hellsbells712

Hi , we used Ian harrop but it was a long time since. He is good. Been here in Oz 2 years now. To be honest we could really have done the visa ourselves, but it was good having someone fill all the paperwork in. They are good but we paid through a package we had through our finance agent. If you have a complicated application worth having an agent. All the info is provided through immigration and if you keep up to date with it all, you'll be ok. There are alot of people who can help on here. Save your pennies for when you get here. You'll certainly need your dosh when you 1st move over. All the best, keep calm, its worth all the stress. Fab place to live is Australia, fantastic life for your kids. Good luck. xx

Say it AGAIN...... ABSOLUTELY NOTHIN'

There's not a lot of things missed really. My friends I miss and Asda - cheap food and drink. My 8 year old misses smart price meatballs - Bless. We've been here 2 years now next month, where has the time gone ???? And gotta say this has been the best life changing experience we could have made. Love it on the Gold coast.

Hi Vicki, I'm assuming its you Vikki Ridley. Welcome back to this wonderful land of Oz. Hope you had a good trip over. Noticed it was just yourself and kids on the flight. Will have to try and get together. Message me on FB. Open house at ours Boxing day , more than welcome to join us. Connor is 8 and Tash is 6, so a little company for the girls. Hope to see you soon. xx Helen

Hi, we recently moved to Helensvale and we love it. Its pretty well located to everything and got everything you need. Also beach is only 10-15 mins away, big retail parks only 10 mins away but also has a Westfields in the centre of Helensvale. Close proximity to the highway gives you easy access to south Goldcoast and then up to Brisbane, which you're looking at a journey time of 45 minutes , granted that is with very little traffic. Schools are good, facilities are great, well developed, so not going to be much building going on in the area. Has its own train station.. We love it but then again I am a little biased being Helen of Helensvale.... lol Good luck with your move. x

Been here a year now. My kids although only 6 & 7, absolutely love it here. Always outside playing. Love school. made lots of friends. Have recently bought our own house with pool, could we ever give our kids that in the UK ??? NO..... They've both learnt to swim and love the pool. We live in a cul d sac, loads of kids, they love it. Could never afford this in UK. My kids very rarely even want to speak to the relies on the phone, although they are looking forward to Grandma and Grandad coming to visit from Ireland in September. Natasha has got a right ozzie accent and sure is embracing the way of life. Starting to get involved in sports, they love AFL and love the outdoor PE sports-athletics, cross country...... Thats it in a nutshell, they love it.

Tell her it will be your job to clean it. Honestly it doesn't take that much. And it is sooo relaxing and especially in summer when the weather is stifling. Kids will love it too. She 's Auzzie, they don't feel the heat like we do. Tell her its for your health and well-being so when its really hot you wont get all hot and bothered and grumpy.... lol Get 1 !!!!

Definitely must have a pool. Just moved into our own house with saltwater pool. we love it. Fab pool shop near us, will do a sample test on our water and they even say you dont need to spend much on it. Will try and post a picture of my pool too. Love it. x

Just when you fill the immigration card for declaring b4 landing in Oz, just put the medications on the form. You'll have no probs with immigration then. If in doubt with anything, just put it on the form. Great to see you'll be on your way soon. Can't believe we've been here a year now. Enjoy all the leaving parties and enjoy when you get here.Fab place to be. xx

Go for PR evreytime. If you are hoping to be here in 2 years you have time now to apply. PR gives you the freedom to choose. You are then not tied to a job, contract etc... Too many people want to move on but cant because they are tied to the job. If you don't like the job, tough you are stuck with it unless you find another sponsor. Get sponsorship, then get PR through work you are again tied for probably 2 years after. Too many restrictrions.... Granted 457 sponsorship is sometimes peoples only route to Australia and can work out really well. But god am I glad my PR came through b4 we left. I did have 457 job initially, but only 2 weeks b4 we came out PR came through, the hospital changed me to a permanent contract, stayed 3 weeks in the job, hated it, made me ill, but I had the luxury of being able to leave. God knows what would have happened to me if it was a sponsored job and I had to stay. Dread to think.... But this is just my view. Good luck in your decision. I am here a year next month, have a fab job, working with fab people and loving it. xx

Hi, Yea Monterey Keys is classed as Helensvale. We originally looked at a house at Monterey Keys. It is lovely there.

Just bought a house in Helensvale, obviuosly 1 of the reasons we chose Helensvale is because it's called after me.... lol. No seriously we love Helensvale. Got everything you need. Granted it is older than some other areas but we like the established feel. I have heard the schools are good. We're not moving our kids yet only cos they are settled where they are, but they will be going to Helensvale High when they are old enough. As already said, train into the city, beach close by,theme parks on your doorstep, westfields, harbour town close by. Cricket, golf, athletics, swimming, gymnastics clubs all local. Lots happening.

Breaking our lease around 23rd March. Lease up on 23rd April. Bought a house and are on the move...... 4 Bedroomed unfurnished house on large plot, only 1 year old, large back garden overlooking the mountains. Estate agents fail to advertise the fab sunset over the mountains at the back of the house. Fancy a glass of wine on an evening taking in the beautiful sunset ????? Master bedroom with ensuite and built in wardrobes. 3 further bedrooms, although 2 with builtin wardrobes. Bathroom, separate loo. Laundry room, living room with extra area for office space. Kitchen / diner- cooker/oven, dishwasher. Large double garage. On a cul d sac,so no through traffic. Northern end of the Goldcoast, halfway between Ormeau & Coomera. Pimpama state school literally 1 km away, 10 min walk, fantastic primary school, country feel school with great family community. Although we are moving to Helensvale , 10 mins away we are still keeping our kids at this fab school. Prep - yr 7. 1 of the best on the Gold coast. Both Ormeau and Coomera train stations only 5 mins drive away. 50 min train ride to Brisbane, 35 min drive on a clear run. Only 10 mins drive to Helensvale, large Westfields, all your shopping needs, harbour town great also. Woolworths only 4 mins away at Coomera city centre, doctors, hairdressers, bakery, and more new shops being built. Up and coming area with affordable housing. Beaches only 15-20 mins drive. Theme parks literally 5 mins. On our doorstep, soo cool.:cool: All the Gold coast has to offer on your doorstep. $400 per week. Interested, feel free to PM me.

Do you feel healthier because of the weather, no long cold horrible winters. Do you feel more positive, again partly because its warm and the sun is shining. Do you spend more time outside. Do you sit out more in the evening. Do you go to the coast often, for a swim in the surf. Do you socialise more, barbecues at each others houses. Do you nurses enjoy your jobs more, my wifes a nurse. Anything really, where you feel your life has changed for the better. Hi there folks, will have been here a year in April. OMG, where has that time gone. Well in that time, have decided we love it here and we ain't going back. Bobj, you will understand coming from Castleford yourself. Lived there for 16 years. Anyway now back to business. Love the weather, always have loved the heat, although we do welcome the storms. And a few good ones we've had too. Definitely feel more positive, just gotta go to the beach or go for a walk in the sunshine and realise OMG, we are so lucky to be living in this gorgeous place. So answering 1 of the questions - We go to the beach hell of a lot, Christmas day on the beach, now that was the best. We live 20 minutes from the beach, my kids have learnt to swim in the last 5 months and they love bodyboarding on the surf. Only 6 & 7, they used to hate the sand, would never put their feet in the water. I have got the best photos of them now loving the beach. Couldn't do this at home without getting frozen to death. To see the smiles on their faces has made it all worth while. Spend alot of time outside but will be even better in 2 weeks time. Have just bought a house and are moving in 2 weeks. Now , the selling of our house in the UK and buying here has been the most stressful part of the last year. UK needs to adopt the Ozzie way of selling houses. It all worked out in the end and thanks to St. Patrick and a bit of luck of the Irish, we are now moving on 17th March (St. Patrick's Day ) into our new house with a fab outdoor entertaining area with a pool. Now I will be living the dream. Never in my wildest dreams did I think I would actually own a house with a pool on a nurses salary. Couldn't be doing this in the UK. Sit outside more in the evening ? Well I will be, space and now nice entertaining area, so bring it Onn, Lets Partayy !!!!! We all have been sick at some stage whilst we've been here. I'd only started my current job and 3 weeks in ended up having 2 weeks sick. But my boss says change of environment, new/ different bugs etc takes time for your body to adjust. She said even people moving interstate get sick, but give it about a year and your body should have adjusted to it. I'm a nurse, now when I got here had a job to start straight away.Originally supposed to be here on a 457 visa, but fortunately for me, our PR came through 2 weeks b4 we left the UK. Job was changed to a permanent contract, started and TG for PR visa, hated it, made me ill, so could leave. Heaviest ward, hadn't worked on a ward for 10 years and was expected just to pick up where I'd left off 10 years previously, drug names different- took me ages to do drug rounds- NUM got impatient with me, got all the shitiest shifts, kids struggled with me working nights, well lates but seemed like nights- finishing at midnight instead of 11, attitude from some staff, but on the whole everyone was friendly. Job made me sick, getting depressed etc etc, so left after 3 weeks. Didn't move to the other side of the world,having left a good job to put up with this c**p... 20 years experience, no-one will walk all over me. So I left....3 weeks later got offered 2 jobs and have made the best decision. 7 months in totally different nursing and loving it. Working at a blood donor centre for the Red Cross. In Australia, nurses pay is better. As a family of 4 we are surviving on just my wage and have just bought a house with a pool on my wage. Although we are quite trifty with our money. So now I can say nursing is better here, but its down to the job you are doing and definitely the people you work with. Can't pinpoint 1 single thing that has changed our life dramatically, but to see our kids happy, smiling faces, embracing the Ozzie lifestyle, outdoor playing, swimming in the surf and also last week went swimming at the local pool, started raining but was still warm so we stayed in the pool and had a fab time. Since when in England can you still be outside in the rain and still be warm. Love it. Kids love school, made lots of friends. This is their home now. I have had my ups and downs just with missing my friends. Had a large circle of friends back home. Not easy making new friends But , you've gotta put yourself out there. Now we have made lots of nice friends and look forward to entertaining them in our new home. G'Day Folks !!!!! Embrace the new lifestyle and you will reap the rewards. !!!! xxxx

Don't worry, it will come through soon. We lodged our application around the 8th December and there is a backlog. It took about 6 weeks in the end. It will be worth the wait.

In QLD if you have never owned a property anywhere in the WORLD then there may be no stamp duty to pay for first time buyers $500,000 and under. And the first time buyers grant is just if you have not owned in Australia.

Yep as Cal says, they've just gone back to school on Monday, or some are not going back til Friday. Also we have had some dreadful weather with lots of flooding so alot of schools closed on the Gold coast and today is a public holiday, Happy Australia Day..... so don't expect in much of a reply until next week at the earliest. A girl I work with has her 4 kids at a school in Varsity Lakes, although on the large size are supposed to be very good. Good luck with your move. x Helen

Hi ya, We arrived here to the GC in April last year, OMG cannot believe a year has nearly gone by and now we are looking at buying our new home. Loving it here on the Gold coast and have no intention of going back home. Well the UK, this is our home now. OK back to business, I have only just got round to sorting my family tax / benefits out and yes they do rebate it back to the start of the tax year. Just had a nice tidy amount just after Christmas. We are here on a PR 176 visa. Also as we have kids we can claim tax on school things for the year when you fill your tax returns in. Keep all receipts for everything you buy for school. This year they are also including school uniforms on the list. If your kids use internet for school work, internet can be also included. Hope all this helps. Hope you are enjoying your new life down under as much as we are. xx

For anyone who has problems with scarring from the bites try Nude Oil. I got bitten terribly when I first got here. Had these dreadful scars from the bites which just wouldn't go away... Months later. Got Nude Oil, which is nut based and massage it into your skin and I tell ya, after a week the scars had nearly gone.......

Hi Tina, We're in Pimpama, hoping to buy near Helensvale in the next month or 2. I've got a 7 year old boy and near 6 year old girl. Now I do work, but always happy to meet at the weekends with the kids. We've been here since last April. Just sold our house in the UK so hence nearly ready to buy. We love the Gold coast. Hope to meet 1 day. Take care, yes where abouts are u ??? I work down at Robina so getting to know the area. x Helen

That clicky thing definitely works. I've had 1 for years I got in Boots.

Aeroguard tropical strength, works well for. And I usually get eaten alive by them. Also I take Zyrtec once a day and a vit B supplement. Seems to be doing the trick. I feel for you. I put a thread on here when we first moved here. My bites get really badly infected so I feel your pain. Woolies are doing an offer on Aeroguard. You can get spray or cream. I go for the spray although it does smell, but i don't mind it. I think you can get an odourless one.

Hi Claire, Would love to meet up with you. We've been here since April,2 kids 6 and 7. I used to spend time near Bexleyheath when I lived in London many moons ago. Spent a lot of time in Sidcup, plumstead bexleyheath area. But that was my previous life.... HeHeHeHe........ W e are in Pimpama at the moment, hoping to move to Helensvale / Monterey Keys in the new year. Great chippie sounds good. I'm always busy during the week too, but weekends we like to go to the beach, so when you are free just message me and we will try and organise something. Hope you've had a Happy Christmas. Take care. x Helen

Does anyone know of a building inspector on the Gold coast , or south Brisbane direction. Good or bad, bad as in the ones to avoid. Getting ready to buy our first home here in Oz now we have settled. Looking at buying in Monterey keys / Helensvale area. Also anyone had good experience with property conveyancers. Just don't have an idea being new to all this. Thanks guys. x Helen

Pimpama state school - Prep - year 7. No catchment area.