Peachy

I love living in Brisbane. The school are great - both primary and high school. Lots of lovely green areas and so many well kept parks. Our quality of life is fantastic. Have spent a HUGE amount of time research suburbs and driving round to get a feel for the different areas. My own personal opinion: The Gap - great to rent. Great schools. Expensive to buy somewhere decent. Kenmore and Chapel Hill - nice but pricey to buy. Toowong - mixed. Some bits verging on industrial but otherwise nice and lovely botanical gardens. Pricey to buy. My recommendations northside: On trainline: Ferny Hills and Ferny Grove - excellent schools for primary - public and Catholic private - family oriented - cheaper than above to buy somewhere nice with a pool. Mitchelton - very sought after area - you could get somewhere that needs some work within your budget. Good schools Nundah and Northgate: very quick into city - Nundah is quite nice for cafes / shops etc. Northgate very smart. Large plots. Quiet and leafy. Keperra - up and coming - mixed - you could get somewhere nice in your budget but not as smart as Chapel Hill/ Kenmore. Not sure it would be for you given your account above Not on trainline: Eaton Hills Albany Creek Very popular with young families and the schools are great. Very friendly areas Arana Hills - popular - nice views of the city - good family area but would be slightly lower on the list for me. If you are working in the CBD aim for a trainline. Will make a huge difference to the commute. Name your suburb and I can probably give you a run down - but obviously my own bias on all the areas ;-) I can't rate Brisbane highly enough. We won't be going back.

Below is what QLD says - it appears that once you are admitted you can practice throughout Australia but I haven't looked at the detail: Practitioners admitted to other Australian jurisdictions You should be aware that admission in Queensland via the Mutual Recognition (Queensland) Act 1992 is NO LONGER REQUIRED as Queensland is part of the national legal profession. Practitioners admitted to practise in any Australian jurisdiction are entitled to apply for a Queensland Practising Certificate without seeking admission in Queensland based on their admission in another Australian jurisdiction. You can obtain a practising certificate in Queensland from the Queensland Law Society (QLS) (as a solicitor) or Queensland Bar Association (as a barrister). I draw your attention to sections 5 to 8 of the Legal Profession Act 2007.

Unfortunately doesn't seem to make any difference whether you have already studied them or not - I have done most of these at a very prestigious uni with lots of experience as a solicitor but still have a list that long. Seems that there are a lot of hurdles for UK solicitors. Although the profession is on the skills list, in reality there are large numbers of qualified solicitors looking for jobs - from what I have seen in QLD there isn't a shortage of lawyers so I don't think that the Law Society is that desperate to have people come over. Hope this doesn't come across as negative! Just speaking from my experience over here and with the right profile / experience there should be opportunities.

That looks pretty much like my list of courses! Depressing reading isn't it after years of studying in the UK. I haven't embarked on it yet for costs reasons (and luckily OH is on skills list as well). I wish your husband all the best with it. Would be interested to know how he gets on as at some point I will have to swallow the fees and go back to study and exams.

Hiya Great news. The deposit that you pay is open to discussion with the agent. Basically it represents the agent's fees so they want that asap. We amended our form to $1,000 deposit and then everything else on settlement. However, if you are competing with another buyer you may want to think about this. Other standard clauses : 14 days to get your finance sorted (and you can pull out without penalty if you can't get a mortgage) Once past the 14 days it goes unconditional. 14 days to get your buildings and pest inspection done. Same as above re conditional/ unconditional. Some vendors push for 7 days on each. You need to call up your inspector/s to see whether they can get it done in 7 days - if not go with 14. In Brisbane things move v quickly. I managed to get our pest and buildings done within 2 days of offer and reports came through the same day. If there is a pool make sure you get someone to check that out too - it is worth the money as you can negotiate your agreed price down. You also need to think about asbestos report - houses in Australia are often full of the stuff unless it is a new build or queenslander. Good luck!

My oh is social worker. He is busy, which he enjoys - works his set hours and goes home. Overtime is discouraged but any extra eg. If in QCAT or home visit overruns then gets taken as flex. Pretty much the same as UK.

That sounds odd because I queried it with Doree Bonner - they were so surprised by my question that they took it to a senior manager who had never heard of it and had never heard of anyone ever being charged for this by customs. Would be interested to see some stats of how many people have ever been stung by customs for bird poo cleanage! Hopefully the OP can weigh up the different costs v policy options to reach an informed decision.

OH and I both secured permanent jobs before departure following telephone interviews. Have posted on this several times before but can't emphasise enough to do your research of the sector as is in Australia and adapt your CV and covering letter accordingly. We are not in the food sector so can't help with specific advice I'm afraid.

We have several quotes including PSS and Doree Bonner. Doree Bonner were brilliant. Weren't impressed with PSS and then received calls for months afterwards from their 'partner organisations'. From recollection PSS also tried to flog us their bird poo cover - in case your container gets pooed on by birds while crossing the ocean. Packers at Doree Bonner were fantastic. Extremely efficient and not a thing broken.

Very similar to uk. Job descriptions on smart jobs pretty accurate. Decent work life balance.

Hiya Just a quick one. I do sympathise regarding the additional courses - I am in the same position re costs, although I was aware before I left UK and managed to get quotes from universities in Australia before the move. Given the cost I have decided to put my legal career on hold for the moment. As a lawyer you will have a wealth of transferable skills. I have got a permanent job with the government and couldn't be happier - flex time and no more billable hours! ! Pay is pretty good too. Have you looked at other options? If you do decide to stay completely revamp your cv and work on what skills you do have. Adapt to the jobs you apply for. After getting over the dilemma of 'wasting' 17 years in law by not qualifying over here I have realised there is more to life than a qualification. Good luck with the pregnancy and hope all works out for you.

Someone with more experience will be able to confirm but wouldn't have thought your partner can come overon tourist visa as she isn't planning on being a tourist and doesn't intend to go home at thr end of the visa term.

I can't quite remember but seem to think it was when the papers were first reviewed and put into the queue for the assessment. I suppose they will want to make sure you are good for the fee before putting it forward for assessment.

From recollection the waiting time is 10 - 12 weeks.

If you need a skills assessment some agencies will prioritize in this situation. This isn't always advertised and you will have to enquire about fast tracking and there will be an extra fee. From recollection my husband's was done in 4 weeks instead of 12 weeks because he was about to turn 40. However we also had back up plan of him achieving top marks in ilets just in case it didn't come together.

Golden Arrow are fantastic. For more info on their service see my review.

The pay is better than UK, but then most jobs pay more because of higher cost of living. Have a look at qld gov smartjobs site for job advertisements with details of wages. Salary from about $60,000 up to $100,000 for deputy manager level.

He ordered a couple of text books which were shipped from Australia. He also made sure he was all over NDIS.

Have a read on the immi website about the different visas. There are significant advantages to the 189. Plus it would be better to apply for 189 while the skill is in demand. In relation to jobs, my oh did a huge amount of research while waiting for the visa (you need to tailor your letter and cv to show that you understand the Australian system and how your skills are applicable ). My OH got a good job sorted before we came over. Good luck.

Hi just wondering why you want sponsorship rather than pr under 189?

The Sunshine Coast is a fantastic area but work wise more of an issue. There are some lovely suburbs north of Brisbane which would enable you to work in cbd and a short drive up the Sunshine Coast at the weekend. Re suburbs, depends on whether you want housing estate or more individual area. North Lakes has got a great community feel but a little too much new housing estate for me. Definitely get job sorted then think housing and schooling.

A lot can happen in 12 months with kids - I wouldn't worry about it. TBH I think it is far riskier holding her back a year than moving her up with her age group. I would only hold her back if she had educational difficulties which meant that her learning was more akin to the year below.

We moved in June with our 2 children and 3 cats(including a 15 year old cat). We are on permanent visas but have rented house out just in case. While I absolutely recommend life over here, and our children have adapted far better than I hoped, I wouldn't have made the move for a temporary visa. We had great life in UK with both of us earning good salaries. Over here we have comparable salaries and live in Brisbane so cost of living is reasonable. I like that we can still afford day trips and treats for the kids. I am not sure we would have sacrificed everything for the stresses of making ends meet. We have already made a good network of friends but a lot of people find it tough when you have no one else to help out. I am sure that if you decide to go it will work out but think v v carefully. Good luck.

Great schools all over Brisbane. Would factor in commute issue. Lots of v nice friendly areas a bit closer in.

We live in Brisbane and earn more than this but we would be able to live here for about that amount, at a push, with 2 kids. I think that Sydney would be extremely difficult and would leave you nothing for emergencies/ saving for hols etc. Brisbane housing is affordable - both rental and buying.