lilypop Posted March 12, 2012 Share Posted March 12, 2012 Hi everyone, my partner has just started working in Emerald. Me and the kids are going to be joining him hopefully in the next few months but we do not know where to live. We do not want to live in Emerald but We do not obviously want to be too far way to cause issues with commuting. We will be renting and being close to a great beach and a great school are of high importance to us. We do not want to be in the hustle and bustle of it all but at the same time we do not want to be so far out. Please get in touch with any advice and recommendations you may have, it will be soooooo appreciated. So excited yet so nervous, i have never even been to Australia before!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MicheleW Posted March 12, 2012 Share Posted March 12, 2012 To be honest Emerald is probably your best bet, the closest coastal town would be around the Yeppoon area and that is about a 4 hour drive away. Rockhampton is another option but not coastal and still over 3 hours from Emerald. Having driven those roads a fair amount I certainly wouldn't be advising either of those as an option if your OH has to commute. Good luck with working out what is best for you and your family. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lilypop Posted March 12, 2012 Author Share Posted March 12, 2012 Hi Michele, firstly thanks for your reply. My other half is working in the mines, working a roster to maintain that essential work/life balance so would not be communting everyday, it would be more like once every two weeks. The company have stated that they currently have employees opting to reside in Emerald, Rockhampton, Yeppoon or Mackay. They currently run a drive-in, drive out operation to commute from these major centres. They also have said a number of employees are based in the Brisbane, Gold Coast and Sunshine Coast areas which take advantage of the direct flights from Brisbane to Emerald for their travel to and from site. Given all these options i am trying to weigh up which would be the best location for our family. Can you offer any advice on these places and possible reccommendations? Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
roger2shirts Posted March 12, 2012 Share Posted March 12, 2012 Then the Sunshine Coast would tick your boxes - schools, beaches, etc. BUDERIM is the best place to live! Would really not recommend living in Emerald etc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MicheleW Posted March 12, 2012 Share Posted March 12, 2012 You certainly do have a few options if it isn't a daily commute. One thing which would be good to clarify is who is responsible for the commuting costs. If you have to fork out for the flights every couple of weeks, then that could get really expensive, sometimes upwards of $500 per flight. However it could be offset by lower housing costs on the Sunshine Coast so looking at what is available in housing would be a good start. Schooling is also a high priority and I hope some other members on here can help you out with that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lilypop Posted March 12, 2012 Author Share Posted March 12, 2012 Yeah i was thinking the same really about the cost of flying in and out. As lovely as it would be to live on sunshine coast i just do not know if it would be worth it as it is not our intention to rent forever and we need to be able to save at the same time as living. Something we will have to look into further i think. So what about the closer locations i mentioned such as Rockhampton, Mackay and Yeppoon hun? Are you able to give me any more of an insight into these places? Thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
roger2shirts Posted March 13, 2012 Share Posted March 13, 2012 Does he have a travel allowance / accomodation allowance as part of the job package? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eera Posted March 13, 2012 Share Posted March 13, 2012 Sometimes your employer will let you salary sacrifice the cost of flying in and out - bear in mind it's not tax deductable in your calculations. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wiganlad Posted March 13, 2012 Share Posted March 13, 2012 Then the Sunshine Coast would tick your boxes - schools, beaches, etc.BUDERIM is the best place to live! Would really not recommend living in Emerald etc. Here we go again! What is your agenda? Why do you attempt to indoctrinate everybody with the notion that Buderim is the 'best' place to live? You are presenting your opinions as facts. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lilypop Posted March 29, 2012 Author Share Posted March 29, 2012 Hi roger2shirts you defo like to sell Buderim i see you all in the threads promoting it positively! Why is is you love it so much? I am very much interested in Buderim but also Peregian Springs is really standing out for me. Please could you advise if it is feasible for us to live in either of these places on a yearly income of $100,000 considering my partner would have to fly in and out of emerald every two weeks?? I feel that all hope is disappearing of us living on the sunshine coast due to the cost implications of working in Emerald although i have heard that people do it. Is it that i am going to have to look into living closer to Emerald?? I am finding it so hard and stressful having only my laptop to decide on where to settle with my family. It is crazy. Partner in Emerald is struggling to get out and about too which does not help at all. Please help me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lilypop Posted March 29, 2012 Author Share Posted March 29, 2012 Sometimes your employer will let you salary sacrifice the cost of flying in and out - bear in mind it's not tax deductable in your calculations. Hi, I do not really understand what this means? Bet i sound really stupid now ha but could you explain to me ta Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shenni Posted April 24, 2012 Share Posted April 24, 2012 Hi Salary sacrifice is when a sum of money ..............usually rent or mortage is taken out of wages before tax and then you are taxed on balance ........... I hope I have that right, my daughter used to do that when she was nursing, but now she has a different job she cannot do it. It lowers your tax which has to be a good thing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
roger2shirts Posted May 3, 2012 Share Posted May 3, 2012 "indoctrinate" "presenting opinions as facts" Oh dear! BUDERIM IS A GREAT PLACE TO LIVE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
roger2shirts Posted May 3, 2012 Share Posted May 3, 2012 For fear of offending the chap form Wigan further! Buderim is a very easy going place with good schools, minimal signs of antisocial behaviour, excellent facilities for families with children, a small shopping area, easy access to the highway, beach etc. etc. Its also very green and not a concrete jungle with heavy traffic etc. Peregian Springs is a nice place (note I like somewhere else outside of 4556), its a new community and facilities are being put in, lots of English there, but I find it isolated from the rest of the Coast and its a bit of a drive to get anywhere. All I know of Emerald is what my clients tell me; its an expensive place to live and accomodation is in short supply. With the airport on the Sunshine Coast gearing up to do "fly out" to the mines commuting would be possible, but even then Brisbane airport isn't too far away. If you have Permanent residency then you are immediately entitled to Centrelink payments and they are very good here so do not worry too much about costing as its all means tested. So once again I'll recommend Buderim as a nice place to live, there are other places too! Some people get very class concious and say Buderim is "upper crust" but really its just a nice place to be and we love it. No agenda other than that! Hi roger2shirts you defo like to sell Buderim i see you all in the threads promoting it positively! Why is is you love it so much? I am very much interested in Buderim but also Peregian Springs is really standing out for me. Please could you advise if it is feasible for us to live in either of these places on a yearly income of $100,000 considering my partner would have to fly in and out of emerald every two weeks?? I feel that all hope is disappearing of us living on the sunshine coast due to the cost implications of working in Emerald although i have heard that people do it. Is it that i am going to have to look into living closer to Emerald?? I am finding it so hard and stressful having only my laptop to decide on where to settle with my family. It is crazy. Partner in Emerald is struggling to get out and about too which does not help at all. Please help me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vixxy666 Posted May 4, 2012 Share Posted May 4, 2012 We're off to Rockhampton my OH has been there a month with a few other brits and is enjoying it 25 minutes to yeppoon and emu park which are a bit quiet to live in by all accounts but nice places to live in rocky are norman gardens way some rough areas but where doesnt have that nowever days. Got lots to do and has an airport so can get to brisbane etc theres gracemere which is really getting developed some lovely rentals and sits in a good position for commuting. rentals arent too excessively priced about 400 a week for a new 4 bedder etc . Mackay is a nice option for coastal but has major issues getting a rental and high cost of living know lost of people who have been there and live there its coming accross as either loving or hating it depends what your expecting and where your coming from I guess. Hope this give you a bit more help with your decision Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lilypop Posted May 5, 2012 Author Share Posted May 5, 2012 Hi Salary sacrifice is when a sum of money ..............usually rent or mortage is taken out of wages before tax and then you are taxed on balance ........... I hope I have that right, my daughter used to do that when she was nursing, but now she has a different job she cannot do it. It lowers your tax which has to be a good thing. Hi Shenni! Ahhhhh i get it now. Thanks for this i will have to get the OH to discuss this at work. It would be of great benefit if they did something like this for us! Becky x Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lilypop Posted May 5, 2012 Author Share Posted May 5, 2012 For fear of offending the chap form Wigan further! Buderim is a very easy going place with good schools, minimal signs of antisocial behaviour, excellent facilities for families with children, a small shopping area, easy access to the highway, beach etc. etc. Its also very green and not a concrete jungle with heavy traffic etc. Peregian Springs is a nice place (note I like somewhere else outside of 4556), its a new community and facilities are being put in, lots of English there, but I find it isolated from the rest of the Coast and its a bit of a drive to get anywhere. All I know of Emerald is what my clients tell me; its an expensive place to live and accomodation is in short supply. With the airport on the Sunshine Coast gearing up to do "fly out" to the mines commuting would be possible, but even then Brisbane airport isn't too far away. If you have Permanent residency then you are immediately entitled to Centrelink payments and they are very good here so do not worry too much about costing as its all means tested. So once again I'll recommend Buderim as a nice place to live, there are other places too! Some people get very class concious and say Buderim is "upper crust" but really its just a nice place to be and we love it. No agenda other than that! Hello again, iv been awaiting your reply! My OH has been saying he would like Buderim or around there. I am hoping he can get to visit soon, at the moment he is stuck on site in Emerald with no transport and only the wknds off (which doesn't give great opportunity for exploring). Hopefully though he will be slotted into a shift which will give him more free time. I have definately got my heart set on sunshine coast, not fancying Rockhampton or Emerald to be honest. Fly ins and outs are what the OH will do and great yeah if the airport on the sunshine coast starts to do these then this would be fabulous for us. At the moment we will have to take it as the fly outs will be from Brisbane so really we do not want to live to far way from this airport as it will be and the kids travelling to and from the airport to drop him off and pick him off. Buderim does sound great and the properties i have been looking at seem very reasonably priced (for renting in oz anyways). I have been using real estate to look at properties however recently a friend of mine has recommended to contact agents directly with my requirements as she said alot of the really nice homes go before even making it to advertising! Do you know of any agents that you think would be worth me contacting in the areas we are interested (Buderim and surroundings). We do not have permanent residency my OH has a 457 visa and we are going on as dependants. As far as i am aware we do not got any sort of payments on this visa such as centrelink. Is this the case? And i do not think i can work for 1 year either?? Look forward to hearing back from you Becky Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vixxy666 Posted May 20, 2012 Share Posted May 20, 2012 Hi Becky u can work as a dependant on a 457 im a defecto spouse on my partners and I'm allowed not sure about the other stuff but hope this helps Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lilypop Posted August 2, 2012 Author Share Posted August 2, 2012 Hello, just thought i would update this thread i posted to let you know where i am at and also to ask for more advice and info off you very helpful people :-)) We are all here safe and sound and currently living in Alexandra Heads in a rented apartment. Cannot actually believe just how beautiful this place is the coastline is breath taking!! We will be moving hopefully around December time into a house but still trying to figure out where i want to be. We want to stay on the sunny coast for certain and i have fallen in love Sippy Downs and really like Buderim too. Just wondering what others think about these two areas and also was wondering about the state schools here. I am very keen to read your suggestions, recommendations and opinions. Please reply away and if anybody is interested in a meet up my family are very keen to meet new friends and like minded people :-)) Beck xx Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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