ScouseMan

Hi all,

New to these parts

Quite out of the blue I've been approached with a job offer at the University of Queensland (St Lucia).

The Mrs and I (28 & 29, no kids) our about to submit our 457 visa with the aim of making the jump in June.

My question to any Brisbaneites is how much is your monthly gym membership?

We are looking at some nice apartments in the CBD or kangaroo point, some of which have well stocked gyms, while others do not. I am trying to gauge how important a gym is in our search.

Thanks for reading

PunkDebutante

I work at UQ and there is a gym on campus as well. But my membership at Fitness First is $39 every fortnight.

ScouseMan

Thank you , I was thinking around the $150 a month mark for the two of us and so maybe a possible saving to be made by having a complex onsite.

monkeyalan

there is a no frills chain called Jetts here , similar to puregym in the UK

www.jetts.com.au

for 2 of us on a pre paid 1 year membership we paid @ $350 each i think.

you can pay on a no contract monthly basis but it costs a bit more.

the facilities will vary from gym to gym depending on size and free weights are minimal due to safety and insurance but for the money it's pretty good.

Penny45

I was paying that and then decided to cancel my membership. Straight away, they offered me a better rate and then I got another 2 phone calls and an email with better packages from them. I wanted to cancel anyway but it's worth trying to see if they offer a better deal for you

moneypenny20

I'm surprised they let you cancel. They are very well known for being a complete nightmare when it comes to cancelling memberships.

Jen1977ni

Just up the road in Toowoomba my membership is $64 a month, that's corporate rate, so it's pretty good!

Penny45

Maybe they could see I went so infrequently that each visit cost me $80!

moneypenny20

Know three people who've had to close bank accounts and open new ones - being the only way to prevent FF from debiting their accounts each month after being asked repeatedly that they no longer want to be a member of a gym, wouldn't accept it, would only suggest they took a different package. Old poster on here had to move back to the UK because of Brain Cancer and the docs told him he only had a couple of months to live. FF wouldn't cancel the membership without a doctors certificate or death certificate. Wouldn't touch them with someone else's bargepole. Maybe they've changed their ways from the massive amount of bad publicity.

Penny45

That's outrageous!! Never heard of such a thing, was it recent?

Maybe because I'd already been a member for over 12 months? Seems everything that you sign up for has to be for 12/24 months (tried and failed to get out of electricity contract).

moneypenny20

One account closure and the Cancer one were a few years ago. The other account ones have been in the past 18 months. One of them had been a member for over two years. Like I say, maybe they've changed their tactics, there has been some really bad publicity about them over the years.

fish.01

Been quite a bit of talk about them over the years...I think the owner (british?) had "issues" in the uk as well.

Penny45

Didn't hear anything but I've only been here this time for 20 months. I will count myself very lucky to have got out so easily then.

Bit like the Friends episode where Chandler can't cancel his membership so Ross goes with him and ends up signing up too !!

ScouseMan

That is really cheap! We currently pay £85 a month couples membership but for a gym with pool, sauna and classes etc. Still we only really use the classes and pool in the winter when it’s not too much fun to jog or cycle in the rain.

Cheers, I'll stay clear of FF.

sassie

We've just had a FF close down near us and they are still direct debiting people's account.