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To move or not to move?

To move or not to move?

Old Jul 7th 2006, 9:30 pm
  #1  
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Smile To move or not to move?

Hi guys, I'm new to this site so please forgive me if I am in the wrong section to ask my question.
I need help deciding if Australia is the place for my family and I to move to. We are Brits but have lived in Canada for 17 years.Now We have a great opportunity to move to Brisbane . As much as we love Canada we feel it is time for a new venture and time to get away from the winters here.

Can anyone give me some advice on living in Queensland ie: cost of living, housing, schools, climate, lifestyle etc?

Many thanks in advance
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Old Jul 7th 2006, 10:23 pm
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Default Re: To move or not to move?

Originally Posted by rockchick123
Hi guys, I'm new to this site so please forgive me if I am in the wrong section to ask my question.
I need help deciding if Australia is the place for my family and I to move to. We are Brits but have lived in Canada for 17 years.Now We have a great opportunity to move to Brisbane . As much as we love Canada we feel it is time for a new venture and time to get away from the winters here.

Can anyone give me some advice on living in Queensland ie: cost of living, housing, schools, climate, lifestyle etc?

Many thanks in advance
Hi and welcome to the madhouse
Here are a couple of websites to find out info on schooling and housing:

www.education.qld.gov.au
www.realestate.com.au
www.domain.com.au

Have a look at this thread on the cost of living:

http://britishexpats.com/forum/showthread.php?t=382892

As for the climate, summer (Dec-Feb) is very hot and humid, Winter has warm days but chilly nights, and Spring and Autumn are just perfect

Have a look at this website as well for loads of info on Brisbane:

www.brisbanecitylife.com.au

Happy reading

Julie. x

P.S. Forgot to say that if you've got any questions fire away and we'll do our best to help.
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Old Jul 8th 2006, 12:52 am
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Default Re: To move or not to move?

Hi there
I live in Perth so can't answer any queensland questions but there are plenty on this site that can.
I have been in Perth 12 months now and prior to living here did 4 years in Canada, 1 year in Alberta and 3 in Nova Scotia. When we left Canada to return to England as we only had work permits we were truly devastated. We loved Canada and we started straight away to prepare our PR application so we could return. We submitted it in April 2005. May 2005 my husband was offered a job in Perth and we figured it was a nicer place to wait while our Canadian PR application was processed. 12 months on and Canada is a dim and distant memory and we are thinking of applying for PR here. The weather is an absolute bonus and the lack of snow and having to put snowsuits and boots on the kids to go out is luxury and my husband doesn't miss shovelling the drive way either! Although a Tim Hortons Iced Cappacino would go down well in the summer.

For me the quality of life here in Perth and the cost of living are comparable with Canada although as I say someone will be able to help specifically with Queensland.

Nobody can tell you if its the right decision but as you are PR possibly even citizens of Canada now you can always return if its not for you. Better to regret the things you do than the things you don't.

Good luck with the decision eh!

Last edited by northernbird; Jul 8th 2006 at 12:56 am.
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Old Jul 10th 2006, 4:28 pm
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Wink Re: To move or not to move?

Originally Posted by northernbird
Hi there
I live in Perth so can't answer any queensland questions but there are plenty on this site that can.
I have been in Perth 12 months now and prior to living here did 4 years in Canada, 1 year in Alberta and 3 in Nova Scotia. When we left Canada to return to England as we only had work permits we were truly devastated. We loved Canada and we started straight away to prepare our PR application so we could return. We submitted it in April 2005. May 2005 my husband was offered a job in Perth and we figured it was a nicer place to wait while our Canadian PR application was processed. 12 months on and Canada is a dim and distant memory and we are thinking of applying for PR here. The weather is an absolute bonus and the lack of snow and having to put snowsuits and boots on the kids to go out is luxury and my husband doesn't miss shovelling the drive way either! Although a Tim Hortons Iced Cappacino would go down well in the summer.

For me the quality of life here in Perth and the cost of living are comparable with Canada although as I say someone will be able to help specifically with Queensland.

Nobody can tell you if its the right decision but as you are PR possibly even citizens of Canada now you can always return if its not for you. Better to regret the things you do than the things you don't.

Good luck with the decision eh!


Thanks everyone for your advice and support. I think after reading this that it would be a good move for us. I will keep you posted on our decision!
Cheers!
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Old Jul 10th 2006, 4:34 pm
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Wink Re: To move or not to move?

Hi Northernbird!
Your post was very interesting to read as you have already lived here in Alberta. We really love it here too and Alberta is the best place to live right now as the economy is just booming, However, in our field ( medical) things are a bit stagnant and we are in need of a change.

We have been to Oz before and have friends there , we love the beautiful country and the lifestyle. We did have a bit of a problem with the odd comment about "Poms" which annoyed us somewhat. Do you ever come across any annimosity from Australians? We also found Australia to be a bit backward in some ways but that does not bother me too much.

I would love to send you some " Timmies", let me know where I can reach you and it will be on it's way!






Originally Posted by northernbird
Hi there
I live in Perth so can't answer any queensland questions but there are plenty on this site that can.
I have been in Perth 12 months now and prior to living here did 4 years in Canada, 1 year in Alberta and 3 in Nova Scotia. When we left Canada to return to England as we only had work permits we were truly devastated. We loved Canada and we started straight away to prepare our PR application so we could return. We submitted it in April 2005. May 2005 my husband was offered a job in Perth and we figured it was a nicer place to wait while our Canadian PR application was processed. 12 months on and Canada is a dim and distant memory and we are thinking of applying for PR here. The weather is an absolute bonus and the lack of snow and having to put snowsuits and boots on the kids to go out is luxury and my husband doesn't miss shovelling the drive way either! Although a Tim Hortons Iced Cappacino would go down well in the summer.

For me the quality of life here in Perth and the cost of living are comparable with Canada although as I say someone will be able to help specifically with Queensland.

Nobody can tell you if its the right decision but as you are PR possibly even citizens of Canada now you can always return if its not for you. Better to regret the things you do than the things you don't.

Good luck with the decision eh!
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Old Jul 10th 2006, 5:41 pm
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Smile Re: To move or not to move?

Thanks a lot Julie.

Can you tell me a little about how the healthcare system works? We have a 12 year old daughter with asthma, another reason for wanting to move. Here she is covered under provincial health care and we pay a small portion of her meds. Do you have a national health care system in Australia?

Thanks again,


Originally Posted by Juliecabs
Hi and welcome to the madhouse
Here are a couple of websites to find out info on schooling and housing:

www.education.qld.gov.au
www.realestate.com.au
www.domain.com.au

Have a look at this thread on the cost of living:

http://britishexpats.com/forum/showthread.php?t=382892

As for the climate, summer (Dec-Feb) is very hot and humid, Winter has warm days but chilly nights, and Spring and Autumn are just perfect

Have a look at this website as well for loads of info on Brisbane:

www.brisbanecitylife.com.au

Happy reading

Julie. x

P.S. Forgot to say that if you've got any questions fire away and we'll do our best to help.
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Old Jul 10th 2006, 9:54 pm
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Default Re: To move or not to move?

Originally Posted by rockchick123
Thanks a lot Julie.

Can you tell me a little about how the healthcare system works? We have a 12 year old daughter with asthma, another reason for wanting to move. Here she is covered under provincial health care and we pay a small portion of her meds. Do you have a national health care system in Australia?

Thanks again,
Hi Rockchick,
Sorry, but I can't give you any first hand knowledge of the health system in Oz, 'cos I'm still here in the UK
Try the website for Medicare though:

www.medicareaustralia.gov.au

Julie. x
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Old Jul 10th 2006, 9:57 pm
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Default Re: To move or not to move?

Originally Posted by rockchick123
Thanks a lot Julie.

Can you tell me a little about how the healthcare system works? We have a 12 year old daughter with asthma, another reason for wanting to move. Here she is covered under provincial health care and we pay a small portion of her meds. Do you have a national health care system in Australia?

Thanks again,
l read some stories on the forum about people whose asthma improved when they moved to OZ because of the warmer climate and lower pollution.
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Old Jul 11th 2006, 3:15 am
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Default Re: To move or not to move?

Hi There,
I'm new to this site also. I live in Brisbane and what can I say? The weather is absolutely brilliant (I've forgotten what winter is!!!). By the same token it might take you a bit of time to aclimatise to the humid summers we have - thank goodness for airconditioners!

I've recently found a new website that offers some useful information about Brisbane - it might help in your search for information as part of your decision making process: http://new2brisbane.com.au/home/

Good Luck! and please feel free to ask any questions.

Cheers

Helen
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Old Jul 11th 2006, 5:13 am
  #10  
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Default Re: To move or not to move?

Originally Posted by Lord Pom Percy
l read some stories on the forum about people whose asthma improved when they moved to OZ because of the warmer climate and lower pollution.
Not always true unfortunately, some people have worse asthma in Oz than in the UK possible due to the 'foreign' pollens.
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Old Jul 11th 2006, 3:44 pm
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Smile Re: To move or not to move?

Great advice everyone, this is a fantastic site!

My daughter is usually a lot better in hot humid countries than the dry air we have here in Canada. Her allergies are very bad and I know that moving will bring up it's own set of troubles as there will be other allergens out there to worry about. I am hoping that the lifestyle will make up for it though!

Helen, I was wondering if you have recently moved to Brisbane or are you a Queensland native?

Cheers everyone!

Caryl
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