Short but brief this'll be as me dollars are running out! ...lol

Ok, flights were fine, apartment is lovely, weather is crap! ...lol, but I hear it's gonna get better! altho to be honest it WAS lovely earlier and when we left Brissie airport and the sun was belting down, the other half said she was sold already! ... currently peeing down tho!

ALL family are zonked out, but as usual I am full of beans!

Drivers (ABC!) over here are ......... interesting! (is it legal in Oz to overtake on the inside ?!?! ...lol)

Dunno what else to say really, all very early but so far everyone we've met has been very friendly, and The Gold Coast seems VERY clean and tidy, just like Watford! ...... NOT! ...lol

Anyway, gonna go grab a few tins and chicken buger as there is a KFC round the back! ...lol

I'm gonna find out where the nearest Cybercafe is as I am on a lil desk on the Apartment now, not ideal, but it does the trick!

1 minute remaining!! .... better hit post!!

speak soon

All the very best of luck - and I look forward to eharing how you settle in.

SS

Morning !
Really pleased that you all arrived safe and sound, hope the jet lag isn't too bad. Enjoy yourselves
Carole

Hi Jim,

Great to hear someon'es made it!
I get palpitations just reading your post. I bet you feel scared, nervous excited all at the same time.

Good look mate - keep posting,

Linsey

Yes, it is !

It's cold aswell, i've been wearing a jumper for the last 2 days, well, at least for part of the days ! First time this year

Good luck with your stay

Have a great holiday guys, but don't forget - you do have to come back. Staying doesn't get you visas

Its the middle of winter at the moment, it will get warmer in a couple of months.

Enjoy

have a nice holiday and enjoy it....
keep us posted on Brisbane as we are heading there sometime in the near future

Take care and B Good lol

Ang

Awwwww! ....lol

Well to update, we've seen Surfers, had a breakfast out on the seafront which was lovely (nowt wrong with the sausages! ...lol), been to Woolworths to stock up on food, and we see the Hairdressing college yesterday, but being Sunday it was closed.

Biggest prob so far IS the jetlag is wiping the others out. They was all in bed at 2pm yesterday, and NEVER recovered! ...lol. Me tho, it aint hit me yet, but I guess that's my UK sleep pattern!

Weather has been quite cloudy so far, even see a lil rain, but today .....

WOW!! ....... sun was up at 6am (i think it was) and now it's a clear blue sky!

We had a lil drive around Ashmore & Southport yesterday, and I really wouldn't be lieing if I said we ALL don't want to come home! ...lol. Parks, fields, lovely houses and all the rest ........ heaven!

Hungry Jacks (think it's called!) ......... hmmm, Burger king?? ...lol

As the weather is soooo nice today, we're off soon to one of the theme parks, but not decided where yet.

I dunno, but this place IS soooo nice. People ARE so friendly, and it's "G'day mate" everywhere we go!

We hooked up with FloweroScotland (Lisa) and a few other Expat memebers which was really nice. Had a few drinks and pizza's and good ole chat about life on The Gold Coast.

Ok, still early, but I REALLY can't say anything negative yet! I'm sure sommit will pop up, but as I speak nowt!

Anyway, have to run, and will report as it happens.

Oh and I said I'd review the apartment upon return, and will, but it's just lovely Lookin over the water and seeing all those jetski's bombing up and down ...lol. Yesterday we went out armed with half a loaf of bread to feed the birds and Pelicans (think that's what they are! ...lol) but the Pelican's turned their nose up at our offering cos some bloke had returned on his lil boat with some freshly caught fish ...lol. He skinned them there and then and threw the waste to em, who want's bread I spose ...lol

Anyway, can't say how much we're loving it here, I really can't!

Time to go!

BBS

welcome to Oz Jim
good luck and rmbr to get as pissed as a fart tonight

How did I miss this thread
Great to hear that you arrived safely and are enjoying your time there.
Keep it up and let us know how you're getting on
.

Tracey

G'day M8!

Glad I found this post - you've made it - great!

Sound like you are really enjoying your first experiences of Australia as we did!Great feeling isn't it! So, you are going to one of the Theme Parks - you'll have some fun Our boys went to DREAMWORLD and loved it! We wanted to go to Wet'n'Wild but TOO cold in early June! Seaworld was awesome can't wait to go back! And Movieworld was OK - really brill for young kids.

Whichever you have chosen - hope you all have a fab day out!

Keep us posted - take care - enjoy yourselves

Gill

Hope you brought your dress. Glad you've met up with all the Coasters that are fun to know. Enjoy your stay.

Just wanted to say Paul and his other half Nic are great, we had a really good night with them, and the only dissapointment was the weather, but I have to report that it's back to sunny and hot again the last 2 days, Paul if you read this I hope your having a great time, last I heard he was hitting the theme parks yesterday! remember if you have any problems or questions pick up the phone.

Lisa

Well the theme park (Dreamworld) we went to was wicked! ....... altho had a wait a full 5 mins for one of the rides! ... lol ... and NOT joking either! flew around the whole place, and the adults for kids ticket prices worked

Only prob we're having so far is kids schools

So far there is Helensvale, which some report is ok, but we was told today that the Library gets burnt down at least once a year, but has been twice in the last 6 months! ......... which sounds lovely! ...lol

Keebra Park, which altho is very good for sport and stuff, they have a BIG drug problem! ... :scared:

Trinity which is a private school, we looked round today and what a lovely school, but to none PR's the fee's are $14k each child per year, which is just too much for us. Pitty as the school DOES look lovely.

Next on the list is Southport High which we're hoping to see any day.

As to the Hairdressing school, well there will be no point in checking that out till we find a suitable school for the kids. One where the books last longer than a year and has no major drug problem!

apart from that, Oz is still lovely. Sooo nice I feel I am rubbing it in about how Nice but it REALLY is.

We went into Woolworth's the other night and WASN'T greeted with a "hello, how are you doin" kinda greet, and I guess that's about as negative as anyone has been! ...lol. It's terrible when someone not greeting you "g'day" is as bad as it's got in 7 days! ....lol

sleep is still a mess for the others. I think we're all in bed by 9pm EVERY night ...lol, but at the same time we was out for a meal the other night. It was 8.30 and we was the last ones in the place! ....lol, I guess it's kinda normal out here!

dunno what else to say really, other than we're having a wonderful time and as long as we can find a suitable school for the kids, we go full steam on getting back as soon as we return to the UK.

Oh and Claire's (Jonah's_Mummy) mum has been a real diamond. We're renting her apartment in Labrador and we spent the day with her at Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary yesterday, got the picks with the Kangaroo's and Kuala (spelling!?) bears and all that. Lovely day, lovely lady

Anyway, bout it from me for now.

Will report next stage as it happens

Hi again!

Was wondering which theme park you ended up in - thought it might be DREAMWORLD! Knew you'd enjoy it there! Our two sons thought it was 'cool', would like to go back sometime, will have to make sure we get the 'locals' entry cost next time though

Nice to hear you are enjoying Australia.

Schools, they are a big issue aren't they Especially in an area you dont know. Hope you find one that suits anyways - good luck!

Enjoy yourselves and have fun

Waiting for the next installment now

Welcome Jim... Hope you are feeling great.
Look this is what I call it a BE addiction... Hope you have not forgoten to send a mails to bros/ sis/mom and dad

Welcome to the GC Jim. A poor whale got caught in the nets today and the people from Seaworld had to come and free the poor thing. We were able to watch from our window.

Jim, I have heard that Benowa High is a good school.

Oh yeah, forgot about them! ...


I'll have a look at Benowa, but have heard they have a bit of a bullying problem Still, it's only one persons word so will see what others say

Yeah we was told about the whale and popped down there, you prob see us on the beach if you could see it from your window. We see it on the news all night and the thing got away

Not a lot since last post. Had a nice meal at the Hard Rock last night, bout it really.

Not sure how I missed this thread. Really enjoying reading your posts Jim.
When I think back to reading some of your posts a couple of months ago and feeling your despair and now you are out there seeing it for yourself and determined to live your dream. Good on you and wish you all the best!
Have a great time!
ps, our fav day out there had to be Sea World.

When Burger King came to Oz, some one man burger joint already had the Burger King name... so they had to change it. Eventually, everyone knew them by the Hungry Jack's name, so they stuck with it. Much better burgers than McDs if you like a burger - but you knew that already

good to hear your having a ball, you and your family really do deserve a lovely holiday. Keep us posted how its going.
take care

Trish

Ok the latest!

Well firstly gotta say how good the food is in Oz. Before we came I'd read about 'dodgy sausages' and 'chocolate' not quite tasting the same, but altho I have dodgy taste buds, the rest of the gang are fine, and no one is noticing any major changes ?!?!

Food EVERYWHERE tho is just top class!

We went earlier to Ashmore Seafood & Steakhouse, and I've never eaten a better bit of steak! I wish I could upload the picture of how it came, but haven't the facilities here now

Anyway, yeah food is just SOOOOO good, and reasonable too

Well today we spent out in Pacific Pines. Thing is, we are now considering (and only that for now) buying a property :scared: We see it that altho we ain't coming on a PR, we do aim to get it, and renting property is throwing it away we feel. The market over here is a bit stale, and there is talk of PP booming. There is a massive shopping centre being built close by, and it seems to have enough stuff there already.

Anyway, there doesn't seem to be many schools in Ashmore for us. There is the good private one (too dear) and the terrible one (Keebra, and only what we hear!). A few others, but nothing jumping out as 'the right one' for the kids. We then looked at Benowa as it's close by, but prices are jumping!

I'm waffling so will try and cut short.

Basically you'll get a lot more for your money moving upto the likes of Arundel or, Helensvale, and Pacific Pines, and altho they too are further from the beach, the likes of Surfers etc, as I say you get more for your dollar! Helensvale has a school that from 'hearsay' is looking promising. They have been getting VERY good OP results (don't ask what that is, Nic understands the schooling more than me, but I 'think' like our SATS maybe) anyway, yeah that plus a few Expat members have said it was good inc one who has HIS 13rd old there!

Pacific Pines has a senior school, but as I type we know 'nothing' about it!

Anyone?!?

These kinda area's are prob 20 mins from the coast (do bear that in mind, we aint talking hours!!)

Oh and round the corner from 'Movieworld' ...

Ok, a waffle about buying, but IF and a big if as we speak, we COULD buy over here, I think we'd REALLY like to! I see it as if after 2 yrs we fail to get PR, the house has surely gotta still be worth what we pay with current market!! (buyers they reckon!) which would be the same as renting, or even gain a few quid, which I'd guess the more likely. Who knows!

blah blah blah ...lol

In an attempt to end, Oz is STILL the same in our view. Exceptional weather for Winter (blue skies, NO CLOUDS!, 24/25C), very friendly people, good food, ok, suspicious driving ...lol, but I dunno, it IS such a lovely place, I really am soooo shocked how good it is over here.

I ALWAYS said I thought I knew enough about OZ, and had come into contact with many Aussies & Kiwi's thru work that I KNEW it was right for us over here, but now after spending a mere 9 days here, I am just 'blown over' with how nice it is here

BBS

Paul

Sounds like you're having a great time mate and if you think the food is good thee you should try it in Melbourne

Even the pub meals in oz are fantastic we felt embarrassed taking our Aussie friends to our local witherspoons

Hi Fraser, you know we keep saying to each other "what must Aussies think when over here?" ...lol. I'm dying to ask a few when back home as they must be soooooo let down! ...lol.

Ok, UK basing I know, but I ain't lying, this IS how I/we see it!

There is a sandwich bar in a place called Runaway Bay, we will be buying shares soon! ...lol. I think we've been there every day, but if you see the rolls! ...lol. Salad!!! .... salad is Lettuce, cucumber, tomato, onion, beetroot, cheese ?! .... altho nice, oh and a few others I can't recall, but yeah some serious sized rolls goin on over here! ...lol

We get 4 x something or other (ham, chicken etc) + salad for $10/11 which I reckon is VERY reasonable considering the size of the beasts! ...lol

Anyway, I'm outta here but will report any new findings, or more likely an ole waffle soon ...lol

Bye mate

thanks for you lovely words Paul... it means a lot really!
BIG FAVOUR...... can you gove her a big hug from me as it is her birthday today (31st) and she has a horrid cold.
wish i could be there to look after her

glad you are having a good time - I am amazed about Keebra School though...... Mum thought it had a really good rep..... whats Southport School like?

Clare
do you mean the high or primary school?

Well when Paul arrived the other week my mum gave him some details on schools for the kids in the area & one of which was Keebra Park School - which going by the ages of Paul & Nicola's kids I assume is the high school...

Oh, I went to have a look at the Primary school but I was not over keen on it. Have not heard good reports about the high school either. But everyone has different opinions.

Hi all, Claire we missed your mum yesterday, but i will give that hug fa sure next time we see her

Keebra High, and we WAS told they're doin very well in Sports, but Academic side wasn't too good. We had a tour of the school and the lady showing us around kept on goin on about "and more computers" each time we went into a room ...lol. I'm guessing they've just acquired a load, but to be honest when I asked Ashley about her UK school, she said they used flatscreens and WinXP. I noticed the PC's in Keebra were very old and runnin Win98 & 2000.

Ok, not the bee all, but also the whole feel of the school was not good I'm afraid we all felt like we was walking round a bronx ...lol. There was magnetic walk thru's all over the place, and to be honest a lot of the kids in the classes were just dossing and giving our daughter real nasty looks ...lol

Wasn't good, and to be honest if the only option was Keebra, we WOULDN'T come to Oz!!

Sorry for anyone who maybe has kids there, I dunno, but that's an honest opinion

Rumored to have a big drug problem too!

Now Trinity for example reminded us of our kids UK school. Very clean, kids in strict uniform (keebra they was wearing allsorts!) teachers seemed more on the ball, and we left gutted as it looked ideal, but to none PR's it's gonna be $13,800 per kids per year. I think it's $5,600 ea for State!

Anyway, we've just had a chat with a financial guy and he said with a 30%+ deposit, we should be ok to get a mortgage being none PR. That's what we're right on now as it's looking like $400 pw to rent, or the same for payments on a mortgage!

Pick the right area, and if we don't get PR at least we'll stand a good chance of possibly making a few quid on the house!

We first looked at Ashmore, Benowa, Southport etc, but recently have been looking at Helensvale & Pacific Pines, but this is looking like a bad move because of the area and capital growth if we have to sell.

Got another apt with someone this afternoon, so we'll see what they have to say!

Blah blah ...lol

I get the feeling that you aren't joking about that ? If not.... umm, "lost for words" !!

By "magnetic walk thru's" you do mean metal detector things ?

Hi

Having a good day m8!

Schools - don't know what to say apart from - in the UK there are 'good' and 'bad' ones. If you like us, were lucky enough to live in an area where they were generally ok, then count your lucky stars!

Australia is no different than any where else, sending your child to a 'private' school here or home is an 'expensive' challenge of which not many of us can even afford to think about!!!

In Cairns there are some schools that I know we would not consider sending our then 16 yr old son to! There were one or two but we opted to pay for him to go to T.A.F.E. college, which, in his opinion, is very much like our local one in St. Austell, Cornwall!!!! (attitude wise etc). On a TEMP visa it cost us an arm and a leg, but now we are on PR bearable cost! What can you do eh!We love our kids don't we, and want the best for them

Good luck in finding the right one

Take care
Gill

Yeah fa sure. I said all along cos the kids have done so well in their schooling so far, I REALLY don't want them to slip! My daughter has her head screwed on, and is doing VERY well. The boy, he odes well, but if given the chance he'll mess about! with a firm watch over him, he IS fine

We'll see on the schools tho, we DEF want to leave knowing which will be the one!

Oh and ABC, Ok maybe an exaggeration on the 'Everywhere' but certainly many rooms had Metal detector walk thru things. We was told they were to stop computer stuff leaving the rooms, but I aint sure. After all they'd beep upon entry to the room ?!? It was more of a beep to record the actual person had entered, and maybe to count ?!?! .... I really don't know, but it just looked awful really

Were off in half an hour to go visit the Hairdressing school in Southport so that'll be enlightening I'm sure ...lol

Catch ya later

Didnt think there should be any difference whether you are PR or not here in Qld, thought it was only in NSW, either state or private? And why is it so expensive for a state school anyway?

There may be differences on the different types of Visas, and areas that people settle.

eg:
I can't remember which Visa Paul has.

Only NSW, ACT and Tasmania charge fees for the attendance at government schools by the children of sponsored temporary business residents, 457 visa holders.

Queensland, South Australia and the Northern Territory do not charge fees to sponsored temporary business residents.

In Victoria and Western Australia, no distinction is made between the children of sponsored temporary business residents and those of other Australian residents.

http://www.immi.gov.au/research/publ...tatebudget.pdf

Jim, regarding schools, do you have to live on the Gold coast, is the other coast an option its just because you say you like the beach etc but the schools are a prob, we were on the gold coast for 3 months about 5 years ago tho and although we found some ok primary and private schools the state highs on the goldie are know to have a reputation, one of them used to have a nickname I could not print on here

There are hairdressing schools in brisbane and sunshine coast, I think the fees for Tafe and private are similar about $9000 a year cause my sons girlfriend trained at one. If you could get into the TAFE course on the sunshine coast the kids are allowed into the Mountain Creek State High school which many people say is very good. There is also The Matthew flinders anglican college, its expensive about $8000 a kid a year, but as you say you may have to pay for state anyway so would that matter?

Just a thought anyway and good for you looking into things so thoroughly.

Hi Paul,

Sounds like you are cramming in so much on this holiday which is good as it gives you a real insight into things, can't believe that about Keebra, I have heard of it but don't know where it is or anything about it. I have heard that Helensvale is one of the best and also Benowa High is another good one, most of the private schools are really good but thats why your paying I suppose, their are lots of good state schools out there so don't give up, I have heard Southport High isn't too good, but I don't know only what I heard, it's the same world over, some good some bad.

It would be good if you could buy, but check it out fully as we were told you can't get a morgage if you have no income coming in, but that was only from the banks, if you shop around you might get lucky. One of the best places to buy at the moment is Coomera, and its supposed to be the next boom place, as they are building a big shopping mall, and your close to the motorway and the theme parks, also try the schools in Coomera they are supposed to be good.

Hope it goes well at the hairdressing school, they are a really nice bunch of ppl, especially the principal who is also a pom, I will call you and see how it went.

I will try and find out what other schools are supposed to be good, I don't really know as my kids aren't high school age, and can only go by what people have told me. I also had to pay to send my kids to state school when I was on my student visa, its a ridiculous amount of money but just stick in, once you get here on your student visa the 2 years will go by so quickly and before you know it you'll be a PR, then it's all worth while.

Lisa