EricB

Speechless......

aidbish

seemed a nice place, didn't get to see a great deal as sister was ill (thats why we went originally)
spent a week at long island in the witsunday's which was fantastic

sister had a massive bbq the day after we arrived (we were on show for all to see) . All of her friends, neighbors, came and they were really friendly.

EricB

That is encouraging. I reckon probably one of the best ways to start to fit in is to have an "All neighbours" BBQ.

I hope Mackay is big enough to provide work and all the amenities, cheap enough to buy property, small enough to feel like we have space around us and also small enough to feel like a safe home town.

Hope the sister is better.

aidbish

yeah sister much better now
she does reckon the house prices have increased since we were there though

suppose i'd better get my thinking cap on for the 5 best software thread

EricB

If it is anything like here then prices will have risen slower and less than in the big cities and will be slower to drop. Got to be better than Sydney prices anyway. Just hope the dollar stays low then we more than cover the rise in house price in the last year.

aidbish

lets hope so

EricB

bump

mick n cheryl

Hi

Sorry for the delay with getting back about the schools

i have asked around at work about the best schools in and around Mackay and the opinion is the private schools are the best surprise surprise . The best 3 out of these are:

1. Whitsunday Anglican School.

2. Carlisle Christian College.

3. St Patricks Co-Ed College.

All 3 like most private schooling in Aus are run by the churches, BUT I am informed they do not drill the Religious bits into you, and they do offer a better education.

The best state school is Mackay North, my 13 year old son attends there and although the appearance of the school does seem "scruffy" and dated they are making strides forward with this, and they are achieving very good results from the pupils. We had a year 12 lad in our work the other week from the school and he brought some of his 3-d cad work in - very impressive.

All in all if you have the funds available for the private education go for that option would be my advise. I would also consider emailing all the above schools and getting them to send details to you back in the uk. If that is a problem for them PM me and I will send you my address so they can sent to me, I will forward them on to you no probs.

Hope this helps any further questions do not hesitate to ask

Mick

(Ps. Aidbish we live in Mt Pleasant, North Mackay 5 Mins to town, beach, 2mins to Mt pleasant shopping centre. A good area in my opinion if you are checking them out. 2 daughters go to Northview girls 9 & 11 and Son goes to Mackay North he is 13)

aidbish

cheers mick
my sister lives in beaconsfield, we will be staying with her till we find our feet

EricB

Many thanks for your help on this Mick.

I think it is almost certain that we will head to Mackay now armed with some reassurances. The best web site for a school in NQLD must be Cairns High. I would imagine the lack of a smart web site does not indicate a poor school, hopefully the schools have more input to the students...

We will contact all 4 schools listed in a month or so, hopefully we will have the visa by then nd the uncertainty wil be removed. Our bond has just been paid over.

Any info on Mackay will always be appreciated.

emillyloolas

hi, hope i can be of help we went over to Mackay this April, for a job interview , we looked at whitsunday school for our 4 kids - thougt it was fabulous- very nice admissions guy called Mike Partridge originally from wales taught at Shrewsbury school. Lovely atmosphere, very friendly, good facilities and compared to private schools over here in uk ( where 2 of mine go) quarter of the price.

EricB

Thanks for this info, I have found their website on http://www.was.qld.edu.au/welcome.htm
and will now investigate further. The fees don't look too bad from here. Some of the choice may depend on where we settle relative to the schools I guess. Could be the school makes the choice for us !

mick n cheryl

Eric,

North Mackay, where the Whitsunday school is based is one of the better area's for housing, quality of house wise. Saying that if you both drive, everything around Mackay is within a 10 min drive anyway so no probs. I would recommend Mount Pleasant, Glenella, Andergrove, as good area's to search for housing in Mackay. There is also Eimeo and Blacks beach only 5 mins drive from the school with houses a 5 min walk to the beach and reasonably priced too. I know you haven't made up your minds yet but its good fun searching the web and checking out the house's and seeing the difference in styles etc.

Hope this helps Mick

EricB

Mick,

Yes this does help, I had identified Blacks beach as a possible area but had been unable to put a scale to things, you have now done that very nicely thanks. We will also be considering property with a "semi" rural feel - you know;- neighbours not completely out of sight but some space too. I don't think we would go for fully beach front as I am sure The cyclones could make life uncomfortable, having experienced Florida Hurricane. There is always a premium for Sea view.

Anyway, work beckons, thanks for now.

EricB

aidbish

mick

just sent you a PM

aidbish