tina0101

I just googled it and picked a cheap one that covered lost luggage and cancellation!! Insure&Go I think it was!

You will get lots of variations from people for areas to live. Unless you are used to a commute, I'd probably try and stay local to where you are working as the motorway between Gold Coast and Brisbane can make the M25 look good!! So if they can pin point which location will be the main place of work, that would be useful!! We live in Wellington Point. About 50 mins by train to Brisbane, just over an hour to the Gold Coast beaches. Depending on where you live in the UK, will depend on what you class as 'safe' areas. I would class where we live and surrounding areas as very safe. I know a lot of people on here really like the Northern suburbs too. We secured a 3 week holiday let (through stayz.com.au) when we arrived but were lucky and found a 6-month rental after a week. I would not be looking to secure a rental unless you are here (and you probably wont get one unless you are here) as the pictures you see online often do not look like the actual place!! Good luck!!

Good luck!! :-)

We got 40kg each flying with Singapore airlines when we came out 11 months ago as we were validating the visas. Not sure if it's still the same. We had 90 mins in Singapore and actually it worked well for us (no kids tho!) just coming straight through. We booked directly on their website as the price was the cheapest. Make sure you join any frequent flyer schemes though!!

We part exchanged our old Mazda 3 for a new Mazda 2 at the Mazda dealership. Easy as.

We sat in the garden and made lots of tea. I wouldn't leave them, in case they have any queries!

We've still got UK bank accounts (very useful for birthdays). Think about putting your house on the market before you get the visa - what if you don't get it/it takes longer than anticipated? We had all the valuations and met all the agents and then chose who to go with when the visa came through. Definitely start the cat's processes - they need vaccinations etc. Petair was really helpful to us and gave us lots of information. Agree about start de-cluttering - it's amazing how much stuff you probably won't bring with you - we did car boots, advertised on FB gave things away (tools to friends who needed them, books and DVDs to charity. It all takes a bit of time!! Start to scan everything and save it to a couple of memory sticks and a folder on your computer. We've all got a copy of passport/visa in our emails so we can easily forward them on if needed. Good of luck with it all - Kevsan's list is great!!

Movecube if you havent got much. If not Crown, Pickfords, PSS are all good. Get a few quotes and compare before you commit to one thought.

Saw you both found the group on Facebook. Nice place to find out new bars, cafes and things going on :-) 30th will come round fast!! Enjoy Bali!

You in Bali or have you arrived??

Macnet - if you're on Facebook, there is Poms On The Bay as a group. People often post events and things there. Love The Bench. Actually dropping hubby there in a bit before he goes to watch the Rugby!

Check with the school. In Qld, my son did the last Term of Year 11 and is now half-way through Year 12. Because he got decent GCSE grades, we have been able to apply for credit towards his overall result here using them. Obviously, it will vary depending on State, but he has transferred really well and is doing fabulously here!

That seems steep. Make sure you get a couple of other companies out to do a comparison.

Just ring them and let them know. They will want the money back, but at least you've tied up that loose end.

If you need an alternative, we used stayz.com.au to get a 3 week holiday let when we first arrived.

Tell him that he will be fine - all the kids at school will want to talk to him because he is new and he can make more new friends. I know a few people with kids between 5 - 10 who have all come here recently and all of them love it and have made good friends. Encourage him to join a club (e.g. soccer) :-)

Life's for living

I just thought I'd post my observations for anyone else new - as I said, it is very different to where I was in the UK!! I know the indicator/wiper thing isn't australian, but every car I've driven has been that way - in the UK I don't think I ever drove a car where they were the other way. I also know the rules regarding overtaking, but it doesn't happen. I was terrified the first time two massive trucks took me on each side - it just doesn't happen in the UK.

A few things I have discovered about driving in QLD that I was not expecting!! May be useful to others coming over, as I have certainly found it a very different driving experience to the rage-inducing Reading traffic in the UK! I had no idea that the indicators and windscreen wipers are the other way around. Hence lots of comical windscreen washing when I tried to signal/flash my lights.... !! Everyone (pretty much) sticks to the speed limit. Have seen much less speeding than I saw in the UK. I guess it's because the police are less conspicuous when zapping speeding drivers than in the UK. I've noticed the police use a variety of cars to put the camera in, so you never really know!! There is not really an overtaking lane on the motorway. It doesn't matter which lane you are in, you will get over or undertaken. Not a problem, but having a truck each side hammer past you is fairly intimidating!!! People don't say 'thank you' as much - when you let people out, or let them filter in I hardly ever get a raised hand or flash to say thanks. When it rains, everyone seems to lose the ability to drive. I guess I was just used to the constant rain in the UK, so can cope when it's bucketing down here :-) Cruise control is used a lot more.

Look at Stayz.com.au for a short term. We booked 3 weeks in Upper Coomera but actually moved into our 'real' rental after a week, as we quickly realised we wanted to be closer to Brisbane for work. Good luck. There are lots of lovely areas in the Gold Coast.

The only furniture we shipped our sofas as we are still paying for them. I reckon we would have left them behind had there not been finance still owed. We figured new country, new start. :-)

We shipped 3 weeks before we left. Booked into a holiday let for 3 weeks when we arrived so we were not living out of suitcases in a hotel. Airbnb, stayz.com.au are good websites to look at. Husband had a job within 2 days of us getting there (huge relief!) and we secured a rental within a week. We offered 6 months rent up-front which, along with his contract and a number of references from our UK jobs and estate agent about how great we are, definitely helped! The majority of rentals are unfurnished. We sold almost everything in the UK so needed to buy everything again, so we didn't have the long wait for everything that some have. The only 'big' thing we had shipped was our sofas, so we sat on our patio/dining room chairs for two months while we waited for our container. We found that most places offered next day delivery so the day before we moved in we went to IKEA/Good Guys etc and ordered everything so it would arrive on moving day. You can always join facebook groups and check out gumtree to see if people are offering anything to help you until your stuff arrives. We used a mortgage broker and applied for a mortgage within four months of being here. Husband had his job and I was a month into my job. We used a broker as he could look at a lot more on offer than just the big banks, especially as I was on probation at work for six months so a number of providers wouldn't include my salary. Everything rocked out ok and we moved into our house five months after arriving here and are all very happy. Bear in mind that if your kids are of school age, you will want to look at the schools in the areas if you are not going private as they can be quite strict on catchment areas. Good luck!

Have a look on realestate.com.au at what you can get for under $500k. We live an hour on the train out in the Bayside area - great schools, parks, neighbourhood and plenty to do. Less than an hour's drive to the Gold Coast. But for $500k you won't be looking at a large plot and a 4 bed. As you get closer to the city on this side of Brisbane, it'll be even harder to find a house like you describe for $500k. Mount Cotton is an up and coming area, with a number of developments, that may be worth looking at. I guess it also depends on where you work - commuting can be a right pain!

Our estate agent in the UK that sold our house put how easy we were to deal with and how the house was always well kept when they came round etc. Our bosses put about our reliability and generally how great we were at work :-) We didn't get any from friends as the other two seemed to suffice.

Depends what jobs you are going for. i.e. most of the decent teaching jobs for September will already be taken. Obviously, over Christmas you may find people take time off to be with family, so you run the risk of the decision makers being off. Weather wise, if you are not used to the cold, I agree with the above and would suggest you go out in the spring, so you can go through the warmer UK weather and ease into the winter.