nickyc88

http://www.skydogs.co.uk We used this company. They were recommended to us and I would recommend them to you. Great service and very competitive. Took care of everything, including my stress! I'm so glad we brought them. It really helped us settle. Quarantine was fine - and I think it's shorter these days too. They settled so quickly too. One thing is that we keep them in at night here whereas in the UK they had free rein

If you still have time have a look at Undarra - volcanic lava tubes that you can walk in. We were lucky enough to go when the tubes were flooded and swam in them :-)

Books and shoes are great recommendations. Bring all your warm stuff - you will acclimatise quicker than you think. I bought handbags on my last trip back too. Leather was better quality for the price. Good luck with the move!

Hi Stef, I don't know what area of social work you are looking for but the National Disability Insurance Scheme is due to roll out in Queensland between July 2016 and June 2019. It is envisaged to create lots of new jobs. Some will be with the National Disability Insurance Agency and I think you *may* need to be a citizen for those. Many more will be in not for profits delivering services. I bet any UK experience will be well regarded. Good luck!

I have a slightly different perspective to Xenon4017... the government borrowed to build the infrastructure needed for the mining industry to make it's money, and to fund the huge expansion in SEQ as huge numbers of migrants arrived in Brissie/Sunny Coast/Gold Coast. Basically capitalising on opportunities to grow the economy as the rest of the world was being hit hard by the GFC. Then they had to borrow to rebuild after the floods and the cyclone - not cheap and not finished. The new government are scaremongering so that they can cut 20% of the workforce, but it's hitting the private sector in Brisbane too, with many companies suffering as the government cuts contracts. It's pretty unnecessary and very politically driven, but I don't think it will last. The state had tremendous assets and is in a far better state than the rest of the world, but Aussies are very ready to believe the doom and gloom stories. As an example, they are continually told, and believe, that they are the highest taxed country in the world, but I pay about half the amount of tax that I paid in the UK! Worth checking out how Cairns has been affected - I'd read the local paper, but also expect it to bounce back pretty quick.

We're in Upper Mount Gravatt. The big Westfield shopping centre has got a transport hub so it's really well connected. It's also on a busway to the CBD which means we get into the CBD in 20 mins in rush hour. Perfect for transport. Lots of great restaurants and not too expensive for property. Def worth checking out. In terms of websites http://www.realestate.com.au is all you need!

All that ID plus be prepared to do show and tell with your bank statements and talk up your job prospects and earning potential. We'd heard it would be a nightmare but to be fair when we told the agent my partner was in IT, he couldn't move quick enough to rent us the house even though we had no jobs. Not as bad as we were told it would be for sure. But do read all the advice about taking photos, doing a really thorough job with the inspection report and shouting up early if you don't like any of the terms in the contract. Take no sh*t at the beginning because you'll get plenty from them when you leave! Good luck!

Hi Gordon, Qld government (including Q Health) are in the process of a major restructure so most recruitment is frozen. They are going to loose 20 000 public sector workers. This won't affect nurses so much but might be affecting those doing the recruiting at the moment. This local website will have up to the minute info on where it's all up to. My department is first up for redundancies and reckon we'll be all straight by Christmas. Hope this helps.

Agencies here are worse than in the UK :eek:

Hey, sounds like you're having a really rough time. My partner is up and down and from time to time says he wants to go home, but I always tell him it won't be the life he left... the economy is different, we don't have a home there and people move on with their lives. We're also different people, even after such a short space of time. I understand the 'displaced' feeling but I suspect I'd have that in the UK too now. Hope some of the comments you've had on here resonate and help a bit. Good luck x

Two years ago our visa application was in, but I think the system had just changed for the tenth time since we started the process and we were very disillusioned with the whole thing and with having our lives on hold. I don't think I thought we would make it. Soon after it all changed and we've been here since Feb 11 and very happy with our move! The job situation has been like a rollercoaster, but I don't regret a minute of it. The cats are all settled into our beautiful house and we've got engaged! Never been happier :biggrin: Hope your move brings everything you're hoping for!

I found a great pork butcher... great sausages. Supermarket bacon here is better than in the UK, but I do miss my old butchers home cured bacon just a little bit.

I think so! I think $110k is closer to an equivalent salary to what you are used to. Although I do think you can live comfortably on less - especially if you have some decent equity to get your home loan costs down. Push them hard for a better deal! Good luck.

Yes - over the last 6 months. He has lots of the experience that you have, and has sustained his own business for the last 10 years. His experience of a lot of the agencies was different to yours. Lots of fishing and lots of enthusiasm but little effective follow through and some really incompetent practise - briefing him that the interview was informal and for no specific role when that wasn't the case was a favourite. Prince 2 ended up being the deciding factor. I'd agree with all you've said about being proactive - the Aussies are definately more 'up front' and sell themselves better than the average Brit (I say that from recent experience recruiting myself). And contracting is def worth the go. Also get comprehensive references ahead of time from people who are prepared to do swift email or telephone follow up. Good luck to all who are looking.

Lol! As a Brit who shares many of your sentiments, this is a pretty good place to hang out. Not perfect, but feels safer than either of the places we've come from! Are you over here already?

This is also great - a house by house guide to the flood risk in Brisbane http://flood.brisbane.qld.gov.au/floodwise_property_report/

There are only 2 of us and we have chosen to live as close as we can to the CBD so that we can get to work in less than 20 mins. I walked to work in the UK and my partner was home based so avoiding the big commute was a big deal for us. We pay $480pw in rent for a 3 bed townhouse with a garden in a very quiet culdesac in a lovely area. We've lived very comfortably on $100k for the last 6 months. We spend about $200 a fortnight on food, my public transport costs about $100 per month and our electric is about $150 pm. We managed to buy extra furniture and have the odd weekend away on that, but not big holidays or large purchases. We were earning £80k between us in the UK and $100k bought us a similar standard of living. I find you spend money on different things here - lots of your entertainment is free ie outdoors and lots of our socialising is at people's houses rather than in pubs and clubs so again cheaper. My OH compares beer costs though and finds going out expensive. Hope that helps. Whatever suburb you look at, factor in your transport costs. Translink has the journey cost for public transport. You can Google CBD car parking - ignore the special offers though. Cars are expensive so you really want to avoid having 2 of them and petrol prices are going up. Make sure you factor all this in! N

Definately look along the train lines - parking is only going to get more expensive! You can see them on googlemaps and then look at travel times on TransLink's journey planner.

Sorry to disagree :sad: My partner applied for over 200 jobs in the IT industry over 4 or 5 months with no success. I agree with BIK3R though - Sharepoint is in high demand. We have PR visas, but there is a view amongst many employers that you need Australian experience and they would rather employ someone who has it, so he came second many a time. I was really lucky to get the first job I applied for though - in the public sector in a comparable job to the one I left in the UK. I guess I was lucky and him not so. That said, we were very lucky to be able to live on my salary and now that we are both working it's like Christmas...:biglaugh:

I think it will be difficult - mainly as my partner looked for months in that sector and we were already living here. As you said, recruiters will get in touch, but they are not the best at any time! Apply direct as much of the time as you can. Work out which companies recruit often eg in Brisbane Virgin always seem to be recruiting! It really helps that you've got PR, but definately spell it out for all potential employers -that you have permanent residency and tell them whether or not there are any restrictions on your visa. It might be worth looking at public sector jobs too for a foot in the door.

We're on the east coast so no local insight, but definately have a look at the national park campsites - they are in all the best beauty spots!

Not so easy to find a job in Oz though - they want to see Aussie experience :-(

Hi Trigger, we were contacted by them too, but it turned out it was a former employee of Montfort International - although he didn't tell us this at the time! We've found our bank in Oz to be more helpful... Montfort were a horrendous waste of time and money.

Keep your eyes pealed for super cheap chemists - various different ones around but really cheap compared to my local chemist or Woolies

Hi, Sarina Russo agency has the contract for admin stuff for Queensland Government. The temps we've had from there rate them highly as an agency. Might be worth a go? They have sites outside the CBD but most of the work is likely to be central and public transport accessible. Good luck!