Ich freue mich darauf, dich kennenzulernen - I look forward to meeting you

When Rene kissed Australian ground at Perth airport on January 20 (he actually did), we had exactly 15 days until the first day of school for the children, because the Western Australian school year begins in early February after the Christmas and summer holidays. So as soon as possible: open a bank account, get a bank card, register a phone with an Australian number, buy a car, find a house, enroll children in schools, buy school uniforms and supplies, get furniture and other household items from dishes to bedding to trash cans, and, for at least three of us, the most important thing, get the Wi-Fi up and running.

But there is a certain order that must be followed for everything to work out. For example, you need an Australian bank account first and can only then 'apply' for a house. You need a signed lease agreement in order to enroll your child in a school in the assigned catchment area.

After opening the account in a measly 2 hours, the focus was now on finding a house. The requirements of my loved ones were not without their challenges: right by the sea (Rene), not too far from school (Sofia), with the option to have a dog in the rental agreement (Leon).

To get to know the procedure, we threw ourselves into the hustle and bustle of several open house viewings: a horde of people have exactly 15 minutes to run through the house and then submit a multi-page application form, a kind of application letter to the landlord. This pack of papers includes your bank statement, references from previous landlords and coworkers, and also the address and phone number of a potential Australian friend who will actually be interviewed to determine if you would be a decent and reliable paying tenant. After being thoroughly checked, you then wait one or two days for the landlord's decision.

And where did we end up? From Neupauerweg 18b to High Street 18b! Our house is just a few minutes' walk from the beach, has four bedrooms, and, like most Australian houses, two living rooms. There is simply a lot of space, which is why everything is built so huge! I read once that the living area per capita in Australia is the highest in the world. I believe it immediately when I see the monster houses of our neighbors, who do not share their property with the neighbors of 18a like we do...

Here you pay rent weekly or every 14 days, and after moving in, we received a (not exaggerating) 43-page photo collection of our house, documenting every spot on the floor and every point on the wall. Whether we'll ever see our deposit again is questionable.

By the way, the suburb north of Perth where we live is called Sorrento. It brings back memories of last summer when I was loudly singing Azzurro with my friends on the Amalfi Coast at 1 in the morning...