Geraldine

Well just had my first Oz fish and chips whilst sitting in the park looking at the sea on a beautiful sunny day. Different to the UK but really enjoyed them. Couldn't careless if one is better than the other I want them to be different anyway. The temptation to look for the same food as we ate in the UK is huge. Found myself in the supermarket smiling as they had oxo for my gravy.. Will continue to try Oz versions of things and not be too set in my ways....well except for my gravy :biggrin:

Great update, it's good to hear how you have adapted to a new way of life. Wish you and yor family lots of luck for the future. Geraldine

Depends on your finances I suppose, we couldn't sell our house so rented it out, it meant we have lived in some temporary accommodation in UK for two months but it hasn't bothered us at all. If the visa hadnt worked out we would have moved back home once the 6months were up on the lease. For us it worked out as we are renting furnished accommodation in the UK allowing all our stuff to be already on its way on the high seas. It has also meant all I have to pack for our Monday flights are our suitcases (much easier for me than the packing up and cleaning before our tennents moved in) . Sad goodbyes to your home are also not so fresh in your mind. It's worked for us but wouldn't be everyone's cup of tea. Good luck with whatever you do Geraldine

hi there, my OH is a GP and we fly out to Brisbane next week to begin a new life in Oz. My OH was born in Burma but is of Indian heritage. Seemingly we may need to adjust to a new ethnic description... not that it concerns us. We have also wondered about racism but decided we needed to try it and see what happens. If its like the UK then we will be fine. Although our 12 year old when asked by us last week if she had any experience of racism announced that she had.We were shocked as she had never mentioned it . However, our slightly built, demure young lady gave the other girl short shrift so we figured she can fight her own battles. I've been interested in other comments made on this thread and am reassured that we will be ok.

Brilliant set of pics....going to visit them all !!! :biggrin:

My thoughts and prayers are with everyone who is suffering xxxx

Great news !! So happy for you. :biggrin:

Hi Jenkas, we also faced this dilemma, our cat was too old to insure and that sort of made my mind up. We decided to give her to my best friend who adores cats and is more than happy to have her. We gave her a couple of months ago even though we are unlikely to be moving until Easter. This has allowed us time to adjust to not having her around (this was the hard part) and as it turns out a blessing in disguise as we have moved into temporary accommodation in the UK whilst we rent our house out and we wouldn't have been able to have her here. It really is a personal decision and what suits one family wouldn't suit another. We all miss her but are lucky enough to receive regular photos and when we visit plenty of strokes

Thank you guys for the recepies I feel a baking session coming on, I've never tried either of these so cant wait to see what they are like.

Salma, please accept our heartfelt sympathy for your loss. There are no words at these times but simply know that many of us are thinking of you and your family xxxxx:hug:

Get well soon, hope you are pain free and that they gave you a festive colour for your cast.....:biggrin:

Hi Love Shoes, we loved P&O but this was sailing out of Southampton so it was pomsinp&o . We've found when we sail out of other European cities ( when mum and dad haven't joined us) then more folks from all over the world are on the ships .this tends to mean slightly less formality on the formal nights you can spot the Brits in their Black Tie whereas many other countries don't go in for all that. It also gives the ships a different feel, we love it when couples from Spanish speaking nations are on board as their music and dancing is just excellent to join in with. I'm a typical Liverpool girl and love to dress up whatever the occasion so have no problem in dragging out a bit of sparkle for the formal nights but don't let any of that worry you. Each ship has advice re the dress code and the most important thing is the destinations...oh and if you like your food it's included in the price so pack an elasticated waistband as it is hard to resist the lure of the 24 hour eating lol.. Feel free to send me a pm if you have any further questions. Happy Cruising :biggrin:

Hi Love shoes, as my dad won't fly we have done a few cruises in the past 6 years with our extended family been on Celebrity, Princess, P&O and Royal Caribbean . We have loved it is a holiday that an accommodate many interests and age ranges, where else can I ballroom dance and then get the DJ to put the latest Ibiza dance tunes on lol Our kids have made friends from all over the world and seen most of the many of the major cities in Europe. It's a fab to sail into a new port each day and till the day I die I will remember sailing into Venice on a hot sultry summer morning..... Just outstanding.... Could go on but just remember it depends what you are into as to the type of ship that would suit. Be assured though I am already planning our first cruise out of Brisbane :biggrin:

I mentioned on here that we hadn't sold our home (still haven't) so we put it on for rent and 5 days later someone came and wanted it. This was a complete surprise as our house is expensive to rent. We asked our mortgage company Woolwich underwritten by Barclays and they said we can rent out for up to 2 yrs on the same mortgage rate with a £25.00 fee. Our agent will manage the whole process and the property in our absence. I negotiated 6.5% + vat of the monthly rent. Whilst our mortgage rate is as low as it is for us I am hoping that we can make a couple of hundred a month taking into account landlords insurance. Please keep all fingers crossed for us... I've heard some of the bad tenant stories.....

Was bought a lovely coffee yesterday in Costa Coffee by a great lady who I have met on here who doesn't live too far away from us in the UK and will be moving like us in the New Year to Brissy. We plant to get the kids together for bowling before we all go so at least everyone feels like they know someone when we get there. None of this would have happened without the brill Pomsinoz :biggrin:

Love shoes he was just as brill as ever in the recent series of Dallas I am properly sad about this, he was part of my growing up and even my lads watched the new Dallas as they couldn't believe what a vile character he brilliantly played. May he RIP :sad:

Fish01 thank you, thank you, thank you, for this I've been sat here showing my OH and kids the great things we've got to look forward to when we arrive in Brisbane. How do I keep this thread for future reference as we plan to tick the lot off when we are living there :biggrin:

We are taking our cars with us as it appears to be wort it OH drives an Audi Q7 and mine is a BMW 1 series if we had known a year ago that we were moving we would have traded them for newer versions. Accepting once in Oz may never afford to buy these sorts of cars again so going to run them into the ground ( no doubt my OH will be itching in two years to change them though as he does love car shopping )

I don't mind where my neighbours are from, my hope is that they are as lovely as my current neighbours in the UK . The main question for me is how can I be a good neighbour in a new country. I think it's for us as a family to make the effort to be good neighbours no matter who we live next to. Just hope no one minds my loud dance music :biggrin:

We are also in the same position with a house to sell, we've decided like others that now isn't the time to sell a property in the UK, so maybe look at it as a mid to long term asset/investment and perhaps try renting it. No doubt this is putting us under more pressure financially as we don't have a deposit for a house in Oz but we will just try and save up for one . Like many of you I am a bit stressed out with it all but not letting it stop us moving on with our lives. Good luck to everyone in the same situation .

Never too old, my husband and I are going out in Jan aged 42. We still think we can rock it with the kids..... Sadly our four kids, 22,17,12&9 beg to differ :laugh:

Thank you for discussing this issue, another little gem of information I can take with me, all very helpful for those of us making the move . :smile:

I really don't mind the UK Winter, Autumn and Spring..... I just feel cheated over our lack of summers. Just back from 28-30 in Lanzarote and yes I think I could get used to that :biggrin: (stayed 3* so no air-con) will be landing in Brisbane in January, so will be a baptism of fire literally ! We can't wait to see if we can't stand the hot weather :mask:

Livvy7 we are doing the opposite to you, moving from Southport to Brisbane. We are not leaving Southport because we don't like it, we love it. As you know though the sun doesn't shine enough here hence our decision to move ( we are also in the mood for an adventure) so if you want to come back don't rule out coming back to Southport it is still a great place and Lord street looks as wonderful as ever. I don't know what type of nursing you do but I am a practice manager and could put you in touch with some colleagues if that helps . Good luck

Vicandsteve, don't be too hard on yourself or your mum. I too am an only child since my 37 yr old sister passed away 3 years ago. As you can imagine my mum and dad will find it even harder to let me go. All we know in life is that random things happen that you can never foresee so trying to plan too far ahead is likely to need revising. What I know is that if my sister was here she would be encouraging us to go on an Ozzy adventure....who knows we may get sick of the sunshine and come back. I am telling everyone that we are simply going to try and see what we think of living there. If we absolutely love it then I know my parents will be happy for us no matter how difficult it is. I only spoke to my 17 year old niece today and reminded her that when she makes decisions in the future as an adult she should focus on those she lives with not me her aunty or my mum who she lives with. I want her to feel like she can fly and not have her wings clipped by me missing her. The same goes for my own four children if they want an adventurous life then I can't wait to hear their fantastic stories. Life is for living !!! Hope it all works out for you.