boganbear

Its been a while since I've had my English corrected by an Aussie (usually English place names where I used to live) but I have the perfect comeback when asked "How do you pronounce it?" I simply say 'correctly'. If they try correcting my French, I just speak in French to them for the next 2 minutes. I haven't met an Aussie who actually understands French yet.

I may be wrong but at one stage, if you had a child at Uni and they were living away from home they were not classed as dependent but if they were living at home they were dependent. Something to be aware of.

The problem is not the new railway line but the fact that Queensland Rail and the government are too stupid not to think that more drivers would be needed and not to plan properly, so services have been cut on all other lines. The first few weeks after the new line opened on the Caboolture line were great. Faster trains and more of them. Now there are fewer trains, more packed than before and they take longer. It's nearly as bad as London. I'm considering moving closer to town as I'm fed up of it

Have to agree with that. There were thousands of people at my ceremony, there was nothing personal l about it at all, just one of a huge crowd packed into a souless room, all repeating the same words together, or just not bothering cos no one knew whether you were saying it or not. No reception, not even a bar open, had to listen to some random polirician going on about how Australia gives peole bett opportunities than anywhere else in the universe, and got given a tatty paper bag containing a random twig and paperwork about signing up to vote. Bag fell apart on the bus going home and the twig died in the garden.

Complete waste of an evening from my point of view, and its rather nice to hear someone else with a similar view!

hahahah my plant is thriving but it was only a funny occasion as the MP sat on stage waswearing a short skirt and with her legs crossed in a way which didnt leave much to the imagination. There was a local 'singer' belting out aussie songs badly - "That's a no from me" but i did win a huge bouquet of flowers for getting the largest cheer so all was not lost!

I do t know why you think it is easier. I have no family here so if anything goes wrong, I'm in my own. Imagine trying to deal with cancer with no family or friends for support

I found the wait for the deer only the most infuriating part of getting citizenship. It took 3 days from submitting my application to get the paperwork and test done and I can't see why it takes 6 months to do the ceremony. The ceremony itself was laughable and in reality, pointless.

I would advise anyone to get all of their dental issues fixed on the NHS before you go. It costs a fortune here. However the quality of treatment is far superior to the UK...and look after your teeth!

Thank you so much! What a shame there is nothing like it. I'm seeing Australia is more under developed than England and I will miss the convenience and beautiful country side.

LOL London has about 8 million people living in around 1500 sq Km. Sydney had 5 million in an area of 12300 sq km. Sydney is about 9 times bigger. I'm sure the motorways are just as clogged as the M25 and house prices are just as high as London if not higher.

Hardly undeveloped.

I had some problems getting jobs. Just call it a partner visa and things should get better

What's wrong with Narangba? The schools are good, lots of new houses and facilities being built and crime is low. It's handy for the Su my coast and near all the shops and out of town stores in north lakes. D Bay on the other hand is not so good but it is improving as well

We are in narangba and like it here but it can be hard t get around. The trains are good for getting into the city and the new timetables mean it's about 35 min to town. You do need a car to get around, even to get to the shops at burpengary. It's easy to get to the sunny coast and plenty of places to go within 20 mins. The schools are good apparently. There are more Cafes opening and its near to north lakes and all the shops you need.

well a holiday in Jamaica is one way to get a decent rum. I've been searching for Woods for 8 years now.

My experience of Townsville might help you make up your mind. But it Depends on what you define as cosmopolitan.

1. I went io the Cowboy leagues club as I was told they do a good steak as I had been to a few restaurants there and wasn't impressed? I wore shorts, t shirt and trainers and felt very overdressed. Most guys were in footy shorts, singlets and thongs.

2. Nearly every time I came back from the bottle shop I was accosted by aborigines asking for smokes or some grog. A few even had plastic beakers with them. It's very sad.

3. There's a bar with a big sign outside saying cold beer, hot girls

4. The taxi had plastic covers on the seat so it was easier to wipe the vomit off.

5. The local disco had a Pink themed night playing nothing but Pink songs and videos for those who couldn't afford to go to Brisbane to see Pink

We built nearly 3 years ago through a builder and it seemed stressful at the time but looking back, it wasn't as bad as it seems. You do need to do your research so you get exactly what you want that is within your budget and stick to it. Think about what has to be done as part of the build and maybe leave some things for after the build. It was cheaper for us to get the aircon done afterwards buying the units in the sales and getting an installer to do it which only took a day. The builder wanted a fortune to render the outside but we got father in laws mate (who so happened to be a renderer for the builder anyway) to do it for a quarter the price in cash and a few bottles of bundy so we could afford o get the whole house rendered instead of just the front.

The builder offers you a range of things like taps, tiles, colour of the grout, flooring, door handles, toilets which can be overwhelming and it can take over your life. We went for a higher spec on some things and lower spec on others and did some things in our own. Luckily the OH loves trawling the Internet and design mags and we got amazing bargains on almost everything so we could get higher spec for a price lower than the builder offered. Nearly 3 years on we have found the right outdoor tiles so the house will finally be finished soon. We did our own gardens and a neighbour said we have the best gardens in the whole estate which is a great compliment and she wants to copy some of the designs. Apart from the gardens we have done little work on the house itself.

as with any build or DIY project we have made some mistakes (nothing major) but our house is exactly what we wanted and we would build again. Friends and neighbours say visiting is like going on holiday so the effort has been worth it

Why is your wife applying for a partner visa? They are for partners and families of Australian citizens or permanent residents. Your wife and child should apply as dependents on your visa

When it comes to Internet access, the old saying 'Australia is like the UK was 30 years ago' is certainly true.

Doing your tax return using the new online system is quite easy and not as scary as it looks but you can go to a tax agent and claim the cost as a tax deduction so it doesn't technically cost you. Just make sure you have your payment summary and a list of any other income such as savings interest. Enter them into the system and it tells you what you owe or they owe you. Do your returns separately but you need your partners final salary figures to complete yours. If you have settled your uk tax affairs there you don't need to worry about them here.

In in your first year here you may get quite a good refund.

Great place to drive through

Yes, get everything done on the NHS. Dentistry is very expensive here

When I applied for mine you had to be in the country when the application was decided so check this. It may be best to wait til you come back. You are allowed some time out of the country but here are limits for the final year so check this as well.

i would rather vote voluntarily in the referendum than coerced into voting in the Aussie federal election.

We moved from Melbourne to Qld as it was more affordable but there is not much in it really. At least you don't get cold weather in Qld. $450k won't get you much in outer Brisbane either

I used to live in Williamstown and loved it there. It's gorgeous and like a little village. However it is pricey and the trains were not brilliant but the train lines to the west are not very good. Too many breakdowns. They may have got better sinc I left Melbourne. Also look at yarravlle and Newport, up and coming areas. You won't find too many double storey houses as most Aussies have single storey.

altona meadows is quite a bogan area and the train to Altona is terrible. Constant delays or cancellations which is a shame as Altona is quite nice.

we decided not to buy in Point cook but move to Qld as the transport from there is bad. Whilst the houses are nice the place is devoid of character and just a massive housing estate with few shops or services you can walk too. I think a lot of poms like it as the houses seem posh compared to the UK and you can have a pool!

We did a shop this week on Ocado - normally wouldn't have on the basis they are too expensive as they sell a lot of Waitrose products. But, as we have to go out of town for the weekly shop or go to the only supermarket in Windsor which is Waitrose, thought we would give them a try. We also had a £20 voucher. We didn't get as much as we normally would have, but we did get a few treats and some luxury things - I got the dog some top of the range food lol. But, it came out about the same as Aldi! Totalled about £60.

 

 

We also did a visit to the Windsor Park Farm shop - this is owned by the Royal Family and have to say incredible. Far too expensive for every day, but for odd treats we will certainly be going back.

if you go to the farm shop about 3pm on a Sunday they sell stuff off cheaply. Handy for acake for afternoon tea. I saw the Duke of Edinburgh there

He should have taken his expired British passport as well then there should be no problem. Technically, you do not need a British passport to enter the country. You must prove your British citizenship and a birth certificate and other forms of ID such as Aussie passport or driving licence would suffice.