Cheery Thistle Posted March 21 Share Posted March 21 As some of you know we have just returned from a 3 week trip to the east coast to check out potential areas to live in when we move later this year (and to do some sight seeing and visit family). I thought it might be helpful for people who maybe haven’t been yet (or not for a long time) who maybe lurk on the forum, to get some feedback on our trip so I’m going to share some general observations in particular about things we were interested in finding out about. Food/drink - Always a priority! We found the quality of food much better than the UK in general - both eating in and eating out. Eating and drinking out was cheaper in general - example - meal in a North Brisbane hotel, 3 main courses, 2 large wine, 2 beers and a soft drink $107. Would be at least that amount in £ at home. Brunch in Sydney - pancakes with fruit, avocado smash and a full cooked breakfast plus 4 coffees $90. Supermarkets generally didn’t have as wide a range as UK and were more expensive. Odd things like toiletries and dairy products were expensive ($8 for a tin of Sure deodorant for example). You would have to shop around and I would estimate we will spend at least $300 per week on groceries. Also fruit and veg actually has flavour, unlike in the Uk. And the coffee is amazing - it’s true!! What is that voodoo?? What we didn’t like was being given your cutlery in a tin (somewhat primitive) and having to go up and order at the bar. I like to be served lol. Driving - we drove up the east coast from Sydney to Noosa and back down to Brisbane. Actually found the driving a skoosh compared to the UK. Never had one bad incident on the roads (beginners luck)? Roads are in far far better condition and are much bigger/wider. Most people stuck to the speed limits. We actually felt like some of the roads in the SC were literally just laid they were so new! I think we saw 2 potholes in 3 weeks! Here we would dread an hour driving but actually going 45 minutes there was no bother at all. Also observed far more free or cheap parking than here. You can park more or less in central Brisbane all day for free and it’s easy to get a space. Left the car at New Farm all day for free and got the city cat into south bank. Here in Edinburgh it’s at least £5 an hour to park and they have brought in LEZ in the city centre as well as parking charges up to 10pm. Public Transport - in the cities this was generally really good and also cheap (relatively). So I pay £22 return to go 45 minutes in the train to work in Glasgow. In Sydney we went from Coogee to Manly which involved a bus, then light rail then a ferry(!) all for $18 each on the Opal card (since there are daily and weekly caps on what you pay). We thought that was amazing. Outside the city centre it gets trickier and car reliance is much more prevalent (we knew/expected this). Distances are always far greater and we found general time taken to get from A to B a bit of a pain and will take some getting used to. Stay tuned for Part 2 where I will discuss housing, schools and environment! 10 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bluequay Posted March 21 Share Posted March 21 (edited) 30 minutes ago, Cheery Thistle said: ($8 for a tin of Sure deodorant for example). The Reject shop and Cheap as chips are normally a much better place for this sort of thing, also don't be surprised if every 2 weeks that same can is on "special" for $4. One thing we have always found in Australia is you can't go to the shop with a list expecting everything to be the same price as last week like it is in the UK, prices are all over the place! so you just stock up on the non-perishable stuff when it's on special, and choose your proteins based on what is cheap that week You are so right about the fruit and veg as well, it also lasts much longer as well as tasting much better! Edited March 21 by bluequay 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cheery Thistle Posted March 21 Author Share Posted March 21 Lol ‘Ned’s’ means something different in Scotland! Noticed that hubby’s relatives had stocked up for the war in toiletries and they explained about the specials! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RubyMonday Posted March 21 Share Posted March 21 I was wondering what you thought of your first trip out there, I couldn't remember if you were going in February or March. I've just got back from California and probably could have spent the money going to Aus. Then again I booked that trip before I got the visa grant. Are you still planning on going out without a job lined up? That's my dilema atm since QLD health seems to be taking a long time and I haven't even had an interveiw yet. Others have confirmed that's pretty normal for them. I really don't know if it's worth just biting the bullet and going with the assumption that I will get a job before my savings run out since I have a fairly decent amount to last a few months. I'll be interested to see what you thought of the amenties of the Sunshine coast and if it is too slow/regional for you compared to Brisbane/GC. QLD health have vaguely provisonally allocated me to the wide bay area so I might end up moving to further up the coast or even Townsville. I was last in Aus in October 2022 in Noosa and definitely noticed the food was more expensive in the supermarkets with less choice. I wasn't sure if it was due to Noosa being a more affluent area and if it might be cheaper elsewhere. Toiletries are ridiculous in main shops but like someone said above I also discovered the reject shop on my last visit and it was really cheap in there and decent enough stuff. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cheery Thistle Posted March 21 Author Share Posted March 21 @Ruby Tuesday yeah we are going without jobs and going to find jobs when we get there. Everyone was very positive about jobs so fingers crossed all will be OK. Yes, SC is too slow and quiet - husband felt that after 7pm it was like ghost town! He likened it to a retirement village! It’s also a bit too much of a time warp - bad haircuts a plenty - and without offending anyone just saw loads of head to toe tattoos and 16 year olds driving utes. More than anything we felt we’d struggle to settle and find our tribe. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RubyMonday Posted March 21 Share Posted March 21 2 hours ago, Cheery Thistle said: @Ruby Tuesday yeah we are going without jobs and going to find jobs when we get there. Everyone was very positive about jobs so fingers crossed all will be OK. Yes, SC is too slow and quiet - husband felt that after 7pm it was like ghost town! He likened it to a retirement village! It’s also a bit too much of a time warp - bad haircuts a plenty - and without offending anyone just saw loads of head to toe tattoos and 16 year olds driving utes. More than anything we felt we’d struggle to settle and find our tribe. Are you thinking more Brisbane/GC then? I think you'd still find the dodgy wannabe hardman teenagers in most places and they all seem to love their utes over there. As for the ghost town sounds right up my alley, I'm 35 going on 85 and have no interest in any kind of night life so sounds perfect. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cheery Thistle Posted March 21 Author Share Posted March 21 North Brisbane is where we are headed. Not GC although to be honest I couldn’t really see what everyone is complaining about with GC and surfers paradise. It was spotless! When people say it’s like Blackpool they clearly have been nowhere near that manky hole for decades!! Yes there are utes etc in Brisbane but they are more diluted and mixed in. It’s just a bit more cosmopolitan (not sure that’s exactly the right word, but for the want of a better one). We also need to consider where we’ll make friends and SC just wasn’t really our vibe. It will be lovely to be able to visit easily though! If you like it that quiet you might find the SC too busy, lots of people seem to be complaining that it’s got so busy, which made me laugh. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cheery Thistle Posted March 21 Author Share Posted March 21 19 minutes ago, RubyMonday said: Are you thinking more Brisbane/GC then? I think you'd still find the dodgy wannabe hardman teenagers in most places and they all seem to love their utes over there. As for the ghost town sounds right up my alley, I'm 35 going on 85 and have no interest in any kind of night life so sounds perfect. Sorry also just realised I tagged the wrong person in my reply! That tag function is not so easy to use!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ramot Posted March 22 Share Posted March 22 (edited) 8 hours ago, Cheery Thistle said: @Ruby Tuesday yeah we are going without jobs and going to find jobs when we get there. Everyone was very positive about jobs so fingers crossed all will be OK. Yes, SC is too slow and quiet - husband felt that after 7pm it was like ghost town! He likened it to a retirement village! It’s also a bit too much of a time warp - bad haircuts a plenty - and without offending anyone just saw loads of head to toe tattoos and 16 year olds driving utes. More than anything we felt we’d struggle to settle and find our tribe. I’m sad that you have had a rather negative impression to the Sunshine Coast, compared to my 21 years living here. I agree there is very little ‘night life’ here, that’s mainly because so many people are up and about early living a healthy lifestyle , swimming, surfing, walking, before they go to work or school. There are well attended clubs and activities for every age and cover almost everything anyone might be interested in. We go to the Caloundra Events Centre fairly regularly to watch a good variety of shows, eg, QLD Ballet recently, Sunshine Coast Symphony Orchestra is playing on Saturday, all are well attended. I have made a great group of friends, from warm and welcoming life long generations of Australians, to the more recent immigrants, like us from a mix of countries who have made the coast home, making it such an interesting place to live. Our son who now lives in North Brisbane would move back here instantly if he could move his job here, he has many friends here with young families, who have a great life on the coast, and they aren’t covered in tattoos. It is not my intent to cause any upset by the above, I just felt I needed to say that it is a nicer area than might have come across to you, and I wish you all the best for your new life in Australia. Moving here after living in 4 other countries, was the best decision we made for us, and our two children who followed us here say the same xM Edited March 22 by ramot 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bobj Posted March 22 Share Posted March 22 51 minutes ago, ramot said: I’m sad that you have had a rather negative impression to the Sunshine Coast, compared to my 21 years living here. I agree there is very little ‘night life’ here, that’s mainly because so many people are up and about early living a healthy lifestyle , swimming, surfing, walking, before they go to work or school. There are well attended clubs and activities for every age and cover almost everything anyone might be interested in. We go to the Caloundra Events Centre fairly regularly to watch a good variety of shows, eg, QLD Ballet recently, Sunshine Coast Symphony Orchestra is playing on Saturday, all are well attended. I have made a great group of friends, from warm and welcoming life long generations of Australians, to the more recent immigrants, like us from a mix of countries who have made the coast home, making it such an interesting place to live. Our son who now lives in North Brisbane would move back here instantly if he could move his job here, he has many friends here with young families, who have a great life on the coast, and they aren’t covered in tattoos. It is not my intent to cause any upset by the above, I just felt I needed to say that it is a nicer area than might have come across to you, and I wish you all the best for your new life in Australia. Moving here after living in 4 other countries, was the best decision we made for us, and our two children who followed us here say the same xM It was a tad quiet when I w ent there. In fact, it was just a number of fields with a a few cattle.. Cheers, Bobj. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
calNgary Posted March 22 Share Posted March 22 Ute's ,mullets and Tat's are pretty normal in QLD, especially the more regional (out of Brisbane CBD) you go. Fashions sense is totally different too over here compared to the UK, i was shocked when i first arrived but after a few years when you stop comparing things so much, it just becomes normal. Utes are used a lot by younger ones and teens as there is a big '';off road'' and 'beach', camping and /or fishing scene rather where having a 4wd makes sense. Insurance is also cheaper for younger ones here. One thing i will say is I've found the more regional (out of city) you go, the more friendly people are and places seem to have more of the community, everyone helps each other type of feel. Cal x 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cheery Thistle Posted March 22 Author Share Posted March 22 (edited) 5 hours ago, ramot said: I’m sad that you have had a rather negative impression to the Sunshine Coast, compared to my 21 years living here. I agree there is very little ‘night life’ here, that’s mainly because so many people are up and about early living a healthy lifestyle , swimming, surfing, walking, before they go to work or school. There are well attended clubs and activities for every age and cover almost everything anyone might be interested in. We go to the Caloundra Events Centre fairly regularly to watch a good variety of shows, eg, QLD Ballet recently, Sunshine Coast Symphony Orchestra is playing on Saturday, all are well attended. I have made a great group of friends, from warm and welcoming life long generations of Australians, to the more recent immigrants, like us from a mix of countries who have made the coast home, making it such an interesting place to live. Our son who now lives in North Brisbane would move back here instantly if he could move his job here, he has many friends here with young families, who have a great life on the coast, and they aren’t covered in tattoos. It is not my intent to cause any upset by the above, I just felt I needed to say that it is a nicer area than might have come across to you, and I wish you all the best for your new life in Australia. Moving here after living in 4 other countries, was the best decision we made for us, and our two children who followed us here say the same xM Don’t get me wrong it’s a stunningly beautiful place, it’s just by this age and stage in life we know ourselves well and we know it’s not for us. We know where we’re headed. We have a friend in Brisbane who says the people she knows who live on the SC are the happiest people she knows so there must be something in it. To us it just felt like we’d be living in a holiday resort and we don’t want that. What you are saying about young families is true, it struck us as a place for young families or retirees, we don’t really fit into those categories. We are middle aged really and our daughter on the cusp of her teenage years. We just need easy access to a bit more going on! I’m not ready for things to be that slow/quiet yet. If we had moved when she was young maybe it would appeal more. I don’t mean to offend anyone either but it’s just our observations and everyone is different. Has your son tried to get a job in SC? Edited March 22 by Cheery Thistle 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cheery Thistle Posted March 22 Author Share Posted March 22 3 hours ago, calNgary said: Ute's ,mullets and Tat's are pretty normal in QLD, especially the more regional (out of Brisbane CBD) you go. Fashions sense is totally different too over here compared to the UK, i was shocked when i first arrived but after a few years when you stop comparing things so much, it just becomes normal. Utes are used a lot by younger ones and teens as there is a big '';off road'' and 'beach', camping and /or fishing scene rather where having a 4wd makes sense. Insurance is also cheaper for younger ones here. One thing i will say is I've found the more regional (out of city) you go, the more friendly people are and places seem to have more of the community, everyone helps each other type of feel. Cal x I love how ‘out of CBD’ is classed as regional. Fashion - what fashion? Lololol. Stay tuned for my epilogue - the down side - for more on that one!! Oh I know about the teens and utes - again more will be revealed in the down side. I feel the location we have chosen has a really good combination of what we are looking for. I am not knocking anyone else’s choices. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blue Manna Posted March 22 Share Posted March 22 Did you find those app things on the tables in pubs and restaurants that you can scan on your phone and then just order from the website? I found them excellent and much easier than going up to the bar. That was WA, but I would have thought east coast would have them? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ramot Posted March 22 Share Posted March 22 21 minutes ago, Cheery Thistle said: Don’t get me wrong it’s a stunningly beautiful place, it’s just by this age and stage in life we know ourselves well and we know it’s not for us. We know where we’re headed. We have a friend in Brisbane who says the people she knows who live on the SC are the happiest people she knows so there must be something in it. To us it just felt like we’d be living in a holiday resort and we don’t want that. What you are saying about young families is true, it struck us as a place for young families or retirees, we don’t really fit into those categories. We are middle aged really and our daughter on the cusp of her teenage years. We just need easy access to a bit more going on! I’m not ready for things to be that slow/quiet yet. If we had moved when she was young maybe it would appeal more. I don’t mean to offend anyone either but it’s just our observations and everyone is different. Has your son tried to get a job in SC? Can’t earn the same money sadly, there is a scarcity of well paid work, and the daily drive to Brisbane is not viable long term, due to the amount of traffic on the BruceHighway in comparison to 21 years ago. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cheery Thistle Posted March 22 Author Share Posted March 22 20 minutes ago, Blue Manna said: Did you find those app things on the tables in pubs and restaurants that you can scan on your phone and then just order from the website? I found them excellent and much easier than going up to the bar. That was WA, but I would have thought east coast would have them? Yes, but I hate that even more! The QR code!! I like to be served by a human being! You can’t ask an app to customise your order. I also dislike that you are out as a family and want to relax/chat but one of you spends the first 10 minutes trawling through a menu telling everyone else what’s on it! Also as a foreigner it wasn’t hugely easy to set up payment - the app wants to send a code to your phone which maybe doesn’t work because of the SIM card etc etc. Just a personal thing. I know some people love it. I can (and will have to) adjust! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cheery Thistle Posted March 22 Author Share Posted March 22 10 minutes ago, ramot said: Can’t earn the same money sadly, there is a scarcity of well paid work, and the daily drive to Brisbane is not viable long term, due to the amount of traffic on the BruceHighway in comparison to 21 years ago. Yes there’s that too. We are in the same boat - if hybrid then it’s maybe doable from the southern end of the SC 2-3 days a week but that in itself is a compromise as you are out of the house for a lot of hours back and forth. That’s what my friend is considering doing long term. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bluequay Posted March 22 Share Posted March 22 A bit late now, but to help with the move and comms, we purchased one of these in the Black Friday sale before our last trip out there, means we have a number we can use already when dealing with Australian companies\banks etc https://www.amaysim.com.au/sim-plans/12-month-sim-plans It's available as an e-sim if your phone has that capacity so can be setup from here. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cheery Thistle Posted March 22 Author Share Posted March 22 4 minutes ago, bluequay said: A bit late now, but to help with the move and comms, we purchased one of these in the Black Friday sale before our last trip out there, means we have a number we can use already when dealing with Australian companies\banks etc https://www.amaysim.com.au/sim-plans/12-month-sim-plans It's available as an e-sim if your phone has that capacity so can be setup from here. Thanks! We got 3 Aussie sims while we were over. It helped a lot - you don’t realise how much you rely on these things until you don’t have them!! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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