emonje

Hi,

We are a family of 3 & planning to visit Brisbane around 1st week of June to validate our visas. We'll be staying there for 2 weeks.

This is the first time anyone of us is going to Australia & I'm a bit worried about accommodation. We are very satisfied with small houses/apartments & looking to save every cent we possibly can. If it were only me then no prob, but my wife & 4yr old son will be with me. From what I've gathered from gumtree.com etc., I'll be lucky to get anything around $300 per week for a family like this. Or am I missing something big?

Also, when some owners advertise "couples are welcome" do they also include couples with potentially super active 4yr olds? How willing, usually, are people to rent out their home to a family like this? I have tried contacting some ad posters by email but got no reply so far .

Can anyone please advise?

Thanks.

coldbeer

Hopefully someone will come on and contradict me but $300 pw sounds incredibly low. You may also want to look at the Gold Coast which is more touristy and as its off season cheaper for holiday accommodation, but again $300pw sounds low.

asprilla

2 weeks is basically a holiday stay....not a short term rental. So you will pay a premium.

$300 per week is far too low. Even one night in a backpackers staying in a dorm for a week, would cost you between $150 to $200. So you need to think about upping your budget.

emonje

Looks like I'll need to rethink everything.

Thanks for the replies.

coldbeer

Asprilla is right, you're looking for holiday accommodation rather than a short term rent, take a look at www.stayz.com.au for these, the cheapest in Bris is $125 per night, but cheapest in QLD more like $50-$60, however at these prices its likeley to be away from anywhere and not great, still have a browse.

Remember to validate you can go anywhere in Aus, Brisbane short term/hotel accommodation is very expensive, more than Sydney in my experience, our first few nights in a not especially nice serviced apartment in the CBD where $175 per night After that we stayed on the Gold Coast, which was about half that for a good place off season, but we got lucky, same place is now about $100 p.n.

Best of luck, on the one hand don't loose your visa for lack of validation, but on the other be aware that this will be a decent proportion of your start up costs when you move over for good.

All the best!

JAMFC

You could check out this site:

http://www.airbnb.com/search?locatio...D%2C+Australia

People who have spare rooms rent them out, a bit like a B&B, there are some fairly cheap options on there. I haven't used them but the rooms have reviews so you can get an idea of what they are like.

fish.01

I would look at holiday listings at real estate agent websites in places like Redcliffe.

This one came up under holiday rental at $330 per week?

http://professionalsredcliffe.com.au...ls/?pid=551019

This one is between $300 and $600 per week depending on the season you arrive:

http://www.century21.com.au/property/qld10795148/

This one is $400 per week:

http://www.century21.com.au/property/qld10795160/

asprilla

Rethink, but don't throw it all out the window !

Have a look at this place. 2 weeks in June will cost $1680. Yes, that is approx $1,000 more than you were hoping to pay, however I can assure you that it is great value. It's nothing flash, but you're basically getting a fully furnished 2 bed house in a great location, cafes, restaurants, bars and supermarket all within walking distance. Brisbane is approx 90mins drive away. Noosa itself is a bit of a tourist destination, a great place for a break.

If you're coming over for 2 weeks, you will probably want to hire a car. Depending on where you stay, this might be anywhere from 3 days hire to 2 weeks. Last time we hired a car, we decided to go with one of the budget options (thrifty or budget, I can't remember), to give it a go.... lots of people warn you off them, we've previously just used Hertz and Avis. Anyway, we had no issues at all. We got a new nissan xtrail for $119 (I think) for 3 days.

If you're coming over for a holiday, you might as well have a good time . If that means spending $2 or $3k more than you had originally planned, well it's not the end of the world. Just means a little bit more time saving when you get back to the UK.

emonje

Yes this short trip is going to cost us a good part of our savings. We would have wrapped up everything & moved for good if it were not for such little time available to validate (got visa on 11 April, has to enter before 1 July).

Thanks a ton for the replies.

asprilla

how long do you have to re-enter Aus, once you've validated and returned to the UK?

emonje

I'm on 175 so I have until 2017.

3Pirrets2Oz

www.rippasholidayrentals.com

Try this we got it for $550 pw, really good I thought good luck x

Penny45

Have you looked into house swaps? Haven't done it myself but have some friends that have done it twice with no dramas. 2 weeks in June might be a time Aussie's would like to go to the UK, you never know.

EDIT: Just realised it's already 16 May so probably too late to arrange. Sometimes I forget what month it is over here - because it's Autumn I think it's September!

donna

Hi i have a house on Bribie Island that may be empty,let me know if u r interested

coldbeer

Bribie is a lovely spot Emonje, I'd be contacting Donna if I was you