Naomi from Manchester

But do you wear Birkenstocks? See here: http://www.cityhobo.com/cities/sydney/marrickville-sydney-inner-west Got to say I disagree with the comments about Marrickville Metro shopping centre - I think it's great! (As far as shopping centres go, that is).

Glebe and Surry Hills.

Have you considered Marrickville? Seems to be one of the cheaper inner west suburbs, probs because it's just beyond that magical 5km radius from the CBD. Lots of infrastructure so isn't dull, lots of young families and things going on for kiddies as well as younger people without kids in their late 20s / early 30s, no pretensions of grandeur, interestingly diverse community (I love how the elderly Greek men seem to spend hours hanging out together in the food court at Marrickville Metro chatting (about what? their wives?), near to everything going on in Enmore and Newtown, good public transport links to the city etc...

We did this 2.5 yrs ago with Singapore, staying 2 nights. We had to check in separately and took our luggage including additional allowance out of the airport with us. We did have to do some explaining at the second check in re the additional allowance, which was tedious, and airline staff took some time / discussion amongst themselves to OK it, but it was all fine and no extra charges were incurred. (I just flashed my winning smile).

No worries, I don't know any British SLTs in Sydney who specialise in articulation / phonology / accent modification (my area is more intellectual disability / ASD / cerebral palsy), but let me know if you'd like a recommendation for an Australian therapist and I can ask my colleagues. Good luck!

Hello, I assume that SLT before Josh turned 6 was for language development and social communication skills and not for speech (i.e not for articulation)? Is the issue now purely speech clarity, or is there a language and / or social element too, (e.g. being aware of when others don't understand him and attempting to repair the communication breakdown himself etc)? Sounds like the school need to clarify to you exactly what their concerns are. SLTs who specialise is Asperger's / Autism are unlikely to be that experienced working with speech / articulation (although there may well be someone who's great at both - I'm speaking for myself, really), so if Asperger's isn't the cause of his current communication issue, it may be worth going with a more speech focused therapist who you'd reasonably expect to know enough about Asperger's to make therapy sessions motivating, fun and meaningful for Josh. This person should be able to tell you whether the problem is articulation, phonology, or just accent. If the issue isn't even so much speech sound processing / production, but rather accent modification, (and I can't help thinking it seems a bit harsh on Josh to have to modify a beautiful Scottish accent to a generic Ozzie one .. but needs must, I suppose!) then it's not necessarily a SLT that you need, rather someone who supports people with heavy foreign accents, although in Australia some SLTs would do this work too (they wouldn't do so in the UK, I don't think). Btw - I keep saying SLT for Speech and Language Therapist, but over here the title is Speech Pathologist.

Thanks for the info, much appreciated

Hi, someone's just given my newborn daughter a few hundred $. I could open a savings account for her, but since we're not in a position to make much in the way of regular payments until I go back to work in 12 months time, I thought it would be more fun to buy her shares or something instead ... maybe in chocolate (for no other reason than I love chocolate and she probably will too). Can anyone advise on how to go about buying shares in trust for someone else; can I just do it myself on line? Or can anyone recommend something better to do with her present? Apparently I have a small amount in premium bonds back in the UK, but nothing's ever come of it!

Did you know about Cyril? Amazeballs! http://www.everydayhero.com.au/event/CyrilsSwim

How many metres length are the marked lanes in the pool there? Many others swimming at that time?

I agree. For a densely populated city centre suburb it is pretty safe. There's a lot worse.

Am I right in thinking if you're private and choose an epidural, it costs around $800? That's what I heard... I went public and have mixed feelings about the service.

If you don't get it, you'll incur a fine which is approx the price of basic cover anyway.

Zetland? It's a bit naff round there, just seems to be a load of new soulless apartment blocks without much in the way of established infrastructure or interesting stuff going on, although it is well placed in being easy travelling distance to the city and Eastern beaches. Surry Hills is similarly well placed whilst having a much richer atmosphere. Balmain is a great suburb with lots going on. It's not particularly within easy travelling distance to any beaches, but maybe you'd prefer the harbour to the beach anyway. However, as previously mentioned, you won't really find modern apartments round there, if that's what you're after. (I love the Balmain architecture - gorgeous houses). Coogee is also a great option, although in terms of night life, the Eastern beach suburbs tend to be more about character-less sports type bars rather than the more atmospheric / characterful places you'd find in Surry Hills and Balmain. I agree with previous comments re Mosman. I'm sure you'll know which of these places is best for you once you visit them.

From a visiting therapist's point of view (rather than from a parent's point of view), I think Garfield Children's Centre in Five Dock is excellent. The director is very capable and caring, and all the staff interactions with children that I've observed have been great. I suppose the only draw back is that whilst there's a nice enough outside space, there isn't a massive amount of green space for the kids to charge around in, but you'd have to go to suburbs further out for that.

Wot North Shore Pom said. Working at Randwick would be preferable to Westmead in terms of transport and better places to live nearby. Re the hospitals, Randwick has a better reputation.

May (or may not) be of use to some... http://www.newcomersaustralia.com.au/events/sydney/

Only if you're running low on logo-ed biro pens and post it note pads.

In my experience: People are generally more cheerful and less grumpy over here than in the UK. Ozzies seem more appreciative of what they have around them too (beautiful country side and coast lines - the Uk has this but it seems to go mostly unnoticed by my generation). Young adults seem more confident professionally, there's a 'fake it till you make it' mentality (even when they aren't actually any more competent than their UK counter parts - they feel better about themselves and don't talk themselves down, which in many ways is half the battle when you're relatively inexperienced). Where I live, people are generally fitter and more active, there's so many boot campers / runners out and about early in the morning, and there's much more opportunity to be active outdoors, especially water based sports (as the ocean isn't too cold). There's also many, many gorgeous independent cafés in Sydney, in Uk cities it's mostly big chains (Starbucks, Costa etc). Whilst there are the usual tedious processes and procedures and policies at work, there aren't nearly so many as in the Uk and they aren't quite so ridiculous. Ozzies are also much more direct in their communication, which I prefer.

Dunno if you mean brand new when you say new, but interesting second hand / vintage furniture is outrageously expensive. There's loads of second hand furniture shops round where I live, can't believe what Ozzies are willing to pay for old junk. I saw a shoe rack for sale in a second hand shop once - I knew it was actually from Ikea and just looked a bit shabby chic as I've got 2 myself - but second hand it was more expensive!

I watch Corrie on my laptop using ITV player through UNO Telly. I think we pay $28 every 6 months. There's a load of channels for that, including BBC iplayer. Occasionally the stream is stopy starty, if you know what I mean, but generally it's fine. http://Www.unotelly.com

Just leaving this here ... make of it what you will ...

Lots of used and new car dealers on Parramatta Road around the Petersham area. 2 yrs ago we got a Yaris at AMR for $10,000 which was about 4 yrs old and hadn't done many km at all, I just can't remember how many km! We saw it advertised online (I forget which website). It's been great, clunky to drive and not very cool, but no problems or expenses.

Are you both over 50? My OH is but I'm a lot younger, so he got PR through me as my de facto partner. His age and qualifications were irrelevant to the application.

I lived in Rozelle for 6 months - it's fab! Great to be close to the harbour. Really quick by bus into the city when it isn't peak times. Victoria Rd can be stop-start between about 7:40 and 9 am week days (or occasionally randomly quiet for no discernible reason), but the bus lane into the city is a lot quicker. I heard something about a planned extension for the Light Rail, which may help your commute - I'm not sure. Callan Park in Rozelle is beautiful, owning a small white dog which you can pick up and carry around is compulsory. There's weekend outdoor markets in both Rozelle and Balmain. I think there's some kind of hi spec residential apartments and a bit of an indoor shopping area in the pipe line on the corner of Victoria Rd and Darling St? Locals are quite divided about this - some think development is great, others want to preserve the village type atmosphere. Yes, you can indeed get the ferry from Balmain to Circular Quay. Balmain is quite 'yummy Mummy' - designer buggies everywhere. There's some decent pubs in Rozelle and Balmian, loads of cafés and boutique type shops, and my favourite Japanese restaurant is in Balmain, called Teriyaki Boy (Japanese food of this quality in London would be 3 x the price, I reckon!) Balmain also has the Dawn Fraser pool. If you're in Rozelle, you may be closer to the pool in Drummone (fondly known as Crummy Drummy). House prices are steep in both areas, but Rozelle is cheaper.