Northern Irish ?

[ALVA]

Hi There we are immigrating from N.Ireland and would love to hear from anybody else out there who has done it already and could give us advice from a Irish point of view !

[heather&mick]

Hi Alva

We (couple with two young boys) have recently moved here to Brisbane from Kinawley, Fermanagh. Where are you? Life is good here but we are still in the early stages of settling in - trying to secure jobs, house, schools etc and so sometimes it feels a bit daunting and we can question whether we did the right thing - life in Northern Ireland was good but we always said we would come back to Oz having met here bacpacking years ago. Being near a city we do miss having the space - house and garden wise -that we had back in Fermanagh but I suppose that is to be expected near any city.
Ireland and Australia - both great countries - anything specific you want to know about Oz? It is fantastic to get away from the rain of Fermanagh! Also great boys having opportunity to learn to swim at an early stage.
Good Luck
Heather & Mick

[ALVA]

Hi Heather and Mick, We live in Maguiresbridge ! Not far at all from your home place. Its great to hear of someone else that knows where we are coming from exactly. We are hoping to find work for my husband who is a joiner/carpenter by trade and I intend to stay at home with the kids, our youngest is 2. We are in a dilema as to where to locate to still have a country lifestyle for the kids. We heard that Brisbane areas are all good for the trades to find work in but would like to hear what it is like for work in smaller areas of Queensland.

[heather&mick]

Hi Alva

Maguiresbridge! You may know a woman I used to work with in Enniskillen from Maguiresbridge. Mick's parents live in Lisnaskea. Your dilemma sounds very similar to ours. I am driving my husband demented suggesting Perth one day and then Tasmania the next! - Our eldest son had just started a lovely little school in Kinawley and we are currently looking at primary schools for him in area north of Brisbane - Sandgate or Brighton - nice surburbs. I am a social worker (looking for part time work) and my husband used to have a scuba dive business back in Enniskillen. I suppose the city offered us the best chance of work with decent wages but I'm sure your husband will have no problem finding work anywhere - he has got a great trade. You may not find the ideal place straight away but Australia is beautiful and our kids love it so far (although I would love to settle away from the city eventually) There are lots of fantastic things for kids - great playparks and the theme parks here are good - though our two are a bit young, good cycle tracks and nice beaches on the sunshine coast. You can get lovely big houses with good area for kids and pool at a decent price but these are not going to be near a city or beach - I suppose same as most cities.
Courier mail is local paper for queensland jobs although we found back home that the internet was fantastic for sourcing loads of info - I suppose the hardest part is choosing where to go in Oz.

Good luck
Heather&Mick