woodstockdoc

Lol, definitely avoid doing this.

My experiences are largely of Hope Island & Paradise Point. Paradise Point: on man made waterways so lots of rentals with pontoons, esplanade with coffee shops and restaurants, large open park beside water with enclosed bay swimming area, all in all lovely community feel, St Francis Xavier primary in Runaway Bay is just fantastic with good facilities and a good head master Hope Island: again a lot of man made waterways and a few golf/tennis resorts in gated communities, a high proportion of retired folk zooming around on golf buggies, has a Florida holiday resort feel to it. it's a popular area, pretty but just not my cup of tea. Good luck.

Absolutely not. I would not recommend sedation to any adult or child for a long haul flight. Everyone on such a flight should be maintaining healthy levels of fluid intake and moving regularly (to bathroom to void said fluid!) in order to reduce the risk of deep venous thrombosis. It is not uncommon for kids to have paradoxical hyperactivity following anti histamine use. Allergies are a less common side effect. It's a lottery with the kids and long haul flights. Our 3 year old had a ball with his inflight entertainment. Our 4 year old was largely OK, got a wee bit grumpy at Singapore for an hour or so.

Thanks for the recommendations. In the end we went with Gold Coast holiday lettings. I'm sure it won't surprise you that the rent was a good bit more expensive!

For a family of 7 arriving in the Gold Coast later this week (2/8/2012). If anybody has anything we would love to hear from you.

Hi all, We require a 3-4 bedroom house for short term rental from 2/8/2012 for a family of 6 (3 kids- 5, 3 & 7/12), my mother is the 6th. Preferred location is the North Gold Coast but surroundings are definitely a consideration. Rental$600-$1200 per week. If anyone has anything suitable I would love to hear from you. We have been on the usual websites which have given us some good options but just thought I would try here as well as "life in queensland". Kind regards Geoff

The wife, 3 kids and I are in Belfast where it is a gorgeous day but (always a but) 4 degrees. We are fairly outdoorsy: cycling, hill walking, beach & surf, etc. During the winter the kids have zero tolerance for being outside at this time of year, inevitably leading to going for pizza, going shopping; basically spending bloody money (whinge, whinge). Do u guys out there find you spend less because you're in the park/on the beach more than in shops and restaurants. Do not feel under pressure to say yes but it would make my day if u did! Happy new year from the car park of a shopping mall with 2 sleeping children!

That is all very interesting. My wife has been offered a job in Hope Island and I one in Marsden. We are planning to live in the Gold Coast with me commuting. Thanks for the taking the initiative and giving the tips especially about the timing and the traffic build up from Springwood which fortunately is beyond Marsden.

Thanks for the advice guys. I suspected the commute would be different in reality compared to what it looks like on google map. Yes you guessed right, we are GPs. Deciding about work in Eaton's Hill and the Gold Coast. Starting to wonder if we are over planning! Thanks again, maybe we'll bump into you in Oz!

Hi All, The wife and I have provisional job offers in Eaton's Hill. Having researched different areas we were thinking of living in Bardon or nearby Paddington. Distance wise it appears to be about 15kms but I would appreciate any advice about whether or not this would be a difficult rush hour commute and are there bus/rail links between the two. We are bringing 2 kids under 5 with another on the way. Bardon appears to meet my wife's needs and with plenty of parks and facilities nearby the kids should be kept occupied. Keen to hear your thoughts Geoff PS we tend to like to live away from where we work which is why we are choosing not to live in Eaton's Hill otherwise said area would appear to be family friendly and have a lot to offer.

Thanks for the info guys. It has helped focus our online searches.

Hi All, After a few weeks of looking at ex-pat, council and real estate websites, the wife and I are fairly confident about a move to the Gold Coast (as confident as you can be 10,000 miles away!). I have read in a few threads about areas of the Gold Coast that offer a village feel but can't seem to find the names of these areas. Could someone please fill me in? I guess I'm referring to coffee shop areas with market scenes and boutique shops (very important to the Mrs). I also would like to enquire about the cycle lanes and parks. Our family are fairly outdoorsy. Being close to the sea will be good for the surf but we also like getting the kids out on the bikes. Are there many open and safe such cycle ways especially along the coastline. The council websites offer excellent maps but it is hard to appreciate whether or not the above applies. Parks seem to be on every doorstep in SouthEast Queensland but any further info on those in the Gold Coast area would be welcomed. Thanks for the help!