stefian

Glad you like Brisbane so much. It's nice to hear your update. we are due to move there in about 6 weeks and it's good to hear positive posts. I have got a big smile on my face and am now really exited!!!!. I have 3 boys, so your children settling is also good to hear.

keep us updated

Steph

p.s nice house

JJL family

i am receiving all flowerof scotlands replys to this thread?

floweroscotland

Thanks everyone for your really nice comments,

I have to be honest and say that up till now I have not had 1 negative thing, well only the first day my daughter was to start school we had a few tears, but once she actually started she really loves it, they get to go swimming and have adventure playparks in the school, and they are so very relaxed, having lessons outside and lunch, she is the youngest in the class, she turned 6 last Dec, and they have put her in year 2, some are a whole year older, but the good news is they are on level 10 at reading and had to put her on level 19, this is obviously because she had been at school since 4 and a half in the uk, so she is ahead in reading and writing, but I imagine they will try and slow her down till the others catch up, but i will just continue to work with her at home.

I used a letting firm named Ingles, they are not estate agents, they are actually builders who build brand new houses on the gold coast, sell and rent some and also rent for private tennants, we viewed a few with them and they have lots of houses at different prices, our house is on a golf course, and we got it a little cheaper as we bargained a little with them, i think it should have been $400 a week but they just wanted it rented quick, so we got it for $350, It's in a beautiful big estate in Arundel and 2 minutes from Arundel state school, which I looked into before I came over, it's a really nice school and I heard lots of good comments about it, so it's the one we picked, we were going to go private, but the private school actually had more in a class than the state which put me off, in my daughters class there are 15, in the private there were 30 to one teacher! The state school does more with them than the private one we looked at.

Trying to think of other things to tell you all!!
Lets see, kindergarden, my daughter just turned 4 in Jan, so she will go to kindy till next year then she goes to pre-school in Arundel state school when she's 5, then year 1 at 6 and year 2 at 7, so she should be one of the oldest in the class, which is the opposite of my other daughter. The kindys are brill, everything is out doors, big play areas, we pay $40 a day or $180 a week, that can be from half 7am till half 6pm, they include all food, drinks, hats, sunscreen, which i think is goos as i was paying more than this in the uk and they didn't get anything included. After school care - my oldest daughter will go once my hubby starts to work, the same kindy my youngest is in does after school care, they go to the school, into the class, pick up the child, and take them to after care, it costs $14, that is from 3pm till half 6.

Jobs - well I can't speak for all of Australia, but definately the gold coast, you pick up the gold coast bulletin at the weekends and it has pages and pages of jobs, anyone who is in the building trade will have a pick of jobs as there are just hundreds of building work going on, every kind of trade, in surfers alone they are building massive high rises, my hubby has phoned a few and they wanted him to start then and there but his tools aren't here yet so we need to wait a few weeks, you need to have the tools before you can start as no one provides them, you could be self employed, which we thought about, but we are new, don't know the area and there is a lot of things to get, tests and licences and stuff, so he will get the lay of the land first working for someone else and then maybe go on his own in a year or 2, we were speaking to a carpenter who has his own business and he has had to turn loads of work down as he is fully booked for the next 2 years!!!!! so there is money to be made if you want to work for it!

today we are going to movie world so i will let you know what its like, we are getting an annual pass, which is only double the price of a DAILY pass, and you get unlimited access all year, so it has to be worth it!

Arundel is lovely, 10 minutes from all the action and beach, it has shops, restaurants, supermarkets, dentist, doctors, good schools, good kindys, everything you need. I haven't been to the doctors or dentist yet, so not sure of prices, although you should shop around, one teacher in my college has a daughter who needed a brace, she was quoted over $4000 but shopped around and another dentist fitted one for $2000, dentists are expensive, this is probably why i have noticed there aren't that many with really nice teeth!

mmm can't think of anything else, if anyone can think of anything they would like me to find out i will do my best for you.

Debsy, our Gold Coast meet is still on, i will park hunt for our big BBQ, there are so many to choose from.

Hope the easter bunny is good to you all!!!!!!

Lisa

nikkers

Hi Lisa

Brilliant post!!!!!

Have you had any mozzie bites?????

Nikki x

debsy

Lisa
have a great time at Movie world. Hope that you continue to enjoy it.