James and Alison

We applied for our Visas way back in November 2005. Life got in the way and we had all but given up moving to Australia. But as the final leaving date rapidly approached we decided to throw caution to the wind! Jobs were resigned our belongings packed (very stressful - and shippers were crap) and tickets bought. We arrived in Sydney on November 17th stay with a relative for a couple of weeks.

We travelled upto the Gold Coast as we had planned to live somewhere south of Brisbane. Our shipping container arrived weeks before the floods but we could not get to access our belongings due to customs. We had rented a house but we had no furniture so had to buy camp beds to sleep on, and garden chairs and table - we had an interesting Xmas. The Brisbane floods arrived and thankfully after a few days of anxious waiting we were told our container had survived the inundations. A month late our belongings finally arrived. BUT our boat which was also being shipped was due to arrive the same day as the floods hit. We got an e mail saying it had been left portside in Sydney as Brisbane port was closed!! Panic.... thankfully the Australian importers we had hired were fantastic and it was re shipped to Brisbane later at no extra cost.

As teachers we had expected to be able to get jobs no problem .... wrong!! We now know that teaching jobs in south Brisbane simply don't exist as people simply do not move on ....

We had been in Australia for four months and needed to do something radical to get work. We contacted QLD education and simply said where do you want us?

James was offered a job in Dalby (2hrs inland from Brisbane) on Thurs and started the following Monday. He was given an education QLD house and moved in with absolute basics. After a few weeks of commuting to the coast to be with us (me and 2 teenage kids) we decided to break our rental lease move the kids out of the school they were attending and risk all for Dalby! We were not happy but we certainly were not ready to give up and move back to the UK. (Not that we could as all our savings had gone - car, rental deposit and rent as well as basic living and a very weak £.

That was 6 months ago and we are planning to stay here for a few more years. I have since got a full time teaching job at the same school and the kids have settled despite moving schools twice in 8months.

The school house is more than adequate and is situated on an agricultural campus with 9 other houses. The rent is dirt cheap and our savings are slowly creeping back up again. mostly as there are no restaurants to speak of and any decent shops are at least an hours drive away!

The house we left in the UK is almost finished and our next door neighbours want to buy it for their parents.

We are not where we wanted to be and the boat is unlikely to see the ocean for a while... but we are doing ok. There is always a silver lining if you look for it and we are now looking at buying an expedition camper and going off road around Australia as we have gotten a taste of the outback. Yee ha!

sonlymewalter

Excelent post mate and just goes to show if you're prepared to try anything it can work out in the end

binbird

Glad to hear it has all worked out (apart from the boat's point of view!)

We drove from Sydney to Dalby to pick up our Border Collie puppy almost a year ago! Had never heard of the place before then. I liked it's rural charm! And was a nice drive from Brisbane up through Toowoomba.

Enjoy it for what it is for now - you have got the rest of your lives ahead of you. . . .

DeadVim

Glad to hear you are liking it out there.

I went on a one day 'road trip' to the west of Brisbane with a mate from the UK a couple of years ago.

We made it to Dalby and decided it wasn't going to get radically different for at least 1000kms so we grabbed a pint and came back

One day I'll do the roving about properly

Jen1977ni

Been to Dalby too, to do our boat license earlier this year, no further comment lol Then again, I'm in no position to say anything as we're in Toowoomba! lol I'm also a teacher and have had an abundance of work here in TW, so you never know! Keep smiling!

Jen

Family of 3

Good post, and great attitude!

Poitin

Good on you. lovely post and yes great attitude.

MrsE

Good for you! Great attitude - you deserve to do well!

fish.01

I'd say that's probably quite accurate

Nignoy

We moved to Dalby in 96 ,when we first emigrated, was a bit of a culture shock,all beards, checked shirts and Akubra hats and that was just the women but kidding by side, a great little farming town, plenty of work , cheap housing and really generous and welcoming people, spent 6 months working on a cotton farm, until I got a curators job in brisbane, we moved down to Bribie island ,we retired in 2000, but by 2009 it was getting to crowded on the coast so we moved to the peace and quiet of Oakey just up the road from Dalby,so we have the best of both worlds, any expats in the area fancy a chat and a cuppa, give us a bell, <snip>, john and vron

DeadVim

The hospitality is admirable but maybe not wise to post a phone number on the public forum

Maybe I'm just paranoid

Alfresco

Maybe?


I have removed the number. If the OP wants it, please PM the OP.

Nignoy

being a newbie, just wanted to extend the hospitality that was offered to us as new expats in a strange country

Pollyana

If you click on the posters username you will get the option to send them a private message - for the sake of your sanity and so you don't get calls from idiots at silly times of the night, that might be the best way to pass on the number - brilliant gesture though, and I hope you do contact each other, we don't have many posters out that way after all! My ex had relatives in Oakey, too sleepy for me but not a bad spot if you like a peaceful life!

Oh - and welcome to BE

Alfresco

+1

Welcome Nignoy.