welshoz

Hi everybody.
We (me,wife,x2 kids) are hoping to be coming to Brisbane in aug/sept on a student visa for 2 years. Weve allready been accepted on the course but have to wait till June to apply for a visa as you can only apply 124 days b4 course begins.

We are addicts to this forum and would like to thank you all for easing some of our fears e.g leaving fam + friends. security comfort zone.

We are having our meds done in June aswell kinda nervous to be honest least we aren't going to NZ though cos you have a finger up your bum on that med.

Firstly we are gonna have 2 rent or stay in a hotel cos we dont know any of the good areas to buy yet does anyone know any areas that we should stay away from?

Our house in on the market been on for 3 weeks now no one in the door estate agents said quiet time dont know if we should believe them though.

So much to do makes your head spin specially when you have two kids under 2 years :scared:

Sorry its so long winded but so much to say could anyone give us some feedback on:

Areas to live in? around Brisbane will be going to college in CBD.
Banks?
Oz driving license needed?
Car prices?
Furnished rentals?
Good airlines and bad ones?

geordie mandy

welcome to the 'mad house' all the questions have been asked on various threats , just a case of searching, i asked about airlines and Singapore airlines seem to be popular with a lot on here
im sure those in brizzy will be able to help more on the other info
Mandy

YoSemite

hey,

was told (when i applied) that you can apply for studnet visa anytime before the course starts as long as you have your CoE.... but can't enter aus any sooner than 3 months before course starts. that was in december 05 - but could have changed since then! worth looking into as you wanna get over here as soon as you can before course starts... i had to start before i'd even found a house to live in and was still in the holiday house for my first 2 weeks - was a nightmare trying to do coursework and look for a house at the same time!

am also studying near of CBD (are you going to southbank?). the one thing you will struggle with is proof of ability to pay rent - this was a huge hassle for us! we had to get a statement from australian bank showing how much money we had in the account. applied for about 12 rentals... all in all took us about 2 weeks to get one, 3 to move in... but it felt much longer!!

we've got some stuff arriving but decided to rent the rest of things (tv, washer, fridge) until we found a good deal on stuff to buy. also rented a car from rentabomb until we bought one....

if i can be of any help just PM me!

wmoore

Hi, welcome to the forum

If you're travelling to the CBD every day, I would suggest using the train rather than driving. Take a look at http://www.ourbrisbane.com/living/suburbs/ for suburb info and http://www.citytrain.com.au/stations...train_maps.asp for train routes. I live in Wynnum West and get the train when I head for the CBD - it takes about 35 mins from here.

Banks - do a search on the forum, there has been a lot of discussions on this one. Personally I use ANZ. I pay $5 a month for unlimited EFTPOS and ANZ ATM transactions. Well worth it I reckon.

Is your visa a temporary one? In that case you don't have to convert your licence but if I were you I would do it just for the ID aspect. You only need to do the theory test, which isn't rocket science if you've taken a look at the book (called Your Keys to Driving in Queensland available all over the place).

Car prices - how long is a piece of string? You can spend a lot on a flash car if you like. I've got a $7000 10-yo Mazda that does the job for me

Furnished rentals - most rentals are unfurnished but you may find something. Have a look at www.realestate.com.au for ideas.

Good airlines - again search the forum, this has been discussed to death I've used Emirates a few times and couldn't fault them but some people have had bad experiences with them. Singapore always get a good write up.

Jane and Russ Middleton

Hi mate
Just reading your thread, if you contact paul&nic, he went out on a student visa about a month ago, he hasn't been on be for a while but if you pm him i'm sure he will be able to give you loads of info and experiences of student life in Oz

Russ

JackTheLad

Wayne in his wisdom forgot to mention

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

That'll see you right for any short term accommodation.

We stayed at the Manhatten, good value and dead friendly manager. We've recommended them often, and everyone seems happy with them.

I'm not on a commission by the way... but if I was I'd be a millionaire by now.

Hands up all those who've stayed in the Manhatten?

JTL

welshoz

Thanks for all your helpfull responses really helps.
Its so annoying isnt it when you house just isnt bringing in viewers, definately can't apply for visa until 124 days before as we are doing it electronically.

Thanks again