Living on the Gold Coast,our 5 week update.
Mar 23rd 2007, 11:11 pm
#31
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Re: Living on the Gold Coast,our 5 week update.
Hi Mark,Thanks for the good wishes,its a little nervewracking incase it doedent work out but theres not too many places locally in Julies line of work so fingers crossed,we,ve got in at the right time.
We took a drive up to Mt Coo-tha for a bite to eat the other day and the views are fantastic. Highly recommended to anyone.However don't try one of the walks wearing thongs/flip flops. Your feet will get a bit blistered! Ouch.
Mar 23rd 2007, 11:19 pm
#32
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Re: Living on the Gold Coast,our 5 week update.
[QUOTE=temptininnit;4550691][QUOTE=brido;4544200]
Ours had problems on the journey so we didnt want to stress him by putting him on another flight so we drove him from Sydney to the Gold Coast.
How was the drive? I'd like to do this one day (or three days!
)
The drive was fine,and theres plenty of toilet stops along the way.We did it in one day and it was easy enough but that may be due to jetlag kicking in the night before and were were asleep by 9:30 that night.So we were refreshed enough on the day of the drive.
Its not all motorway as i expected but you pass a few nice towns along the way and some people stop over at Port Maquarie on the way.
I'd set off early too,around 9/10ish as that way most of the drive is in daylight.
Ours had problems on the journey so we didnt want to stress him by putting him on another flight so we drove him from Sydney to the Gold Coast.
How was the drive? I'd like to do this one day (or three days!
)
Its not all motorway as i expected but you pass a few nice towns along the way and some people stop over at Port Maquarie on the way.
I'd set off early too,around 9/10ish as that way most of the drive is in daylight.
Apr 1st 2007, 7:40 pm
#33
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Re: Living on the Gold Coast,our 5 week update.
Hi Brian & Julie,well done & good luck with your new life!! Myself, hubby & daughter will be moving to Brisbane in June (hopefully),I'm a hairdresser, hubbys a painter.Do you think there are jobs?? What are house prices like?? We do'nt know anyone there so this site has been fantastic!!
Good luck with your new life!!!
Lorraine & Sean
Good luck with your new life!!!
Lorraine & Sean
May 5th 2007, 10:34 pm
#34
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Re: Living on the Gold Coast,our 5 week update.
Hi Evec sorry for the late reply,i dont know how i missed my own thread.Lol.
You will both land jobs asap doing what you do as theres always hairdressing jobs on the go.Tradesmen will turn up whenever they like here as they get so much work so your hubby will find work no problem too.
The house prices are dearer than i thought it most areas but there are some reasonably priced ones in nice areas.The gold Coast prices are expected to rocket in the next few years too so buying one will be a great investment.
What parts of Brisbane are you looking at and are you any nearer to moving over.
You will both land jobs asap doing what you do as theres always hairdressing jobs on the go.Tradesmen will turn up whenever they like here as they get so much work so your hubby will find work no problem too.
The house prices are dearer than i thought it most areas but there are some reasonably priced ones in nice areas.The gold Coast prices are expected to rocket in the next few years too so buying one will be a great investment.
What parts of Brisbane are you looking at and are you any nearer to moving over.
May 5th 2007, 10:46 pm
#35
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Re: Living on the Gold Coast,our 5 week update.
Time for a quick 3 month update.
I landed a job yesterday after 3 weeks of looking.After hearing nothing for a couple of weeks,i managed a few interviews and knocked back 2 jobs.
I was wondering if i'd done the right thing as they involved shiftwork and a fair bit of travel,and i did enough of that back home to last me a lifetime.
Patience paid off and now i cant wait to get started.
Julies business is doing better than expected and she's been open for 4 weeks now.
I'll be glad to get into normality here with us both working.
We're still loving life on the Coast,its brilliant!
I landed a job yesterday after 3 weeks of looking.After hearing nothing for a couple of weeks,i managed a few interviews and knocked back 2 jobs.
I was wondering if i'd done the right thing as they involved shiftwork and a fair bit of travel,and i did enough of that back home to last me a lifetime.
Patience paid off and now i cant wait to get started.
Julies business is doing better than expected and she's been open for 4 weeks now.
I'll be glad to get into normality here with us both working.
We're still loving life on the Coast,its brilliant!
May 6th 2007, 10:55 am
#36
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Re: Living on the Gold Coast,our 5 week update.
Great that things are working out for both of you and you are still enjoying yourselves.
We fly out on 23 June so can't wait. Will hopefully get to a meet in the near future.
We fly out on 23 June so can't wait. Will hopefully get to a meet in the near future.
May 6th 2007, 11:29 am
#37
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Re: Living on the Gold Coast,our 5 week update.
Hi all,just thought i'd share our experience of migrating to oz.
We flew out to Oz on Feb 1st from Glasgow to Perth with a 2 hour stop in Dubai,then a flight from Perth to Brisbane.It seems an odd way of doing it but we booked last minute as the sale of our house was dragging on.
We found out 2 weeks before we left that the buyers mortgage had fallen through and we decided to fly out anyway with some financial help from our families.(This was the 2nd time the sale fell through)
We found the flights really easy and not as long and boring as we expected,had we known this we would have holidayed here before.
The day before we flew out we were going to our solicitor to leave everything to do with the house in his hands and 3rd time lucky,the couple who bought our place got another mortgage and we completed that day.
It felt so much better knowing everything was tied up before flying out.
We had read on here that the general feeling was to go to the airport alone and that was our plan,however,both sets of parents came to the airport as my mother had said,we cant stop them anyway!lol.
The airport was fine until we made our way to the departure lounge then the eyes welled up on everyone. Once in the departure lounge,we sorted that out with a couple of drinks and looked forward to coming to Australia and the Gold Coast in particular.
We had sent our dog over in advance to the Sydney Quarantine Center and we had to fly him with JAL Air from Heathrow as he is a Pug,they are a short nosed breed and anyone looking to send over a short nosed breed should use Ryslip Kennels in Bracknell,we checked out other companies and some would say they would get the dog on with Quantas ect.I did my own research beforehand and some of the companies had no idea what they were talking about as i had to tell them that most of the airlines wouldnt fly our breed of dog.
He struggled with the heat on arrival as it was over 40 degrees and the vets were great with him,cooling him down and getting cold packs ready for him when he arrived at the center.
We decided to fly to Sydney for the weekend and drive back up with our dog as we didnt want to put him in another plane.The drive back took 10 hours and we stopped a few times for a quick bite to eat and toilet breaks.I found the drive much easier than driving from Glasgow to London.
Darling Harbour in Sydney is lovely and full of restraunts and bars,its a must for anyone visiting the city,we also met up with friends who showed us the opera house and we had a few drinks in a bar across from it.
We had arranged accomodation through Doub on this site and he kindly allowed us to use his furnished appartment on Broadbeach even though we had our dog coming,most furnished accomodation wont take dogs.
We were 200m from the beach and you could hear the waves from the front door at night.The location was great and a 5 min walk had us in Broadbeach center where the restraunts were great,we were also a 5 min drive from Jupiters Casino and Pacific Fair shopping center,in the other direction we were about a 15/20 min walk to Surfers Paradise,which is loveley.We even sat and watched the beach volleyball tournament a couple of weeks ago,you cant do that in Glasgow!Lol.
The hardest thing is not knowing where anything is but all you have to do is ask.The aussies have been friendly enough and once we got a car it made everthing easier to find.
We had planned to rent in Adelphi Springs at Southport from the minute we decided to move over to the Gold Coast and as luck had it,the last available pet friendly house became available as someone gave up their lease early,so we grabbed it!
Its a beautiful complex and im suprised by how few people actually use the pools and spa,it also has a small gym too.
Then we spent a few days trying to buy furniture and managed to get it delivered on the same day we moved in.It was all in by 12:30 which left us the rest of the day to lay by the pool.
Onto the social side now,we generally head into Surfers at the weekend as its about a 5 min taxi ride away.
We also went to the expat meet at Pacific Pines and stood out like rabbits in the headlights when we went in.We were greeted by Soapy and had a good night.
You've been a great help Soapy in making us feel welcome,cheers mate.
We enjoyed the day at the spit and i never thought id be playing beach cricket!
We also had a good night at Soapy and Paulines for Paulines (ahem!)21st birthday and met a few good people who offered good advice.
All in its been great so far,ive not looked for work yet but we saw a nearby place yesterday that we may lease to start Julies Nails and Pedicure business,rather than her work for someone else.If we decide to take it then ill help get it off the ground before looking for a job.
If it goes well enough i could always stay in and watch the dog!
5 weeks on and still loving it.
Brian and Julie
We flew out to Oz on Feb 1st from Glasgow to Perth with a 2 hour stop in Dubai,then a flight from Perth to Brisbane.It seems an odd way of doing it but we booked last minute as the sale of our house was dragging on.
We found out 2 weeks before we left that the buyers mortgage had fallen through and we decided to fly out anyway with some financial help from our families.(This was the 2nd time the sale fell through)
We found the flights really easy and not as long and boring as we expected,had we known this we would have holidayed here before.
The day before we flew out we were going to our solicitor to leave everything to do with the house in his hands and 3rd time lucky,the couple who bought our place got another mortgage and we completed that day.
It felt so much better knowing everything was tied up before flying out.
We had read on here that the general feeling was to go to the airport alone and that was our plan,however,both sets of parents came to the airport as my mother had said,we cant stop them anyway!lol.
The airport was fine until we made our way to the departure lounge then the eyes welled up on everyone. Once in the departure lounge,we sorted that out with a couple of drinks and looked forward to coming to Australia and the Gold Coast in particular.
We had sent our dog over in advance to the Sydney Quarantine Center and we had to fly him with JAL Air from Heathrow as he is a Pug,they are a short nosed breed and anyone looking to send over a short nosed breed should use Ryslip Kennels in Bracknell,we checked out other companies and some would say they would get the dog on with Quantas ect.I did my own research beforehand and some of the companies had no idea what they were talking about as i had to tell them that most of the airlines wouldnt fly our breed of dog.
He struggled with the heat on arrival as it was over 40 degrees and the vets were great with him,cooling him down and getting cold packs ready for him when he arrived at the center.
We decided to fly to Sydney for the weekend and drive back up with our dog as we didnt want to put him in another plane.The drive back took 10 hours and we stopped a few times for a quick bite to eat and toilet breaks.I found the drive much easier than driving from Glasgow to London.
Darling Harbour in Sydney is lovely and full of restraunts and bars,its a must for anyone visiting the city,we also met up with friends who showed us the opera house and we had a few drinks in a bar across from it.
We had arranged accomodation through Doub on this site and he kindly allowed us to use his furnished appartment on Broadbeach even though we had our dog coming,most furnished accomodation wont take dogs.
We were 200m from the beach and you could hear the waves from the front door at night.The location was great and a 5 min walk had us in Broadbeach center where the restraunts were great,we were also a 5 min drive from Jupiters Casino and Pacific Fair shopping center,in the other direction we were about a 15/20 min walk to Surfers Paradise,which is loveley.We even sat and watched the beach volleyball tournament a couple of weeks ago,you cant do that in Glasgow!Lol.
The hardest thing is not knowing where anything is but all you have to do is ask.The aussies have been friendly enough and once we got a car it made everthing easier to find.
We had planned to rent in Adelphi Springs at Southport from the minute we decided to move over to the Gold Coast and as luck had it,the last available pet friendly house became available as someone gave up their lease early,so we grabbed it!
Its a beautiful complex and im suprised by how few people actually use the pools and spa,it also has a small gym too.
Then we spent a few days trying to buy furniture and managed to get it delivered on the same day we moved in.It was all in by 12:30 which left us the rest of the day to lay by the pool.
Onto the social side now,we generally head into Surfers at the weekend as its about a 5 min taxi ride away.
We also went to the expat meet at Pacific Pines and stood out like rabbits in the headlights when we went in.We were greeted by Soapy and had a good night.
You've been a great help Soapy in making us feel welcome,cheers mate.
We enjoyed the day at the spit and i never thought id be playing beach cricket!
We also had a good night at Soapy and Paulines for Paulines (ahem!)21st birthday and met a few good people who offered good advice.
All in its been great so far,ive not looked for work yet but we saw a nearby place yesterday that we may lease to start Julies Nails and Pedicure business,rather than her work for someone else.If we decide to take it then ill help get it off the ground before looking for a job.
If it goes well enough i could always stay in and watch the dog!
5 weeks on and still loving it.
Brian and Julie
Hya just read your thread and noticed that you stayed in doub's apartment in Broadbeach...we will be staying there from 23rd June - 24th July 2007, like the sound of it being so near the beach etc.Is there plenty to do there? we are hopefully going to look for rented accomodation whilst we are there any areas to look at...we have 4 children. We dont know anybody when we come over so would love to hear about any ex pat meet ups in the area.
May 6th 2007, 11:34 am
#38
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Re: Living on the Gold Coast,our 5 week update.
Did you go to the recent Scots meet? and where have you decided to stay when you get over?
May 6th 2007, 11:58 am
#39
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Re: Living on the Gold Coast,our 5 week update.
I bet you cant wait Jacqui.The last meet here was one of the biggest ever so i was told.The only thing is you dont get to mingle with too many people as you'd like by the time you get a seat somewhere,but theres a beach one coming up in June i think,possibly at Broadbeach.
Did you go to the recent Scots meet? and where have you decided to stay when you get over?
Did you go to the recent Scots meet? and where have you decided to stay when you get over?
Think the next meet is just before we get there. Never mind I'm sure there will be plenty of others.
Yes we went to the recent meet in Edinburgh a couple of weeks ago. Had a really good time but had to leave earlier as we were driving back to Forfar earlyish the next morning. Few familiar faces there like Sharon45, Acbh2, Brissydeb but lots of new people too. Had a great time and met someone else that didn't think I looked my age LOL!!!!!!!
We are staying in furnished accommodation in Newstead for first 5 weeks and during that time will be looking around the Gold Coast area for a rental but not sure where we will end up yet. Really excited and just can't wait to get there. Really pleased for Julie that business is going so well and great you have a job - sounds like things are going to plan.
Jacqui
May 6th 2007, 3:48 pm
#40
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Re: Living on the Gold Coast,our 5 week update.
I must drive faster than you,then again a taxi driver always takes the long cut! 
Thanks to all who have replied and if i can help anyone out,let me know.
Scotschick,hope the rekkie trip went well and sorry we couldnt meet up but things were far more hectic than i thought they would be.Im sure we'll meet again at a meet soon.
Michelle,maybe we should all wear our avatars to any meets! That way we'll all recognise each other.Lol.Im sure we'll have a blether next time.We drove through part of Robina the other day,its very nice and def worth considering a move to.
Thanks to all who have replied and if i can help anyone out,let me know.
Scotschick,hope the rekkie trip went well and sorry we couldnt meet up but things were far more hectic than i thought they would be.Im sure we'll meet again at a meet soon.
Michelle,maybe we should all wear our avatars to any meets! That way we'll all recognise each other.Lol.Im sure we'll have a blether next time.We drove through part of Robina the other day,its very nice and def worth considering a move to.
May 6th 2007, 7:36 pm
#41
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Posts: 3
Re: Living on the Gold Coast,our 5 week update.
Hi there, My husband and I are moving out to Robina area after Christmas, got to have the last one with all the family! We would love to hear from anyone already there. We have 2 boys who love Football (11 and 8yrs ) does anyone know any youth teams in that area?
Both True Blue Rangers fans.they hope there are some others out there already.
Having a site like this with links to others will be a great help to us when we arrive. Really excited can't wait to get Christmas out the way and be starting our new life in the sun.
Well done to all those that have done it aleady.
Rach:
Both True Blue Rangers fans.they hope there are some others out there already.
Having a site like this with links to others will be a great help to us when we arrive. Really excited can't wait to get Christmas out the way and be starting our new life in the sun.
Well done to all those that have done it aleady.
Rach:
May 6th 2007, 9:22 pm
#42
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Joined: Mar 2007
Location: Little Mountain, Sunshine coast
Posts: 1,327
Re: Living on the Gold Coast,our 5 week update.
Hi there, My husband and I are moving out to Robina area after Christmas, got to have the last one with all the family! We would love to hear from anyone already there. We have 2 boys who love Football (11 and 8yrs ) does anyone know any youth teams in that area?
Both True Blue Rangers fans.they hope there are some others out there already.
Having a site like this with links to others will be a great help to us when we arrive. Really excited can't wait to get Christmas out the way and be starting our new life in the sun.
Well done to all those that have done it aleady.
Rach:
Both True Blue Rangers fans.they hope there are some others out there already.
Having a site like this with links to others will be a great help to us when we arrive. Really excited can't wait to get Christmas out the way and be starting our new life in the sun.
Well done to all those that have done it aleady.
Rach:
May 6th 2007, 11:41 pm
#43
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Joined: Aug 2006
Location: Gold Coast Australia
Posts: 1,006
Re: Living on the Gold Coast,our 5 week update.
Hi there, My husband and I are moving out to Robina area after Christmas, got to have the last one with all the family! We would love to hear from anyone already there. We have 2 boys who love Football (11 and 8yrs ) does anyone know any youth teams in that area?
Both True Blue Rangers fans.they hope there are some others out there already.
Having a site like this with links to others will be a great help to us when we arrive. Really excited can't wait to get Christmas out the way and be starting our new life in the sun.
Well done to all those that have done it aleady.
Rach:
Both True Blue Rangers fans.they hope there are some others out there already.
Having a site like this with links to others will be a great help to us when we arrive. Really excited can't wait to get Christmas out the way and be starting our new life in the sun.
Well done to all those that have done it aleady.
Rach:
May 7th 2007, 3:11 am
#44
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Joined: Oct 2004
Location: Gilston, GOLD COAST.
Posts: 1,661
Re: Living on the Gold Coast,our 5 week update.
Hi there, My husband and I are moving out to Robina area after Christmas, got to have the last one with all the family! We would love to hear from anyone already there. We have 2 boys who love Football (11 and 8yrs ) does anyone know any youth teams in that area?
Both True Blue Rangers fans.they hope there are some others out there already.
Having a site like this with links to others will be a great help to us when we arrive. Really excited can't wait to get Christmas out the way and be starting our new life in the sun.
Well done to all those that have done it aleady.
Rach:
Both True Blue Rangers fans.they hope there are some others out there already.
Having a site like this with links to others will be a great help to us when we arrive. Really excited can't wait to get Christmas out the way and be starting our new life in the sun.
Well done to all those that have done it aleady.
Rach:
May 7th 2007, 6:15 am
#45
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Posts: 22,198
Re: Living on the Gold Coast,our 5 week update.
theres a few expats who have a hand in the set up too, so im hoping they will fill in the finer details that i dont know about.
my daughter played in sydney and i thought they had it good, but after seeing the southport set up, well i think anyone who has a kid that loves football should be heading this way.
i will try to do a thread soon and PM the other expats who know more