Hello.

I'm a 27 year old woman, born in Italy but of mixed race Dominican. I've lived my childhood and teen years between Italy and Dominican Republic and I'm very close to all my relatives and my family as is usual in my two cultures. Family is everything.

When I was 20, I met my now Fiancé online through MMORPG (we are both into gaming) and after a 6 year ordeal to get money and Visas, with me coming and going from AU multiple times, we've been finally living together for a year and a half in WA, in a small town near the beach.

It made sense that I'd be the one moving, since I know English and I've traveled all my life, while my SO never left his town. We get along well, and the relationship is rock solid.

Sadly, my problem has been the complete isolation I am in since I've moved. My SO has no family to speak of, dad was never in the picture and mother is an alcoholic and and an addict so I've never met her. Other than him, I have no friends, no connections, nothing. Although I partly blame this on Covid, our little town was not affected by any regulations, we never closed shops or had to wear masks, it was business as usual. I feel terrible all the time, I've always been on the shy side but in Italy I had a few solid friendships that kept me sane, and the boundless love of my family. Here I wake up in silence, spend my day in silence, and only find solace in my SO's company after work.

I suffer from depression and anxiety disorder, plus PTSD, which brings me to how I finally broke. I had found a job after my bridging visa was approved, and sadly I was repeatedly abused mentally for weeks, which constantly triggered my PTSD which is work related, as I've been abused in the past.. I thought moving countries across the world would have helped, and yet I've been hurt again, had to be hospitalized for a week. I'm being followed by a psychologist and a wonderful GP, but while I feel better after I talk to them, the feeling never lasts. The extreme hour difference between here and Italy makes it so I can never hang out with my friends online, and I find myself not contacting my family so I don't worry them.

I cannot relate to Australians here, they make fun of my accent, my food, my mannerisms. I go along, thinking jokes are the norm here, but no one has space for me in their world. I'm cute to have around so they can ask me random questions about Europe, but it never goes further than that.

I wonder if I'll ever be happy here.

Thanks for your reply.

I feel like my nationality matters, not as "I am x nationality so they do not like me"

but as "the way I was brought up and my culture makes it so it is very difficult for me to relate and fit in with australians here"

although I admitted that I am a shy person, I never said I do not make efforts to be out there and make friends. I've been outside, talking to people and going to events way more than I ever did in my hometown in an effort to form connections, to no avail.

I wouldn't be here, expressing how awful I feel and how isolated I am if I hadn't tried everything available to me.

I am already acquainted with my fiancé's coworkers, but the interactions are superficial. It took weeks for them to even speak to me and call me by name, for the longest time I was just "the missus". Now I may get invited to the occasional pub night, but no matter how much effort I put into speaking to them, I can never relate. Conversations die, no progress is ever made. I swear all they want to know is if I can cook x dish, say x word in italian/spanish and so on.

My fiancé doesn't have any other friends outside of work, and we don't know of other young couples around us. He's always been a loner but the difference is that he doesn't mind, he likes it that way.

I do not mean to imply that the problem is the people living here, I am just puzzled as to why is it so hard to go further than small talk with anyone.

The longest conversation I've ever had here was with a Malaysian employee in an Asian grocery shop, who was also very bitter and sad about living here, our struggles were identical and he had been living here for 4 years now, with no change. While I appreciated being able to relate to one person in months, this also brought my hopes way down. I feel like the only solution is moving somewhere else, like Perth, but in order to do that I'd have to work a lot here, for at least another year.

In relative solitude. If I even get over the workplace abuse I just endured.

Hi Artemisia-Tau

I’m really sorry to hear that you are struggling to make meaningful connections in your town. And I’m very sorry that you became so unwell that you required in-patient care.

I can remember feeling the same loneliness some 30 years ago when I first arrived in Australia. I also relocated for love.

I really understand that you are trying to make friends and I know it isn’t easy. The truth is that it takes some time to get past the superficial conversations. This was particularly true for me with my partner’s friends. They were all nice people but I really needed to make my own friends. I met most of my friends at the time through work or they were neighbours.

It took years to create memories with others and build the kind of friendships that I had left back home. If you’re going to persevere in Australia you need consider that it may take years to feel like you belong.

I hope it’s okay to ask, but I’m wondering if you’ve talked to your partner about how you’re feeling? No pressure to answer. Just hoping that you’re receiving adequate support. Also wondering if he would be willing to relocate with you?

Kind thoughts to you

thank you for your kind words, Rose.

My SO would be happy to relocate actually, he says he hasn't got good memories of the town either, and with no family connections he's free to go wherever.

I guess it all comes down to money really. We are both doing non-specialized jobs, although he's studying for something better. It's still too expensive for me to study, so I wait.

Tomorrow I will find out if I get to keep my job and I am terrified to go back into that environment, but I have no choice. I am determined to feel like I belong here, for him, for us.

It's just that my mental health disorders disrupt this determination every other week. Even with medication I feel deep despair and I can't sleep most nights. I think if I had some sort of social hub to go to, people to talk to at the end of the day, these symptoms would at least ease a little... but I guess there is nothing else to do but tough it out, right now...

I hope I am tough enough in the end.

I've recently joined a lot of Facebook groups for Italians living in Australia, to see if there were more successful stories to cheer me up and I found that most people actually agreed with me that making meaningful friendships here might be the most difficult part of it all! at least I know I'm not alone in this struggle.

Hi Artemisia,

Sorry to hear moving across the world, trying to fit in & make friends has been so challenging.

Do you think the fact it’s a small town, majority of the people being Australian that makes it harder? I only ask as I live in the city & am surrounded by people of all nationalities. Even my own family is an eclectic mix. Polish grandfather, Belgian grandmother, dad was born in Belgium. My mum is Aussie, my sis married an English guy, my other sis married a Greek guy & I’m dating a Sri Lankan guy. My aunt married an Italian, my dads cousin (Polish) is married to a Polish woman & when we have get togethers it is an exciting mix of languages, foods & cultures. To me it’s the norm, but I can see that it could be quite different in a small town.

you mention people making fun of your accent. This could be the case, but I think one of the best things about a lot of Aussies is the ability to joke around, laugh at ourselves & tease each other. My workplace here is also a mix of nationalities. One woman is Russian & yes, she has an accent & very occasionally gets her English words muddled. We all laughed when she described something as “big fun” but it wasn’t because we didn’t like her or were teasing. It was really endearing & it’s now become a part of our work vocabulary. If we organised a night out, we ALL describe it “big fun”. I guess to the person who said it originally, it could feel like teasing, but from my perspective it means you belong, we accept you whether you can speak English properly or not & we will incorporate the way you say things into our conversation to show you fit in.

I also noticed you said you had been referred to as “the missus” instead of people using your name. I think many of us have been called “the missus” at some point. Even me, the first guy I dated was maybe a bit “bogan”, all his mates were the same & every single persons girlfriend was referred to as “the missus”. But then with other partners, circle of people that phrase never gets used.

I think being apart from your family is a great hardship. I know I would be lost without mine. Maybe you can start making a blog or videos to send them? Show them the landscape, the weird foods we eat or the dumb things we do? They can then read/view it in their on time but it might help you to still feel connected with them?

If you can find any community or social groups that may be of interest, try them out.
Best of luck, I hope you eventually find your place here in Aus

Hi Artemisia_Tau

You are certainly not alone. Your Italian Facebook groups sound like a good idea. Back in my day, we didn't have social media, so I joined an in-person cultural club from my homeland (Canada). I found I really liked talking about politics, places, experiences from home with people who knew what I was talking about. I suppose it filled an early void.

Last night I was trying to remember how I got passed superficial conversations with acquaintances. One thing I remember doing was hosting a lot of dinner parties. This environment gives you a more relaxed opportunity to talk and people don't "move on" (like what might occur at a pub), so there is more meaningful conversation.

I'm willing to bet that some of your partner's friends would love a home cooked Italian meal ... is there a couple you could invite? Maybe invite people you could see yourself being friends with if given the chance to really get to know one another.

I have to be honest, I'm a bit concerned about you trying to "tough" it out. My strong belief is that mental health comes first--before work, school or even a partner. And given you've just come home for hospital and certainly don't want to go back, I'd like to encourage you to practise some self-care. Daily exercise should help to life your mood and might help you to sleep at night. A healthy diet and good sleep is also really important. I don't know if you've ever tried mindfulness, but if you're interested there is a helpful free app called Smiling Mind available.

I also want to really encourage you to think carefully about whether or not returning to your job is worth it. If you were bullied at work and you're not well enough to return or it's not safe for you to return, you can apply for workers' compensation, which will provide you with financial support and help to safely re-enter the workplace. You can also contact Fair Work to see what your options are in the event that you are unfairly dismissed.

On a positive note, I want to let you know that it is possible to settle and enjoy a new life in a new country. I've been here some 30 years and wouldn't change a thing about my life, despite the early struggles.

Kind thoughts to you

I’m guessing this reply was meant for the author of this thread?
So I’m not ignoring you, just assuming the message was for Artemisia

Hello Artemisia,

Welcome to the forums. I understand your isolation after moving - I've been living here for about the same time as you and still haven't made any friends of my own. Where I live, COVID did affect our lives so that made it hard to meet anyone new. I'm shy around people as well.

As you've already found out, you're not alone in finding it hard to make friends. I'm really glad you found that Facebook group - I honestly do think that finding a community online is far easier than finding one in real life. Not being able to find a social group doesn't necessarily mean being unhappy though, so don't lose hope. I wonder if there are other things that make you happy, that you can pursue in place of trying to meet people. A hobby or an activity you love, perhaps? I'm not saying that you should give up on making friends, but rather, have something else as well so that your happiness is not solely dependent on your ability to make friends. That, I like to believe, will come with time as Summer Rose has pointed out.

I'm sorry about your work situation. Would you be able to find another job where you are not mentally abused?

Kindly,
M

thanks for replying TheBigBlue!

I understand what you mean, and I would have loved to be able to laugh it off and I am familiar with the "Australians love to joke like that with foreigners to make them feel included" thing, my fiancé explained it to me.

Sadly in this instance it was less than tasteful jokes, repeated through time. (at least at work, that is)

I'm glad to hear the missus thing is commonplace actually, I always thought it was the weirdest thing not to be acknowledged by name in a convo, but I guess it's just how it is!

I'm not a big social media person and I admit my mother has been dying to know more about my whereabouts, I've just been too depressed to talk to her and my relatives. I will make a bigger effort to include them in my life online, I miss them so very much.

I've been online all day yesterday joining all possible online groups from this town, reading all the conversations happening there. Nothing of notice yet, but trying is giving me some hope..

Thank you Rose.

Oh I would l o v e to be able to host a dinner party. Everytime I had the chance to, I've cooked and sent things on to people I barely knew just for a chance at a chat! But apart being told I am a good cook, nothing much happened.

We don't know anyone that well for us to invite to our home yet.

As for the job, it is the first time I actually stood up to the injustice and wrote a letter to the human resource officer. Which makes me proud and equally terrified. I do not yet know what my higher ups think, but depending on what is done to resolve this situation, I may consider staying or leaving this job. (which makes it sound like I have choices, but the reality is that leaving will put me in a very bad financial situation)

My past abuse and trauma has taught me that if the situation doesn't get better once I report the issue, it never will. And the only victim is going to be me. I do not want to damage my body and mind further just to survive..

I tried looking into this fair work/compensation thing, but I don't think I have been working there for enough time to be eligible, sadly. I have sent an email to APM though, in case I suddenly find myself jobless, maybe they can help me find a job that won't trigger my PTSD.

I will search and try that app, more help is always welcome, thank you for the suggestion!

Hey Emmen!

thanks for your words. Knowing there are other people like me, struggling with this issue makes me feel less alone. I hope you get to find your own meaningful connections too.

I do have hobbies! I love to paint, I play videogames, read books and do a little gardening. Literally the only things keeping me sane along with my partner.

I don't know about the job. If I get fired or I walk away, I'm back to 0, sending my CV to everyone for everything. I'm currently seeing if I am eligible for APM, their site seems promising. I am very scared of what my next job could mean for me, I don't know if I can take another hit.

Hello Artemisia,

I'm glad your hobbies keep you sane! We're very much alike in that - my hobbies and partner keep me sane too! Another thing I thought of - would there be any volunteering opportunities where you live? It may provide you with opportunities to meet people too. It may immediately sound like a way to make good friends, but you never know who you may meet.

As for the job, I get what you mean. Going back to 0 and the whole uncertainty is very exhausting and demoralizing. Do take your time to think about it. You'll never know how the next job will be until you try, but only do so when you feel you're ready to take that chance.

Kindly,
M

Hello, Artemisia...

I wrote one response to your post and deleted it, because it was just too depressing and you don't need that! Let me try again. Due to a very violent ex husband and the Hague convention, I was never allowed to return home with my child, so had to make a life here, without any family or friends, so I've been a very reluctant resident. Australian culture can be difficult to navigate, especially around misogyny, homophobia and racism however, all is not lost! While it is incredibly alienating being alone in this country, there are people here who will welcome you with open arms and bring joy into your life. I live with a number of physical and psychological conditions now, as a direct result of domestic violence, including ptsd and anxiety disorder and when I'm having a bad hair day, (or week, or month), I pull up the drawbridge, fill the moat with pirahanas, heat the pitch and threaten to hurl my cats at anyone who dares attempt to break my self imposed isolation. I think some of the problem lies with the misconception that some Australians believe that the only reason people come out here is because their home country is shit and that immigrants who settle here should be grateful to be allowed to stay here. I, like you, gave up my dear family, long held friendships, and beautiful country, for love. It is such a shame that monsters only show their true identity when only their victim is around to witness their depravity, (going a bit dark...drag myself back to the sunlight). Having said all that, when I'm able to cope with social interactions, I really enjoy my craft group. They all know my foibles and thankfully, all of the members are incredibly patient with me. I'm not much of a people person, (totally misanthropic, tbh), so again, when my body lets me, I take myself off out and away into the bush for a nice walk and take my camera so I can shoot some content that I can produce my illustrations from. As for work, before I was made disabled, I had my own signwriting business, of which I was very proud. When the ability to work was stripped from me, I volunteered for a number of years at an RSPCA charity shop. It was great to be able to keep my hand in and I learned a whole heap about how others cope with their problems. Animals are never ending sources of love, have you considered volunteering a couple of hours at a shelter? If my health was better, it's what I'd be doing.

I wish you all the best. I've got friends from different backgrounds. Even many Australians are originally from overseas. You will find that there are good and bad people in all countries. By the way, have you tried joining a Lion's Club or Rotary Club? These guys are helpful too.

Wish you all the best.

Hi, I understand how you feel. It's hard being far from family and close friends. I think that sometimes people don't know what to talk with foreigners. It creates a sort of discomfort that results in asking always the same questions. In my perspective it is other people's insecurity but we perceive like something is not right with us. If you actively change by being the one a asking questions, it may changes the result. This is not to say that you're not making enough effort, but just that mindset is very important. Be confident, be proud of who you are.