Brisbane or Adelaide - help
 

We are still undecided whether we are going to head for Brisbane or Adelaide.

If we didnt have to go to court we would probably head for one and move to the other if we changed our minds.

However we are due in court soon for permission for the kids and it would probably go in our favor if we had a clear view on schooling, in particular one of our four children who has special educational needs.

Can we enrol the kids before we have the Visa?

How do we go about enroling them?

Do we have to pay for Education? and are state schools good enough?

How many people have emmigrated only to move interstate when you have got there?

So many questions I am all in a tiswas:confused:

Thanks in advance for any info or advice
Eve

Re: Brisbane or Adelaide - help
 

hi eve

we lived in adelaide for two and a half years and have been in brisbane for just 6 weeks.

we loved every minute of living in adelaide and still have a house there.

the two states are very different and i think it will depend on what you are looking for. it is true that adelaide is old fashioned and a lot quieter than brisbane but we loved that about it. we found the australians in adelaide much friendlier than we have found in brisbane. in adelaide they tend to appreciate the simpler things in life such as going with a group of friends to the beach or park all day.

whereas brisbane has a lot more to do, its seems to be all about spending money.

whilst adelaide is not made of the stuff that you see in the adverts for australia, there are some beautiful beaches and scenery to be found and an australian woman that i worked with in adelaide said that she had lived in every state in australia and adelaide had the best family beaches for safety etc. the good thing about adelaide is that everywhere is so easy to reach, from most parts of adelaide you can get to the city within 30 mins or a beach in under 20 mins. i really didnt appreciate this until i came to brisbane and our nearest beach, which definately does have the wow factor is over an hour away and the city is a nightmare to drive into.

one thing i dont miss about adelaide is the winter. the weather here in brisbane at the moment is perfect for me, but then again i havent experienced the summer in brisbane and some say that is hard to deal with because of the humidity.

i have met people in brisbane who have lived in adelaide and hated it, sometimes i think its just luck of the draw in things such as people you meet along the way, friends you make and people you work with. we both worked for lovely firms and made some really good friends so i think that makes a big difference.

brisbane has more to offer employment wise and they can offer much higher wages -mainly the reason why we thought we would give it a try.

with schools, if i were you i would try emailing a few just to see what the feedback is. i am not sure they would let you enrol before you even have a visa though, but thats a question you can ask. i know we emailed a few before we arrived in australia and they are pretty good at emailing back.

you do have to pay for state schools, the fee can vary greatly. in adelaide we paid $650.00 for one year in high school, here in brisbane the fee for high school is only $250.00 per year. i think the primary school is also about $200.

i have found the primary school education ok, but am bitterly disappointed with the high school education and can only blame myself for ruining my daughter's education by putting her in a state high school over here.

anyway, if you want to know anything else please pm me.

hope it helps a little.
nicola

Re: Brisbane or Adelaide - help
 

I live in Adelaide and will soon be doing a reccie up to Brisbane.
the mail reasons for wanting to move are the winter weather and hopefully better job prospects for the kids.

Adelaide is a nice enough place.lots of lovely beaches but not quite the australia I had dreamt of.I think in a few years time we would be bored here.we already seem to have done virtually everything and weve been here 15 months.

We are in our forties too so not exactly looking for the nightlife.However went out for a meal on saturday night and by 9.30 there was only us left in the restaurant and they were putting chairs on tables!!

But lots of people love it here.Its very dfficult to tell.

Re: Brisbane or Adelaide - help
 

Hello I live in adelaide and have done for the last 2 and a half years. we would have moved to the GC 2 years ago, but for financial reasons ( due to crappy wages and non continuous work) we have to sit it out and hopefully one day we can make the move.
Adelaide is much better than where I come from in the Uk, but as Ellie said, it is not the "Australia" we we thought it would be.
Some people are lucky enough to land on their feet when they come to Adelaide and find a good job, others will always struggle.
We feel that there is more opportunity up Queensland. We also have to think of our kids future, workwise. South Australia is struggling to keep a lot of people here and that it why it is trying to attract more people to live here, but unfortunately, SA is very stuck in their ways and doesn't welcome new ideas and wouldn't even understand that they have to "speculate to accumulate"
I am by no means a thrill seeker, but sometimes you just need more than what Adelaide has to offer.

Julie

Re: Brisbane or Adelaide - help
 

Thanks for all your replies, now I am even more confused:ohmy:;)

In Brisbane we have been looking at the Cleveland area and the Aldinga beach area in Adelaide. Both seem to offer the sort of lifestyle we want but its just so hard to decide.

The OH reckons we should go to Adelaide, mainly because of the better arrival services and more laid back lifestyle, then have a few holidays in Brisbane, we have friends in Albany Creek, which will give us someidea of where we would prefer and keep job options open for the OH.

We have four children one with special needs so I dont want to be swapping and changing all the time, I am worried about how they will settle if we areso unsure wherewe want to be.

I expect all these feelings are quite 'normal' especialy as we are getting so close to getting the Visa and going.

eve x

Re: Brisbane or Adelaide - help
 

I think for a lot of people (me included), there is always the 'is the grass greener' factor. If you choose Adelaide then you may wish you had tried QLD, if you choose QLD then you may wish you had tried ADL. It's a real tricky one.

Everyone is different and it's really hard to help anyone decide where to live when they haven't been here before. because it's a lot different to what you expect it to be.

I have friends in Adelaide that come from QLD and think the SA is much better. I have friends from ADL that want to move to QLD because they think it is better there and I have friends from ADL that are in QLD and can't wait to get back here. It's such a personal thing.

To my mind you need to look where the work is - life is crap wherever you are if you can't get work. :)