ragner

G'day all

We moved to Queensland in July 2006 from Essex uk and we absolutly love it.
We settled in Scarborough (Redcliffe peninsula) which is 27 km north of Brisbane CBD.The kids started school last July and have settled in really well and have built up a circle of friends they spend most weekends either on the beach or at the lagoon (its a little better than Clacton sea front).I started work in October (so had a long holiday),in that time i had to get a cable licence and a blue card(to work on building sites) as my job requires these before a company would touch me.The company i work for is a lot better than there British counter part,they look after there workers and i am spending more time at home than back in the Uk.My wife is now looking for work now the kids are settled so hopefully she will be successful soon.
Christmas was very surreal this year as we spent it on the beach instead of in doors with our xmas jumpers on making sure the heating was turned up,but we had a great time,and new year was exactly the same.
So good luck to you all in 2007

Alana and Arrons mum

Great to hear you are enjoying your new life!We head to Brissie in July and it is comforting to hear of those who have gone on ahead of us and are settled!
Good luck!
Andy

Donna&Neil

Hi so glad to hear things have gone well for you and yours. We are just waiting on the visa and are hoping to be in Brisbane by the middle of the year. Hearing others experiences is real good for us here still waiting. Thanks for sharing.

Donna & Neil

mindblower

Great news- well done !

Dave

Babycatcher

Glad to hear all is good for you. I am interested to know more about the redcliffe area if you don't mind. Coming to Oz on the reccie trip and was going to check it out.

ragner

hello there
Well redcliffe is on a peninsula along with the suburbs Scarborough,Margate,Woody Point,Clontarf and Kipper Ring.It is a built up area but has alot of parks dotted about.There are a few schools in the area,2 high schools about 3 or 4 primary schools and a private catholic school.Both my kids are at school and have settled in well.There is a lagoon on Redcliffe sea front which is man made and is used by local people alot in the summer.I work in Brisbane and in rush hour it takes me between 40 and 60 mins to get to the city,out side these times it can take 30 mins.We are also within an hour of the Sunshine coast aqnd spend a fair amount of time there at weekends.At Scarborough there is a small marina and fishing boats aswell as a great wet and fried fish shop with loads of local fish.The coast line around Redcliffe is sandy but not quite Sunshine coast standards,the sea is alot calmer too as the coast is protected by Moreton Island across the bay.
There is a shopping centre at Kipper Ring with all the normal supermarkets,cloth,shoe shops etc etc.The area i have been told used to be full of retired people 8 to 10 years ago but the local councils is pumping money into the area and it is on the up,now that is not say you don't have your dodgy roads and houses because you do (like every where) but i can safely say for me and my family its the best move we made and love it here.

I hope this helps
good luck with your reccie

tonz

Hi we are looking at moving to brissy and noticed that you are from essex,we live in clacton and have 2 girls one is 2 and the other is 8 would you say that we would settle into life there ,my husband is a carpenter is there a lot of call for them in brissy
would be great to hear from you
Tonya xxx

We moved to Queensland in July 2006 from Essex uk and we absolutly love it.
We settled in Scarborough (Redcliffe peninsula) which is 27 km north of Brisbane CBD.The kids started school last July and have settled in really well and have built up a circle of friends they spend most weekends either on the beach or at the lagoon (its a little better than Clacton sea front).I started work in October (so had a long holiday),in that time i had to get a cable licence and a blue card(to work on building sites) as my job requires these before a company would touch me.The company i work for is a lot better than there British counter part,they look after there workers and i am spending more time at home than back in the Uk.My wife is now looking for work now the kids are settled so hopefully she will be successful soon.
Christmas was very surreal this year as we spent it on the beach instead of in doors with our xmas jumpers on making sure the heating was turned up,but we had a great time,and new year was exactly the same.
So good luck to you all in 2007[/QUOTE]

ragner

[QUOTE=tonz;4376048]Hi we are looking at moving to brissy and noticed that you are from essex,we live in clacton and have 2 girls one is 2 and the other is 8 would you say that we would settle into life there ,my husband is a carpenter is there a lot of call for them in brissy
would be great to hear from you
Tonya xxx

Hello Tonya
The answer to your question is yes there is a shortage of most trades here,where are you in relation to your visa.Also with regards to your settling in here its all down to the inderviduals.Now there is me my wife and 2 boys (14&12) and since being here we haven't looked back.we have talked about missing things and up to this point we dont miss anything.Now some people might say we haven't been here long enugh to miss anything but after looking at this site there are people who miss uk as soon as they land to people who have been here for years and do not miss home.If you are not the shy types who are prepared to murge into the Aussie way then you are half way there.Brisbane is certainly the place to come.
Good luck