Originally Posted by gary stewart

Hi Selina, enjoyed your post made us feel more positive about our big move 2 oz.Still unsure what area of Sunshine C bearing in mind OH is a forklift driver/ storeman and needs 2 be near this kind of work. I should be ok i am a hairdresser!
Julie :scared:

Originally Posted by gary stewart

Hi Selina, enjoyed your post made us feel more positive about our big move 2 oz.Still unsure what area of Sunshine C bearing in mind OH is a forklift driver/ storeman and needs 2 be near this kind of work. I should be ok i am a hairdresser!
Julie :scared:

Originally Posted by steve`o

hi selina

thanks for the info

we will be out there early oct so i`m reading all the
"our experiances to date" posts

regards steve

Originally Posted by foopsy

Hi Selina

Do you know of opportunities for accountant in that area.


Thank you

Originally Posted by selina

Hi all, here’s our experience so far.

Flight
We flew with Malaysian Airlines (£366 one way). The flight was on time and plenty of leg room. The food was OK just typical airline food, nothing special. Most of the flight was at night time so lights were off most of the way so we slept well. Stopped over in KL airport for around 6 hours so booked into one of the lounges. Would advise anyone to do the same as we had showers, comfy chairs to snooze on, free food and drink and internet connection to email home etc. The flight from KL was great, me and hubby (Neil) had 3 seats to ourselves and my son (Luke) had 5 seats as the flight was nearly empty so we could stretch out and sleep.

1st week spent in Brisbane
As planned we spent the first week in Brisbane in the Manhattan on Newstead apartments. The apartments were lovely and in a good location as Newstead is really central. You can get the bus of ferry to the city in a few minutes. It’s also very easy to access the motorway to get to the Sunshine and Gold Coast. Bev who works at the apartments, and is a Brit herself, was very helpful in giving directions and the info we needed. We spent this week activating bank accounts, buying mobiles etc and looking for a car. We had opened an account with ANZ online before we came and have found them excellent so far. Used Ozforex to transfer our money and again excellent, the transaction was easy to do and no problems with it. Found a car, well it is a van really, as Neil is a painter and the dealer sorted out reg for us so no problem there. Visited the Gold Coast and the beaches were great but when we visited the Sunshine Coast we realised that this was the place for us. Luckily we had already thought this would be the case and had a 2 week holiday rental booked there for when out week in Brisbane was up. Didn’t look around the Brissy suburbs as we don’t have city jobs so why live in the city when you can be near the beach!

Car hire
We used East Coast Rentals for our car hire. This cost $230 (for 1 week) this included extra insurance cover to bring the excess down. The car we had was OK for getting around and the service was good. The van we bought from Mercedes was due in but not ready for us to take it when our car hire finished so Mercedes loaned us a really nice Merc until it was ready, that was a result and saved us a few $$$.
Apartment on the Sunshine Coast
Our apartment was right on the sea front at Cotton Tree and was huge. 2 bed, 2 bath and a really big outside entertainment are as we were on the ground floor. It was really nice but a bit like a 70’s shag pad as there were mirrors everywhere! This cost $1100 for 2 weeks it would have been $ 900 but one of the weeks was in School Holidays so it cost more.

Finding a rental
This was not as bad as I expected. We picked up rental lists from all the agents the drove around to look at them from the outside. Some looked awful and others OK. Found one in Buderim that was also up for sale for $470k, way overpriced in my opinion. When we looked inside we thought ‘yes, this will do us’. It is a townhouse, only 1 year old, on the top of Buderim, 3 bed, 2 bath with great sea views. They wanted $320 pw for it and we offered $280 and they accepted it so her we are. No problem not having references. Bought loads of stuff like fridge, washing machine, sofa etc. Most shops here you barter on the price. Everything except finance is classed as cash here and for cash you take off around 10-20% of the retail price so you can get some good deals.

Kids
Luke is 17, and started at the Sunshine Coast University 1 week after we arrived which we arranged by email from the UK. He loves it there and has made friends easily. He has played several games of football (soccer) since arriving and is now playing in the 1st div and the coach from Queensland Roar watched him play and wants him to trial for their club. He played to a high standard back in the UK, and played for premier league clubs when he was younger so should do well here. It has helped that for 1 that he wanted to come here and 2 he has something so focus on ie,: uni and football.

Work
Neil has had no problem finding work as a painter. In fact they have been ringing him constantly asking when he can start. He has started work in week 2 with a contractor on $25 ph which seems to be the going rate. He says the work is just really ‘toshing’ but it pays the bills for now. I have had several offers of work, being a nurse. Most of which have been part-time or casual. Sent my CV off to various places and have had 5 job offer so far this week! Have started one job already and the money is good but not sure it’s what I really want so I’m keeping my options open.

Homesickness
Well to be honest we don’t really feel like we’ve left the UK. Have spoken to family probably more than we did when we were in the UK. Oz is not that different really just little things. Don’t really miss anything yet, but we may do in time. The biggest change, for me anyway, is supermarkets. Have tried them all and find Woolworths the best for me and luckily there is one 100 metres up the road from our rental. Went to a local meet market to stock up the freezer and spent $150 on a whole shopping trolley full of stuff which will keep us going for at least 3 months.

General Stuff
Have looked around various areas around the Sunshine Coast and ventured inland to areas like Gympie and Nambour. The more inland you go the more Hicksville it becomes. I mean rednecks with goatees and no shoes on. Mind you see this is everywhere to be honest, even in the big shopping complex, the Plaza in Maroochydore, people walk around with no shoes on. It’s quite refreshing actually! All in all there seems to be something here to suit everyones taste. The beaches are out of this world and the people we have met have been very welcoming. I feel that we will have no problem calling the Sunshine Coast home.

Advice
To those venturing down the emigration path this is my advise. Research as much as you can, we had never been to Oz before so that was all we had to go on, research off the internet and get personal recommendations on car hire, banks, shipping etc. if you have kids that don’t really want to make the move make sure they have school, uni, sports clubs to get involved with as soon as they arrive to help them make friends asap. Take your time, if you can afford to take the 1st month weighing up jobs and areas then do so, don’t rush into anything as you may regret it later.
This is just my opinion, so don’t slate me for it but, regret the things you didn’t do not the things you did do.
Well that’s it from me folks and I wish you all the best of luck in whatever you decide to do.
Selina xxx