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4 month update...
Posted 22-06-2008 at 01:21 PM by ajgwa
Well I have now been here 4 months. So as I have not been on here for a while I thought I would drop a few comments down for people to have a read of – maybe learn from or ask some questions.
My job took me to Brisbane. I am in the ADF and they sorted the transfer and everything for me. I had been here before – but it was 8 years ago and Bris has changed a great deal and gotten a lot bigger and busier.
The first thing to do was find a place to live and as I am sure people have put on here – it is quite difficult to find a place to rent. There can be loads of people viewing each property and you need to put your application in straight away as places can go the same day that they come onto the market. Carry completed applications, copies of birth certs / passports / visa cards / mortgage payments, etc for the 100 point check so you can hand it in when you see the place if you like it. Opening a bank account is dead easy – you can do it from the UK and then just verify you are who you say you are when you get here.
Mobile phones. Try and bring an unlocked one with you when you come so you can buy a pay as you go sim straight away. Once you have an address / bank acct, then it is easier to get a contract phone. It took me a while to sort out. Internet and phones I think are a bit more expensive here than back in the UK in that a lot more types of connection have download limits set on them. Foxtel (sky TV) is expensive – but why do you need it when there is so much to do outside?!
Driving licence. If you have PR status, then you are not supposed to drive on your UK licence after 3 months. I changed mine the other week and while my motorbike and car licences were changed over, the minibus, 7.5T truck, etc, didn’t. I have to do another test on each one. Worth remembering for people who might be relying on the licence. It might be a queensland thing only – not sure. And Queenslanders cannot drive for toffee!
I used to loathe early mornings back home. It takes a bit of getting used to but things seem to start from 0600 in the morning here! And as it is dark by 1730 your day seems very different. I would never have contemplated getting up at 7 in the morning on a Sunday for a run in the UK – but here it seems like the norm. Especially down around south bank where there are hundreds of people out running / walking / cycling every morning. And then heading off for brekkie somewhere. Public transport is reasonably priced, so jumping on the river cat to head up or down river for brekkie elsewhere is great! Eating out is reasonable and plenty of variety.
The place is great fun so far – and while it is very similar in some respects – it is very different. I never realised that the world and the sun revolved around Australia! Bris is a very green city and although my place looks over the Gabba and the city, there is still plenty of trees and parkland around, which make it very pleasant to live in.
I have been up and down the coast a few times. I have become a typical aussie and bought a 4x4 to do some off roading. The next trip planned is straddie island for some camping and fishing. They certainly know how to do the outdoors, with big fridges and swags… a swag is a mattress and tent thing combined. Huge – but very comfy!
My citizenship was confirmed last week – so I am just waiting for the details of my ceremony which will probably be in august. Then I will be a proper bogan, wearing a singlet and thongs and drinking stubbies of VB and goon bags…
Most importantly I am enjoying the place. There is so much to do and although I am missing people – when you are busy that is much easier to cope with! Maybe I will see some of you at the ceremony in August – or around and about Brisbane or the east coast!
My job took me to Brisbane. I am in the ADF and they sorted the transfer and everything for me. I had been here before – but it was 8 years ago and Bris has changed a great deal and gotten a lot bigger and busier.
The first thing to do was find a place to live and as I am sure people have put on here – it is quite difficult to find a place to rent. There can be loads of people viewing each property and you need to put your application in straight away as places can go the same day that they come onto the market. Carry completed applications, copies of birth certs / passports / visa cards / mortgage payments, etc for the 100 point check so you can hand it in when you see the place if you like it. Opening a bank account is dead easy – you can do it from the UK and then just verify you are who you say you are when you get here.
Mobile phones. Try and bring an unlocked one with you when you come so you can buy a pay as you go sim straight away. Once you have an address / bank acct, then it is easier to get a contract phone. It took me a while to sort out. Internet and phones I think are a bit more expensive here than back in the UK in that a lot more types of connection have download limits set on them. Foxtel (sky TV) is expensive – but why do you need it when there is so much to do outside?!
Driving licence. If you have PR status, then you are not supposed to drive on your UK licence after 3 months. I changed mine the other week and while my motorbike and car licences were changed over, the minibus, 7.5T truck, etc, didn’t. I have to do another test on each one. Worth remembering for people who might be relying on the licence. It might be a queensland thing only – not sure. And Queenslanders cannot drive for toffee!
I used to loathe early mornings back home. It takes a bit of getting used to but things seem to start from 0600 in the morning here! And as it is dark by 1730 your day seems very different. I would never have contemplated getting up at 7 in the morning on a Sunday for a run in the UK – but here it seems like the norm. Especially down around south bank where there are hundreds of people out running / walking / cycling every morning. And then heading off for brekkie somewhere. Public transport is reasonably priced, so jumping on the river cat to head up or down river for brekkie elsewhere is great! Eating out is reasonable and plenty of variety.
The place is great fun so far – and while it is very similar in some respects – it is very different. I never realised that the world and the sun revolved around Australia! Bris is a very green city and although my place looks over the Gabba and the city, there is still plenty of trees and parkland around, which make it very pleasant to live in.
I have been up and down the coast a few times. I have become a typical aussie and bought a 4x4 to do some off roading. The next trip planned is straddie island for some camping and fishing. They certainly know how to do the outdoors, with big fridges and swags… a swag is a mattress and tent thing combined. Huge – but very comfy!
My citizenship was confirmed last week – so I am just waiting for the details of my ceremony which will probably be in august. Then I will be a proper bogan, wearing a singlet and thongs and drinking stubbies of VB and goon bags…
Most importantly I am enjoying the place. There is so much to do and although I am missing people – when you are busy that is much easier to cope with! Maybe I will see some of you at the ceremony in August – or around and about Brisbane or the east coast!
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