ozbound!

Well,I need you good people to give me some help. I visited Oz in 2004 with my wife and Kids and stayed in Sydney and then Melbourne over a 16 day period, (not long enough) But heres the thing..We now want to find an ideal location to live and we are coming out to Oz in July for a month and are thinking of flying into Brisbane and making our way up the gold coast
We will proberbly look to rent while we are out there but will be on the look out for a home and buisiness oppotunities at the same time. Ambitious I know
but we are keen to make things happen,We are choosing Queensland because we have seen more on the Tv etc here in the UK but would love to here from anyone who wants to share thier views on Queensland as a whole or for that matter other areas of Australia that might be ideal.
Thanks methewife&kids.

suzimc

Hi Ozbound,

It's such a personal choice that depends so much on what you are looking for in a home, so it's difficult to comment without a bit more detail. Personally my hubby and I will move to Sydney as it is more likely to offer the lifestyle we are searching for than anywhere else. I really like Queensland and we debated it for a long long time but decided that it's not fur us. My brother in law and his family are there, just outside of Brisbane and they love it - they have bee there for a few years now and say that it's perfect for bringing up a family.

Suzi

iPom

What jobs do you guys do? It will be helpful to know before we can suggest something.

ozbound!

Thanks for taking the time Suzi, We`ve been over and over this and will treat our 4 weeks in July not so much as a holiday but try to see the real picture without the rose tinted glasses! We would love to meet up with other people/familys to here thier views too if possible. I know everyone has different reasons and cicumstances for living in Oz and have different types of visas for that matter, ours looks likely to be the business steam visa but its still early days, I have appointed an agent but have only just completed the full check form...so we will wait and see best options.
Regards chris.

ozbound!

Hi ipom, Im/was until recentley a professional greyhound trainer which Ive done for the last 23 years since leaving school, I was fortunate to have landed 2 of the biggest contracts in London racing greyhounds, but found that with a young family 24/7 365 was just too demanding so I cashed my chips in and sold up.We moved & currently have a boarding kennel/cattery which is ideal because my Wife is a trained Dog groomer/clipper. Im looking for a change of scenery though and Im quite versatile. My Wife would like to carry on with a dog parlour in Oz if there is the demand for it. We want a more laid back lifestyle and are a very outdoor/sporting family so thought the gold coast should suit us. We dont want much, big house,big boat,big cars...just kidding,QUALITY OF LIFE!!! thats all.
All the best O.

micmay3_in_oz

Hi Ozbound

We live in Rockhampton (Rocky) in Central Queensland which is perhaps a bit higher up than where you were thinking of moving. QLD is really diverse, it's a bit like asking for a snapshot of Europe!

I can't really tell you much about the rest of QLD having only visited places between here and Bundaberg oh and don't forget the spin round Brisbane airport but I can tell you a little about Rocky. If you looking for the hustle and bustle of city life Rocky perhaps isn't for you. It would be unfair to say its stuck in the dark ages but life is perhaps a little slower here than in the metropolitan areas of Brissy or Sydney. Rocky is a city situated inland. I say inland but it only takes about 20 - 30 minutes to get to the coast. There are plenty of sports clubs and a couple of golf courses and there are quite a few people who do own boats. Some keep them on the Fitzroy which cuts the city in half and some take them out when they want. Overall, we have found the people to be friendly here but like all other places you have those you wouldn't want to socialise with and we have our own fair share of crime.

Callaghan race course sometimes has greyhound racing but I am not sure how often these happen, so there may be something there to interest you. From what people have told my OH, who works in Oaky Creek, Rocky does have a reputation of having some of the best private schools in Qld. I'm not sure what the cost is for these as mine go to the state school, which I must add is fine. My kids enjoy it there and that's all I ask for. Education is quite different here and they do seem to have a lot of sport / recreation time.

They have enough shops for me, more than the town from where we moved but if you are used to large shopping malls and city shopping there may not be enough for you - all depends how much you like shopping but Brissy is only a hour away on the plane.

Public transport is quite crap actually. The buses stop running on a Saturday lunchtime so whilst you can get to the shops in the morning you can't get a bus back in the afternoon. Though the buses to the coast do run all day Sat I think. Saying that though there are plenty of taxis and the rates are reasonable.

It is quite dry here but the paradox is that the water supplies here are good. I haven't quite been able to work that one out but it does mean that we can use sprinklers etc in the garden. The climate is very warm as Rocky lies on the tropic but it's not been too bad up to now but I believe Jan and Feb are supposed to be the hottest months.

I'm not quite sure of the business opportunities but Rocky is growing. So like many other areas of Qld house prices are forever increasing as are rental prices but we are not yet on a par with prices in Brissy. So the best advice I can give you is if you are coming out come out as soon as you can. We really noticed the difference in prices from when we first started looking to when we actually got here.

Mackay is also another area that is growing in popularity and is on the coast. However, prices there are higher than Rocky. I cannot really tell you much more than that about Mackay except my OH tells me it is a nice place.

Well that's the snapshot of Rocky. Whatever you do and wherever you turn up good luck.

Mx

iPom

Wow, interesting career.

Ok, well imo, there is a great need here for excellent kennels/catteries. The cattery we use is run by a ten quid pom, and his wife. imo, (and My Opinion Only) Australians have a very 'practical' view of animals, esp dogs and they aren't seen as pets, per se, more of 'useful' animals who guard your property. This is changing however, and there is a huge need for good quality kennelling here, where people can leave their dogs and cats and be guaranteed that what they have paid for will actually happen. There are many places where there's much promised and not much happens.

Imo, if you're an experienced trainer then you could make an excellent living just about anywhere here.
I would look at living somewhere between major cities, so that people can drop off an animal with you whilst they're on their way to their hols. People here leave their dogs at the RSPCA pound, believe it or not. I can't think of a more unpleasant place to have an animal stay, with all the barking or distressed animals there.

If you lived, say, up in the Blue Mountains, or over the top, say in Hartley vale, then you'd get the business from people heading interstate from Sydney for example, and vice versa. There's pretty much one road out here... if you're on it and you have such a service to offer, you're going to be doing well. It's also beautiful out here, the climate is good etc, but like I say, I think you could pretty much set up anywhere you can get an acreage property and put good quality facilities on it...
As for dog grooming, absolutely there is a need. There's a mobile dog grooming franchise around here where the groomer visits the home and everything is done in the hydro van set up. I see this van constantly around here. There is also a profusion of smaller dogs here which require this sort of attention, plus of course, dog showing here is massive, so if you're good, then the market is there.

I see you're thinking of the house, boat etc, but there's more to quality of life here than just those things. Certainly where i live has all of that... and many people keep a boat on the coast and go at the weekends or after work... It's only an hour and a bit to the ocean.
Think carefully what you want... In land has a lot to offer, as does the ocean but do shop around... you want acreage if you're going to make a life with what you do now, but I think with your willingness to adapt and your attitude will give you an advantage whatever you do.

If you need any assistance with any research in this area, let me know and I can certainly help you out.

Good luck with wherever you end up and whatever you choose to do.

FluffyTheCampfireSlayer

Hate to be pedantic mate - but for the Gold Coast, you want to head 'down'!

smiths

Hi ozbound!

We lived in Oz for a couple of years in late 90s - one year in Melbourne, one year in Brisbane - went back to UK in 1999 - came back to Brisbane last year.

We now live southside of Brisbane between Brissie and Gold Coast.

What we like about Brisbane is that it is definitely more laid back than Sydney or Melbourne. Also Brisbane fitted our picture of what we wanted from Australia. Also when we were in Melbourne we found the weather the same as UK but just a bit warmer - very true what they say about "4 seasons in one day" in Melbourne.

Brisbane gets hot and humid in summer and normally is a bit sticky at these times but otherwise has a fantastic climate. Boating is very popular in the area - Moreton Bay is full of boats at weekends.

Gold coast has fantastic beaches but is a bit over commercialised and touristy for our tastes for a place to live - but its good to visit and less than an hour down the road.

July is a good time to come to Brisbane.

It seems that what you do you could virtually do anywhere so I hope you find what you're looking for.

Regards

Smiths

ozbound!

Thanks for sharing that with us, its all helping the puzzle! We feel compelled to live in Oz but are just doing as much groundwork as possible.
Regards O.

ozbound!

Cant thank you enough, you just about covered all my questions there, Im going to look into those areas you mentioned and maybe work them into our trip.
Regards O. would put a smiley in but cant make the buggers work!

ozbound!

Would you be heading down the coast because theres more to offer? Or have you had experience further up-coast that you didnt like, Keen to know my like-minded friend.

Grayling

The Sunshine coast is considered 'UP' from Brisbane ie. north.

The Gold coast is 'DOWN' ie. south. This is how they appear on a map.

Have a look at the Sunshine coast as well. More expensive but IMO better than the Gold coast....but we don't have to worry about kids or work. The Gold coast is more populated so there are probably more opportunities.

G

ozbound!

Should of seen that coming, I relise now... I MUST STUDY HARDER, thank you G.

Grayling

Just turn the map upside down....then you will be right

Seriously though....have a look at both if you have the choice.

We are probably moving to the Sunshine coast but have different circumstances.

One or two on here live on the Gold coast such as Moneypen.

Good luck

G