Simontucks

So let me get this straight..... Public schools are terrible yes, or is that just for the purpose of this forum?..... Seems like there is a big dark cloud sitting right over this site. Everyone I've been in touch with in the west area of brisbane and there's been a few(yes I have done research away from here,more so the last fortnight due to not quite believing the negativity on here on most subjects) every single person has said the schooling is good both private and public. Yes ,I'm not stupid enough to think it's perfect,no schools are,kids can be horrible but,listening to this site Australia is the pits of the earth. Stay happy guys,I'm out

Do you think it's got better since 2010 .....so much worse.where you had rare cases of metal detectors in the inner cities in 2010 its not surprising to find schools with them anymore. Assaults on teachers are through the roof, excluding children from lessons and sometimes school because they are a little less smart than other children is common place in our area. We will have to disagree on schools as having two children 16+12,one still in education,I see every week horror stories regarding teaching in this area.

Your not going to pay your employees what you charge the customer for them.i can guarantee the companies paying decorators $75.000-$80.000 are making$20.000-$30.000 on them annually. I've worked for my father's decorating business for 20 years until he died 10 ago,we did it. I don't intend earning $80.000 for long

Thanks again for the reply,your not coming across as a doom monger at all,your giving me advice but, with regards to schooling and please don't take this the wrong way,you really have no idea how bad it is where we live.. In our local catchment area 2 of the three schools are in special measures with Ofsted and the other has a huge drug problem.Some of the things that have happened are quite frightening,I won't go into detail as some instances involve my own daughter. With regards work, I have a large amount lined up (probably 12-18 months) through my brother and more recently a couple of real estate guys if I want to work for myself from the beginning. What I am looking at though is it will be easier for mortgage purposes to be employed for 6-12 month until I get a mortgage. Have talked to a mortgage adviser and taken into account approximate other outgoings we can manage the figure even on the absolute minimum $80.000. obviously i will be earning a fair bit more when I do work for myself.

Thanks again for the reply . We really don't want to move anywhere else in the UK. We lived in the Cotswolds for 15 years and moved back home to coastal Wales due to the crime rate going through the roof .We had our vehicles broken into twice in 6 months and people trying your doors in the middle of the night. it was a nightly occurrence in the villages. Believe me we have thought about and looked into it but it was never our first choice.

Thanks for the reply. I was in Brisbane last April starting the ball rolling,I've been 6 times in total from playing rugby for 12 months 30 years ago to working on Brisbane for a period and the last time looking at a possible move in April and applying for our residency visas.i know working and living in Australia isn't the same as holidaying,I've done both Activating our visa and returning to the UK isn't an option with the type of visa we have, resident return class 155,yes we lived there before 18 years ago but had to return for family reasons.(our agent has already looked into this) Of course that is not the only reason we are moving,it's a big one yes. Education.....having looked at the schools in the area,I can guarantee they will have a better education in Australia,you really have no idea how bad the schools are in our area.we have already budgeted for our eldest daughter to do a collage course,very expensive but as I say,we've budgeted for it. Some good points though

I had been told about income protection so that would be a definite. I have asked a many questions regarding mortgages but it's so hard getting answers with no guarantee on incomes. Take mine,I'm a decorator. Wherever Ive looked the common thought is $80.000-$100.000 salary annually. I've been looking at all the decorating jobs on seek and other sites,the wages are $35-$45 hourly. Say I get top end $45,that's roughly $75.000 gross.where the extra $5.000-$25.000 is I don't know. I'll be honest ,very close to pulling the plug now,maybe for the best

Thanks for that bluequay, I agree on that so that would be another outgoing but an essential one I think too,it had been mentioned. Do you think we would struggle to get a mortgage due to our age?

Jesus Christ ,is Australia really that bad.....I'd suggest moving if I was you

Now you've lost me lol, I just pay the bills,the boss(wife) is the brains!. At 48,49 when we'd be looking to buy,I'd be surprised if any lender would give a mortgage of more than 25yrs (which is probably a push as it is) We'll be renting for the first 6-12 months just to make sure we buy in the right area for us

Believe it or not we have never been abroad as a family. we've had a caravan in the UK and loved camping over the years so we definitely won't be saving money on not going abroad . I'm trying to ask my brother as little as I can,.don't get me wrong we get on but he's got his own life and I don't want anything coming back to bite me on the arse if it went wrong. I don't mind things being more expensive in Aus to be fair,just as long as we can afford to pay for them.

Thanks for the replies. Funnily enough I've been looking at those Mazda's and it seems the wife has set her mind on the cx5 or a golf. I have to admit to a case of the jitters lol.im looking at the "what ifs" and wonder at 48 whether I risk everything again. Take for instance our mortgage.....currently ours is £350 a month and IF I let it run it's course it ends in 20yrs time. Having spoken to a couple of people in that line of work in Brisbane now,with our deposit of $250.000 we should be looking at properties where we want to live between $850.000-£$1m and will get a mortgage for,say a mortgage of $600.000-$700.000.Repayments over 25 years will be $4000 a month. So,if we take our earnings,both looking at $80.000-$100.000 each before tax and any deductions,I'm getting a little concerned what will be left each month to live on. Being honest,this is the only thing that's giving me the jitters.the move doesn't really bother me,I just want to give my daughter's the best start I can and the UK ATM is definitely not the place to be.

I don't know that there won't be to be honest,that's why im asking about rough costs of essentials

Surely if you haven't got any money left after paying all your bills quality of life isn't going to be higher

As I say,it probably is a bit vague even if it makes sense in my head Yes our monthly income is going to be greater than the UK,but if cost of living there is going to be a lot more also we will be worse off

Evening/morning guys! I know there's a current,similar thread going on regarding Sydney. Could I ask for some advise on similar but in Brisbane area. Not necessarily what type of health insurance to get but,and I know this will be virtually impossible I suppose but just a general cost(monthly) of the essentials. I know roughly what tax we will be paying so forget that. Just basic monthly living costs for a family of two adults and a 16+12 yr old. We also know what sort of mortgage we will be paying out (hopefully). We have done a little research but I'm sure I've missed some things. I know,there's so many variables in this and sorry if it seems such a vague question. We are meant to be exchanging on our house Friday and I'm just making sure we aren't going to be worse off and making a huge mistake before I finalise the sale/move. Even if you just throw random things to consider without costs like.. Utility bills,car insurance,medical,dental etc etc I just have this niggling doubt

I'd imagine it's a hard thing to judge as UK has so many more people and you're comparing a state/city with a country . Would love to know say, crime in Brisbane compared to London alone. Again,I'm guessing though,but London has a lot more people than Brisbane???I'm not sure

I love this reply.....some positivity and just what I wanted to hear I think we are probably just picking up on negative stories and noticing them more due to our imminent moves. Yep,everywhere has their bad eggs,even here in Wales lol!.time to come off social media I think

Thank you so much for all the replies!. So much to consider and lots to take into account!.it is a worry but we knew it wasn't going to be easy. I like the idea of some sort of portfolio to show the agents/owners,this wouldn't be a problem and I'm pretty sure we would be able to put together an impressive one!. I'm going to jump all over the school situation today as we do have a couple of first choices so need to find out the process of getting child 2 enrolled. With regards to buying obviously we would love to buy asap, We have already looked at possible mortgage options and know we can get one pretty quickly but,it's a big risk as has been stated regarding finding an area we like first before settling. As Cheery has stated the increase in crime in the area is a slight concern. I can see the way the UK is going and am surprised how bad it's getting in Queensland. I suppose it's a city,with lots of people relocating there,not all are going to be decent folk. On the real estate agent front,I had to replies yesterday and both seem very keen to help with phone calls planned for today!.will keep you posted Thank yet again for all the replies guys!.great bunch

Thanks so much for yet another great reply to my questions!.

Hey you!! Thanks so much for that,and the talking to.Great ideas there as always, you're a star! Simon

Hi I haven't asked the people I've contacted to "show me what you've got".....I have actually asked them for any advice they might have to help us in the search for a property Thanks for the reply

Hi all!. As many of you know we as a family are moving from the UK to the Brisbane area in April, or that should say "possibly". We have our residencey visas and all is in place. The one thing that is really starting to concern us is the lack of rental properties in the Brisbane area. We aren't looking to be in the city, more of a 30/40 minute drive sort of area. I've contacted 6 real estate agents without reply which,I guess is to be expected when they don't need your custom due to more demand than properties available. What I'd love to get some advice on what is the best way to go about securing something until we can buy.or anything you can think of that might be a help to us We are a relatively young,hard working,family(40's with 2 daughters 16+12,plus 2 very well behaved dogs.) It's getting to the stage that we are actually considering calling it all off as it is a bit of a worry. Thanks I'm advance

Hi all! We as a family are moving to Brisbane from the UK in April and are just looking for opportunities in the decorating trade. I am a 49 yr old time served decorator who has 30 years experience in the trade and have run my own business for the past 25 years. I would be interested in working anywhere in the Brisbane area as we as a family are yet to decide which area we will settle in although initially we will be staying with family in the western suburbs. I would be really grateful for any pointers or advice the may be helpful Many thanks