Scuba Dan

And I'm sure you will have discovered this little gem by now but if not you must check out Dan Murphy's ... The best Bottle Shop by far!!

Hi guys, yes we are on Catalina Park and liking it so far. Where about are you guys living? We had a great time on Sat, you guys should definitely come to the next one. I hope you're all settling in well. Speak to you soon. Feel free to drop us a line or give us a call any time. Dan & Ali

Hi guys, thank you for your kind offer, if its not too far out of your way and you're sure that you have enough room then we would love to still come (and of course we will chip in for fuel) . However, If it is a bit of a pain then don't worry, we will definitely catch you guys on the next one. Please PM us for our phone number We are living on Catalina Way, Upper Coomera 4209 but can walk somewhere easier to meet you if you like? All the best. Dan & Ali

Has anybody successfully managed to get car finance whilst contracting? I have been here about two weeks now and will be contracting up until Christmas (I'm a permanent resident) at least on quite a good rate so can afford a decent level of repayment but don't want to take out too much. I'm a bit weary about applying for finance, getting knocked back and tarnishing my credit rating by applying as my OH isn't working at the moment. Has anybody actually managed to do this as a contractor so soon after arriving. Would be interested to hear if anybody has. Dan

Hi all. Sadly I think Ali and I aren't going to be able to make this one as I haven't been paid on time and as such we don't have a car as the hire car went back last week and we are on foot :-/ We would love to meet up if you guys decide to do another meet I the future. I think the Walkers still sound pretty keen? All the best, apologies and best wishes from Dan & Ali.

Hi All, our hire at goes back tomorrow so I was hoping to go to change my UK drivers licence to an Aussie Licence. Does anybody know where I need to go on the Gold Coast to do this in person? Cheers Dan

I'm also out of the Optus coverage unfortunately. I think I will change my drivers licence to an Aussie licence and give it another go. Anyone know how to find out where to go in the Gold Coast to change your licence?

I spent a frustrating afternoon in a Telstra shop today after a sales rep on the phone couldn't process my order for landline and broadband bundle as I don't get have an Aussie drivers licence. Apparently they have to physically sight your passport. Long story short, it took them over two hours to establish that my property was on their network after speaking to three different departments! I originally wanted to take the landline and 200GB a month bundle for $100 but surprise, surprise, as I have no credit, the credit check was declined! They offered me 5GB a month to build up a credit profile for $95 ... Needless to say that I told them to shove it and just took the land line on its own ... 5GB would be gone in one day in our house! Has anybody had any similar experiences or can you recommend a service provider who does not credit check to give you broadband? We're located in Upper Coomera, QLD. Many thanks Dan

Hi All, Sorry for the delay in reply, we havn't been on PIO in a while ... final hectic weeks of packing and goodbye parties! Stevenem, sorry to hear that your little one has been unwell, I hope that he is OK. We have just been on the Fox and Hounds website also, it looks really nice. I'm not sure if we would have to book either but it looks quite popular so it might be best. We are still up for for meeting if everyone else is? Dan & Ali

I would say its probably fairest to do it in the afternoon? That way you could get the little nipper tucked up at his/her normal time?

I'm originally from Manchester and Ali is from Barrow-In-Furness but we both currently live in Banbury. Ali is a secondary school teacher and I work in television post production. What do you guys do for a living? We will be emigrating out on our permanent resident visa's so hoping to call the Gold Coast home :-) We actually met in Australia so we have both previously been to the Gold Coast as dreaded backpackers lol! We are getting really excited now with it being so close but as you can imagine there is so much still to sort out! I'm sure that all the stress will be worth it when we are burning our feet on Aussie sands :-)

Hi Guys, The Fox and Hounds Xmas in July sounds brilliant! We arrive on the 5th July but I don't know what shifts I'll be working in my new job yet until I start on the 10th but will confirm when I know. We are definitely up for meeting! How long have you guys lived in the GC? Everyone seems really friendly and sociable on here :-) Dan & Ali

Ah, that's brilliant. Thanks a million for the info. It has really helped us out! All the best Dan

Wow! It's great to see some people in a similar situation to ourselves fresh from Blighty living in the GC area. It would definitely be great to all meet up! We arrive in the first week of July so don't know the local area at all yet but open to suggestions :-)

Thanks a million milliemolly123, that's exactly the info I was after. I will pass this onto my OH. Do you have any idea what the market is like for relief teaching around Briabane and the Gold Coast? Cheers Dan