Tina2

Places at Kindy are sadly hard to find, many parents book children in years ahead. You may have to look outside of Buderim to get a place.

WHY do people do that, so so dad. The police keep saying over and over again, if it is flooded forget it dont even try it.

We are 25 mins out of Toowoomba, rain fall is alway lower here than in Toowoomba but last night the rain Gods came to visit 134 Mil ! I swear my plants are standing up flapping there very dry leaves. For a suburb where we get excited by 20 mil we are thrilled. Tanks are full again. Its a cool 17.8C so have lite the fire as it will be down to 12 tonight, but the sky is blue and the sun is trying to push through the clouds. Weve been on work commitments in Vic for a few years, we must have acclimatised as we went shopping this morning and i wore a light jumper and jeans and got some odd looks from people wearing coats, boots, beany's and even one couple out walking the dog (also dressed in a winter coat) were wearing gloves LOL

Your daughter will love Sheldon it is a great school, nice area as well. October will be just starting to warm up so will give you time to settle in before summer. Just be ready for the mozzies

The area you live in also is a contributing factor in regards to both fee's and results. The more affluent the suburb in many cases the higher the fee's and better the results. There are often waiting lists to get into the better schools like All Hallows and St Joseph's (Known as Terrace because it is on Gregory Terrace) Sadly I found "some" (not all) of the catholic schools dont have as good a record for discipline as the C of E or Uniting Church schools. Another alternative are Lutheran Schools, which are gaining popularity here there fees tend to sit mid way between Catholic and C of E or Uniting Church Schools, but same as Catholic Schools those in the better suburbs do tend to be a bit more expensive. If you let people know where you are planning to live then maybe someone will have children at the local schools and will be able to give you more accurate information.

It is sad that there are a handful of people on this forum who just seem to enjoy being argumentative, which can turn people away who contribute positive,relevant and supportive comments

Many Many people commute in and out of Ipswich every day. Road use to be a nightmare but major upgrade has made a huge difference. Its where Amberley Airbase is. There are nice areas with in easy driving distance, but we are all different what some like others would hate, so like always if you can get over for a look that is the best thing to do. just some info for you http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bellbowrie,_Queensland http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Springfield_Lakes,_Queensland

Ipswich get HOT it also gets huge storms with hail stones and in winter it can be very cold first thing though it warms up during the day. Lovely old buildings, but it does have some not so nice areas. You could look at Moggill, Bellbowrie areas which are quite country. There is a car ferry across the river to Riverview where you can jump on the freeway to Ipswich takes about 25 minuets. There are days when the ferry is out of action due to floods but that is not very often and there are roads around the river they just take a little longer. Give the area around Red Bank Plains, Riverview, Goodna, and Gailes a miss. As Cal said Springfield Lakes is worth a look

They would not have offered you the job if they didnt think you had the ability to do it. focus on the positive not the negative. It is only 14 months if you hate it after that go home if you love it stay. Use the time wisely, during your leave time see as much of aus as you can, but not just the cities get out and see other parts of Aus. If you hate Brisbane in 14 monthe you could move to a different place. Good luck

Yep and the list is getting longer !

We would still be there if it were not for the council. We had a small farm / tourist industry. Was doing really well very supported by the motels and wineries, but council just "didnt get it" they only wanted wineries. Could not see that other industries would bring in more people to the wineries. In the 3 years we were there a goat cheese farm shut and a stunning glass blowing tourist attraction shut, and others were in the verge. Wineries could have signs on the edge of the road and all over town if they wanted to but other industries could only have signs inside there properties. Then we got told we had to put in a disabled toilet again which few wineries had would have cost over $15,000 due to being on septic so that was the end we shut down and left. Very very sad as I said loved the place, even if we had to go to Dubbo or Orange for major shopping. Very very expencive now though wit the mine expansion.

Hate to say this but "in my experiance" there is still dislike of the UK accent and those who have one in Aus. No idea why. I have even been told to - slow down, dont work so hard.

Of all the stupid things Abbott has done his attitude to climate change is by far the most concerning.

Have you considered giving another state a try ? Would you be able to find work in a different state ?

Us to Bendigo, Ballarat, Woodend ( only left because of the bush fires), Mudgee (Oh LOVED Mudgee) Elizabeth, Narracourt, So many beautiful places. The house we have now is 15 years old bought it for a quarter of what it would cost in a capital city, will spend a bit doing it up as we love to renovate. Still places where people look out for each other. As I said only been back since Christmas yet we often chat to the people next door and across the street. People just seem to have the time to want to put in the effort to get to know and help each other.

You are correct, Toowoomba was always a sleepy town with not much happening. I dont know if it is the confirmation that the by pass will happen or what but it has suddenly woken up. Hope you have booked accomadation for the carnival of flowers, (Grammar Motel in Margaret Street is nice) gets booked out real quick now. The new railway precinct should be close to being finished as well as the new Central Shopping Center expansion. Oh there is a great coffee shop in margaret Street now the Park Cafe. There are 2 only a few door from each other the Park is by far the best and is the one closest to the Motel so standing in the park and looking across the road the one on the left. Will be very interested to hear your report on Toowoomba in regards to wether you think it has changed.

Agree, most threads refer to the capital cities yet there is so much more to Aus. Starting to see Townsville being mentioned and so it should. If you like the heat it is a great city, close to the islands and beautiful beaches. Mackay is another beautiful place we hardly hear mentioned. In Victoria the snowy mountains are stunning but as the name implies it does snow there and I guess most poms coming here have had enough of the cold and snow.

We have only been back in Qld since Christmas and the expansion that is happening is really suprising. Areas like Harlexton, and Newtown once the dumpy area of Toowoomba is seeing a lot of renovation work happening on houses as these areas that are only 10 minuets from the center of Toowoomba. I know the council is now looking are some form of "art" to start transforming the city center streets. Lovely thing is they are not pulling down the historic old buildings instead giving them a clean up. We are starting to see up market coffee shops starting to open. You can laugh but we have lived in many areas in 3 different states and one thing that we found really interesting was if Bunnings decided to open a new store then "something" was about to happen in the way of growth in that area. Bunnings have now confirmed the purchase of the old steel mill on the North side of Toowoomba for there second store to service the city and the north side. (Harlexton and Newtown are North side) We are 25 minuets out of toowoomba but the area is just beautiful and the weather not as wet or cold as Toowoomba its self. Today it is 18C, blue sky and sun shine. We have some of the best doctors out at Highfields that I have come across for some time and the Catholic school which is relatively new is getting great results. There is also a new state high that is rapidly gaining high results. Just keeping fingers cross that it continues on the same track, modern facilities but old fashioned values.

The Wagners who are behind this push for growth are very much in favour of giving locals and australians jobs. There are plans in place for accomadation blocks on the area close to the new air port for 500 fly in fly out persons hoping to attract more aussies to the area. A high cost for producers in the Toowoomba and Lockyer Valley area is getting produce to Brisbane airport, now they will be able to fly goods out from Toowoomba. Any increase in employment no matter how small has to be a good thing

Have you watched the news recently ???? over 300 mil in parts of Sydney. I am begining to think you just like to make controversial comments.

Bob snake bites are a big problem just about everywhere in Aus, even baby snakes can make you very very sick. Your right what sounds very simplistic to Aussies may well be an eye opener to people migrating here. How many poms would be concerned about taking there dogs for a run through long vegitation ? during snake season it is in fact a very bad idea. Poms love there pets a known fact, how sad would it be to go to all the effort of bringing your pet with you only to loose it to a snake bite or tick bite. Along with all the research for the big move include learning about the climate, and dangers you need to be aware of for your pets.

Have you looked at what is happening out west of Qld ? Whole towns are in danger of closing due to no rain for the past 4 years.

This should be required for ALL new buildings both business and residential, it should also be a requirement that water tanks to collect a minimum of 80% the buildings water needs be on ALL new buildings residential and business.

I am one of those stuck fast here and unless you live it every day no one can know how that feels. Soon your little one will be in kindy, the older she/he gets the more difficult it can be to resettle her/him into the British way of life. Many migrants love it here but some dont or it just does not work for them, no different to migrants to britain it does not work for some of them. Its pretty clear you know where "home" is and are just trying to convince yourself it can be here in Aus. Hand in your notice to the agent and book your flights home.

Hi not sure about what vacinations are required for you to bring your dogs over to Brisbane, but can I suggest you make sure they have a blood test for heart worm and then start preventative treatment. (You can get a 12 monthly vaccination)There are mozzies in Aus that carry heartworm and it is something you really need to talk to your vet about. Parvo vacination bringing the dogs up to C5 I guess will be required as they are going into kennels but another horrid illness that kills dogs. You will also need to treat your dogs monthly for Fleas and fortnightly for ticks if you are going into a tick area, and also do a daily hands on checking for ticks. If you find one pull it out and get your dog straight to the vet. Sorry I know your question was about costs and stress but just thought this may be of interest