ADAVIDH

On 19/01/2020 at 08:21, Marisawright said:

You qualify easily for a partner visa, but be aware that it's a slow process.  There's a lot of work involved to gather all the evidence of your relationship, and then you'll have a 12 to 18 month wait for the visa to come through.

I'd say moving straight into a bought property is an unrealistic goal.  You can't buy or even rent a property, sight unseen, from the UK.  Firstly, real estate agents shamelessly photoshop the images you see online,so you should never buy without seeing it in person.  Secondly, you can't judge what the suburbs are like from a distance, even with help from places like this forum. You might buy what looks like a gorgeous house in a nice suburb that's handy for your work - but when you arrive, you'll discover it's a dump, and the reason it was reasonably priced is that it's right on the edge of that nice suburb, bordering on a rough area where hoons race their cars every night, or something. 

Most migrants book a AirBnB or a holiday let when they arrive for three or four weeks, to give them time to look for a long-term rental.  Then they live in the rental property for six months to a year while they get to know the city, and then they're well enough informed to buy. 

Check real estate prices on realestate.com.au, to get an idea of how much you'll need.  For some reason, people seem to assume that houses are cheaper in Australia but they're not, and in most cities, houses near the beach are astronomical (not that Brisbane has any beaches!).  Homely.com.au has reviews of individual suburbs - I wouldn't rely on them completely, but they give you enough of an idea for your initial research.   

Brisbane has several beaches...Margate Beach, Wynnum and (albeit artificial) Southbank.  Granted, they are not like the beaches on the Sunshine Coast, Gold Coast and Sydney but I wouldn't say they are much worse than Melbourne beaches in my opinion.  It takes roughly the same amount of time to get to the Brisbane beaches as it does to the Sydney beaches if you use the respective CBDs as a starting point.

I'm from Wolverhampton and my partner is from Leicester so that's pretty Midlands!  Feel free to get in touch.  Been here for 20 years so can hopefully impart some useful knowledge!

Thank you for taking the time to comment. :hug:

 

Ah thats what I thought but thanks for confirming. I didn't know there was a drugs centre there so thanks for that.

 

Shall look at other areas x x x

Good luck with the search and feel free to get in touch once you arrive.

I live in Noosa and travel frequently through Nambour to go to the hinterland. It does not have a good reputation. There are several boarded-up shops and few restaurants. It's a bit of a nightmare to park in too and it's generally run down. It does have a train station with direct connections to Brisbane. I believe it has a drug rehabilitation centre as well which does not help its reputation. Up the hill from Nambour is very pleasant and you will get the views from there with a wide choice of suburbs. As for price, I believe in the case of Nambour, you get what you pay for. With so much in new housing in and around Maroochydore (and the Sunshine Motorway heading up to Noosa), I would prefer to be closer to your hubby's work rather than having to cross over the Bruce Highway every day for work.