mattl

Please can you help!

Myself and my wife (newly weds, mid 20s, no kids) are thinking of moving to the gold coast next year but hear mixed opinions. My wife is a teacher (secondary school) and I am a business analyst (management accountant) in Brighton UK.

We will be going in August to see for ourselves but would like a heads up first.

We know we will love the outdoors/beaches etc however are somewhat put off by the "tacky" tag that some people give it. Is this just restricted to surfers paradise during December or does this describe the entire gold coast?

Does the gold coast offer somewhat good restaurants and a cosmopolitan atmosphere alongside all the other great stuff (sunshine etc) that it clearly does have which we will love.

Also I've read it gets dark early however I'm assuming its not like our winter (pitch black at 4pm!)

Further if anyone is a teacher or business analyst in the gold coast I would love to hear from you about job prospects in the area. Particularly teaching as again my wife is reading very mixed opinions.

Many Thanks,

Matt

Timber Floor Au

welcome to da forum

gets dark at 5pm

yes its tackier than a sticky thing stuck to glue.

Ste

knifey_spoony

Whats tacky about the Gold Coast?

Timber Floor Au

Tacky in a blackpool kind of way

diddy

Hi,

We live in Southport and can't recommend the Gold Coast highly enough. It's a great place with loads to do.

Yes it's cosmopolitan and yes there are loads of restaurants.

It's very easy to find work as an Accountant/ Financial Analyst and nearer the time send me an email and I'll put you in touch with the recruitment companies that specialise in Finance. Don't know much about teaching but Finance will not be a worry.

There is a tacky side to the GC but this is limited to the hard core tourist destinations especially Surfers Paradise. There was survey recently and most Gold Coasters very rarely go there. It is not the centre or CBD of the GC. Rather there are a number of centres such as Robina and Southport.

Not moving to the Gold Coast because it is tacky is like not moving to London because you don't like Covent Garden. The tacky side really doesn't figure in everyday life. That said, we went to Surfers on Saturday coz there's a good restaurant we like, plus we go there for the beach cinema, although the rain recently has stopped that.

Just reread your post. October - January are full on in Surfers from Indy to end of Summer hols, but again this doesn't afffect you unless you need to drive through Surfers whilst the Indy is on.

In Winter it gets dark at 5pm. Currently it gets dark at 7pm.

Timber Floor Au

Spot on Diddy.

I actually think the gold coast is great, if you get away from the mainstream tourist stuff.

sa2uk2oz

We are in Robina, about 15 min drive from Surfers and 10 mins from our nearest beach. We love it here.. and have just bought a house in the road that we are currently renting. You will not be disappointed by what the gold coast has to offer.
Your wife could look on the Queensland gov website (smart jobs) for teaching posts and you've probably already had a look at seek.com.au which is a great help.
good luck with your decision.

RenShen

Hi,

We spent a month based in the Helensvale area which was really lovely. Yes, surfers is tacky, but by Australian standards, not ours!! I notice that you live in Brighton. I have been there 3 times for conferences and yes I loved it but my God the seafront is tacky!! There is definately a better class of tack in surfers.

That said, Surfers is really not that big and only a tiny part of the Gold Coast. Before you visit it is easy to imagine that it plays a bigger part than it actually does so my advice would be don't worry. I am sure you will love it when you get there.

Ren.

moneypenny20

I guess it's like saying Lancashire is shit because of Blackpool. Surfers is only a small suburb. Forget about it. Most people never visit unless they have visitors who want to go there. The Gold Coast is a stunningly beautiful part of the country with stacks to do and see. You have the best beaches in the country very close to gorgeous hinterland, a thriving economy, easy access to Sydney, Victoria, many people commute to Brissie, many more don't and work very successfully close to home.

Timber Floor Au

Ditto

Nerine

I can't recommend Robina highly enough, I realised a few days back that it doesn't really have a rush hour, it just gets busier at certain times of day. Well, either that or all the locals are still on holiday and it is gridlocked solid term time

There's loads to do on the GC, Surfer's is just a blip on the landscape but it does make for a stunning view if you're lucky enough to have glimpses of it from your house.

This is fthe view from Mount Tamborine (link is from goldcoastaustralia.com)



And there's even a few of these around (link as above) Canungra Pub

diddy

Agreed.

mattl

Thanks everyone for your response. I now consider the surfers issue closed and put down to a travel agent who actually drew this impression from just driving past the place!

If anyone is a teacher or has any info on teaching this would be v.much appreciated, as the responses my Wife is getting on a teaching forum are particularly negative in terms of finding a job and therefore I need to know how accurate this is.

Many Thanks,

Matt

steve`o

try contacting longreach on here his mrs is a teacher about the same age as you guys and working in the area

regards steve

http://britishexpats.com/forum/member.php?u=38498

Gallaghers

Hi from the gallaghers
We also are looking at the goldcoast this year i am a chef and the wife will hopefully wil look after our 2 children aged 8 and 2 we don't no were to go hard parts done this bit should be easy so good luck and great response and help

daz and claire