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Originally posted by Williem
Hey you!,

I need to follow you to these places as i'm still not finding them!

As for apples, I much prefer what I've found.

Speak soon,

Will

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Originally posted by davidclifford
Hi,
Glad you are enjoying Brissie. I lived there for 7 years and loved it. In spite of the rest of Australia regarding the town as a backwater, it has a geat social/cultural scene, fantastic weather (except for the 4-6 weeks in January/February when it doesn't stop raining, you have the joy of that yet to come!) and some of the world's most fabulous scenery. Been up mount Coot-tha at night yet?! The food is great too - I really miss Moreton Bay bugs (no, they are a type of crustacean).

Brisbane has a huge amount going for it (even somewhere as remote as Redland Bay) and it will take you a long time to discover all the town has to offer. Hope you enjoy it, and good luck! :beer:

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Originally posted by wcee
Myself and family (wife 2 young kids) came to Brisbane with 13000 dollars. We sold everything we had, paid off most of our debt in the UK, packed what we could carry into four large cases and got on the plane. Our families thought we were mad, as I had a well paid job in Scotland. But I felt their was no future for my kids in Scotland, so we took the biggest gamble of our lives and came to Brisbane.
We checked out the Cleveland/Redland Bay area before we got here and decided it was the place for us. We are renting a brand new big house in Cleveland for $350 a week(£140) unfurnished, as we want to start saving for a deposit If that sounds expensive, consider we were paying about the same in the UK and living in a bleak horrible place. Looking to buy within the next 3 years probably.
We arrived on a Saturday night at 10 o clock, took a taxi to a hotel I had booked and cried myself to sleep, worrying if I had done the right thing.
Next morning I took a taxi to the hire car company, to pick up the car I have hired for 28 days, still feeling sick, thinking of the security of home, knowing that if I was home, come Monday I would be off to work, with money coming in, getting home at night knowing what was on the telly, popping to ASDA at any time of the night to but milk if needed... stuff like that.
Anyway picked up the hire car, went back to the hotel, picked up the wife and kids, and four huge cases and travelled to a hotel that I had booked for a week that was close to the Redland Bay area. The idea was while staying in the hotel we would search the area for rented property.
Scary part coming up-
Well the Hotel was the biggest dump I have ever stayed in, now I know Oz is famous for spiders, but this place was like a zoo! It was horrible. Although I had booked to stay for a full week, the very next morning I checked out and went back to the hotel we stayed near the hotel. The airport hotel was spotless, and the same price as the hole that we had checked out of. And no spiders or creepy crawlies. During the stay at the hotel, we ventured into the Cleveland area and found a brand new house available for rent, so we put our names down.
Firstly, agents asked us for references, being home owners in the UK we had none! Dread started its funny little movements into my stomach again, I started to think that we wouldn’t get a rented property, we would need to buy a tent, basically all the crazy stuff that goes through your head.
Surprise surprise, the agents took photocopies of our passports, driving license, bank details and told me they would speak to the owner of the property to see what they could do. Very next day they phoned us, and casually informed us that everything was fine and gave us our move in date. Also, my dog (who was in quarantine in Sydney) was welcome as long as she was kept outside, even though most properties here state NO PETS, nearly all of them do!
So, after two weeks in OZ we move into the house with nothing other than four suitcases and the $12000 dollars(just less than £5000) left.
No job, no furniture, kids not at school, but the foundations had been set. We purchased a second hand couch from a second hand shop in Capalaba for $395, just so we could sit on something, cos believe me due to the size of these houses, when they are empty, they are MASSIVE.
Next day the couch was delivered, alas we had something to sit on, but nothing to watch (important for kids). Went to a place in Capalaba, and managed to get a washing machine, TV and a big fridge/freezer for $1100 brand new. We couldnt get it cheaper even from a SH shop.
Striaght across the road we went and purchased three beds, 1 for us 2 for the kids, for $1200 dollars.
Everything was delivered next day(as promised (take note Comet!!)). Now we were up and running!
Okay I got messed about from Telstra with my phone line, but that was sorted eventually but until it was I couldnt send my CV to agents regarding work. OH OH doubt started to creep in again, after all I was never messed about from BT “at home�. I was using my mobile to phone family in the UK, just to let them know we were all OK. While we waited, we took the kids to be enrolled into the local school. Wow, what a difference when compared to the school in Glasgow. It even has an open air pool.
Kids cant wait to start(they are currently on easter holidays).
Anyway, Telstra sorted the line after a week, which allowed me to got onto seek.com.au and start applying for positions. Whoosh, my cv blasted itself across the Net, all I had to do now was to sit back and wait. And wait I did, as no one phoned, no one seemed interested! Oh dear, I started to get edgy again, what was the problem, my cv was good I was skilled with lots of experience but no one was biting. I decided to contact an agency, who after reading my cv told me to rip it up and do it again. This was the same cv that had got me my last two jobs in the UK, I thought it glowed it was that good and most importantly it conformed to the “2 page� limit for a cv. Forget the “2 page� limit in OZ, I had to rewrite it and it ended up at just under seven pages and it included everything I had done and was capable of doing. The same agent loved it, and told me I wouldn’t have too many problems getting work with the look CV.
Sent my new cv to a company in Brisbane on good Friday, they phoned me on the Tuesday after Easter requesting an interview. I attended interview on the Wednesday with the technical manager. Before I got home, a message from the company was on my answering machine, requesting me to attend a second interview with the directors on the Thursday. Thursday came, interviewed and offered the position on the spot! Start Tuesday. Ok money isn’t as high as Scotland, but it IS cheaper to live here.
Basically the moral of this story is “don’t think it, do it� Where we lived in Scotland, we lived in a nice house, but the area was rotten, and worsening by the day. My 11 year old son was about to go to senior school, too far to travel by bike and saying that I wouldnt trust him on the busy roads. My kids couldn’t play outside once it was dark in the UK, I feared for them being attacked by gangs of similar aged boys or girls or getting into trouble because their really WAS NOTHING to do where we lived. My son also suffered almost constantly from “Glue Ear� which is very common in Scotland, but it has cleared up in Oz.
Hopefully if you are reading this and thinking of moving, but you have a niggling voice saying things like “You have a job�,
“we would miss the family�, “What about this, what about that etc� don’t let it put you off. Make the choice, you wont regret it.
We are proof that not everyone comes here with thousands of dollars in the bank with the ability to fully furnish their new house straight away, buy a car and stuff like that. In the last couple of weeks, when my doubts were at their highest, we would jump into the car and head of to the gold coast, swim in the sea, have a snack on the beach and it all becomes worth it again.
I constantly make comparisons with the UK, petrol prices, train fares, shopping, electrical etc, but I am “acclimatising� to most things, not just the weather.
Here are a couple of things to watch out for:
Queenslanders are VERY friendly - to the extent that you can sometimes feel they are nosey. But they arent!
Petrol Prices - I feel guilty knowing I can fill my 4 litre V6 for £4 cheaper than my mom can fill up her 1 litre Toyota Yaris in the UK!
Groceries are cheaper - fact (Fruit tastes so much better)
Weather - better
Rush hour traffic here is the same as a regular day in Glasgow or waiting to get into Braehead!!
Ozzies are bad mannered on the roads, so watch for that.

I have no doubt that sometime in the future, something is going to p**s me off, and I will want to go home, but i am already starting to think of Australia as home. No regrets.
If you find yourselves in the position described above and you are having a conscience crisis, reply to this thread and hopefully i can help, or if you just need to ask a question, don’t be shy I will do my best to answer it.
Wcee
:)

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Originally posted by wcee
We arrived on a Saturday night at 10 o clock, took a taxi to a hotel I had booked and cried myself to sleep, worrying if I had done the right thing.
Well the Hotel was the biggest dump I have ever stayed in, now I know Oz is famous for spiders, but this place was like a zoo! It was horrible. Wcee
:)

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