Sophie Goodall

Hi Sophie
Just a quick word from an 'oldie' who emigrated in 1983 and has lived north of Brisbane ever since.  There is lots of good advice on these pages.  The North or South debate is a permanent issue around here.  I prefer the north (find it less industrial and easier to negotiate) but I worked down south for many years - colleagues there couldn't conceive of living  on the northside! 
I agree with others that it may take a little while to find the perfect place for you - so you may have to move schools for the children.  However, you are arriving at the start of the last term, which finishes in Dec -- followed by the summer holidays.  By the time school goes back at the very end of January you may have had enough time for a good look around.  
PLEASE don't worry about the wildlife - the spiders are generally harmless - even the enormous huntsman spiders which, I believe, are useful for catching other smaller insects.  We have had more of a problem with ants, which descend in hordes on anything remotely edible - so we all keep our pest control up-to-date. 
In 36 years I have seen only one snake in the wild around here - and that was only a carpet python.  However, the advice to avoid long grass and make a lot of noise is good advice. I understand, as others have said, that some more rural places + the western suburbs are likely to have more snakes.  
That's all for now - will add more later if I think of anything
 

I live on the bayside (to the east of the city) and I work in the city.
When we first moved here we lived in Auchenflower (west of the city). Very close to the city, trains every few minutes at peak times and a lovely place, we initially thought we would stay around there-but once we went to the bayside, drove along the Manly esplanade we realised that it was the place for us (and a good couple of degrees cooler generally too). No real beach but it’s not that hard to drive north or south to one, it’s also less than 20 minutes from the airport which is great for my work travel etc when I’m not in the city which is 30 minutes by train.
My advice would be to rent somewhere fairly central/ close to work, then go out each weekend and have a coffee / breakfast and a walk around different suburbs to get a feel for where you would like to be.
Just an amusing story from when we arrived: We landed in November and when we were walking suburbs to see if we liked them, we discounted some immediately because we were horrified that there was so much rubbish out on the streets... Turned out it was council collection weekend for those suburbs and not just a particularly grubby part of the city as we’d thought [emoji23]

I think you’re going to have quit a shock if you think the traffic in Brisbane isn’t bad, it’s not only bad but the people can’t drive. I live right in the city by the bridge and I can’t go anywhere after work unless I leave before 2.30 or after 7pm. To be fair I don’t often need or want to leave the city I love Brisbane cbd, I don’t think I could live anywhere past Bowen hills kangaroo point Newstead or Paddington though. Not much going off outside in the burbs. 
It really is a stunning city, I flew over the other night on my way home from work and it looks just as stunning from the air. 
Good luck. Brisbane has been really good too me. 

Hi,
In regards to cats - we've been here for 4 yrs now.  Had 2 cats in the uk which we didn't bring with us.  Mainly because of the costs and putting them in quarantine. A lot of people over here don't like cats as 'they kill the native wildlife'.
We have since got 2 cats here and not once have they killed and brought us a gift back.  In some states there are rules they have be inside from 8pm - 7am (i think) we generally have ours locked in at night time.
If you have family happy to look after them I would go with that.  The process for transporting cats can be long as they have to have a test or injection from the vet and then you have to wait something like 180 days for the next stage. Costs from what I recall are around $6000 for the 2 cats.
I got more upset about leaving the cats then family! 
Hope this helps & congrats on your visa. We're in NSW but looking into moving up to QLD, Sunshine Coast.

Samford is beautiful but a bit of a way out, Arana Hills has got some nice bits, Ferny Grove is convenient, around Chermside has some nice parts, whatever you do check your journey into work and home at peak traffic times because some routes used to be nightmares just because of one bottlekneck. Bridgeman Downs can be nice.
The further out you go, in general, the cheaper it is but you have to remember the outer estates can be very isolating, and there was a big one out along the Bruce highway that only had 2 ways out, both onto the Bruce.
It is a beautiful city, go down town at dusk and see the bats and flying foxes, go to Chemside shopping centre at early dusk and see the birds roosting.
North of the river always felt better than the southside, more expensive but less industrial and less state housing.

Snakes generally just slither away from you unless you step on them because you weren't making any noise, just make sure you wear shoes if you are in rough grass where they not be visible, generally leave them alone and they'll leave you alone, the State govt, I think the museum, used to do a good book on wildlife that told you what was dangerous in spiders , snakes, etc
The spiders and the insects can just be ejected by catching them under a container and sliding a bit of card under.

Hi,
Congratulations on your visa grant! 
Please could I ask if the occupation used for visa was quantity surveyor? Was it a long wait for invite? 189 ,190 or a different visa? 
Thank you. [emoji846]
 
 

Hi,
Congratulations on your visa grant! 
Please could I ask if the occupation used for visa was quantity surveyor? Was it a long wait for invite? 189 ,190 or a different visa? 
Thank you. [emoji846]
 
 

 Sorry to contradict, but in the leafy suburbs of Brisbane there are a fair few snakes around. My son has had to call the snake catcher a couple of times with an unidentifiable snake, and had more than a few pythons and tree snakes over the 5 years he has lived there. One piece of advice don’t have a cat flap if you have a cat. Guaranteed to find a snake in the house bought in by the cat!! His cat is now house bound having been bitten recently by a snake. 
In 16 years on the Sunshine Coast I have seen only 4 in the garden.

All good advice and certainly take precautions but unless you are living out in the bush or on acreage properties snake encounters are very rare.
I live in a semi-rural location and have only glimpsed one snake here in close to 4 years and that was beating a hasty retreat.

A few basics on living with snakes:  don't walk in long grass or put your legs or arms anywhere you don't have clear sight - including stepping over logs, reaching into wood piles or under rocks.  Keep your garden clear of anything under which they may hide and keep bushes trimmed above the ground so you can see if anything is there.  Have flywire/seurity screens on all doors and windows so that they can't enter the house when doors and windows are open.  Block up any holes in walls or floors (they can get through surprisingly small gaps).  Don't ever try to catch or kill - not only is it illegal in most cases but that's when people get bitten.  If you see one, give it an escape route and let it move away.    They don't "hear" noise the way we do but they do respond to vibrations on the ground....so stomping is a good technique if you're walking anywhere you're unsure of.  There are reptile rescue organisations:  have your local one on speed dial and ring them if you see a snake near the house you want relocated.   Just remember to keep a line of sight on it so they know exactly where to look when they arrive.   If the weather's been dry don't leave dog water bowls etc. outside:  snakes will come looking for water. 

On 13/03/2019 at 13:19, Paul1Perth said:

Isn't it a brilliant feeling getting the email. It was a letter when we came and happy doesn't do the feeling justice. We had a 2 year old but apart from that much the same process you have to go through. Couldn't believe how hard it was to tell parents and siblings but we were pleasantly surprised with the support we got. We'd never been before, even on holiday and chose Perth, mainly because houses were a lot cheaper but we liked the look of the place and thought we would like the climate, beaches and lifestyle. We are still here and loving it 27 years later.
I've been to Brisbane loads of times and it's my second favourite City. Only drawback is it's a trip to any beach. Gold Coast and Sunshine Coast a fair drive away but fantastic spots around either. Love the sunshine coast.
Brisbane is a really nice City though with a good climate, good nightlife, outdoor living, plenty of nice walks and it has the fake beach that's good to go to on a day off. Lots of good 50m outdoor pools though for decent swims. 
I think if we had gone there we would have settled just as well. Properties near the river are nice but may be hard to insure after the floods. There's some fantastic timelapse photography on the internet of the floods. Unbelievable that it could happen but when it rains it teally rains.
Good luck with the move, congratulations.

Hi Paul,

Thank you! It really was a surreal moment when we found out! We had been refreshing the page like lunatics since our visa was lodged, desperately trying to find a pattern to the processing (there really isn’t one...)

I’m so glad to to hear you’re still loving your decision to make the most, that’s definitely settling the sudden waves of panic that breeze through me momentarily!

We definitely saw Brisbane as a great location for its access to Sunshine and Gold Coast, where we had spent some of our best days when we visited, naturally Fraser Island takes the top spot! I agree with your point about flooding - we actually came out just after 3 big cyclones hit last year, but I’ve managed to find A great website which shows the floodplains so we’ll have to keep that in mind. We actually managed to catch a game of Aussie football while we were over and the weather had been so bad in the lead up, we had eased through the mud to get to our seats in the stadium!

Thank you for your advice and well wishes!

Don't live in QLD but visit Brisbane a bit. Really depends on where jobs will be but I really like west of the airport (north Brisbane) where my sister lives So Wavell Heights, Nundah, Banyo etc. Easy (if very busy) trains to city.
Guess you are just the two of you? flats / small houses might be in the $400 - $550 a week range.
Most important thing about emigrating in my opinion is managing expectations. You loved your trip in the campervan but real life is far less interesting.....

Congratulations on the visa grant, i remember the glorious feeling when that email arrived even if it was a fair few years ago now...
You will get conflicting reports and articles as everyone is different and views things differently. The best you can do is take on board whats said and see for yourself once you get here, what i love you may hate, so dont stress too much about not having everything in order when you arrive, it will fall into place eventually.
Its so hard to pick areas until you know where your workplace will be, especially if you will need to use public transport to commute. If you will be driving to work have a think about how long you are prepared to drive,, as an example hubby's commute is around 50 minutes each way, but its across the hinterland so little traffic and no stop starting or traffic jams. Doing this allowed to us to get a larger property more suited to our needs within our budget, rentals were also reasonably priced at the time we needed one and we just liked the area.  Finding a suburb you like is probably one of the hardest jobs when arriving, we spent days and days driving around suburbs to find somewhere that ticked our boxes, you can read stuff on line all day long but a quick drive through an area is the best way to know if its for you. Realestate.com is a good site to look at rentals and houses for sale, it will give you an idea of what you will pay in different areas. 
As for the spiders, i was terrified.. Thankfully after a few months i realised they werent hiding around every corner waiting to eat me,lol, and now 12 yrs in ,i can actually get close enough to squat one - if its not moving too fast!! When we bought a house we bought some commercial pest spray and every few months went around the internal and external walls with it, we get next to nothing in the house doing it this way.
Good luck with everything, time will fly between now and leaving so don't leave anything until the last minute..
 Cal x

Hey Guys
Just got my visa to live in OZ - YAY! we want to live near Brisbane. I'm hoping to get work in the city so looking for: Somewhere unlikely to flood - commutable into Brisbane, train/car, no more than 45 mins maybe: Access to the coast. Property rent is middle of the range, i pay £1100 pcm now in London. Looking for something fairly quite/leafy/not ton of kids/, cycle paths, some nature/parks.
Ideas so far:  Redhill, Enoggera and maybe Cleveland. There are others such as Hendra and surrounds but the potential flooding concerns me - Also, i hear driving into the city from the north is easier than the south as there's probably less likeliness of needing to cross the river, which can be congested. Any ideas would be very much appreciated as this is hurting my brain.[emoji53]

Hi there!

My husband and I finally received that delightful email confirming that our permanent residency visa has been granted just over a week ago! [emoji3060]

Our date of arrival has been set as November 20, 2019, but naturally we hope to be over much sooner and are aiming for early September. In the meantime, we have a house to sell, our lives to pack up and our goodbyes to be said. Piece of cake right?!

We’re planning to settle in Brisbane and are doing as much research as the hours in a day will allow, but I hadn’t anticipated how difficult it is to find up to date information...I seem to be finding conflicting posts and articles everywhere!

A little about us: We got married in 2018 and visited Australia two days after our wedding, spending the most blissful 5 weeks travelling from Sydney to Cairns in a clapped out camper-van, packing in as much sun, activities , food (and when not driving...wine!!) as we possibly could. Coming home and facing the dreaded 2 hour commute into London again really hit us hard, so we thought we’d give it a go and set our sights on making the flight back on a one way ticket.

My husband is a Quantity Surveyor, and I am a Patent Secretary. As we headed through Brisbane it seemed like a great place to set up home.

I’m new to forums (is it obvious?), so would love to hear people’s thoughts on the city, pros and cons, and any recommendations for areas we should consider to set down some roots in/near Brisbane.

I’m also totally terrified of the 8 legged beasts, and although I wouldn’t say I’m scared of snakes, I don’t fancy upsetting any, so if anyone can throw some light onto how to ‘deal’ with my anxiety, my husband would be forever in your debt.

If you made it to the end of this post you’re amazing, and if you reply, you’re a hero! I’m so looking forward to leaping across the pond and I hope to get to know some of you!

Sophie