tina0101

I just google 'compare credit cards' and then go through the options to see which is best for me.

Mount Coot tha has a lovely view of Brisbane from the top and there are the Botanic Gardens on the way up. The Gardens in the CBD are niec for a little walk round and you can't beat South Bank (although it's starting to get a bit chilly if you fancy a dip in the pool!) The Brisbane Wheel is always advertised on Groupon (I personally wouldn't pay full price for it). Storey Bridge climb is fun, but you need to be relatively fit as there are a fair few steps. You have the museums too in the CBD. A bit further out, you have Mount Tamborine, Straddie Island, Sunshine Coast (Currimundi and Mooloolaba are both nice for a day trip) or a trip to the Gold Coast/NSW (Fingal Head is lovely, so is Mermaid Beach if you don't want to go quite that far). Depends whether you have a car or not. I think the CBD itself is fairly limiting for things to do, but there are loads of things if you have wheels :-)

What_do_you_need_to_know?

I turned down a job at UQ as I lived in Wellington Point and although the commute to the CBD is ok every day, the commute to UQ was just too much (I wasn't offered parking there). If you will be driving in outside of peak hours (which is about from about 630am) it would be ok. After then, you are asking for so much more traffic. If using public transport it is a train into town and then a separate bus/train journey onto UQ. On the plus I love living on the Bayside. It is a beautiful place to live, well placed for the Gold and Sunny Coasts. I wouldn't consider anywhere else to live now. It's a wonderful place to raise a family with some great schools and clubs. The train and car journey to the CBD are fine in the morning (again, I leave mega-early to avoid traffic). You need to just weigh up whether you can do the commute each day.

My husband and son both use their UK-bought PS4 here :-) BUT you can't change the nationality on the PSN account so you still use it but the store is still in GBP. Hubby managed until his subscription was up and had finished with lots of games so making a new Aussie PSN account wasn't too bad for starting all over again.

Paying upfront wasn't a problem for us in Brisbane. It can even sometimes help, especially if you don't have a job. We also had our bank statements and also a letter from our employers in the UK and the estate agent who sold our Uk home, just saying how great we were too.

There are lots of Catholic schools around Brisbane. Girls? Boys? What ages are your children? I commute from the Bayside to South Bank each day on the train - it's an easy commute (about 45 mins). We have a number of single sex schools and some very good primaries in the area.

Just check if there are any rules for.the community pool. My friends son isn't even allowed to have a ball in their community one - even if they are the only family down there!

Off the top of my head: Synergetic, TASS, OneSchool, iWise. OneSchool is probably one of the most horrendous systems I have ever encountered in a school. It's functionality is appalling. I actually miss using SIMs in the UK..... I'm actually shocked that someone thought it'd be a good system to use in State Schools in QLD!! Synergetic is ok. I know a few schools have moved away from TASS recently. Husband is a teacher and seems ok with iWise. Not sure what it's like from an Admin/Data point of view though.

Manly and Wynnum are closer to the city than the area I live (Wellington Point) and are by the coast. Not 'beachy' but some lovely walks in the area along the seafront and plenty to do. Get a bit more for your money over in the Bayside too, compared to some of the places lastonealive listed (although, I would love to live in some of those suburbs!) but it is quieter over here.

For Queensland have a look at Smart Jobs for teaching jobs in the public sector (you can filter it down so you don't end up with every job in QLD!). https://smartjobs.qld.gov.au/ Also Tracer is good if you want supply work initially. http://education.qld.gov.au/hr/recruitment/teaching/tracer/ Lots of Private Schools advertise on Seek.com. If you have any contacts at schools in the area you want to teach in, it's always worth seeing if they can help - building a rapport can sometimes go a long way when looking for jobs! Good luck

From a personal point of view, I wouldn't touch Sheldon. They are way too strict and I know some really good kids who are being told off for having the wrong coat, being sent home for not having one of the correct haircuts (local hairdressers are aware what is required if a kid is at Sheldon). I find it very sterile and lacking warmth. I know a few people with kids there and it works for them. I also know a number of people whose kids have hated it - it takes conformity to a whole new level. I have heard very good things about Ormiston for the Juniors. Still fairly strict but more about the individual, rather than the image it needs to portray. They do put the pressure on when they get to Senior though, which is what put us off sending our son there (he would've been in the top years). There are many great state and religious schools (Lutheran, Catholic) in the area too. If you have a kid that is going to work hard, dome of these really look at the whole person, not just grades. Ormiston State is great, along with Bayview. Kimberley College has a more holistic approach too. JPC is also a good school, but is a fair way from the other two, which are in the area I live.

I commute by train everyday from the Bayside to South Brisbane (45 mins - slightly longer than driving but only by 5-10mins). The train is cheap, clean, runs on time and if you are lucky you can get on the free wifi. The only thing I notice different between me and the Aussies I work with is that we call certain things differently (pants/trousers, pushchair/stroller), which actually makes for some fun banter. They are a little more to the point than people I worked with in the UK, but that's not a negative in my eyes. I spend loads more time outdoors since we emigrated. Sometimes we get on the Citycat at Bulimba and head up to town, other weekends we will go up Mount Tamborine, down the Gold Coast, up the Sunny Coast or just stay local. As long as you have some DEET and citronella, you can manage to have BBQ's in the summer without getting mauled by the mozzies (although they always manage to find the one piece of me not covered in spray!) The one real negative for me is those few ridiculously humid days in the summer. I absolutely hate them but am lucky enough to have a pool I can jump in to cool off!!

I'm on the Bayside (East of Brisbane) and its noticeably hotter in the western suburbs in the summer. We've got a couple of small beaches locally and its easy to get to the Gold and Sunshine Coasts. I'd always recommend checking out what public transport is like in the area you want to live in too - it's actually quicker for me to get the train to work than drive somedays!

Victoria Point, Redland Bay, Mount Cotton. You get more for your dollar compared to Cleveland area. Lovely areas, by the sea and lots of open space.