Helloe everyone out there. Its good to be joining you in more ways than one too. My hubby could be getting a job out in Brisbane, I am wondering how do you brits cope with the heat and the insects:scared: I hoping you can relay my fears of what the hell is in store for me and the kids there.

Heat : When I first arrived I didn't like the heat, but then, I did move from freezing UK to 40C on one of the little islands here in QLD. I would recommend a different time to move over, ie: UK summer to QLD winter, that allows time for acclimatisation. Having said that though, the really hot weather doesn't last that long, and if you have air-con, then not too many problems.

Insects: Not as bad as you think. Pest control the house annually, and you should be basically free from cockroachs and spiders,a lthough spiders are a bit more resilient to the sprays.
I use an electronic spider control gadget, about $30 I think. But I did find a small spider on my copy of the TV guide last week, it made me jump !! Just not used to them. We've been here in QLD for 18 months. Other people see more than I do, maybe I am just lucky.
No-one has died from snake or spider bites for many years. And the only time I have been bitten by a snake was in England

My 8 year old is just with me so I said to her: "What would you tell someone from UK about the snakes in Australia" - her reply was: "There are not much around, i have only seen one - a green tree snake - and it was harmless."

Hi abcdiamond,
Thanks for your reply and the hints about the pest control. I don't mind spiders really its just the size of them in oz that worries me .But if your 8yr old can cope i'm sure i can be a big girl.
If you have any other recommends for a newcomer they would sure be welcome too.
cheers Jill

It's different when the kids grow up with them They have minimal problems with them.
If i see a big one I will run too, and get my wife to sort it out

But, we don't really see that many of them.

There are some big ones, about the size of a plate apparently, although I have never seen one, and i've been in this country for a total of 14 years now, and they are totally harmless.

Look at this web site, to get used to what they like, and to read comments about them. http://www.termite.com/spiders/Huntsman-Spider.shtml

Jill, you might want to search this forum and use "huntsman" as a keyword. Someone posted a thread about them a little while ago. They're the spiders (biggish ones anyway) you're most likely to encounter in Brisbane. They're completely harmless, just big.

Beware of the DROP BEARS !!!!

http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Forum/3695/db.htm

http://library.trinity.wa.edu.au/sub.../fant/drop.htm

MOST IMPORTANTLY !

http://members.ozemail.com.au/~enigman/dropbear.html

Come to Australia, you just might accidentally get killed !

Before the kick off at 5pmish England V France. What do you guys miss the most about England? And I'm sure its not the weather, although it is sunny today in Manchester this morning its min 16-max 21 WOW!!

Thanks for the links ulujain, I will have a look at those hope they don't give me nightmares???

Thanks abcdiamond I will have a look at the website - honest!

Now you wouldn't be trying to put me off would you?

..........and check out his own site too Jill

http://www.abcdiamond.com/

Welcome to the forum by the way

Thank you pastryman for the advice on abcdiamonds website i've just had a look and there's lots of info there- great. I especially liked the suburbs and distances from bris. but when thinking about places to settle, everywhere has its roses and thorns. Are there places you would recommend to avoid and places that you should live if you can afford it?

That particular piece of info came from this thread by karen p

Raby Bay is a nice area, but most properties start at about $2m
It makes a nice Sunday drive to look at the houses with the big boats parked on the back mooring

Woodridge is one to avoid.

Raby Bay sounds Coooool, I'll try and find them on my downloaded map and pinpoint them.
Shouldn't you guys all be asleep now? By my reckoning it must be 4AM but ofcourse you have an annual holiday 2moz yea? Have a great day
Thanks for all the tips
Loads a Luv
Jill

Hi Jill

You need to check your time conversion
You posted the above thread at 2:03 am, but thought it may be about 4am, so you are miscalculating by 2 hours. I used to do that all the time, until I decided to get two clocks in my study, one each for showing the countries time.

I posted my last one at 23:15, just before hitting the sack

And yes, we have a holiday today, thanks to HRH birthday, and the Australian Government wishing to celebrate it

That reminds me, I must ring the Republican Party HQ and see if they are working today

Raby Bay is a part of Cleveland, built right onto the water, with canals built for boat access to each house.