In this issue

Are you ready to support your favourite sports team at the brand-new Perth Stadium in 2017? Perhaps you’re looking forward to crossing the stunning ‘Serpentine Dreaming’ pedestrian bridge or eagerly wanting to picnic in one of the new nature play areas along the Swan River? With such exciting developments happening around us, 2017 is going to be a great year!

You needn’t wait until the New Year to have fun! Why not visit the spectacular Santa’s Magical Kingdom at the new purpose-built
Burswood Crown Pyramid? This event is guaranteed to enthral not only the children, but also the young at heart. If you’re in or around Bunbury, pay a visit to the recently opened Ace of Spades on Spencer Street as this newly established friendly coffee outlet is one with a difference!

As the year draws to a close we prepare for the upcoming festive season and subsequent New Year. We’re reminded again that change in life is constant. With change comes opportunity, yet change also requires adjustment and adaptation. In this issue of Merise we initiate the first instalment of a series of articles on how to help future-proof ourselves, our careers and our lives.

I hope that 2016 has been a good year for you, your family and friends, and that you have been abundantly blessed. On behalf of the Merise team I would like to wish you a wonderful Christmas, a most enjoyable summer and here’s hoping that your dreams for 2017 come true.

Merry Christmas!

Merise Magazine Description:

Merise is a digital family magazine initiated in 2011 to encourage and assist others, as well as to offer advice in facing the challenges of settling and integrating into our new community together. We talk openly about the different aspects of our lives that are under strain through the migration process – from helping our kids adjust to their new school environments, to leaving our parents behind and to changes in the dynamics of our personal relationships.

We provide valuable information about financial and visa requirements, encouraging specialists in various fields to submit articles on topics which we feel may be beneficial to our readers. Merise captures the beauty of our new countries by featuring different geographical areas in Australia and New Zealand, thereby giving would-be migrants or readers who are planning holidays or an interstate move, a better understanding of what to expect in their new domain.

Merise will become a friend to you and your family.

The ascending aircraft in the Logo is symbolic of our desire to reach for the stars. Even the name itself has meaning. By dividing the word ‘Merise e’ in two, it becomes ‘Me rise ’, accentuating our aspiration for life improvement. Merise embodies support and friendship and is such an essence in our lives that we feel inclined to personify the magazine. Merise is who we are.

It is important for Merise to support ‘her’ friends, not merely those who have recently arrived, but all expats in Australia and New Zealand who have left their home countries to find new direction ‘Down Under’.

Merise lends a hand in almost every way. Like anyone who has been through the immigration process and experienced it first hand, Merise is thoroughly aware of difficulties that may arise for both newcomers as well as experienced expats and knows how to help overcome, or should we say “survive”, these difficulties.

Merise explores different avenues and is vivacious and enthusiastic, living life to the full and is always on the lookout for new challenges and encounters. Merise's experiences and pleasures are shared with her friends, always encouraging and inspiring them.

Merise is fully bilingual and has English- as well as Afrikaans-speaking readers with whom time and information is equally shared.

It’s not that easy to find a friend as special as Merise . . .

Both versions of the English and Afrikaans editions of Merise are available on www.merisemag.com.