Hi

We arrived at the Sunshine Coast on the 13th October, so far we have:

1. Bought a lovely house with air con and pool in Mountain Creek - $449,000
2. Bought a new Toyota Yaris - $19,500
3. Enrolled our son (17) into Mountain Creek High School - he has settled well and seems to be enjoying himeself. He says everyone is very friendly and chatty and he has made several friends
4. Bought 2 new beds - roughly $200 for the frames and $500 for the mattresses
5. Bought a new TV (40" Samsung LCD - $2500 with HD box) and a bloody big fridge - $1400

So we have nearly everything we need when we move in to our new house which should be on the 13th November, exactly a month after we arrived.

Overall we have found it to be a great place, everybody we have met have been very friendly and helpfull and the beaches are fantastic. We are staying at Alexandra Headland and the beach is just across the road. The apartment is only $400 a week and an excellent starting point.

We have been a little bit homesick at times (not for the UK though, only friends and family) but I'm sure we will be OK once we settle down.

Special thanks go out to the other expats we have met (you know who you are!), they have all made us feel welcome and much happier. I would recommend that any newcomers contact people that are already here (us included), it really made a difference for us.

BTW - If anyone wants a decent curry, go to the place near Buderim post office. We went there on Friday night and it was very good, at least as good as places in the UK!!

Good luck to anyone on their way to the Sunshine Coast

Good luck with the move into your new home and hope you'll be very happy there.

Lorraine

Good to see you are settling in and having a good time.
You are right about the curry house in Buderim, it hasn't been opened long but it's the best one in the area.

Nice.!! Alexandra Headland is a cool spot. Things seem to be going well for you...

we are looking at mountain creek to settle, your post was a corker for us to read. very reassuring.

good to hear you are settling down. x

Hi Kev
We are not far from you in Mountain creek, we are living in Satinay Street right opposite the school gates. Glad you are getting on Ok, we came out here in September and love the area, even though there are loads of Poms

We are renting at the moment, although it is difficult to get a decent rental here but we were lucky. Both our kids 10 and 7 go to Mountain Creek School and they love it although it did take are eldest a few days to get used to it.

I will definately try the curry house in Buderim as I do miss a good curry. We also bought a new car as we found the second hand prices very expensive considering the age and mileage they had covered and also depreciation is much less here.

Where abouts in Mountain Creek did you buy if you don't mind me asking?

Dave

A few more good 'nosh up' outlets around the area that we recommend;

Indian-Hathi...Aerodrome Road (next to car lovers)

Thai-Som Tam...next to above! (top massage as well,round the back )

Chinky-Bauhinia..Brisbane Road opposite large car park bottom end

Chicken- Nandos..Aerodrome Road.

Japanese- Stillwater...Maroochydore CBD

Hogs breath...next to Underwater world

BBQ- My back yard,every weekend bring a bottle!

Hi Dave

Just saw your reply and wondered if your 7 year old is the girl who started recently in my sons class, 2JV. He was full of the new girl starting in September from the UK. I don't get to the school now as I'm working full time so I don't get to catch up at the school gates to chat to all the mums.

Anyway, it sounds like you are settling in well and enjoying the lifestyle.

Have you managed to find work yet? That was our main problem but we are both working now and have learnt to play the 'Aussie Rules' in how to get a job on the Sunshine Coast.

Thanks Kevin for the tip on the Indian in Buderim, we will try that one out. We normally go to the 'Curry Bowl' in Kawana , which is not bad either.

Hey Bloomfield, does that mean you wish all the others bad luck ?

Nice post me ol matey.

Glad all's going well for you. Bet you can't wait to get into the house eh ?

I must have missed your departure so welcome to Australia

Yes that probably is my daughter Stephanie, people do tend to remember her when they meet her-let's just say she has personality.

My wife Helen sometimes helps in the class so she would probably know your son, what is his name?

I have just got a job but I must admit it was a struggle getting anything I wanted. Most people don't reply to applications even when you think you have everything to offer. Could you enlighten me on what the rules are?

Maybe we should start a club testing all the eateries locally

Dave

Sweetbrush Place off of Glenfields

Hi Dave

My son is called James. I'm sure your wife will know him, he is quite a character. Well, he makes us laugh anyway!! I think their teacher is wonderful and James has really come on since being here. I expect you were there at the dancing last Saturday? What a small world.

I used to help out in the classroom and it was a great way to meet mums and find out what they are doing in class. I really miss it all but part time work is so hard to find. I'm currently working for the Dept of Housing in Maroochydore which is what I did in the UK so I couldn't really pass it up.

The main things we learnt when looking for work was never expect a reply because you wont get one unless they want you. Really beef up your c.v or resume as they call it here and try and get some aussie experience on there asap, even if its just voluntary work. At the end of the day thats all they are interested in, what you have done over here.So it does make it very hard to start with but if you can just pursuade somebody to give you a chance you will be fine.

Let me know any other places for a good feed!

Very nice. I like Glenfields it's one of the areas we are looking to buy in. It's hard to find anywhere around that whole area that isn't nice. There doesn't seem to be many dodgy estates as far as I have seen.

I agree the teacher they have is very good and she doesn't take any nonsense from the kids. Helen does know James and yes we were there last Saturday, what a fantastic day, beats any school fete I have ever been to.

I have got a job now in Kawana but I got that through a friend, which just shows the importance of doing some networking. Helen is happy to help at the school at the moment to keep herself busy but will probably want to do some sort of part time work eventually.

We went to the Hoggs Breath for my B'day last week and the food and service was pretty good and also a nice view of the Marina.

Dave

We spent a lot of time looking at houses in Buderim and Mountain Creek, some of them look really dated although they are only 10 years old. We wanted a pool and air conditioning, some of the houses had tiny pools (splash pools) and most in our price range didn't have air con. As you say, all of the Glenfields and Waterbury Park estates are nice. We specifically chose an estate so that we would have some close neighbours. Maybe in a few years we will move out to the country a bit, you sure can get more for your money if you move out 10kms or so.

If you want a nice estate agent then I would recomend Sharon from Elders or Greg from Pam Court Realty. Both are very friendly. We bought from Pam Court Realty and they seem very good.