andy170773

I don't post on here much, but find it a superb site with good information.

Myself, wife and 3 children(8yrs, 3yrs, 1yr), are to fly out end of september. We were all set on Perth, done lots of background work as there seems to be a wealth of information and help topics on the web. We looked into Adelaide but decided although looks beautiful that wasn't the one for us. Sydney/Melbourne don't really want the big city life. Northern territory, not really practical with the kids. That leaves Brisbane/Gold Coast, can't find as much info on this area (break down of suburbs) as Perth but seems like a great place.

Our reasoning behind the change of mind over Perth is mainly due to the way house prices have rocketed and wages not to match(seems to be a place to go if you have a lot of money to start with). Brisbane seems to be a lot more stable in terms of the housing market and from what I can tell employment opportunities are good.

I am an Electrical/Instrumentation Technician with most of my experience in heavy industry (petro chem/paper industry). I perceive the work front to be ok wherever we go (once I get the A grade licence). My wife is a Dental Nurse. We have approx £34K to take, that's aafterflights etc.

I know these are last minute nerves and it does seem a bit mad changing where we are to settle but am just trying to be realistic of our chances of settling and setting the good foundations for our children.

What do you think? Is my reasoning good or is it just a case of last minute nerves.

Also does anyone have more information on Brisbane/Gold coast area regarding aaccommodationfor when we land (that can be arranged be fore we leave UK).

Thanks for reading and any help would be appreciated.

Regards

Andy,Jen+3

tequila

Try this. http://www.ourbrisbane.com/

andy170773

Thanks, just what I am after.

OzWannabee

Hiya

Sorry can't help with info on jobs but we do love living in Bayside near Brisbane. We have 4 kids and they have settled in no problem. You could have a look at this link

http://s6.invisionfree.com/BrisbaneB...its/index.php?

However we have never visited Perth so maybe I'm not the best person to answer!!

Jo

gabby

Hi andy can highly recommend gold coast, some lively parts , quiet parts and loads of beautiful scenery, great place for kids to grow up.


Whatever you decide all the best

gabby xx

Gold Coaster

Hi Andy,

If you want to P.M me I can give you any information you may need including any suburb reports or any information on Brisbane and the Gold Coast.

One of the many services we provide is arrangement of rental accommodation

I wish you and your family all the best with your move.

Tony

www.platinumrelocations.com.au

Vernons

Hi

I know what you are going through! We will be flying to Australia in 6 weeks time and I am still thinking about Perth and Brisbane. It is such a massive thing that we are doing and we have upset so many people and had a huge family rows (with his side) that I just want it to be perfect and make the right decision.

We went on a rekkie to Perth and Brisbane during the easter holidays. We thought Perth was amazing and while we were there decided that it was the place for us and there was no way Brisbane could beat it. The beaches were stunning, lots of nice new housing estates, very friendly people, a relaxed atmosphere and sunshine every day. It really was fantastic and we were sad getting on the plane to Brisbane.

When we arrived in Brisbane it was much warmer (we arrived on the evening) and it felt like we had arrived on holiday - strange. The skyline of Brisbane was very impressive but not quite as fantastic as Perth's because of the river. The roads were fine and yet again the people were very very friendly.

In both places we stayed in a hotel in the CBD and Brisbane was noticably busier at night, a lot more going on and quite a few youngseters about (uni student and backpackers). It still felt safe and I found Brsibane CBD to have a bit more to it and the shops looked great.

We hired a car in both places and travelled up and down the coast. In Perth we went as far north as Two Rocks and down to Rockingham. Lots of great housing estates along the way and the beaches - well I have already said about that!

In Brisbane we went down to the Gold Coast and up to Noosa stopping off at a few new housing developments along the way. They wre harder to find and not as manic as they were in Perth.
We thought the beaches were not as beautiful as Perth's but the landscape was more varied and it was nice to see different things.

All in all we totally loved both but have decided to go for Brisbane, or at least Queensland. We are thinking of anywhere between the Sunshine Coast and Townsville and when we get over we are going to buy/hire a car and drive all the way up the coast checking out the beaches, the towns and the housing developments as well as sizing up work opportunities along the way.

What put us off Perth was the crazy housing market, people are sleeping out to try and get land plots and maybe paying over the odds. It terrified us. We also want to explore what the east coast has to offer and worry that when we have a family flights to the other coast will be too much for us to afford. Having said that there is loads of wonderful things to explore on the west coast and I am sure we will be back.

So in answer to your question Perth is fabulous and people say it is a great place to bring up a family and that is why is keeps coming back into my mind. I have a dream of us being near the sea so that our children can join a surf club and takee up everything Oz has to offer. We could not afford to live that close to the sea in Perth (although 20 minutes in a car is not far! I would just love to be able to walk to the beach)

Good luck with whatever you decide, I do know how hard it is and quite often I say to my husband Perth or Brisbane and we find it hard to answer.

We are not sure which side would be better for us for work. My husband is a maintenance fitter in a quarry and I am a primar school teacher.

Good luck

iPom

The only thing that people say about living in WA is that it's isolated from the rest of Australia. That's really up to you if you can handle it! The benefit of being on the other side, is that you have much more scope for travel to different cities, without that feeling of isolation. I know you say Sydney isn't for you to live in because you don't want the city life, but Brisbane is still a city, regardless - I presume you'll be living in a 'burb outside the city. However, people claim that W Australians have a much different mindset due to their 'isolation'.
If you are based in Brisbane, you can travel quickly up and down the East coast,which in my opinion is fantastic because there's a huge range of variety.
I hope you come to Sydney to visit and pop up to the Blue Mountains. NSW is such a beautiful place, and it would be a shame if you labelled it all as 'Sydney'.
WA is beautiful too, but I do know people who've been that way for years and ended up coming back here. You could try the other if one doesn't work out for you, but then there's the cost involved with that!
No doubt the people in Perth can give you a real insight. I have only visited.

andy170773

Thanks for the advice.

I will keep researching over the next few weeks and keep on open mind, I know my aunty is over in the UK at the moment (from Gosford just outside Sydney), will have a chat to her too.

regards A

Andy

iPom

Andy, go near to where your family lives. Getting flights from Perth to the other side when you need help or they do is expensive. Just my opinion of course.... but moving to a new country, well, if you've got family, be near them.

Hutch

Also worth adding that there's a hell of a lot more to NSW than Sydney!

iPom

Absobloodylutely. We've been busy every weekend since we got here and haven't even got to the beach yet! There's too much to see and do.

JackTheLad

Here's a good place to check out short/long term furnished/unfurnished rental in Brisbane, Gold Coast and Sunshine Coast area.

http://www.seqrents.com.au/

If you have specific questions on any suburb, just give people here a yell. You'll get loads, oh I mean heaps, of responses.

JTL and I too had a last minute change of mind when we moved here 2 years ago. We were originally planning on moving to Melbourne but decided 3 months before we flew out that we would go to Brisbane instead. Although we love both Brisbane and Melbourne, we're very happy with our choice.

Mrs JTL

JosieJ

Hi Everyone

We're also starting to think of Queensland - specifically the Brisbane area. Can anyone tell me what job prospects are like for electricians - installation, plc's, fault diagnostics - that kind of thing? Are there any fly in fly out positions that way? We've done a rekkie to Perth in April and done all the research for there. I know that trades are desperately wanted in WA, but not sure about the other side! Now some friends of ours are also going to Brisbane so we're having a rethink - could anyone also recommend some nice suburbs?

Thanks in anticipation!

JJ

moneypenny20

Can't help with work queries except that Dental Nurse jobs are always advertised in the local paper.

From a personal point of view I would come here 100% over Perth but it's a totally gut reaction to both and there are stacks of people on the other side of the coin.

Happy to give personal views of suburbs of GC if wanted.