thegigg5

We emigrated from Crosby to the Gold Coast. What's happening in the old place? Is Blundellsands included in that assessment? Just interested, no intention of returning... although we went back on holiday last year to Liverpool and the City Centre was buzzing... thought it had really progressed.

Any particular reason why you are honing in on Helensvale High School? I noticed you'd made another post about it. It's pretty average on most Gold Coast school charts.

Ha, ha. I got notified by email of a reply to this thread all these years later. We emigrated to the Gold Coast in September 2012. Still here, living the dream. Feel quite nostalgic reading through a few of the posts. It was such an exciting time... watching the Visa movements and the spreadsheet... guessing when your name was going to get called!

We've lived in Robina for four years and love the place. You're 10-15 minutes from Miami/Nobbys/Burleigh beaches, near the M1 motorway to get wherever you need to, the Gold Coast Hinterland is in touching distance on the other side of the motorway, you're on the Brisbane main rail line, you have the biggest shopping centre on the Gold Coast (although I believe Pac Fair will be bigger soon), the footy stadium, tons of nice parks, restaurants etc... Varsity is kind of an extension to Robina... I believe it used to be part of Robina until they decided it was going to be it's own suburb and took in a chunk of Robina and Burleigh. Can't go wrong in Robina mate... also plenty of ex-pats around to help you settle in.

Google Maps says 30 mins for Pac Pines and 32 mins for Helensvale so I guess they will be your northern limit.

You won't need heavy jackets... the winter climate is still warm. 30 mins from Gold Coast Airport.... I'd suggest you don't want to go any further north than Helensvale / Pac Pines.

Exciting times lynste! and I bet you are maxed out getting ready right now. Where are you staying initially when you touch down?

Hey Suzi, We're in Robina. Meet up for a drink in the New Year. We're just about to go back to the UK for 3 weeks holiday but catch up when we get back.

Haven't lived there so don't know but some people talk about it in less than inspiring language. One thing I'd say though, is that "rough" is a pretty relative word. Places I've been to that have been described as a "bit rough" in Australia are nowhere near as "rough" as places described as "rough" in the UK.

We stayed there for 3 weeks in 2012 when we emigrated - also got a deal on an interim cabin. Place is ok, has pool, tennis courts and a few activities for the kids. It's within walking distance to a smallish shopping mall and Ashmore Tavern. Transport links aren't great so you'll probably need to get a hire car fairly soon after settling in. We settled in Robina as it ticked all our boxes - direct train line to Brisbane, next to the M1, bus links to Broadbeach, biggest shopping mall on the GC, loads of restaurants, a few pubs, loads of sports clubs and facilities - 2 cricket ovals, baseball oval, soccer pitches, AFL oval, CBus Super stadium and loads of family stuff to do. Helensvale was out second choice originally, but also like Mudgereeba which is just the other side of the motorway and a bit more rural.

Hi Aaron, We thought we'd end up needing to travel to Brisbane to work (as it turns out we both ended up finding work on the Gold Coast) so we followed the Pacific Motorway and the Main Train Line down from Brisbane to the Gold Coast and based our suburb choice on that. We shortlisted to Helensvale and Robina and then settled in Robina. Both are close to the Motorway and had train stations on the Main Brisbane line. Do a time check on Google Maps to see how long it would take to get to Brisbane from a particular suburb as it can take a while in busy periods to even get to the motorway. i.e. Even though Robina is further south than Southport (for instance) - I reckon I'd get to Brisbane quicker because I'm on the motorway in 2 minutes. Also think suburbs with stations if you want to commute.

I'm assuming you never lived on the Gold Coast... Sunshine Coast is beautiful - most of Queensland is, but I'm going to sell the Gold Coast... We live here and love it. As others have said, some people seem to be confusing Surfers Paradise with the Gold Coast in general. Surfers is one suburb of many. It can get rowdy a 2 or 3 am in the morning... so if that's not your thing then don't go out in Surfers at 2 or 3 am in the morning. During the daytime, I actually like Surfers and it aint so bad at night if you fancy going out on the piss with a load of mates. But in comparison to any UK cities at that time of night, it'd still regard the nightlife as fairly tame. Go south to Broadbeach and you've got a cosmopolitan vibrant suburb teeming with restaurants, bars and clubs. Further south, you've got Mermaid Beach, Nobby's Beach, Miami, Burleigh Heads, Palm Beach, Currumbin, Coolongatta... quieter but still great for beaches, eating out etc... North end, you have Main Beach, Sanctuary Cove etc... Gold Coast has beaches stretching for miles on end. If you want a busy beach, you'll find one (i.e. Surfers, Main)... If you want a quiet beach you'll find one (i.e. Nobbys, Palm Beach South). If you want busy nightlife you'll find it (i.e. Surfers)... if you want quieter but still vibrant nightlife you'll find it (Broadbeach, Burleigh). If you want shopping you'll find it - Robina, Pac Fair, Australia Fair, Harbourtown and tons of smaller malls. If you want sport you'll find it - Rugby-NRL (Titans@Robina), AFL (Suns@Carrara), plus loads of cricket, football, baseball grounds, golf courses etc.. pretty much every suburb is serviced. Brisbane is an hour a way on the main GC line, if you fancy a bit of culture. Family stuff - you have the biggest theme parks in Australia - Dreamworld, Movie World, Wet n Wild, White Water World, Sea World The Gold Coast Hinterland is amazing countryside and scenery - Springbrook, Lamington, Mount Tamborine. Fantastic scenery - valleys, waterfalls, walks.... Whatever lifestyle you want, I think the GC will offer it to you on a plate. You take what you want and avoid what you don't like. The Sunshine Coast is lovely if you like sedate towns and beaches... but you can cherry pick that from what the GC has to offer. But the GC offers a whole lot more on top of that.

Lol. I went to school in Kirkham (Carr Hill) - we're also on the GC (Robina). I'd underline this - If you've ever lived in or near Blackpool and also the Gold Coast, then you'll appreciate there is no comparison.

Sports, Facilities and Culture I'd give to Brisbane. Restaurants... Nah, I'd give that to the Gold Coast. Along with night life. Beaches & Water Sports... Gold Coast by a mile. Scenery, Outdoor Pursuits... Gold Coast (Nothing in Brisbane matches the GC Hinterland) Kids stuff... The GC is the capital of Australia for theme parks. On a day to day basis I prefer the latter and when I want a dose of the former then I hop on a train and am in Brisbane within the hour.

Exactly. The Gold Coast covers a large area. Surfers is only one suburb. You can be in Brisbane within an hour from the central mainline stations of the Gold Coast - Helensvale, Nerang, Coomera, Robina etc...

There is no comparison with the city beach in Brisbane with the beaches of the Gold Coast. On the Gold Coast you have about 60-70 km of fantastic beaches - busy beaches, quiet beaches... something for everyone, but amazing. In Brizzy, there is a small strip city beach probably less than 1km in size and absolutely packed to the rafters. Brizzy has a lot going for it - but beaches isn't one of it's selling points.

Varsity Lakes wasn't badly affected by the floods at all. I assume you are talking about the tail end of the cyclone that hit the GC in early 2013... Bit of inconvenience on some of the roads around Varsity and Robina for 2 or 3 days was pretty much it. I wouldn't cross it off your list! What's you shortlist by the way?

Hi Wokos, Join Brits on the Gold Coast Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/brits.on.the.gold.coast/ Very active, plenty of events and meetups. Welcome to the Gold Coast. Owen

Quoted for the Truth. Some of the comments about aussies are quite ironic - you'll have a poster on their high horse waxing lyrical about how dreadful aussies are when making general observations about other races/people from other geographic regions (more often than not based on their personal experiences) without it occurring to them that they are doing exactly the same thing themselves when stereotyping aussies. As you say their seems to be some obsession with adding a "ism" or "phobic" label to anyone who freely expresses an opinion that doesn't match their own.

Who's forking out the 2.5 mill?

Zack, I think you may be a bit too gloomy. The Uk's debt is over 80% of GDP. Europe is knackered long term. Australia is in a far better position for the long haul (20% national debt/GDP ratio). All the Nats are doing is balancing the books, which is essential for future generations. Your kids are far better over here for a long term future. Of course, it's not all honey, but it won't be for any western nation - but Oz is in a far better position than most.

I can't help but wonder that some of my fellow brits have such an obsession with racism that it beggars belief sometimes.

We used Concept Australia in Manchester (Martin and Steve). Nothing but good things to say about them - they were first class. They didn't sugarcoat anything, told us exactly how it was and kept us updated regularly through the whole process.

Sounds like a case of pot and kettle. Lol.

We originally planned to move to Perth and went out there on holiday for three weeks in 2009. I really liked Perth - lovely beaches, nice laid back atmosphere. However, my wife looked at the east coast in more detail and we decided to emigrate to Queensland. We've been here for 4 months and I think it was definitely the right decision for us. I liked Perth but I love Queensland. There is a lot more to Queensland than just Brisbane, you have the Sunshine Coast north of Brisbane and the Gold Coast to the south. Further north again, you have Cairns. We settled on the Gold Coast which kind of gave us everything we wanted. It's big enough to give that city feeling (approx 600,000 people), an hour's drive from Brisbane and not a million miles from Sydney. We have a young family and kind of felt we would run out of things to see in Perth given it's sleepiness and isolation. Brisbane and the Gold Coast have a ton of tourist attractions, beautiful beaches (particularly the Gold and Sunshine Coasts) that more than match Perth, far more restaurants, night life and things to do as a family. Might sound unimportant, but it's also a lot greener. Sounds silly, but driving through beautiful green countryside in the Gold Coast or Sunshine Coast hinterland areas makes you really feel at home. Contrast that with Perth where you drive for half an hour inland and it's barren red land. Wherever you decide, I think you will enjoy it but definitely Queensland for me PS -I'm not sure what dustyroad was talking about, as Brisbane seems a far bigger city than Perth to us, with a lot more going on.