7 months in

Old Aug 27th 2009, 9:35 am
  #1  
Forum Regular
Thread Starter
 
Joined: Apr 2007
Location: East Yorkshire
Posts: 92
THESHARMANS has a brilliant futureTHESHARMANS has a brilliant futureTHESHARMANS has a brilliant futureTHESHARMANS has a brilliant futureTHESHARMANS has a brilliant futureTHESHARMANS has a brilliant futureTHESHARMANS has a brilliant future
Default 7 months in

Well 7 months down the line and where are we??
Living in North Lakes north of Brisbane, QLD. Its referred to as little Britain but can't say we've seen that many Poms about. However it does seem that there are alot of us over here anyway.
So what's it like? Well for us its been a very good experience. We were fortunate to have very old friends out here already so we had someone to stay with and hold our hands when we first got here. Also my sister was living here so we had a ready made support network in place. That said we haven't been in each others pockets as we wanted to rely on ourselves to find our way. Kids love the schools they are in. The youngest going to a state school whilst the eldest is in a private one. He will be joined by his brother next year. Not something that we thought we would do when we came out but the cost of private education is very achievable out here and worth considering. Not saying that all of them are better than state schools but having visited both the resources at the private school are very impressive and worth paying the extra for in our view.
Cost of living...Shopping works out about the same. Fruit and veg seems cheaper and meat definitely is. As regards other things some more expensive some cheaper, so it all balances out in the end. We only have electricity and the bills we have had have been very reasonable to be fair. We are in a rental so don't pay rates or water so this is a bit of a saving each month. Fuel has gone up recently but still cheaper than in the UK. We fill the cars up and to be fair its not something that we think about, unlike the UK. Hence when we go days out the cost of the fuel is not really a consideration.
With regards to 'days out' I think this is where your money seems to go further. Things to do seem to be cheaper and more affordable here and of course the beaches and national parks are free. Also you don't have to pay for parking unless you go into the city. So all in all you can entertain yourself cheaply. Even the cost of eating out is less than the UK I think.
As regards wages we have been fortunate as, although I am earning less than in the UK, my good lady is earning more so we are the same if not a little better off than back in Blighty. Getting paid fortnightly is a god send and your money seems to go further we think.
So thats the fiscal stuff out of the way (A subject close to my heart)
Living here....Well here in Queensland it really does seem to be perfect weather each day. It certainly lifts your spirits to drive to work with the window down, radio on and blue skies overhead. The Australians we have met have all been very friendly and accepting of us refugees from a far off land. To be honest most people you get speaking to have a Pommie relative somewhere in the blood line anyway. We were speaking to an Australian friend of a friend and asked them what they really thought of all the UK invaders. He said that they don't mind the British as, on the whole, we work hard, muck in and generally make an effort to integrate ourselves. That, he said, is basically all the Australians want and don't really care where you come from. That said, however, I must say that I have heard more politically incorrect comments in the past 7 months than in the past 7 years in the UK. A spade is definitely referred to as a spade out here! (My opinion only)
Miss friends and family but, as has been said a million times on here, Skype is a god send. Have missed people but then again the past 7 months have flown by and once the 'holiday' period is over then you get into the routine of work and home life and people back home go to the back of your mind (Sorry but true). Have the odd day when wonder what we have done but then have another beer and forget what we were thinking about....gulp....where was I? Oh yes the weather......blue skies, warm and well just great really.
The great thing is that you can plan things with the almost 100% certainty that you will not be rained off. Also, because (And I speak of SE Queensland here) the weather never really changes, that when the weather person says it will rain you know it will.
Do we regret it....no, not at the moment. All is well and we feel settled and not out of place as I feared.
Likes: Cheap wine (£15 for 12 bottles!!!!), warm weather, eating breakfast outside in the morning, going out with just keys wallet and phone (Note no mention of jacket, kagoul and umbrella!!), cheap seafood, cost of living (Just my opinion), oh the fact that since being here the Australian government has showered us in money (Education grants, family allowance and rent assistance) Feel bad about that then just think that they are repaying us for the cost of the Visa and medicals!!! Erh what else, landscape, forests, mountains, warm sea and seeing more wild Kangaroos than rabbits.
Dislikes: Ute with V8 100litre engines and 3mm high tyres, missing friends and family and erh well that's it really.

If you are considering it, give it a whirl. What have you got to lose....apart from £10-15,000, friends, family, jobs and previous life?? Kidding, just do your research. We researched the a**e out of it before we came so had no real shock. I do get dismayed when people put on their blogs "Didn't realise we had to pay to see the doctor!!!" Yes you do but then again you don't pay NI from your wages.

Anyway tea is ready now so will shoot off....hope this has been useful.
TTFN from the sunny place
THESHARMANS is offline  
Old Aug 27th 2009, 12:37 pm
  #2  
BE Forum Addict
 
the4ofus's Avatar
 
Joined: Nov 2006
Location: Buderim, Qld, Australia
Posts: 1,072
the4ofus has much to be proud ofthe4ofus has much to be proud ofthe4ofus has much to be proud ofthe4ofus has much to be proud ofthe4ofus has much to be proud ofthe4ofus has much to be proud ofthe4ofus has much to be proud ofthe4ofus has much to be proud ofthe4ofus has much to be proud ofthe4ofus has much to be proud ofthe4ofus has much to be proud of
Default Re: 7 months in

Good update The Sharmans

We will be here a year in 10 days time, loving every minute of it - cannont believe how quickly the year has gone by.

Keep enjoying

Lynn xx
the4ofus is offline  
Old Aug 28th 2009, 2:40 pm
  #3  
Forum Regular
 
mr luvpants's Avatar
 
Joined: Jan 2007
Posts: 206
mr luvpants is a glorious beacon of lightmr luvpants is a glorious beacon of lightmr luvpants is a glorious beacon of lightmr luvpants is a glorious beacon of lightmr luvpants is a glorious beacon of lightmr luvpants is a glorious beacon of lightmr luvpants is a glorious beacon of lightmr luvpants is a glorious beacon of lightmr luvpants is a glorious beacon of lightmr luvpants is a glorious beacon of lightmr luvpants is a glorious beacon of light
Default Re: 7 months in

Nice upbeat post. We visited NL last year. The golf course is bloody expensive though!

I also am like you. I was "talking" to a family that were on their way home. Why? He was a painter and he was moaning that he had to sit a test, so that he could do another test so that he could sit another test. Untill he had done the 3 tests in succesion he was not allowed to earn more than $1100 a job and he was saying how unreasonable the whole thing was and how he was coming home as he was out of money. The first thing I thought was......did you not find out all this before you came and be prepared for it?????

JOHN
mr luvpants is offline  
Old Aug 28th 2009, 10:09 pm
  #4  
BE Enthusiast
 
Joined: Apr 2008
Posts: 740
caliburn is a glorious beacon of lightcaliburn is a glorious beacon of lightcaliburn is a glorious beacon of lightcaliburn is a glorious beacon of lightcaliburn is a glorious beacon of lightcaliburn is a glorious beacon of lightcaliburn is a glorious beacon of lightcaliburn is a glorious beacon of lightcaliburn is a glorious beacon of lightcaliburn is a glorious beacon of lightcaliburn is a glorious beacon of light
Default Re: 7 months in

Good that you have settled well and liking it so far. Good update!
caliburn is offline  
Old Sep 3rd 2009, 5:12 pm
  #5  
Forum Regular
 
Joined: Aug 2008
Posts: 44
Sparky Making will become famous soon enoughSparky Making will become famous soon enough
Default Re: 7 months in

Have our visas and are in the process of selling house. Up and down at the moment but when I read posts like this helps so much.

Thanks for sharing your experiences and thoughts. Hope all continues to be good!
Sparky Making is offline  

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off
Trackbacks are Off
Pingbacks are Off
Refbacks are Off


Contact Us - Archive - Advertising - Cookie Policy - Privacy Statement - Terms of Service -

Copyright © 2024 MH Sub I, LLC dba Internet Brands. All rights reserved. Use of this site indicates your consent to the Terms of Use.