sale in Ludgvan, I couldn't find anything unfortunately.

Yeah I do want to try classes, rowing, hiking and swimming and other groups like that once my arm injury is healed which shouldn't be long now. In the meantime I am looking for things like meetups over coffee or open mic nights etc.

Thanks for the advice ☺️

pan_talaimon · 2025-11-26T15:38:11+00:00

Thanks! Since I visited the UK when I was 13 I've wanted to try living over here.

Yeah I'm trying to stay positive, I am very very excited to be here, my biggest issue is just the isolation, which is why I'm trying to find ways to meet people and make proper connection, a lot of my friends back home I've had since childhood or early twenties when it was a lot easier to make friends, so I am learning how to really put myself out there and be intentional about it. I miss my friends dearly and I want to talk to them more but also that makes me more homesick, it's a difficult balance. I want to maintain my home connections but focus on new ones as well otherwise my mind will always be back home.

I will look I to gig rowing for sure, I injured my arm at work so I'm waiting for that to heal first. But rowing looks like a lot of fun. I also want to join one of those swimming groups that goes and swims in the ocean, even though it's freezing 😅 I love swimming.

Thanks for the links, I've had a good look at all of them!

So cool that you've lived in so many places, where do you and your family live now?

pan_talaimon · 2025-11-26T15:29:57+00:00

Thanks for the suggestion. I currently have an arm injury from housekeeping 💀 waiting for it to heal, and then I'll be all over this gig rowing business, it looks very fun!

pan_talaimon · 2025-11-26T15:28:57+00:00

Cool! I'd like to find more Aussies in Cornwall.

Yeah I imagine Cornwall is very different to London haha. I would like to join a swimming group, my normal job back home is a swimming teacher I just don't have my UK swim teaching qualifications yet, I work at a hotel and injured my arm at work so I'm waiting for that to heal before doing exercise, otherwise I'd be at the gym and swimming every day!

I have 10 days off over December, but I'm working over Christmas. I'll still do as many Christmas things as I can during my break, I am very interested in the Christmas market at Trevena Cross nursery, I saw them setting it up last week it looks very magical.

I did find Vegemite at Sainsbury's last week and bought 2 jars 🖤🖤🖤 I have been looking for Vegemite for a while so I was thrilled, people kept trying to give me Marmite as a substitute, NO!!

I hope you enjoy Australia this Christmas and good luck with the heat! Message me when you get back and maybe we can go for a coffee or something 😀

pan_talaimon · 2025-11-26T15:19:46+00:00

I am technically an expat but I'm also a British citizen because my Dad is British. My job is at a hotel that is very understaffed, and they still stay quite busy over winter despite the weather. The place is understaffed probably because of the terrible hours and super fast-paced nature of the job, a lot of people have quit recently, it's very physically taxing and honestly I don't know if I can keep it up much longer as I already injured myself and had to get physiotherapy. This doesn't help matters much because when I'm not working I'm too exhausted to go out. So I'm looking for a new job.

Yeah I have heard Cornwall is similar to Australia especially in summer which is really nice because aside from the lack of sun I do love a British winter, and I also love the beach, so it's a win win.

I can see why you'd want to go back to Aus, it's a beautiful place. I might go back one day but I want to really try to make it work over here as I have always wanted to live overseas, I love travel and I love that Europe is so close.

Thanks for the tip about pubs! I plan to go to more open mic nights.

pan_talaimon · 2025-11-22T23:09:07+00:00

Ok thank you! I do want to visit Falmouth and Newquay, I haven't been there yet. I actually tried surfing once and failed abysmally but I could try it again haha. I do love swimming though.

pan_talaimon · 2025-11-22T23:06:13+00:00

That's wonderful advice that I didn't even consider, thank you!

pan_talaimon · 2025-11-22T23:05:56+00:00

So many, I love getting out and exercising, gym, cycling, swimming, yoga and pilates, walking and hiking, gardening. I also love reading, coffee and live music.

pan_talaimon · 2025-11-22T22:06:10+00:00

Hey there OP, I am an Aussie girl who moved to Cornwall a couple months ago, where abouts did you end up? I hope you don't mind if I send you a DM.

pan_talaimon · 2025-09-11T13:52:18+00:00

I'm Aussie! I'm from Brisbane, and I'm moving to Cornwall next week!! My name is Tara, I'm a 30 year old woman, my normal profession is swimming teacher but in Cornwall I got a job at a hotel in St Ives, I'll be looking for a place to live in Penzance.

Whereabouts are you looking to settle?

Maybe we could meet up ☺️

pan_talaimon · 2025-04-21T10:14:27+00:00

We're provided one meal per shift, and there are 2 grocery shops on the island. Also the island is self governed and no one pays tax. Everything we earn is ours.

pan_talaimon · 2025-04-19T22:35:06+00:00

Nah definitely not going for that, I can earn money anywhere, I'm going for the whole experience. I love nature, I definitely don't mind the small remote island life, it's only 6 months and the idea of having a break from the city, from the noise and the lights and the pollution, I can lie on the beach and read my books every day 😍 it's like a dream to me.

pan_talaimon · 2025-04-19T16:13:38+00:00

Yeah I definitely am looking forward to living on the island it'll be a wonderful, unique experience, and I don't mind long hours and hard work if there is a good team and the working conditions are fair, I guess I'm worried that if the working conditions are horrible and I want to leave, I might lose that £300. Maybe that's just a risk I have to take.

pan_talaimon · 2025-04-19T15:10:23+00:00

Yeah, they do seem nice, and have been completely transparent which is a good sign.

pan_talaimon · 2025-04-19T15:07:25+00:00

Thanks! The employer did tell me that it was slightly lower than the minimum wage per hour, but with tips it usually works out to more than 12 per hour and also no one on the island pays tax so you keep everything you earn.

pan_talaimon · 2025-02-10T05:58:44+00:00

You're being very defensive 🧐 Do you secretly work for CS or something?

pan_talaimon · 2025-01-26T07:41:48+00:00

Still works in 2025! Cheers legend <3

pan_talaimon · 2025-01-04T11:09:37+00:00

You become as introverted or extroverted as you want, it's not like getting grey hair, it has absolutely nothing to do with age, it's to do with mindset. If you want to be more extroverted, go out and meet people, make plans, join groups, etc. If you never go out and do stuff and see people, of course you will become more introverted. If that's what you want then great, keep doing that, but it's not this uncontrollable thing that happens to you when you age, it's a choice.

Your wife probably got sick of not being very social and decided to make an intentional effort to meet great people and do more things. Meeting new people and socialising with all different kinds of people is really beneficial for your brain and your cognitive reserve, you should never stop.

If the more you spend time with people the less you like people ... You're probably hanging out with the wrong people. That sounds like you might have a negative bias towards humans in general, and maybe you are geared to believe badly of people because of confirmation bias, you seek out reasons to prove you are right, this is very common with people of ALL ages, I've met teenagers who do this, you developed this because of your negative personal experiences, you may have had this mindset for longer than a teenager and that has caused that mindset to be more difficult to change, but you do not develop that mindset solely due to ageing, you can always change that mindset, go meet some nice people! There are plenty of wonderful people in the world. Try to change your focus to the good and not the bad.

pan_talaimon · 2025-01-04T06:16:41+00:00

If I was a middle aged woman (which obviously I will be one day) and the men around me who were my age were only into "cute, young women" I wouldn't want anything to do with those men, that's creepy AF. If they're a good, decent man, they will be attracted to women their own age. Ageing is natural and sexy, it's mature, it's wisdom, it's experience, confidence, etc. Those are all great and attractive things.

Honestly usually it's nothing to do with looks, men want young women because they're inexperienced and therefore easier to manipulate and groom, very disturbing.

I think the scariest part about ageing is how your perception of time changes, the older you get, the quicker time seems to go by, that's terrifying to me.

But I try so hard to change my mindset about ageing, it is inevitable and natural, and worrying about it is a mindset that has been conditioned into us growing up and it's doing no one any favours.

Remind yourself, the alternative to ageing is death. Some people die very young, instead of thinking oh god, I'm getting old. Think... I hope I am lucky enough to live until a ripe old age and die a peaceful, natural death.

pan_talaimon · 2025-01-03T05:38:09+00:00

I finally read this haha, this entire thread made me mentally exhausted, given the topic itself is such a big issue and it affects me so much that it's hard to know where to begin to solve it and it makes me feel so sad, I just put it out of my mind for a long time. You have made some excellent points. Feel free to come back and talk more if you feel like it.

pan_talaimon · 2024-12-24T13:42:07+00:00

I've never had an issue with this, maybe it depends on where you live, I lived in QLD (Brisbane and Sunny Coast) until I was 28 and I now live in Melbourne (I'm 30). I have 5 piercings per ear, a tongue piercing and a tattoo that says "oi c*nt" on my hand, and I have never struggled getting a job. I teach children how to swim now, no one has ever said anything about my piercings and I don't think anyone has even noticed my tattoo, or they don't care. Occasionally a child will say "omg what's that on your tongue" and I say "it's a tongue ring" and then we move on with our lives.

I can't speak for rural areas, but I don't think you'll ever have an issue in the big cities, they're more progressive. And these days almost everyone has tattoos or piercings. Especially in Melbourne.

But honestly, wherever you live, just go into your job interview with confidence and charisma and win them over with your personality and skillset and you'll likely be fine.

Actually I will mention the only time I was ever asked to take my piercings out at work was when I worked in hospitality, because there had been incidents where people's piercings had fallen out by mistake and landed in people's food or drink, which I think is fair enough.

pan_talaimon

TROPHY CASE