Hi all, we flew in 3 weeks ago and have rented a property in North Lakes. We are a couple in our 40's with a 20 year old son. Is there anyone in the area that would be interested in meeting up for a coffee. Having been with 2 guys 24/7 I feel I am going stir crazy. Also has anyone got any ideas on where my son can go to meet with others his own age ? . Any help or advice would be greatly appreciated
:biggrin::

 

Hi Janger
We have just been granted our 457 visa and agreed sale on the house, so hoping to come out to Brisbane anytime between July and September.
North Lakes was an area that has been quite appealing to us so it would be good to hear your views on the place - property looks good value for money?
We are in our min 30's and have two boys, nearly 4yrs and 15mths. I read it is a good family place.
Thanks
:smile:

 

Yep we got our visa too, and wil be looking to move to a northern suburb in August. We've looked at satellite images and estate agent photos for hours and hours. Won't know what it's really like til we get on the ground though.
Any tips about your first experiences would be golddust.

 

Hi Claire & Ryan
North Lakes is lovely, family orientated. The roads are a bit of a maze but you get to find your way around. Good shopping mall, very close to highway and not far from CBD. The only problem we have here is not being able to get broadband, its a nightmare. Our rented house is about 8 /9 years old and there are not enough ports going into the roads to supply every house but if you were thinking of buying new build then this probably would not be a problem. North Lakes has great access to the Sunshine Coast. Good luck with your move, we are still waiting on our container arriving at the end of the month so with the limited furniture we have at the moment its a bit like staying in a holiday let !
Oh and there is a weekly North Lakes magazine delivered which tells you what is going on in the area. Let me know if you need to find anything else out.
Regards
Janet

 

Hi Xenon
If you have any questions let me know and I attempt to answer. Only been here a short time myself, so can only give my point of view, but I will try.

 

Thanks for the tip about broadband. I work in IT and although I've got an office in town, I was hoping to be able to work from home too, especially for support calls from Europe which will arrive late at night on Brisbane time. There nothing worse than Remote Desktoping with a slow connection.
Do you know if there is some kind of map which shows which areas are connectable for which service? Where I live at the moment you can find out from a phone number whats available.

 

Hi Janet
Thanks for the info. We will be renting also when we first arrive - the broadband may be a bit of an issue for us as we need it for our business - guess we will just have to make sure it is available before we secure a property...
Finding it quite difficult to find somewhere as a base for the first month that is not holiday prices.... did you guys stay anywhere or did you go straight into your rental property?
Would like to keep in touch if you don't mind
Thanks again
Claire x

 

Hi Xenon
Internet connection information is so frustrating in Brisbane as a whole not just North Lakes. Basically Telstra are the main provider and all the others feed off their lines. We tried Telstra first and they said they could provide, then about a week later I got a call to say "sorry no we cant there are no free ports to your address, so we are cancelling your order".We were totally unaware that this would be a problem. In the Uk everyone has access to broadband, its a way of life which you take for granted. We are currently using a mobile wi-fi pre pay connection, its ok but we cannot skype or download because it just sucks all the credit. I cannot tell you where to go to find out more information because we are still trying ourselves. However if you google - broadband north lakes or some such title you will see all the posts, we only found this out after we moved in.

 

Hi Claire
The first week we arrived we stayed with friends who live just up the Bruce Highway from here and then we found the rental and moved in the following week. Rentals are generally 6 months minimum if you want anything shorter then I think you would be looking at a holiday let, which as you say works out more expensive. But it all depends on your plans.
Rental properties are generally unfurnished, we so rented minimum furniture to see us through until our container arrives. Our friends borrowed us a fridge/freezer and we bought a washing machine, which we would have needed to buy anyway as we left our one behind.The monthly rental plus rented furniture to see us through works out cheaper than renting a holiday let. But if you only need it for a month then I think a holiday let would be simper for you.
Of course you can keep in touch as they say, no worries
Regards Janet

 

Thanks Janet
My brain is so frazzled right now - I don't know whether I am coming or going.... will definitely speak soon.
Claire x

 

Car Seats

Hi All

Don't know if it's me but I can't find the link to post a new thread so having to add my question on to here -

Wondering if you could help.
I have read that our child car seats that we use here in the UK will not be legal in Australia.
The one's we have are isofix and I am ready some really conflicting information about whether they can be used or not.
Have also read you can get buy a tether strap which can be bought seperately and adapted to the top of our maxi cosi car seat so it meets standards?
Would love some first hand feedback please.
Thank you
Claire

 

So good to hear i'm not alone!!

Hi guys
I am in the same position as you all, not sure where to begin in Brisbane. I was going grey here on my own, just found this thread so any info would keep me sane. Arrival accomodation is so confusing.

Visa granted May 16th hope to book flights for September. Just got to sell the house!

Andrea

 

Hey Andrea
We got our 457 Visa granted 4th April - got the house on the market straight away and secured a buyer within 9 days. Due to exchange contracts 2 days ago with move out 15th July and flights would have been booked for early August and low and behold someone down the chain lost their job so our house sale has fallen through - we are devastated as you can imagine.... So I know how the house sale process puts even more stress on the relocation.....
I had a nightmare trying to find arrival accommodation because all the decent stuff is booked up with the local people having their houses refurbished following the floods but I did find the Brisbane Holiday Village and Ashmore Palms Holiday Village - although the accommodation is basic, it certainly is sufficient for 4 weeks or so until you find something else more permanent or until furniture arrives.... I have been emailing them both and they are really helpful. You need to make sure you enquire about the Interim Cabins at Ashmore or Corporate Cabins at Brisbane Holiday village as these are the better rates. The only thing is both are south of the river and we are probably looking at the northern suburbs but we concluded, it was a place to stay and suitable for our children.

Apart from that, we are completely in the dark as well and I think alot of it is just to 'suck it and see' when we get there - very scarey though!

Where are you looking at settling?

Claire x