• 2000 Apr - Easy to settle in South Australia
• 2000 Apr - Big thumbs up for meet and greet
• 2000 June - The best decision of my life!
• 2000 June - Milton 's migrant Survival tips
• 2000 Sept - Planes, trains and automobiles
• 2000 Sept - The area around Portland
• 2000 Dec - Karaoke King croons the night away

Big thumbs up for meet and greet

Milton Westcarr emigrated from Gloucester to Adelaide, South Australia in October 1999. Here he gives his verdict on the state's

Settlement help.

"A Chat with a representative from Immigration SA at Emigrate 99, first put me on to the idea of relocating to South Australia. Until then I'd assume I'd move to Sydney where my sister lives.

After finding out about the lower cost of living in SA and its highly developed infrastructure I was weakening! But what really clinched it for me was the comprehensive range of settlement services available for migrants.

As soon as I received my visa, I got in touch with Immigration South Australia and arranged on-arrival accommodation and for some one to meet me at the airport.

When the big day arrived, I boarded the plane feeling a mixture of emotions after sad farewells with family and friends. I arrived around 24 hours later, alone in my new country. Although it was 5am,I was met in arrivals by a smiling Tony Hodgekiss, a Meet and Greet volunteer.

Tony drove me to my three bedroom, single story house, in Clearview, about 10km from the centre of Adelaide, to freshen up. Under the On Arrival Accommodation Service, this would be my house for the first three months in Australia. It felt good to have a place to settle in straight away.

The accommodation was very good and what's more, the rent-included electricity, gas and water and is much cheaper than the private sector.

I then had my first meal in my new country, a scrumptious snack of Australian honey on toast, with Tony and his wife Mavis before driving back into Adelaide to collect my Telstra phone, register with Medicare and Centrelink and have an account interview with the Commonwealth Bank.

On the way home I did plenty of shopping in Coles supermarket.How about that for the very first day!

Over that weekend Tony took me on various excursions, including wine tasting around the Adelaide Hills.

I was also put in contact with other migrants, which has helped ensure that I haven't ever felt lonely. All of these things helped me get off to a great start Down Under.

In conclusion, SA's settlement services are brilliant; Australia is a wonderful to live and work and I am very happy!