dotty

I remember my first flight in here, smoke everywhere, bush fires I suppose (Sydney) and wondering why people raved about Sydney, Like all the good looking bits are really in a very small tourist area, the rest seemed horribly suburban.

Brisbane is no stunner as Cities go, no uglier than some, no better than others. One bit I like tho is the lush colourful trees, the ones that go purple and the giant figs, they are pretty. Plus the true QLD houses with the old gardens. OZ's biggest downfall is its Suburban housing estates, in every city and truly the ugliest thing I have ever seen.

My big shock tho was flying into the Sunshine Coast for the first time, I kept asking what was wrong with the trees. You know the tea tree swamps that lay around the airport. Dead looking grey trees parched by the sun, little did I realise a few years later they would be million dollar housing estates!!

Sun Coast is beautiful, beaches and lush rainforest patches but Gawd the bit around the airport was a shocker.

Ceri

Of course there are some nice places around Brisbane as you know, but most people are stuck in suburbs/housing estates.. Have you seen North Lakes? geeze what an eye sore, cram all these houses in together. One place I like is the Daybro area. (Pine shire area) , it's quite lush and has hills (mountains). I'm always surprised at how many people have not seen something as simple as a koala in the wild. When we were building our house, there was a koala up the tree, who had run through our garden and climbed the front tree. The sparky who was about 35 year old, Brisbane born and bred, called up his MRS and kids to bring them around to look at the koala. My point is most people in Brisbane are stuck in these new housing developments.


Cheers

hamiltonnz

You guys are on a roll- dont stop now.

Wilf

Banned for Three posts. And with no bail. You have to see people post about how beautiful Brisbane is three times without replying.

Well I suppose Nelson Mandela had his record "Free Nelson Mandela" (with every two packets of cornflakes) in the charts and I did not even know he could sing.

dotty

I agree totally. Most Aussies live in horror estates. Sea of roofs I call them, one up here has 600 sm blocks and all of them pick the cheapest design to compensate for expensive land. You can hear your neighbour sneeze.

We bought this land (not a snotty area at all older houses which most aussies would shun). But at the end of the street is this huge block with hundreds of trees, some rainforest ones, a creek, waterfall, the house is 9 metres in the air above the creek, which runs constantly. We have born and bred Aussies just go onto our deck and stare, they cant believe we are 1 klm from the village. 2 People have asked us to name our price and sell to them. So the housing estates to me are horrific but they are what most people want. If housing estates are the Aussie dream they can shove it, McMansions is the new term, biggest house on the smallest block, you can even pick your facade from 4 computer images, get me out of here

Kath

Dotty - I'm being nosy so will understand if you don't want to reply.

When you return to the UK, will you sell up completely or will you keep a Brisbane pad? Only it sounds like the rainforest block could be a gem in the future.

paddythepilot

I lived in Brizzy for 1 year ,(August 2000 to August 2001), in Forest lake........which is one of those 'lovely' suburban estate which have been mentioned a few times.

When I first arrived in Australia I really thought this was the 'Promised Land' and I was quite keen to stay permantly.

However, at the end of my year in Brizzy I changed my mind, I was quite shocked by the serious lack of career opportunities and the way everyone I knew was earning 'bugger all' on Casual Labour terms......how they managed to live I still don't know?

Ozzy is nice, but there are quite a few problems in paradise.

Cheers

Kiwipaul

And what do you call the houseing estates that most people live in, in UK, or has it changed since I left and now everyone has mansions on quarter acre blocks.

Wilf

It is a shame that you do not post more often. Many here need to hear stories like yours I think because you certainly describe the real place as opposed to the Oz of dreams represented by a lot of people here who have yet to even visit. I have tried to point out the short term contract, part time, casualised jobs market here many times but it does not seem to register - perhaps people are not bothered whether they can find work but it was always important to me before I retired and so cannot see their point of view.

All the best and hope things are better for you now, Wilf

dotty

We wont come back to OZ I am sure of that, so it seems like a lot of hard work to have property so far away. We have stayed on a bit tho as Property has really taken off last 2 years and we knew we would make money by staying on for a bit longer. We should treble what we paid for this place so I guess I will just have to be happy with that.

I will be sad to sell it tho, it is unique, I can see the stars from the bed at night, when it storms the whole house lights up inside, the birds and animals are everywhere. It is lovely but not enough to keep me here. Trouble is i will want a bit of countryside in the UK even tho we plan to live in big bad old london.

jayr

The thing is people come out here for the big house, pool, beach and sun. Given job/wages situation, many will end up living in these cardboard boxes jostling with their neighbours on legoland housing estates - not what they envisaged from Neighbours I'm sure.

dotty

I grew up in a 4 storey Victorian detached opposite hammy heath Still I have heard about housing estates, whats that awful Buckingham estate in South London, bloody terrible, some right perverts live there I bet, shocking goings on Sex, scandal, booze horrid.

Kiwipaul

If they only get the same size house they had in the Uk that means they've achieved 3 (pool, beach and sun) out of 4, not bad in my books.

janeyray

I found this website after two weeks of living here!! I felt very depressed at first, reading all the things PB had written about, thinking to myself 'yes, he's right'. Now I can't wait to get on the website!! It's my sanity!!!!!!!!!!!!


Think I told friends and family we were going 'forever'
I know they will all be glad we are going back though. I'am sure there will be the odd comment about not staying, but hey, who cares !? I will just be glad to get back !

southerner

I'm sure that PB had a bigger impact than even he would think.

I have heard privately from people who have decided not to move to Australia after looking into a few things raised by PB, Wilf, Dotty etc. Thats great - and what the site is for, to provide info and opinions for people to factor into their decision making.

And if people move to a new country with eyes wide open, and with maybe a plan B in mind, then I think that is a great outcome.

And where are these people's posts? I don't honestly know, but I think possibly a lot of people who are uncertain or genuinely undecided just sit in the background taking it all in, and only come out of the closet on the odd occasion, or never.

Typically it is the people with the strongest views (either positive or negative) who post the most. That makes the forum pretty interesting, but does not give a feel for what the middle ground make of it all.

I still feel there are a few people who get too personal in the way they put their message across, and I find fault here more with the rose tinted brigade than with the negative lot. But hey, its a democracy, and I can't tell other people how to behave.

Hey, maybe some of you silent and undecided people are reading this. What do you think of the info you get? Do you want more of the glossy stuff you can get off the tourist brochures, or more of the warnings and potential downsides?

Cheers...Southerner


ps I am personally off to NZ and am feeling very positive about this decision. Would welcome many more negative posts on NZ (have been some good ones by Wilf - thanks for trying, I know you don't get much appreciation from the NZ readers). I will read them seriously, filter out what is good info and what is not, and factor them in to either validate or invalidate my decision.

pps And I have a plan B too, which will be a move back to the best big country in the world (the UK).