Im getting cold feet is this normal.

We decided to make the move to Aus because of the way the UK seems to be going and hopefully give our Children a life style we had when we where younger.

The medicals have been sent so the Visa acceptance is iminant, we have had an offer on the house and are now in the process of renting a holiday let in Caloundra until we get something more perminent.

So it seems to be taking off good and proper and now im thinking are we doing the right thing I have three small children and worrying noe if i will be able to cope especially when they get ill and im on my own, also if we dont make friends or husband dosent get a job..........they flight getting poo scared about it all......

IS THIS NORMAL

absolutely

almost chickened out myself as the day grew closer
glad i didint though now

if you have time see
http://britishexpats.com/forum/showthread.php?t=400962

Arrived start of the year, twins were 30 months little one was 18 months old. Wondered what have we done!
Spent a bit of time finding out about kids day time activities etc, started work, got invited to BBQ's you soon settle in.
As Steve'o says every one has them thoughts.
Best of luck.

Brian

Hi the weeks household

We emigrated to Caloundra in Jan 07 from the uk and do not regret it for one minute. We have our two kids in Caloundra Primary and Caloundra High, (both on the same road). There is no dog shite or litter and it has great beaches, heaps to do for everyone and fabulous weather. We both have jobs now and are looking to buy a house in the near future. If we can help you in any way and if you need help when you arrive, we would be happy to show you around and help you out. Or, if you want us to find anything out for you - just ask. Just go for it, life is too short and at least you wont die wondering.

Kind Regards John, Marianne & co

Hi there

That would be great we plan to arrive on Sept 20th and have rented a house for 6 weeks in Dicky Beach Madonalds st........

Anyway any information on Childrens activities and play groups would be fab..

Also would you know of car dealerships that could be recommended in the area.

And one last thing what are the prospects for Electricians in the Area would you know what the going rate is and any information would be great put the OH mind at rest..

The above information would be enough i think to keep the transistion as smooth as possible as dreading looking for houses car and job with the 3 children in towe

hi there has your OH applied for his ARTC yet ???

Hi there

No problems getting the info - how old are the kids? We are just around the corner from you on Queen St - You've picked a great spot as its a 5 min walk to the beach and there's some shops even nearer. There are loads of places to buy a car, you will see loads when you drive into Caloundra, its just a case of shopping around for the best deal - but there are loads of cheap cars around.

John is an Electrician and has just got a job on Brisbane's north side. There is loads of work for licensed electricians but you have to study for it, whilst working along side a licenced electrician and then sit an exam. If you speak to the TRA there is a new system starting 1st July I think, which means you can apply whilst in the uk - but not sure of the procedure. You will save heaps of time by doing it in the uk as we did not and wasted 12 weeks waiting for work permits and trade certs over here.

We would recommend opening an account with commonwealth bank of australia in London too, they have migrant banking services and they transfer your funds over here for £30. We got a better rate than any of the major money changing companies at the time and when you arrive here, you go to the Brisbane branch and all your cards and stuff are waiting. They really help you out. It also means that you are starting to build your aussie credit rating as your english one means nothing here.

Best Regards John & Marianne

no

It has arrived at my sisters in Perth and she will post it on to us so if you have any top tips please feel free to pass on information.

Once we have filled it in can we send it off from here

fab thats great to know.........will contact the TRA asap, we have req a ARTC form which has arrived in Perth so she will pass it on.......do you think you can take your exams in the UK.....are the exams hard....if you have any information on companies looking for Electricians,,,,,,,,please feel free to pass on the information....

Thanks Again.....feeling better already

Seren will be 4 Robyn 2 Lola 1

So as you can imagine its going to be hard work to start with but no different to the UK......as long as there is a bar near RSL probably we will get through it......Do you get charged for transactions with this bank.....

Also what is the rental market like in Caloundra,,,would like one with a pool and looked at houses on the net but reading other forums they say that it does not give a true picture what are the general prices for a 4 bed house..........
Have you made many friends......and how did you cope in the summer with the heat.....
thanks again for you reply,,,,,just knowing that there is contact is reassuring.....

There is a child care centre at Currimundi, which is about 1.5 kilometers away but will have a look to see if there is anything in Caloundra. Houses with pools are hard to come by - we arrived in jan and there was absolutely nothing to rent as its holiday season also. We are in a 3 bed plus family room apartment - its a penthouse and has fabulous views and there is a communal pool in the building. The rentals for houses with pools could be upwards of $400 per week and they get snapped up really quick. Also, the person who is renting out the house etc, decides who is the best person to rent and if there are loads of people wanting it, it can sometimes drive the price up. Having said that, you will be arriving in Sept so it wont be that busy here then, so you might have a better chance. If you decide to go for an apartment, most of them have pools and are near to the beach. Kings beach has a free pool down next to the beach, so if you were to rent around that area, you could take the kids everyday - it also has fountains the kids can play in too. The best thing would be to get here, get a holiday let for a couple of weeks and in that time look around.

There is the RSL in Caloundra - it has a cosmic cave for the kids to go in, with loads of games etc. There is a couple of restaurants in there too and they have live bands on all the time and loads of pokies (one arm bandits). Alright if you like that sort of thing, but there are so many other places to go.

There are some nice bars and restaurants in Caloundra itself and are all child friendly - also, its nice just to sit on your balcony or in the garden and have a glass of wine - or you could walk down to the beach but you cant take glass onto the sand.

The bank doesnt charge for general transactions - you will need to check when you get here but I havent seen any on my statement. We have made loads of new friends here, everyone is so nice - dont worry about that.

We coped with the weather fine - we have air con in this unit, however, it wasnt as hot as we thought it was going to be - around 32 ish a bit more some days but you get used to it - its when its really humid its worse as you are wet through all the time when you are outside. Try to get somewhere with air con if you can - it will benefit the kids and you need them to be sleeping at night. Our kids are 11 & 16 and we were glad we had it (the fighting gets much worse when they are older!)

Keep the questions coming and just look forward to getting here - it is the best thing you can do for your family in our opinion, there are so many more opportunities here and you only have to look out of the window to realise you have done the right thing.

Regards Marianne & John

Hi

Thanks again for you information its good to get a picture of things.

We have rented the house in Caloundra for 4-6 weeks while we look at a more perminent rental and we have looked at little Mountain and Pelican Waters,,,,what are these area's like.

We would prefer to stay in Caloundra but i suppose we will av to wait and see, we will have to leave the kids behind when looking at houses as if they see our horrors we will be living in a caravan.

Do you think it would be better to rent the house out for 6 weeks rather than four. What information do they need from us before they will give you the rental........My plan is to email as many estate agents when we arrive in Perth and tell them what we would like and make appointments for the following week. I dont know if this is what happens...any top tips about rental would be great....we would like a house rather than apt unless of course there is a lift. If you could recommend any estate agents that would be great......do people advertise privately about rental or does everyone go through estate agents

How much are 4 bedroom houses going for in Caloundra (to buy)....is there a difference in price between the areas in Calaoundra.....

Hopefully going to book flights next week.....

Anyway will sign off for now cause kids climbing all over me....

Thanks Again

Sara Tim and Girls

Hiya

Pelican Waters is really gorgeous, we are looking to buy there. Little mountain is nice also and is a bit cheaper than Pelican. The average price in Pelican for an established house is around $500,000 for a 4 bed home - possibly with a pool although you may have to pay a little more. You pay a lot more if you want to live near the beach or water, however there is a new area called Bellvista which is a lot more affordable and you can get a 4 bed for about $400K - no pool with that tho. There is also the option of self building, but you need to settle in before you start down any of these tracks. If you go on www.realestate.com.au site and key in caloundra, you will see all the rentals in the area. Also, you will see whats for sale too. I would give yourself a month or two in your holiday rental because you can then get a feel for the area, find your way around and then decide where you want to rent. You need to be here a few months before you commit to buying to avoid making a huge mistake with the area. Most apartment blocks have lifts so it wont be an issue. Dont forget that all these areas are suburbs of Caloundra, and are all within 5 or 10 mins from the centre, Pelican waters has its own shopping centre, schools etc. Little mountain is only a few mins from town too. Its hard to imagine until you have seen it for yourselves.

Its better if you call into the real estate shops in person, however, we did and left our details and not one of them called us. We just went on the real estate.com site and saw what we wanted to view and then phoned up and book the appointments that way. The building we are in is 2 mins to the primary school, 5 mins to the beach and bulcock street (main street in caloundra) so its very central for everything. Do not panic about taking the kids anywhere - I tell you what, the aussies kids run riot over here - they dont seem to discipline them like the brits - just take them anywhere you need to go, yours will probably be angels compared to some of them. Dont know if you know but there is an airport on the sunshine coast and you can fly with jet star or virgin blue all over australia to and from this airport. Its at marcoola which is next to Maroochydore, which is 30 mins from here. It beats driving from Brisbane airport, which will take over an hour. You could book your flight when you arrive in perth - are you staying with family? Its definitely worth looking into. Its called Sunshine Coast Airport - you will need to put that as your destination in the internet site. You can go to www.webjet.com.au and that will give you cheap flights too.

Keep em coming, take care

Also, if you want to send us a private email, please do so.

Cheers Marianne, John, Brad & Georgia