ozziepom

Actually I'm not :biggrin: I'm talking about properly qualified hairdressers (and other occupations too) who came with PR based on their experience overseas but never gave a single haircut after arriving and took other, presumably better paid occupations. Hence, lots of hairdressers where allowed in but there was still a shortage of hairdressers. I know about the dodgy educational visa's for hairdressers, cooks etc but that's another story.

OK, thanks for the replies, looks like I can't do anything in advance, fair enough.

You'll get more replies posting on the migration forum as all the rules are national, also take a look at the visa wizard on the DIAC website but if you're not on one of the lists the chances aren't good. Sunshine coast has one of the highest levels of unemployment in Australia.

Hi, I'll be able to apply for citizenship next year and want to do it as soon as possible but I don't have much idea about the process. I'm guessing I'll need to apply and book ahead? How often are they held and how far in advance should I plan to book? Sadly it will be after Australia Day as I'd love to do it then! Cheers!

I remember reading somewhere that thousands and thousands of hairdressers got visas but there was still a shortage of hairdressers, this is because very few of them took jobs as hairdressers due to the low pay the job offers here. Really the PR system should be based on migrants working for a couple of years in their nominated occupation before getting PR IMHO.

We moved from Sydney (CBD) to Hope Island and love the area. We also both work in Brisbane and commute daily. We tried the train but couldn't hack it, the station is 10-15 mins away and unless you work very near one of the stations you have a walk on the other end so the commute can easily be 1.5 hours each way, the train is slow and gets very packed. We drive which is no fun either but cuts the journey to about an hour each way on average, and only makes sense because I work outside the CBD and can park fairly cheaply, in the city parking can be pretty expensive. Also having two in the car allows us to take a T2 lane for a few km's each way, and probably saves a few mins, the road is very/very busy though, even from 5:00AM. Its a great place to live and I have no desire to go back to Sydney but don't underestimate the commute!

If you don't want to attach a computer to the TV most newish games consoles can play iplayer, 4OD and the ITV one - you still need to pretend your in the UK, many of the unblockers have instructions on how to set up the console to do this.

Brisbane is expensive for hotels and temp accom, even more than Sydney IMHO. I was looking for a hotel in town the other day and the cheapest I could find that I liked was $150, even the Youth Hostel was $97 :chatterbox: I stayed in an expensive dump for the first couple of nights, then stayed off season on the Gold Coast in a lovely hotel which was great value (we ended up settling on the GC and commuting to Bris but that's another story). For short term accom look at stayz, some of the units in the CBD can be rented short term, but again they're not cheap.

Visit both and make your own mind up. I found Perth boring and surrounded by a whole lot of nothing but tastes differ.

Take a look at the Meriton http://www.meritonapartments.com.au/gold-coast/southport its excellent, we stayed for 2 months when we forst arrived and when we need to stay on the coast we mostly go back to the Meriton.

I don't find it too bad. Its hot but that's what we expect, worst time is when its hot overnight, but that's what we have aircon for.

I remember the feeling well, congrats and enjoy the adventure!

P.S. Surfers Paradise is the busy/trashy area - if you mean the Gold Coast don't stay in Surfers, look at Broadbeach, Main Beach or Southport. Surfers itself is a very small area but popular with partying teenagers, tatoo parlours, fast food joints, nightclubs etc, the other areas, though nearby are much nicer.

Check out the two Meritons, one at Broadbeach, the other at Southport, I find them amazing value.

We used to live in Pyrmont and its an easy walk to Darling Harbour where we worked, however its expensive and I found it pretty soulless.

Yeah, that's about right. Their own house was tiny but B&Q'd to the 9's with flock wallpaper & cheap but new bathroom/kitchen. The houses they looked at were far larger, maybe not decorated to their tastes. I also understood every word, got annoyed at their opinion of the houses, which IMHO were way better than theirs, but overall they where good and I hope they make it over and enjoy it.

You'll see massive interest rate cuts first. A much smaller than 60% fall will wipe out all of the Australian banks, and the RBA will do everything in its power to save them, the AUD should fall in the process so priced in USD the falls will look larger than. Its cheaper to buy than rent in many places already, and this above all will provide support to the market as renters turn into buyers. Prices may fall somewhat, but 60% is la-la land.

Exactly. Judging the Gold Coast by Surferes alone is like judging London by assuming its all like Brixton. Its horses for courses but I much prefer the GC, more to do and closer to Brisbane, some parts of the Gold Coast are stunning, and the Hinterland is nearby and a total contrast.

We're FF on Emirates and they usually are, don't think any are longer than that, some shorter so you need to check.

Depends, we like to visit the UK at least every year so it works for us, you'll loose out big time if you don't use the return leg though. We leave QLD for the UK tomorrow for 2 weeks over Christmas, this is the return leg of a flight we came over on in June (went over on the return of a flight we previously bought). We come back at NY on a brand new ticket, return leg for that one back to the UK will be Christmas 2013, when we'll buy another return from the UK. One positive is we always have a return ticket on hand if we need to go back to UK for emergencies.

Yes, so long as you return within the period, and plan to continue doing so (usually means returning every year) you'll save a lot by doing this.

I'll send you a PM.

No, mine wasn't on Emirates.

Yep, we did the single a couple of years ago - no returns are 'open' they have a validity date, the ones we use are for 12 months, think thats the longest you can get.

We'd be interested in attending too, we are also 40's Hope Island, no kids etc, but, we're off to the UK for Christmas on Thurs so if anything happens in Jan let us know!