kirra

Hi BrisDubBris we are in Auchenflower (inner west). He would be happy to travel. Pls PM me ...he went to Victoria Park last weekend and said it was nice. Good view.

Hi - Im posting on behalf of my husband. My husband is a pom (Im an Aussie) and we have been in Brisbane since December and love it. My husband is from South London, is 36 and could do with 1. more exercise, and 2. to start making some friends He bought some golf clubs today and hopes to start playing of a weekend. He is by no means a good golfer...just enjoys it. If anyone out there is around Brisbane and enjoys a game of golf...maybe he could tag along? Otherwise he is just going to find a club and go it alone. Be better if you enjoyed a pint with your game..he would like that :biggrin:

Me me! Im an Aussie and was in the UK 10 yrs and just moved back. From Newcastle NSW but we decided to move to Brisbane. My husband is British and my 2 kids were born in London but have Aussie citizenship by descent Ive been home 2 mths and dropped $AUD51K. So money is flying out the account :goofy: That does include $18K on a car and my rent and bond and stuff Its been a huge project getting us here and been stressful, but here we are. Its alot easier living here than London - less admin as its not such a **** fight to do the grocery shopping or find a park. Job hunting is frustrating. There is no sense of urgency and a permanent role can take months. brisbane also feels like a small town and you really get the sense the locals do all know each other! In 2 mths I havent stopped spending, enrolling, enquiring...Im looking forward to when its all done....still getting there In 10 yrs Australia has changed for me. Its alot more patriotic and it feels like there is alot of propaganda everywhere......lots of BS being spouted from all places "nows the BEST time to buy property [it isnt!]", and alot of "Australia ia the BEST place for X"...everyone sips from the 'australia is better than everywhere else' kool aid..that gets old. At least British people stop and question whether britian is good..Aussies just blindly bang on about being the best *yawn*

Hi Ive had lots of friends from the UK come over initially on WHV's and still be here 15 yrs later! All just happened to get sponsored ...admittedly this was 10-15 yrs ago. I maybe wrong but I think the whv rules have eased and you can work the whole time, not just 50% of the time like it used to be. I honestly dont know...but Id just grab a WHV, save some cash and head on over. Head to SYD or MEL for a better chance of employment as they are your finance centres

Hmmm in Australia we call 'pension' Superannuation. As its a legal requirement that all firms must pay you Super I would have thought that industry was possibly bigger here than in the UK where a pension isnt mandatory..I could be wrong Like anything financial at the moment its taken a beating but theres a big industry,Id stick with what you know also you are young enough for a working holiday visa. You can work contract roles on that within your industry

My husband works in Eagle Farm..probably the same company! We live in Auchenflower and in 'peak hour'..I quote it as compared to LOndon its a leisurely drive, it takes him 17mins to drive. Piece of cake! If it was just me and I was single and wanted to be close to the action and in a trendy place and the *right* side of the city for Eagle farm..Id be looking around New Farm. I love it around there. My brother is young and single and lives there and its a great spot (possibly with a price tag to match) If it takes my husband 17 mins to drive from Auchenflower it will be less from New Farm

Ugh Im looking for work in IT and its painful..but, its a bad time of yr. I am an Aussie with Aussie education so they cant complain about all that, but some of the agents have been really bad. I have been the past 10 yrs working for tier 1 investment banks. One agent asked me who one of them was (mind you its one of the biggest banks in the world...*sigh*). When I explained his face was still blank then he said 'so which bank is it like? westpac? anz? suncorp?'..I replied: 'None of them'..I worked for global investment banks..umm not australian small fry retail banks..just sayin'! :nah: Im this --->.<------ close to packing up and going to SYD or MEL. ADmittedly its one or 2 agents, the rest have been fine..but saying that, most are british anyway! It seems because my last few exp have been in the UK it means nothing but the firms Ive worked are world class prestigious firms...yet some crapoloa aussie small fry shop is all 'freaked out' by international experience. HOnestly...everyones told me its cracking that first job than it gets easier

I sucked up bigpond as speed and performance was my main driver. Certainly not cost :skeptical:. Unfortunately Australia treats broadband like some golden goose and they charge the earth for it and restrict you. It infuriates me

Hi We currently still pay into and keep our UK created life insurance and critical illness plans. The plan is to keep paying the UK plans until we both get jobs in Australia and know what our employers offer us...then stop the UK plans and fully sign up to Australian ones Does anyone know if the UK plans are still valid for us if we are now not resident in the UK? So we are still keeping up with the payments, but, residency status wise we now reside in Australia? Im so worried something is going to happen to one of us in the next few mths and due to a legal loop hole we will be screwed and not covered Just curious if anyone has looked into this (before I really dig into the paperwork)

If worse comes to worse and she needs a room for the night she can come and crash in my spare room in Auchenflower..we are a family of 4 (so kids screaming etc)..but if shes homeless...just PM me

Hi re gas/elec I didnt really research suppliers so unsure if Im on the best deal. I just asked my brother who he uses. It was Origin so I went to their website and signed up with them online. V easy. For internet I wanted good performance as opposed to cheapest deal so begrudgingly went with Telstra and got one of their phone, internet and Foxtel bundles. Expensive, but Ive been happy with the service and speed of internet and if you order it over the phone early like me you wont have to wait to get the man to come around and turn it on..you pick a date around move in time. My daughter had her first week of school last week and loved it. My one tip if you have pre-school age kids would be to get an idea of area you want to live and start applying to daycares now. Just call up and ask to have names down on the waitlist. Most have 12mth+ waitlists. If your husband has family in the area use their address..no need to tell them you havent arrived yet

I secured my rental before I arrived I used realestate.com.au. emailed the agent telling them Im interested but abroad and arriving in a few weeks. Sent my brother to do the viewing and he gave me the OK. Completed the forms online and sent scanned copies of my husbands job offer, his visa, our passports (Me and my kids are Australian) and a little cheesy doc showing them who we are - some pics of us, our current house in the UK and our hobbies. It wasnt such a big deal in the end. We arranged a time for me to drop into the agents to get the keys. The next day I had the removalists arrive with our furniture. Having an address means you can call the local school and get kids enrolled, get your utilities turned on (arrange online) and get your internet and cable tv set up the day you actually move in! So yep..it can be done

In the UK if you are turning right its common to see people stick their car nose out to stop the oncoming traffic. The traffic slow down and let them in. In Australia they wont slow down and probably crash into you to prove a point. There isnt that politeness of letting you in or slowing down to hold up the traffic to let you go. My husband is english and saw a car making a right hand turn and slowed down to allow them to jut out but it backfired. Aussies arent used to people slowing down to bank up the traffic so the person had no idea what he was doing and ignored his attempt..actually got annoyed he took so long to go by! On motorways people dont just over take in the right hand lane..every lanes a race track so expect people to over take you from any lane. Aussies love to park up in the middle lane and coast..the theory is they just want to cruise, they see the far left lane as being for the trucks and caravans and the right hand lane for the overtakers We kinda suck at driving :laugh:

I enrolled from the UK. We secured a rental so I just looked up online what school was near me and checked the catchment map. I saw I was in it, so I emailed the school and got nothing back. So I called them and the admin lady was very nice. Just asked what street I was in to check I was in their catchment then emailed me the form. I completed it and scanned it, scanned my daughters passport (she is an Aussie by descent) and also scanned our Lease to prove address and sent it off. She emailed me back overnight saying all set and enrolled fairly easy. The hardest part is getting the address! If you fall within their catchment they have to accept you. Its not like the UK where its a big lottery

Hi Im from this area. Those are all nice areas to live and I believe have good primary schools. I think its the high schools that get a bit sketchy. Belmont and Warners Bay High are fine, nothing bad, but Im not overly keen on them. Youre kids are young so high school are a long way off. Just tutor them like mad so they get into the selective Merewether High :laugh:. If you dont mind a christian school Ive heard good reports about Belmont Christian College. Also, Macquarie College at Glendale is the 2nd or 3rd highest ranking high school in the Hunter and its fees are reasonable. Me personally...I prefer the beach to the lake so I would go for Redhead to live or Dudley.More expensive though..ho hum. Belmont North could be good as its close to Redhead Beach, close to the Lake and also close to the Belmont Christian College. There is also the suburb of Jewells which is nice. Its a suburb full of ramsay street era 80's look houses. I guess so is Eleebana. Belmont is a mix of not so good houses and expensive ones around the lake. I like the new estates - Valentine Gardens and Green Point. Nice new houses in those My dad lives in Pelican. Its got a beautfil foreshore and is walking distance from the Lake and Blacksmiths beach. Flat blocks and a short distance to Swansea or Belmonth for shopping. I like it there