Vanduex Posted August 29, 2014 Share Posted August 29, 2014 We are in Brisbane! This is short post to summarise our first few days and impressions. Also it may be useful to people stepping off the plane or even about to book flights. Flights We flew Singapore Airlines, we took the 11:30am from Heathrow and arrived in Brisbane at 19:00 which was actually half hour early, we had a 2 hour stop in Singapore. We wanted to smash it through in one and get started. The airline were great. Great staff and great entertainment. We had plenty of drinks offered and the food was decent. We couldn't find up to date info on movies online before we flew - could only find information about the new releases but didn't realise the amount of additional films; all the batman movies, a range of marvel movies kept me going, also we had 12 episodes of Big Bang Theory. Loads of other box sets like game of thrones etc. it helped!! Arriving at Brisbane was easy. No hassle of fuss. Just walked out and jumped in a car. nothing to declare had prepared me for much worse, in total it took about 15 mins to get off plane, get luggage and breathe in the fresh air (after 24 hours of being inside, it was lovely to take some deep breaths!). Brisbane is a maze - that's the first impression. Taxi drivers apparently don't know the way around. In fact the next morning the news was talking about drivers in QLD not knowing where they are going. It's a little unusual. We had booked into the Merition on Hershel Street. The tallest building in Brisbane which was completed this year. 3 nights for around £400. It's worth it. We have a 2 bed serviced apartment on the.......71st floor, it's stunning, what's a great way to have an overview of Brisbane. Apartment has a kitchen and 2 bathrooms, 3 Tvs. It's great. parking is a whopping 40AUD a day so don't get your car until you have to. We have managed on foot and trains. Great transport links. Brisbane itself loves coffee. We left the house and found a topless bar (!) and a million coffee shops. My wife didn't want to go into the topless bar but instead opted for coffee......win some lose some. Wandering around Brisbane is nice, lots to take in. Shopping is great, variety is great. We went to vodafone and both got new phones. iPhone 5s. 4gb data, unlimited minutes and text (including international texts) 300 international minutes for 70AUD each. It's roughly what we paid in UK. There are cheaper out there, and tonnes of sim options but this suited me and I felt good about it. Job done. We don't have jobs just savings, we needed passport, bank statement and letter from the bank to secure credit check. ANZ totally messed up in the UK. Went to collect our cards (after receiving a phone call a few weeks ago confirming that they'd be there) and they hadn't even been ordered. And they had put that we needed 3 signatories on our account to withdraw money!!! Needless to say, I wasn't very impressed, but the guys in Brisbane have sorted it all out (and apologised) and we should have our cards next week (can withdraw cash from the bank with our ID). Not ideal, but not the end of the world. Today we leave the Merition and we are a bit sad. I will miss the view and it has given us a taste of apartment living which me and my wife's may return to in the future. We are off to Coomera, further south than we intended but when we booked it we were rookies and had no idea. We are looking at rentals in Cleveland, Thornlands, Alex hills in the east suburbs. I drove around and they are all beautiful. Quick note on driving - it's fine, it's bloody slow but actually it is better for me, I am aggressive and fast, doesn't seem to be an option here due to police everywhere, therefore it removes the pressure to gun it everywhere. Disclaimer: this feeling may not last as I settle in!!! Driving an automatic seems to be normal and adds to the casual nature of driving I think. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
calNgary Posted August 30, 2014 Share Posted August 30, 2014 Thanks for the update and welcome to Brisbane Cal x Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vanduex Posted August 30, 2014 Author Share Posted August 30, 2014 Cheers. Thanks for putting it in the right place in the forums. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigmac Posted August 30, 2014 Share Posted August 30, 2014 Hope you & your family have a wonderful new life in Oz x Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
srh82 Posted August 30, 2014 Share Posted August 30, 2014 So have your initial expectations of Brisbane been met? Good of luck with settling in! :-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vanduex Posted August 30, 2014 Author Share Posted August 30, 2014 So have your initial expectations of Brisbane been met? Good of luck with settling in! :-) At present I would say yes. Probably more so. The main things I didn't expect were the friendliness, cleanliness and probably the pace. It is just the right speed. I am a valleys boy. Never been able to cope in the busier areas but I really like it here. Seems to mirror my perspective on life. Cheesy I know but hard to put into words. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gbye grey sky Posted August 30, 2014 Share Posted August 30, 2014 At present I would say yes. Probably more so. The main things I didn't expect were the friendliness, cleanliness and probably the pace. It is just the right speed. I am a valleys boy. Never been able to cope in the busier areas but I really like it here. Seems to mirror my perspective on life. Cheesy I know but hard to put into words. Yes we found everyone friendly and helpful on our recce. On two separate occasions a stranger offered us guidance and assistance before we had even thought to ask but in general I was impressed with the positive vibes that we got. Having to deal with London and the south east I am looking forward to embracing that slower pace of life now I am no longer in my prime. London used to feel vibrant, now it just feels frantic but that is my age I am sure. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
srh82 Posted August 30, 2014 Share Posted August 30, 2014 At present I would say yes. Probably more so. The main things I didn't expect were the friendliness, cleanliness and probably the pace. It is just the right speed. I am a valleys boy. Never been able to cope in the busier areas but I really like it here. Seems to mirror my perspective on life. Cheesy I know but hard to put into words. Not cheesy at all we had very similar feelings when we arrived in 2012. We moved from Bucks so not far from Reading! Good luck with everything if you need help which anything send a PM :-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jimmy P Posted September 1, 2014 Share Posted September 1, 2014 Good luck with it all, and have a great time! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beach pig Posted September 1, 2014 Share Posted September 1, 2014 Enjoy and good luck by the way get a v8 and everything seems so much faster.enjoy the honeymoon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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