steveNem

Even as an Aussie I must admit I love Christmas in the UK. We used to go to the Manchester Christmas Markets which were wonderful. The only problem was it was always a bit too cold to enjoy yourself for me. Now its a bit too hot here right now but its my own fault we dont have any air con. Enjoy Christmas! x

We cleared the garden tonight and went and got some torches as we have none. I really hope its not too bad, not for me I dont mind a good storm but the baby wont like it. Garage was cleared at the weekend which is good we now have somewhere to put the car. # I always think its better to be prepared. If nothing happens you are ready for next time.

We live northern gold coast and my husbands commute is an hour on the train and then 15 min either side for walking\driving to train station. So an hour and a half each way. He works in Brisband CBD and the parking costs are too high to drive in. We are considering moving closer to brisbane next year because of the commute. We know costs of rent will be higher than what we are paying now but it will be worth it for us to have some family time and my husband to be home before our son goes to bed each night. Its nice having the coast on your doorstep but really its not that long a drive on the weekends to get down here from Brissie.

We used PSS as well and they were great and really reasonably priced.

So Christmas is only 2 months away. I need to start planning my Christmas menu. I am an Aussie but have been away for 14 years. I cannot remember what a hot Christmas feels like. Both my parents are POMs so growing up we always had the full on roast dinner for Christmas even though my mum would curse it each year as it was too hot to cook. Those of you who have been here a while what do you do Christmas day and what do you cook, if anything for Christmas lunch etc. Would love to hear some menu and day suggestions.

Must be the right time of year for free worldwide delivery. I noticed Dorothy Perkins had it this week and the best one of all Manchester City **. Placed an order there quick smart!

I had some perfumes in with my toiletries boxes and they left those so maybe these are ok?

Massive congrats to you all. What a lovely name. Enjoy this special time and do take it easy c sections do take it out of you so no heavy lifting just lots of baby cuddles x

We had Wridgways at this end as well and as the pp said we were really impressed with the office staff and the guys who delivered and unpacked. All very professional.

We live in upper coomera. Our rent is $380 a week but the house has no air con not a problem today but was yesterday! There isnt much going on in Upper coomera. There is a very large state school here with mixed reviews but I go up there most days to collect my niece and I havent seen any of the bad stuff I have read on line. Although some of the language is pretty bad but thats most teens showing off for you and my opinion. We go to Helensvale plaza for shopping, it has all you need there. Not sure if we will stay in this area as hubby works in Brissie and its a bit of a commute for him so we may move closer to brissie.

I think you have to ring centrelink and they tell you what percentage you get back? We dont have baby in childcare yet but the childcare centre we looked at said to ring them and give them figures and they will tell you how much. Well done for getting jobs so quick though that is awesome!!

Best thing for tradies is to go to sites and ask for work. There are loads of developments on the GC and according to the local paper there are more to come. The Building trade is hard though its not consistent work but there is stuff there (my bro is a tiler). Giggle - we are from the North West as well!! All poms we have met here so far have been from 'down south' except for one scouser. We live in Upper Coomera

Try gumtree. We got a load of stuff from there for really good prices when we first moved. Worth a look. good luck, gorgeous weather on the coast at the moment!

I would probably get a record of the kids having injections to take with you if you could. They like that sort of thing here and every doc we have seen since arriving has asked about if his injections are up to date. We did bring a copy of medical records for our son and they loved that!

I had some bedding in packing still and it went through fine. We were told to be extra careful with Xmas stuff so I chucked anything that even resembled a berry, pine cone etc. Shame you got stung though. At least you will have your stuff soon and it will feel great when you do.

Hi Im another on the Gold Coast. Im not working at the moment and I dont have transport so I am limited I also have a very active 10month old to deal with. I live in Upper Coomera. Hoping to get a car soon and then I can be more mobile and able to meet people. At the moment our number of friends here equals 0!

Ours is an Obaby as well I cannot remember which one but I can have a look. I love it. The sun shade on it goes really far down which is great for over here. I dont need to hang a muslin or anything off it to provide extra shade. I get comments from the Aussie Mums at school about it. It also reclines really well and is lightweight and easy to use. My only complaint is that I would like a bigger space underneath but I always carry way too much stuff with me. We got our Obaby stroller from tesco when they did that double up on points thing. Didnt end up costing us anything.

We got a light weight stroller for our 8 month old for the trip. We had to get off at Munich and the stroller wasnt there however we were only there an hour! We did get it in Singapore and then again when we got off the plane in Brissie. Never had a problem. We had a baby carrier with us as it was easier to get off the plane with him in the carrier whilst dragging hand luggage.

So sorry to hear you are having to return home. We are on the GC and have been here fore 6 weeks. So far we have been living with family but once we get in our own place I know things will be tough each week. We still need to get a car. We are very lucky that hubby got a job within two weeks, its only temp but they have told him he can stay on after the contract ends. Its such a shame that you are willing to work and there is nothing for you. There does seem to be a few admin jobs about but they disappear so quick I often think its insiders who get them. I wish you all the very best back in the UK

Hi all Just a small piece of advice for anyone trying to get a rental property that worked really well for us. 1. Get all your documents, ID etc copied and ready to go. We unfortunately didn't do this and had to waste valuable time trying to scan stuff, get copies etc. You will need it no matter what property you apply for so have it ready. 2. And probably the best advice we received - Attach a letter of introduction. This just sets the scene to the agency and the home owner. We did this and they loved it! We got the first property we looked at despite viewing it with a lot of other families. The letter was just one page of A4 just to introduce our little family, what we did for work and why we moved to Australia. We put in it how we would care for the home as if it was our own and that due to the move we were now landlords ourselves so that we be the kind of tenants we would want in our home. Worked a treat. We know others how have been trying to get rentals for ages round here and we get the first one we looked at and wanted. Very happy now we just need our furniture to turn up!

We got given loads of pressies for our sons first birthday and christmas. We just got the rellies to put name tags on them so it would be clear they were a gift and who they are from. We havent received our container yet but Im sure it will be ok.

I honestly think you will struggle with all that. And remember you travel cot is included in that luggage allowance. We didnt know that until we got the airport and had to leave ours with the inlaws! We weren't going to pay over £300 for the sake of a travel cot on excess luggage! If you include hand luggage with all those suitcases and you will need hand luggage for your little ones toys you will struggle. We did and I ended up pushing pram with hand luggage and very very tired 8 month old! Would you consider sending boxes before you go? We did this with PSS and it cost us £300 for nearly 70kg of stuff and it was a life saver when it came to baby stuff.

Really? Roma? It hasnt had any significant rain since the floods earlier this year as far as I know.

Thank you for this. We are just at this stage now and are going to use Letton.

Visa application posted on Friday 10th July. Lets see how we go. We leave for our Reccie in 6 weeks. Kinda hoping its here by then but maybe not. Fingers crossed. Good luck all! x