Emigration to Australia
This little collection is a combination of emails and notes I’ve written to friends or in reply to posts on forums with regard to emigration - particularly with Brisbane in mind. It still needs structuring and editing into some nice webpages but for the moment, here it all is in one jumble, with headings.
Three years on and I still haven't tidied up this web page! However, although it is not yet structured with links and multiple pages, I have added various topics and brought it up to date in respect of house prices etc (Aug '04). I'll add a nice load of photos too.
If you’d like to be kept update when this page changes, please send me an email. I've had many many emails from people thanking me for putting this all up, some of whom we have kept in contact and some who we have met and some who now live here... Thanks for all your responses!.... I'm glad it has been of use... and yes... we still love it here!.
OzTim in Brisbane
Arrival time
Perhaps the best time could perhaps be to arrive is the height of summer, so that your children start the new year at the end of January along with all of the other children– just time for your last Christmas and New Year back home! You would of course arrive in very hot weather, but we found it OK and our son found having a frozen water bottle with him at school (they all have them at primary school) compensated for 30+ degrees in the classroom. It’s such a big change of life that it probably perhaps it doesn’t really matter when you join because you are bound to settle in and catch up. I’d certainly aim for a couple of weeks off to get settled for the kids before starting school. If your home/rental doesn't have aircon then you may be in for a bit of a shock... but as long as one room has got it, you should be ok. When we arrived, we didn't have aircon from week 3 to week 6 but got along with fans just fine.
Of course if you arrive between April and September, it's going to be cooler and your children won't experience the incredible change of sitting in a classroom at 35 degrees, with their frozen water bottle sitting next to them on the desk. Don't worry about the kids though... they seem to hardly notice the change and our 10 yr old son found the heat to be no problem when we arrived in the height of the summer.
Humidity and Temperature
Humidity?. I hear a number of people saying or asking if the climate in
You know when it's a humid day when you step out of the car and your glasses instantly mist up! because the airon blasting at your face made the glasses cold, causing condensation to form on them straight away.
Not one to like the cold much, (though I do like skiing), we enjoyed hot days in
Note that above temparatures are the maximum - typically from around 2pm to 4pm, measured in the shade. Step out into the sun and it's about 10 degrees hotter in the Summer, and 4 degrees hotter in the winter. In a closed parked car, it can quickly be 15-20 degrees hotter than the outside air temperature in the summer. You get used to returning to an oven and driving off with the windows open, fan blasting, to cool it down - then close the windows and let the aircon do it's work after a few minutes. Can you do without aircon? Well yes, of course - we have friends, both OZ and UK expats, without aircon in their cars and it doesn't seem to be a problem; a friend's broke down and he didn't get around to having it fixed for 2 months.... we feel you can survive heat more than you can survive cold! You can easily identify cars driving around with aircon - they're the ones with the windows wound up !
In spite of what I heard, that I wouldn't have said Samford is any hotter than anywhere else and haven't found the beach 40 mins away to be noticeably cooler. However, I did discuss this with an Ozzy mate (an aircon specialist by coincidence!) and he confirmed that it is typically 2 degrees hotter here than say at Aspley just 11 miles away (8 miles as the crow flies). Well in over 4 years we didn't notice… but hey….is there really much difference between 34 and 36 ??! Of course, every area has local temperature variations and elevated areas should get more breeze (which more than compensates for an extra 2 deg). I've heard a number of friends saying they had an early morning frost in winter in the village!, but in 4 years I have never seen one with my lowest outside temperature reading for the year being 2.8.
Where to Stay in Brisbane if visiting
House rentals simply aren't usually available except for long term, usually requesting a year's rental! Hotels in
I'd spend up to a week on the Gold Coast at the Mercure Resort (not the Grand Mecure) or a 5* hotel on Surfers Paradise (using wotif.com of course to get $100 a night room), which is good for children. Using the cheap deals on wotif, you often don't get breakfast included, and at $25 a head it can really add up, so it's much cheaper to take a stroll to a beachfront cafe and have all you can eat breakfast for $9 each. While on the Gold Coast, you could go to one or two theme parks -Dreamworld, Movieword, Seeworld, Wet&Wild..... and also try and book an appartment in Noosa on the
Spiders and creepycrawlies
My wife was petrified of spiders in England. Before we were married, a big spider in her flat in Southampton meant she would scream, and up and leave to go to her mum's, until I got there to deal with it. When living together, she still hated any spider in the room and refused to go near letting out a huge scream, and prefered to get out of the room - my son likewise. These were two big obstacles to thinking about coming out here.
However, they really have got used to it, I'd say after 4-6 monhs - and now casually observe a big spider and allow me to deal with it without panic, which is an amazing change! I'm sure most people don't like them, but the Huntsmans aren't dangerous, though I expect they could bite but on the whole all the creepy crawleys are more afraid of you and tend to stay out of your way. It's when you go to bed and suddenly see a huge one on the wall that gives you the creeps! Of course you are meant to shut the screen doors but the weather is so nice that often you throw windows/doors open and forget about them. So many times we've come upstairs to bed to find the verandah doors wide open, at which point we do have a check of the curtains and other places for creepy crawleys. But really in 2.5 years, it's only happened about 6 times, and it generates a bit of excitement catching the thing and killing it!. Yes of course they are not nice looking! and I'm sure very few people actually like them...but my wife no longer screams and runs out of the room. There's another spider here which is very creepy looking - cabbage like and light green with a dome for a body. We've only seen that 3 or 4 times and they are just as easy to catch.
One of the things you'll notice when you go in the supermarket, as well as the huge variety of chocolate, is the huge variety of bug sprays! Some barrier spray for outside helps keep spiders and ants from crawling in, and any general spray inside slows the spiders down until you can squash them. Those huntsman are quite bulky... they don't just squash down to nothing... there's quite a bit left! Once the thing is immobilised, I put toilet paper over it and then smash it! When we moved in and first looked up at our verandahs, there were little beige blobs all over it... looking like blobs of chewing gum! We learnt these were spiders eggs..... and the easy answer... pressure spray... gets rid of them real quick! It's just another thing to bear in mind when you are clearing up outside! You can also spray the house, or get it sprayed professionally... inside and out. Inside, someone comes and sprays cupboards, cracks everything.... I'm not sure what they use. Outside, they spraw all around the gutters, under the eaves, under the verandahs etc. It certainly seems to keep it much clearer of spiders. I have done this myself using "Pidgeon's
Now Redbacks are the poisonous spiders that you do get sometimes - and they don't look scary because they are fairly small and thin - yet after a while, you begin to feel casual about that too..... treating them really only as significant as a wasp - ie something you avoid but just stay calm and deal with it if you happen to see one. The main thing to watch for is perhaps look under your outdoor furniture if you're about to move it. Spray under there too once in a while... also in the corners of your garage or shed, they like going there. A couple of years ago, we seemed to be getting quite a few redbacks in the house, until we found the crack where they were and sprayed inside. We didn't see any for over a year, then just last week we found one in the garage. He's disappeared before we could get rid of him so I've left a can of bug spray nearby, ready for him.
Once my wife called on the mobile in fright, in our 4th month here, - saying a really fast and absolutely massive spider had just run across the living room...she claimed it was as big as a mouse- so I had to come back from my friend's house to find my wife perched feet up on a chair....and we searched the edge of the living room for it. I was quite edgy myself having heard the size... but it turned out that it really was a mouse after all.
Quite honestly, spiders are easy to deal with and you will find the fear eases up fast...just spray them to slow them down, then squash them! and you really won't find too many though it's amazing how far they can stretch a web across two trees 20 metres apart.
We did have a spider appear in the car just once as we were about to get back in... and it started to rain. I had to run back to the supermarket and buy some spray.. then come back and try and search under the seats. Quite a difficult job as they know you're after them... but knowing it was in there, there was absoutely no way we were about to drive anywhere! On that subject... it's a good idea not to leave the car doors open at home.... and invitation for a snake to come in. Not that it's likely, just something you don't do !
Now it's the ants that are the real problem! They all bite... just stand still on the barefoot for a while, and you could well get bitten. But a large black ant or a green ant bites painfully and the pain is around 50% of a wasp sting in intensity. If one gets stuck in your shoes it carries on biting and you soon know about it ! But it doesn't stop you sitting down for a picnic... but the moment an ant appears, brush it away quick! You can get "ant sand" to sprinkle over your brick paths to get rid of them. If your child runs up crying and obviously been bitten - get their teeshirt off and make sure there aren't any more ants crawling around. Our 2 years old daughter was bitten by quite a few for a couple of minutes, crying like mad, until we realised they were still there and brushed them off!
If you are actually right by trees - within metres of the property, then you might get more creepycrawlies. Otherwise I don't think you get more in rural areas... in fact funnily enough we've not seen a big spider (only the one redback) inside for 6 months. But they are all bigger than in the UK! – just have some spray handy.
Snakes – seen a few – they are very timid and stay away from you – but don’t approach them and you’ll be fine. My wife hasn’t seen one in 2.5 years. I saw a python in the undergrowth – if I was in England I would have called the zoo! In fact a snake did chase my friend on his tractor, but honestly encounters are so few and far between or non existent that I wouldn’t worry about it. I hear that some friends see a snake... it all depends on the vegetation around you.
Kids here in Oz grow up knowing these things exist, so they take some natural precautions that your kids might not. So keep warning them in the first year, such as getting them to walk around, not shortcut through some bushy area with long grass, and intentionally worrying them that there may be a snake there to allow them to build their own defenses. Best idea is to stay away from long grass and undergrowth... if it's on your property.... get that mower out!! If it's not easy to mow, use a "whipper snipper" or "brushcutter" (strimmer)!
The sound of insects at night while it's hot (Sep-Apr), is amazing! Continuous jungle sounds as if someone has put 360 degree surround speakers outside... except it's for real! Also the birds have some very strange sounds too, all very distinctive. Pop outside to throw something in the bin and hear some thudding around your feet, which will make you jump at first - but then you'll find it's almost certainly just the Cain toads which come out at night during the summer and mostly stay out of the light. I still wonder where they all go during the day. Some are massive and we've had a couple thud up against the patio doors once in a while! Australians hate Cain toads and treat them as a pest and try to introduce you to some nasty traditions such as hitting them with golf clubs. I'm sure far more get squished just driving up and down the drive. They wither away to a crispy shell very quickly in the sun!
After over two years here, having got used to just about everything creepy crawly that could be thrown at us, we went to a friends house for afternoon BBQ. We had just been for a walk at Mount Glorious and it had been a bit muddy up there, and I was only wearing sandals. After some excitement with finding redbacks under their furniture that they thought they'd got rid of the day before, we suddenly saw the most disgusting slimy dark, fat worm like creature inching its way across the patio. Someone stepped on it and red blood oozed all over the tiles. Where the hell did that come everyone wondered? After looking around, I looked down and saw a second one right there on my foot, between two toes. I couldn't believe it, having driven for 20 minutes since ending the walk, both of them must have been there all the time..... a leech ! It was having a wonderful meal and we poured salt on its back and I think sprayed it too. Why me ???!! I thought.... and subsequently squashed that one too creating even more blood this time. The area itched for about 2 months! Well I understand that this could equally well have happened in England in a damp area, but it goes down as another Australian creepy crawly story for me!
There's another creepy thing too which happened... which I hear could equally well have happened in
Oh - there's some scary huge grasshoppers here too...gives you a huge fright when one takes off right near you !
Of course, in the winter, this all calms down … no insect sounds, no spiders, no snakes, hardly even an ant – though we never seem to escape the magpies who come down to scavenge for our chickens’ and dog’s food.
Can’t get:
Readybreak
Weetabix - similar product "Weet-bix" shaped as a rectangle, not rounded, is a bit more coarse and doesn't soak hot milk quickly, which you want for babies.
Farleys rusks, only teething rusks which don't turn to porridge.
Prawn cocktail flavoured crisps or Skips
Melt in your mouth snacks, only crunchy crisps not too good for one year olds. (though we can find things similar to cheese puffs)
Robinsons squash - only cordials or "orange drink"
Hazlenut yoghurt. My favourite! The closest you can find is hazelnut and vanilla yoghurt - 1 in a multipack of 6.
2 in 1 Pantene shampoo/conditioner - separate bottles only
2 in 1 shampoos other makes, very thin on the ground.
large independant baby shops such as Mothercare/Adams - ony baby sections in big department stores.
Toothkind or Light Rebena - only original.
PAMPERS nappies - only Huggies which are good too - tried Snugglers which are 50% of the price, but always leaves residue, jelly crystals yuk !
Calpol but they do have other liquid paracetamol products
Strawberry Sherbets - (Sherbet lemons very hard to find but are available) - we now have our second 3kg jar sitting in the fridge which I brought back with us last time we visited England.
Strawberry, lemon or toffee bonbons –
Sherbet pips.
Marmite – Used to get it and here the UK imported product is called "Our Mate" !! in the same recognisable bottle. It's not been available for one and a half years - but has just reappeared in small jars only May 2002. Usual Australian product here is Marmite from Sanitarium, with a very different taste - ewwwwuuuugh !!!. Closest taste to
Bovril – wasn’t available for ages after the mad cow scares but from late 2002 it has resurfaced. Similar product is Kraft "Bonov"... but it's a little gelatinous and if spread on toast doesn't look the same. Tried it... tastes good, but the gooey consistency put me off , so best for making drinks I guess. Just an aside - everyone does put Bovril on toast right ?... or was it just our family??! It's always advertised as a drink, but bovril on hot buttered toast always tasted great.
Large Johnsons baby bath - have to buy two small bottles instead.
Large packets of burgers (max 4 ! or 6 lean, occasionally 20pack of cheaper brand)
Large packs of frozen chips (750g or 1kg maximum !!!)
Large pots of Sandwich Spread (
I saw an article for people going the other way - leaving Australia and coming to London and was intrigued to see that they too felt the "essential foods are simply not available"... and noted the following:
"a decent hamburger with the lot" (You mean beetroot!! An “Aussie” burger typically adds fried egg and beetroot along with the salad – easy enough to knock up!)
Chiko rolls
Twisties – (Try Nik Naks - similar shapes and strong flavours)
Burger Rings – (there are burger flavour football crisps but I don't remember the name)
Snakes Alive – (Hey! Starburst Rattlesnakes are the best, and Starburst (used to be called 'Opal Fruits') are in
Redskins - try Fruit Salads or "Drumsticks" (chewy lollipops)
Cheezels - not the same shape but even better product I the
Freddo frogs - (yes they do have these in
Cherry Ripes - (yes they do!)
Violet Crumbles - yuk! True - not in the UK thankfully!
Paddle Pop ice creams - lots of similar ones like "mini milks"
Four'n Twenty Pies – (there are loads of pies ! Best from a fish and chip shop - e.g. cornish pastie)
lamingtons
Fruit Tingles
Barbecue shapes
Golden Roughs
Lifesavers (like cough sweets – try fisherman’s friends)
All in all, it’s clear there is far more choice in the supermarkets in
Friends bringing food from overseas:
We have found that Customs don't mind anything being brought over that is packaged food i.e. marmite, UK Cadburys chocolate, Prawn Cocktail crisps etc. Make sure you tick the box on your declaration form that you've got food, even if it was just sweets (lollies/confectionary/candy), left over sandwich or powdered milk for a baby - they pulled us up on that!.... No "Welcome to Australia, I see this is your first trip on your permanent Visa"... but - "please fill the form in properly sir and declare that you have food if you have got any food"! They were a lot nicer on a later return trip to Oz in 2002 - but were XRaying every single bag and looking in particular for food or other organic products. So just declare it - and don't worry about it because they will almost certainly just let you keep it.
Differences
Icecream cornettos are sometimes called Drumsticks
Sweets are called "lollies"
Lollies are generally known as Chuppa Chupps
Smoked Mackerel - hard to find - best place Woolworths!
Sausages – not nearly as good as
Cod - hard to find in supermarkets. Fishfingers (even Birdseye) and fillet pieces are other white fish such as Hake.
Fish and Chips - small portions - unlike traditional fish and chip shops in
Sausage on a stick is a "Pluto Pup"
Cadburies chocalate Much much more variety, slightly different (more cocoa) taste which is down to the different compotion used to stop it melting at 30 deg.
Lots of BYO (Bring Your own) alchohol restaurants – even restaurants that are licenced often allow BYO
Labour is about $55 an hour for skilled carpenter/restoration. Strangely "slashers" (mowers) are also $55 an hour (from a professional company), but they do provide their own rideon mower. I believe you can find them cheaper for down to $25 an hour if you find a local tradesperson. A bobcat operator with his own machine for doing landscaping is about $90 an hour.
In the Summer, tons and tons of insects ! - incredible noise all night but you get used to it quickly. Hundreds of Cain Toads come out on the lawns just out of the light. A few go near the house and they all magically disappear in the morning. Watch where you walk in the dark, especially between trees that are less than 15 feet apart in case a spider has put a web across.
If you're looking for a mobile service provider such as a chiropodist (called a podiatrist), then look up "visiting" rather than “mobile”
Burgerking tastes the same, but is called "Hungry Jacks". No Mushroom double swiss or Big King ! Very salty fries. Free refills.
Chicken seems to have more fat - whether roast, fillet pieces or kebab (KFC identical to
Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC) is here and the fillet or Zinger burgers are the same! No variety meal deal (3 pieces + 2 hotwings as in the
Absolutely no Alcohol in Supermarkets (though beer making kits are present) - actually recently saw some "cooking" red and white wine.
There are drive through Alcohol stores which are handy, so on your way back from the supermarket, you can easily stock up on booze - chilled of course.
All soft drink cans are 375ml rather than 335ml in the
Cheese not scaled for strength (in
Petrol - Premium is same as Super Unleaded - which is 98 octane. It's 4-6 cents per litre more than standard unleaded - . In 2000 it's been as low as 69c and as high as 89c.. It frequently changes price 3 or more times a day and fluctuates around 13% - say 77c in the morning, 87c at lunch, and 82c in the afternoon and back to 77c in the evening ! 2004 news - for the past few months, the prices don't seem to be jumping around during the day.... and typically being 98c at the beginning of the week, dropping to 88c towards the end of the week.
Strimmer – Called “Whippersnipper” or “Brushcutter”
Auction – pronounced “Oction”
Corgettes – called “Zucchini” like the Americans
Aubergine – called Eggplant
Rego - Registration document (used in official governement literature!)
Air - A car "with air" means with air conditioning.
Shopping
Paying for your shopping is great using the “EFTPOS” system, where you use your debit card, but don’t have to sign. Instead, the small machine takes your card, displays the amount, allows you to select “Cheque, Savings or Credit”….. and assuming it’s cheque or savings account, lets you then type in your 6 digit PIN. It’s very fast, and almost every shop, garage etc, have them, and even market stalls and at exhibitions, sometimes have portable terminals. I think something similar is at last happening in the
They sometimes check your bags when you leave certain stores, particularly if you do not exit via the checkout. They even want to open the baby bag at the bottom of the pram. Signs say that a condition of entering the store is that you present your bags for inspection when you exit!!! Most don’t bother, but some do as a matter of protocol.
Plastic bags – it’s great that they pack the backs for you in supermarkets; however it never ceases to amaze me how many you get! A typical large shop will result in about 30 plastic bags. Usually only 3 or 4 items are put in a bag, and frequently only a single item ! At first it seems wasteful, but in fact they are very thin and do break easily, and also suddenly you find you can use them in the small kitchen bin under the sink, for scraping plates into before they go in the bin etc etc…. and are able to use them liberally without ever running out. They’re making a fuss now like they did in the UK about conservation and possibly charging for bags – or giving a 10c refund if you bring your own shopping bag…. yet still they put hardly anything in the plastic bags!
Prices rarely shown as per kg, so price comparison is difficult - like it was in the
Mother (and fathers)/Babies rooms in big shopping centres - with microwave, arm chairs, changing stations, childrens toilets etc - very good facility!
Water/Sewerage
Most houses on acreage, outside of the suburbs have "Biocycles" or similar system - large cylindrical tanks dug into the ground, with a full automatic mechanical and chemical system, that takes all house sewerage and turns it into clean water, which spays the grass/plants. An incredible system and you don’t have to do anything – just pay $55 per quarter for a chap to maintain it. Really useful in winter because while the rest of the grass goes brown, by moving the pipe around you can keep a large area green. I understand that rules are ever changing, and in many circumstances now you must have the drainage buried rather than spraying out somewhere.
In fact, sewerage appears not to be available outside of suburban areas, although mains water (called “town water”) can be. If your area doesn't have town water, then you use tanks which collects and filters rain water from your roof – quite common too in some acreage areas. If you have a biocycle, then be careful of what goes down the sink - on the whole it's easy, but you are advised to minimise the amount of washing up liquid, bleach used etc. Don't put oil down the sink - dispose of into a plastic bag and then into the bin. We do the same for gravy and anything else that we might have previously washed down the sink.
Washing Machine
Washing - Some Ozzys have a thing about cold water washing (clothes) and claim it's more efficient, cheaper and just as good, and they mostly have top loaders. Well we tried it and found it fails to get anything out, so warm water washing is for us. Front loaders are available, often fancily referred to as "European appliances" ! We did go for a modern top loader as they have larger loads and have the flexibility of adding clothes during the cycle. We didn’t like the idea of the agitator in some of them – a stalk in the centre of the machine that rotates backwards and forwards as we felt it could stretch clothes.. however some modern machines have no agitator and use a combination of waterjets and waterfalls !
Dryers bought here can be normally mounted so that the controls are on the bottom rather than the top - sometimes by turning the machine upside down, and taking off the control panel and moving it. This allows it to be mounted on the wall above the washing machine, and still let you reach the controls. This is necessary if you have a top loading washing machine, because there has to be room above the washing machine to open the lid, so your dryer has to mounted that much higher.
Gas/Electric
I’m not sure which is more commonly used here for cooking. If you’re on acreage, normally only electricity is available. However this is no barrier to having gas, because it’s quite normal to have one or two large gas cylinders out the back for cooking and/or heating. The company come and replenish the gas for you so it’s really no hassle. When we build a house we will definitely have gas, though I have seen some nice combination wide cooker hob that is the size of a 6 burner, which has with 4 gas burners at the corners, a central wide gas burner for long dishes, and also a halogen plate too.
The hot water tank is usually situated outside! There's a system here like the UK's "Economy 7"..... called Tarrif 31 or Tarif 33. Normal electricy is on tarrif 11 at 11.5c per kW hour. Your hot water doesn't need to be on 24hours, so most people have it connected to Tarrif 33 available about 8 hours p day (overnight) at 5c per kW hour. If you find you don't get enough hot water, you might switch to Tarrif 31 (available about 19 hours p day) at 7c per kW hour - but if you do, expect your hot water costs to go up by 30% ..Note that most hot water circuits aren't on a timer..... they just use the thermostat. I have seen some houses with hot water timers, and these are fitted in the circuit breaker cabinet with a tiny display and small buttons - and fit in the same space as a trip switch. If you use an electric pool heater or heatpump, you would probably have this connected to Tarrif 33.
The devices that use Tarrif 31 or Tarrif 33 must be connected through a different circuit, because there's a separate meter to measure your use of each tarrif. Of course you may have solar hot water, in which case the electricy is only used to top up.
Buying House
Buying a house - in
Banking:
Loads more cash machines - in the garage, in the supermarket which is very handy. You can't view transaction on these though, but it is handy that your balance is always printed after withdrawing cash, and reflects the correct balance, not at close of business yesterday.
The usual everyday account should be a statement savings account, plus a cheque account [A small tax is payable on money put in the cheque account, so typically you would only transfer money here that is necessary to cover any cheques you've written]. A term deposit account with as little as 24 hours notice but pays sensible interest is useful for larger balances, plus a Direct Investment account allowing you to buy and sell shares). Transferring between the accounts can be achieved through internet or telephone banking although transfer from a term deposit account requires a phonecall to your personal banker. Typically, on a 24 hour notice account I've found that even if you ring at
Telephone banking and internet banking is the norm. Writing a cheque to pay someone using a different bank results in an inter-bank charge. So use internet banking to transfer the money to their account which lets you set up their details – known as “direct credit”. Also many large institutions have "BPAY" which lets you pay a bill using telephone or internet banking by specifying the BPAY code and your reference numbers. Bankers Drafts (called “Bank cheques”) will cost $5
Post
Your mailbox is at the end of your drive, not in your door. You can of course pay for a PO Box for $55 a year, which could be useful if you think you are going to move as you don’t have to advise too many people of your change of address….. also useful to prevent your mailbox from filling up when you are away.
Bins
Emptied once a week - twice up north. Two wheelie bins are the norm – one (green lid) for usual stuff and one (yellow lid) for recyclable material (glass, paper, cardboard,plastic all mixed together). Placed at the end of your drive rather than up by your property. Emptied once every other week for the recycle bin. For the recycle bin, you put in carboard, cans, plastic, paper - all mixed up.
Film Processing
- Kmart prices are reasonable. 35mm and APS, with 1 hour option available. Good price for extra sets of prints. Cost of 40 exposure APS film, any size, (ignoring number of pictures setting if used on camera) is $16 and another $10 for a second set of prints if ordered at the same time.
Electricity
The same as the
Be warned though, in the
By the way, there are electrical sockets in bathrooms here !! so it's a luxury to be able to have a hair dryer in the bathroom. Be careful though !
TV/Video
TVs - I had heard a number of stories as to whether or not it was worth bring your TVs or Videos, and whether or not they would work. Here's the accurate picture : If your TV is a multisystem TV, it will probably work – it should specifically support “PAL B/G” in addition to the
Without PAG B/G, your expensive TV is not going to work here; it won't pick up TV channels and nor will your
A better strategy could be to purchase an Australian video recorder, and connect it not with the ariel lead (known as UHF connection) but with a video and audio lead (phono, scart or S-Video). Any OZ video equipment will work fine on a UK TV when using Video and audio cables instead of the ariel lead.
The Australian video recorder can pick up the TV channels, so you can watch (and record) Australian TV by turning on both the UK TV and the Australian Video recorder. Use the TV remote control to control sound and perhaps select the video channel, probably 0 or "AV" or “EXT”, and use the video remote control to change channel. The only disadvantage of this is you could not recorder one channel while watching another - but it's a solution to extend the life of your existing TV before having to replace it. The absolute cheapest solution would be to buy a broken Australian Video Recorder. As long as the tuner works as well as the remote control, it wouldn't matter if the video play/record mechanism was faulty.
An Australian satellite/cable decoder will use a composite video connection (or possibly an S Video connection) plus an audio cable, rather than the ariel to connect to your TV so it will work without problem on your UK TV assuming that has these connections on the back.
A UK Digital Set-top box will probably work, but I haven’t tested one yet.
In fact, any piece of
Therefore I would recommend only leave your TV if it ONLY has an ariel socket on the back, with no video socket or SCART connection. It’s only possible use in OZ would be to be used with a
Another question is can your TV or VCR equipment be modified to make it work? Well, the easiest thing is to use an OZ VCR instead connected to your UK TV with video cables.... and remember you can get a real cheap VCR here for around $100. In
PAL I, used in the
PAL G is 625 lines UHF but with a different audio frequency. Most channels in Oz are PAL G, so an older UK TV and even some quite modern ones will only display the picture. A cheap modification can be made to get the sound working in your UK VCR or UK TV by a TV engineer in the know.
PAL B is 625 lines, VHF with the same audio frequency as PAL G. If you move to an area in OZ like
Further INFO :
UHF channels : SBS and Bris31.
VH (VHF High) : channel Seven, Nine and Ten.
Gold coast and Sunshine coast are all on UHF only. Cheap audio filter is the only change required.
DVD Player
DVD - All DVD players are connected by video cables, not RF. Therefore an Australian one will successfully connect to a UK TV and vica versa.
However, when DVDs were developed, the world was split up into 6 regions and a normal player will only play a disc from the same region. (There are in fact two more regions - 7 which is reserved and 8 for international venues such as cruise ships and planes.)
If you already have DVD discs bought in the
This was imposed by
No doubt you will want to get around this problem so that all your discs will play and the answer is to make sure you buy a player that is "Code Free", "Region select / auto select" or "All regions". .
Most retail stores will sell players that are fixed to that country's region. In the past, the answer was to get the player modified for about £60-£100...or to use a specialist mail order outlet thta supplied code free players. It's easier now...because a large amount of players, while apparently set to a fixed region, can be made multi-region by pressing a few secret buttons on the remote…… search for the model number of your DVD player and the words “region free” on the internet! The very cheapest players with strange sounding names from Hong Kong or
What about your PC's DVD Drive. Anyone who has tried to play DVDs from different regions in a PC, whether you use PowerDVD, WinDVD or whatever else, will probably have seen a box pop up saying Your DVD Player is set to region 2, This disc is Region 1....You have X remaining changes. When you get a new drive, you only have 5 changes in total, and whatever you set it to last is permanent. This extremely annoying situation is particularly annoying to people who move countries and find their compter/laptop is stuck on the wrong region ! Luckily, there's usually a fix. For drives manufacturued up to 1999, the easy answer is to download a copy of DVD Genie from www.inmatrix.com. It should allow you to fool the program you use such as powerdvd into accepting the region and you can chop and change between regions as often as you like. These older drives use a region protection system called "RPC1".
For DVD drives bought from 2000 onwards (including all DVD burners), the region protection system is called "RPC2". You'll still need DVD Genie (or similar program), but you ALSO need to "flash" the drive...(see how to flash your dvd drive)
Films are as plentiful as in the UK here, DVDs are cheaper out here by the way and are as plentiful as in the UK... best prices are usually at Kmart at between $32 and $39 - get Kmart on a 15% storewide discount day and you're in for some particularly good bargains ! www.ezydvd.com.au are a good source too.
To find out more about modified players in the UK, read mags like T3, What Video, Home Cinema Magazine.
Telephones
UK Telephones - They work but you will need to swap a few wires around in the telephone lead - get one of those adaptors from US to UK with a short wire between - then cut the wire and swap a couple of cables around. It's quite easy but I'm sure you are not allow to connect such modified cables to Telstra's network. so this is for educatonal purposes only.
On most
Some houses in Australia have the international connector, so the lead you buy would have the same on both ends.
Some have an Australian telephone socket, so the lead would need to be an Australian to International lead.
If you can't disconnect the lead, you'll need a convertor (RJ11 to RJ12 adaptor). I haven't found these anywhere in
So - if you're using this type of cable (Australian to International) :
Open it up and you should see this
Now pull out the metal pins on the green/yellow pair and swap them around so that the one that was in green is now in the yellow, and vica versa. This is necessary so that the wires themselves can now be swapped, and still be able to fit against the moulded plastic in between them. Do the same to the black and red pair so that they are also swapped. The picture below shows the black and red successfully swapped, and the green and yellow about to be swapped.
You should now have yellow, green then black,red
If however you don't have the above type of cable, and instead will be plugging an RJ12 plug (shown below), into the wall then do this instead:
In these diagrams, the LEFT hand side of the picture is the side that connects to the telephone line. The RIGHT hand side connects to the UK telephone.
Cut the cable and on each end that you cut, strip the outer insulation to reveal the 4 wires
For the part of the cable that is plugged into the wall, look carefully at the RJ12 plug at the colours of the wires. In the example above, my colours were Red, Blue, Green, White. Determine the outer two colours - in my case Red and White. Fold these two wires back so they are not used, and strip the two remaining wires so they can be connected to the other half of the cable.
For the other half of the cable that is plugged into the phone (or modem/fax), you will be doing the opposite. In my case I folded back red and white on one half, so I needed to fold back blue and green on this half, and strip the red and white ready for connection..
To decide which colour gets connected to which, look again at the RJ12 plug. The wires are next to each other... so as my colours were Red Blue Green White, I needed to connect Red to Blue, and Green to White.
To connect the wires, you could just twist them, but it's better to solder. If you don't have a soldering iron, try Dick Smith or Jcar Electronics -$20. To get a good joint, heat up the wire, then apply the solder rather than melting the solder first and trying to paint it on!
Finally - I recommend you don't make any changes to any wiring that is part of the house, or could possibly have Australian equipment plugged into it. Only modify the leads that directly connect to a UK telephone.
Now use insulating tape around each wire separately, and then wrap insulating tape around the whole thing. Make sure nothing is plugged in until the soldering is insulated – There’s about 20v in those lines and you don’t want to short out your telephone line and have to call out the telephone company !
Needless to say, I'm sure these modifications are not allowed and nor is the
BTW …. After this mod, the
Home Wireless phones - Using a DECT digital mobile phone from the UK, I found these work fine in here after doing the above modification - it rings successfully too ! Note – a 1999 Philips DECT phone needed the above modification but a newer Philips set purchased in 2002 worked without modification. With a large house, I recommend 3 or 4 handsets Note that Ebay have some great multi handset deals in the
Note - you may find some strange behaviour when using a
Poor internet connection .. some older wireless phones (not DECT) can upset modems that use the same phone line.... so before blaming the telephone company for constant failed or dropped connections, try unplugging your wireless phone from the wall and see if the internet connection now works reliably. I didn't believe this solution until I tried it!
Wireless devices -
Do UK Walkie talkies, DECT phones, Wireless Networking etc work in OZ ?
Yes of course! !
DECT phones have international approval so no problem there.
Wireless network devices are no problem.
2.4GHz transmission devices are all fine too.
There can be legal issues for other devices regarding the frequency, but they will still work
Radio control models do have different frequencies and since you don’t want your helicopter/plan to fall out of the sky when a park ranger switches on his radio, you should look into changing the crystal for your receiver/transmitter.
Other shorter range radio control toys may well be using a non permitted frequency, but unlikely to cause a problem
Video transmitters for transmitting your video signal around the house…. Well unless it is a 2.4GHz model, they were illegal in the
Mobile phone
What about bringing a
YUP – they usually work fine. Remember you’ll need a
Info
Biocycle / Biotech (0411) 440777 $200 a year
Acreage - Rideon, strimmer, hedge trimmer, chainsaw - or pay $50 an hour or thereabouts
Large hardware Bretts / Bunnings
Most things - amazing variety, from KMart, also Target & Big W. Pick 'n Pay Hypermarkets good combination of supermarket in one half and general products & garden/tools in the other half.
A combination of homebase and higher spec hardware : Glenfords, Trade Tools.
Hi spec technical : Some Harvey Normans have more than others - good home theatre areas with a fairly good range including some top end equipment. Try Aspley. Also Videopro at Chermside. Also Myer Centres particularly at Chermside or the Queen St Mall.
Electronic components: Dick Smith, or JCar Electronics.
Mail order DVD : www.ezydvd.com.au - can be cheaper in Kmart.
Internet Provider –
A number to choose from - you have to pay monthly - it's not free like many in the
Cheaper providers are I-Hug, Newtel, Optus , Dodo.
I have had 4 internet providers since I’ve been here… (Dingoblue and Onetel Rest In Peace)… I switched away from New-tel (previously named WorldXchange) because I kept having disconnection and performance problems, but have been with Ihug for over 2 years and been happy with them.
Broadband: Same issue as
Another problem facing customers is the dreaded "pair gains" system that telephone providers installed (known as a "RIM"), in order to get more phone lines out of their equipment. These not only typically limit your internet connection to 28-31k rather than up to 56k that you would hope for, but also are incompatible with ADSL. However, two possible solutions exist... since November 2003 Telstra will accept a "transposition request" and search for an alternate route so that, if available, they can transfer your phone line off a pair gain system and on to a normal piece of copper cabling. Unfortunately, there's little chance of transposition requests being successful. The other, less publicised solution, is that there is now a solution to allow customers on a RIM to actually get ADSL - which requires the installation of a gadget called a "minimux" in the green telephone box in your road.
Telephone Provider
The conventional choice is Telstra, like choosing British Telecom in England. If your entire service is through Telstra you could be paying more than you need to. You can choose to get your local calls, and your national calls from different providers and use Telstra for both, one of these, or not at all. Telstra have got better recently, and I think for local calls they could be the best deal.
Local Calls : (This is who you will pay your line rental to, and who you deal with for arranging other services or dealing with line problems. )
Long Distance : (includes National and International calls and Mobiles. )
Whether changing the local or long distance service, you don't need to cancel with your previous provider.... just ring up a new provider and go through their application process, and you will be converted over to them. Remember that it can take a couple of weeks before the switch actually takes place. Until that time, calls will continue to go with your original telephone company. The new long distance provider is known as the "preselected" provider. Until the switch has been made, you can still use the new long distance provider by dialling their 4 digit override code ... so don't forget to ask for it if they forget to tell you. After a few weeks, you should no longer need to dial this code. You could choose not to change long distance provider, but access a different one by always using their override code; however you don't get their cheapest rates by using this method.
You may find it more convenient to use the same company for both local and long distance services, simply to have it all on one bill. I find that IHug’s service for both local and long distance calls to be good. There’s a useful site at www.phonechoice.com.au
Local Calls
Much as I dislike Telstra for their total inflexibility to new migrants for having a mobile phone contract, I think their local call packages "Homeline plus" and “Homeline Advance” are good deals. The other See http://www.bigpond.com/Home/Pricingplans/ for Telstra pricing.
Personally I got Telstra to install my line in our new house to make it quicker... then I immediately changed over !
Long distance calls
(includes national, mobile and international)
I really recommend that you select a different Long distance provider than just using Telstra. If you wish, most long distance providers can also handle the local calls (which are still in reality provided by Telstra), and you may find this convenient in order to have just one bill. There is no rental portion paid to the long distance provider - that only goes to the local call provider.
International calls
If you dial an international number, it is charged by your Long distance provider. If you used Telstra, a call to England is about 38c per minute. Telstra have some silly half hour deals which are useless because you are unlikely to risk paying for a full half hour only to find out the answer machine answers the other end! Most other long distance providers charge 16c to 21c per minute.
However, I recommend you use a “GoTalk” card for the best rates internationally - just 2.9c (1.2p) per minute to
If you want to make international calls from an Ausie mobile, with mobile calls to
WARNING - When calling International Mobiles or
Mobiles
Virgin mobile calls, if spending $20 or less per month, are 50c per min off peak, 98c per min peak, no minimum spend.
I recommend bringing your GSM phone from the
Number Portability
From September 2001 in Australia, it has been possible to keep your existing number when moving from one telephone company to another. You don’t even need to tell your existing company you are leaving them – just call the new company to sign up and make sure you tell them you want to keep your existing number. Do make sure that you are “out of contract” on your present phone or you will probably have penalties to pay. Don’t cancel the existing telephone service, even if you are coming close to the end of the month and will have to pay another month’s fee. If you cancel, you will not be able to bring your number to the new company. Note that if you speak to your previous mobile phone company, they should agree to reducing the final bill if you the phone is transferred part way during the last month.
UK Phone number
Want to keep a
On arrival - essential firsts!:
Get rental/loan car
PO Box (if you are planning on having one, get it early on so you don’t have to use your temporary accommodation as an address)
Arrange long term house rental / purchase,
Register at Tax office for Tax file numbers,
Register with Medicare,
If you have children, register with Centrelink for family allowance straight away. Phone them on day 1 so payments will start from then – you can go there with your passports, id etc and your tax file number next week.
Bank account – you may already have deposit account set up from
Select Doctor/Medical Centre (you don't have to register until you use them. You can ask
get Mobile phone - Vodaphone possible with $200 deposit, Telstra - no way. You can bring a
Buy the drivers handbook and start learning! You have 3 months from being resident to take the written driving test. (Practical driving test is no longer required for many countries including
Suncream, and if hot, drink, drink and more drink.
Insulated Waterbottle & lunchboxes for children
Lottery
“Gotalk” card from garage for cheapest calls to
Telephone line and local calls - recommend Telstra - "Homeline plus" for over 57 local calls a month - we find we make 90-140 calls – also consider Homeline Advance which adds $6 to the line rental but drops local calls to 15c.
Telephone account for cheap national calls & calls to mobile - recommend Ihug (please mention me as your referrer! User id “timsorrell” - then both you and I will get $10 credit.
Internet ISP – recommend Ihug – again please make sure you mention me who referred you (User id “timsorrell”) to get $10 credit.
NOTE – if you need to be calling your UK bank, insurance companies etc once you’ve arrived in
“Flyby” loyalty card from Kmart, Coles or Myer - register straight away so you clock up points straight away. Use the temporary card provided until plastic card arrives.
Before going mad in Kmart, note they sometimes have a storewide sale - 15% off all prices - absolutely everything, about 4 times a year. Watch out for it. Sometimes certain sections may have 20% or 25% off, - even 50% off say on children's clothing.
Playgroup - there's bound to be one or more in your suburb - ask around
Schools - sign up, buy uniform/books
Get some Insect Spray ! and if you want, Insect Repellant for the evening.
Australian electric plugs – (meant to use an electrician)
Shut screen doors as it gets dark to stop creepy crawlies coming in
Weeds - control of them straight away ! Things grow fast here unless it’s winter!
Australian Web search engine
Try www.sensis.au - succeeds in bringing up more Australian specific results - rememember to change from The World to
www.Google.com.au also lets you get results from Australian sites only.
Family Restaurants
Samford pub (fantastic renovations done in 2003... good pub for familes)
The Gap Tavern
Ahhhrgh - no TGI Friday! Try :
Hogs Breath Cafe
Lone Star
Sizzler restaurants. (a bit like Harvester in UK)
Hard Rock Café on the Gold Coast
Here in Samford, we are 30-35 mins from Redcliffe on the
About Samford
We chose Samford by talking to people who knew the areas and by a process of elimination of the other acreage areas. Just one drive around Samford Downs made me say "this is it". The only other area I found like it was down in Brookfield, for some very strange reason the land blocks there are at least $100k more, yet there is no central village - just a roundabout with a few shops on it! ..The houses are all individual as in Samford Downs, but something about it isn't quite as smart - perhaps it's that people mow their lawn frontages more often in Samford.... I don't really know! We wanted an area where we would have quite a few neighbours, although it is still a minute or two's walk to reach them walking down our drive to the end of the cul de sac and up one of the neighbours' drives, and in particular we wanted somewhere where our son could ride his bike and make friends Now we do have friends here (going to playgroup with our younger two made that easy for us but still takes a number of months) we think we wouldn't mind in the future being in a more secluded area, hence 5 acre properties where they are further apart from each other and more private. Personally, we don't have a particular affinity to water, though yes of course it would be handy to be closer to beach, but I wouldn't give up our elevated mountain views for anything, while others are happy with 1/5th acre plot and neighbours looking into their gardens in order to achieve prestigious waterfront property!
What’s nice about Samford is that you have definitely left the suburbs, yet there's a village with a good sized supermarket and an number of other facilities, and even more exciting (saving a 15 min journey elsewhere) - a chinese and an Indian that opened mid 2000! It's a smart area and you are also very close to
Schools
Regarding schools, the moment you get here the children will be put back about 6 months, because the school year starts in January. The state primary is excellent we believe - we've been very pleased with it having made the jump from a private school in England to state school here - all part of our big change of life - it certainly helped our son have local friends. I think it is true that they are much more relaxed than schools in
Houses/Acreage
Dependant on the amount of money available to buy or rent a house, you may be able to have an acreage property. There are good areas, and there are outstanding areas! To some people their ideal home would be waterfront property - but waterfront property has a typical block size of 800sq metres, (around 1/5th acre), or at best a double block 2/5ths acre. Waterfront properties are in the places mentioned before - but don't forget the Gold Coast, such as Runaway bay area. To others, upmarket areas as close to the city as possible is what is their ideal property - and
Advantages of Acreage Living
While trying to persuade a friend to move here rather than
Able to have a large house
Able to have pool without taking up garden
Able to have triple or larger garage
Able to have large driveway for cars
Flexibility to extend even larger without having to consider moving – perhaps second house for parents, teenager’s sanctuary, large shed, games rooms etc
Room for verandahs and large patios
A typical drive to shops, nearby shopping centres ("malls") etc is likely to take you on quiet country roads with great views
Able to walk / play around entire house without feeling house is adjacent
Able to have interesting areas, walks, hideaways, isolated spots in the garden
Good for entertaining many people
Dogs and cats have freedom to roam in their own space (legally not allowed off your property)
Can have chickens without taking over garden
Room for Vegetable patch /Orchard
It’s wonderful watching kids run around in a large space
Can have kids playthings, swings, trampoline, climbing etc without clutter
Less feeling of being trapped inside if there’s bad weather
Able to entertain even if bad weather
Unlikely to be overlooked by many neighbours if at all
Feeling of spaciousness
Feeling of permanence; it can’t be taken away, unlike in urban areas where it can continue to be developed and views can disappear
Everyone else is also on acreage so view all around house is of greenery with just a few houses rather than lots of houses with some landscaping
No parking problems, no cars parked on road so smarter appearance for whole area
Able to have elevated views, mountain views
Much better feeling of value and achievement – substantially more land for your money
House can be set back from road giving improved security, feeling of seclusion
Can fence / gate to provide security
Able to have nice gardens as well as lots of lawn
Room for “dam” (small lake)
Able to do substantial landscaping to make interesting outside features
Trees ! Makes your garden or front/back yard interesting!
Able to have many fruit trees
Feeling of safety / safer area as less people live
Quiet local roads roads, safe for kids to ride bikes, encouraging outdoor activities / staying or getting fit
Older kids have room for motorbikes, quad bikes etc
Have neighbours who also enjoy similar amount of space
When we emigrated from the UK, we looked for areas that we would consider you'd get more for your money - and initially we looked at 1/2 acre to an acre as being ideal and ended up getting a 2 acre property; now we feel that for our next house (which we hope to build), 5 acres would be absolutely ideal - room to add fruit trees here, garden there, pool, allow the house to be set well back from the road yet still have large front and back gardens, room for extension in the future and still have large expanse of playing area, but not too large to manage. (I used to absolutely hate gardening by the way in the
Acreage areas are likely to give you between 1 acre and 5 acres and the areas we found were: Pullenvale, Bridgeman Downs, Samford Valley, Kenmore Hills, Brookfield but we rejected the other areas for various reasons such as no village/shops nearby, less polished, over expensive, further away from city, no views etc, as one place stands out as the ultimate area which is the Samford Valley. It's just 30mins from the city centre - has a great village with good facilities - 30 mins to the city, 40 mins to the Sunshine coast (Redcliffe/Scarborough), 45 -60 mins to the Gold coast, and has a number of areas including Samford Downs with mountain views and a very polished appearance.
Land and Building Prices
If you are in a good position when selling your house in the UK, you may be able to buy a house mortgage free or be able to just get a small mortgage.... all dependant of course on the area you select. I originally worked on the idea of Sydney being 2/3 of cost of UK houses and Brisbane 1/3rd. I think that's too simplistic because there are so many different areas, and when you get up to large houses on acreage, it actually works out even cheaper than that.
Amazingly Samford has cheaper land prices (and thus also property prices) than many other acreage areas, yet we think has the best appearance with the best facilities; . Having now visited these other areas on several occasions out of interest, we think Samford and the surrounding area was still the right choice. All the acreage houses I have seen are very individual. For a nice 2500 sq foot house on an acre it will probably be $500k (was $350k in 2002). Move up to $750k and you get something very large and with the wow! factor. Move to $850k+ and you have prestige 5500+sq foot property with excellent location and also intercoms, central vacuum, aircon, landscaped gardens, but will be hard to find (unless you build!). There are a few larger properties some on larger parcels of land such 30 acreas in the $1m to $1.4m category, but take a long time to sell.
You can build fantastic properties too. Typical land price for 3-5 acres at present (2004) is $350k (was $220k in 2002) [just seen some 5 acre plots now pushing over $400k !] ; building costs are are $1200 per sq metre for a good specification low set house... $1000 per sq metre for a large two storey house - (or down to $550 per sq metre for a project home which is where a building company have a fixed set of available house designs that they will build for you on your land, and in some areas have show houses for you to look around, and a limited range of options)
1000 sq foot = 93sq metres = 10 "squares" [I don't know how I got this wrong, but previously I've shown this as 1000sq foot = 12 squares, which I am positive I found in a real estate mag ! However I've triple checked and found a square is indeed a hundred square feet.]
Allow another $50k or more for patios, landscaping, driveway, intercom, central vacuum, granite kitchen bar, and $30-40k for pool. So – a large 60 “square” home (6000 sq foot/ 558 sq m) home on 5 acres within 10 mins of the village should cost $905,000 ($500k before 2002 !).
When we arrived, it really did seem incredible to get such a huge house for relatively low amount of ££££. So sorry to be so enthusiastic about house prices in Samford now, as 4 years on they are a lot more expensive. However, if you were lucky enough to own property in England in 2000, I believe the prices have gone up even more so, which should still put you in a great position when you come here.
If you have more than £180,000 to bring or borrow, you can get a nice house on acreage, just 30-40 mins from the city. £240k gets a nice good sized acreage property …. £350,000 and you can live in luxury in something that would be something ridiculous like £2 million in
There are still wonderful land blocks being sold and it's quite normal to buy the land and have a house built. I'd recommend first renting or buying, allowing a considerable amount of time to design your dream home to try and avoid mistakes and regrets. If you can, of course buy the land as soon as possible to secure it, and some people have a large “Ozzie Barn” structure built as their garage/storage area, and have it converted for living in – perhaps with an upstairs mezzanine level… saves paying someone else rent, and leaves you with guest/teenage retreat accommodation.
Sometimes people get permission to subdivide their land if it's big enough, but sometimes its costly to comply with the regulations such as having to build a bridge over a low lying flood area, even though you may presently be using that area yourself to drive up to your property. Typically, subdivision is allowed if the resultant plots are 5 acres or more. Recently in Samford, some smaller blocks right down in the village have been developed. People find it strange that this has been allowed while the whole character of
In some areas, you are allowed to build more than one house on your land. I am certain you are not allowed to sell separately, so the usual purpose is for parents / relatives to live beside you. I have seen a number of houses for sale with extra living quarters. It clearly adds cost when building and makes selling more complicated as you are seeking purchases with specific requirements. If you are building, then when designing layout of your house and the extra residence, you might consider potential future modifications to allow the property to be converted to a single dwelling with more rooms.
Size of Acreage
Note that 5 acres doesn't cost much more than 2 though you may have to go a bit further out.... and the moment you see someone's house with 5 acres, you appreciate the extra flexibility and spaciousness. Maybe not now, but in the future you may want to add this and that, an area of trees, an orchard, a tennis court, an extension and it would be lovely to think you have that flexibility without having to move yet again. On 2 acres, particularly if not a level site (and few are!) you might put the house towards the edge of the property with a driveway .... but with 5 acres you can put it in the middle and have a nice large space all around you. If other properties nearby are also 5 acres, you have excellent separation, yet still have neighbours. I live in an area where the properties are 2-3 acres and while most houses have separation all around, some including mine have a close neighbour, though masked (almost) by a line of trees. A lot of areas in the
The negative side of larger acreage - apart taking longer to mow - is that you could be further away from a village, and children might be less inclined to ride to the village on their bike, it will cost a little more to maintain. Larger house almost certainly means loads of lights meaning bigger electricity bill. Also sharing lifts for school /football /youth club might be more awkward than in a more concentrated area - .... ! However once a large acreage estate is established, you are in a community all of its own hopefully with nearby friends.
Consider the issues that accompany steep blocks. The cost per acre is less, but the building costs and future extensions will be more. Inevitably a cut and fill operation is required to create a level area – resulting in a bank behind the house and a bank in front, which in turn will have water runoff issues. The steeper the original land and the wider the house, will result in higher bank / cliff-like front. Foundations for the house will be steeper, access, drainage problems behind the house – subsequent landscaping for gardens all present extra complications and cost, with less usable land for recreation, pool, patios, extensions, shed etc. Mountain top blocks afford the best views, and often provide the largest amounts of land – perhaps 10 – 40 acres, but even with landscaping taken into account you may only achieve a half to one acre of useable land.
Maintenance
Obviously there is work to be done on acreage, mainly mowing, but also preventing vines and "lantana" from growing near the fenceline, and preventing or pulling weeds. Once it's under control, just mowing, some strimming, and occasionally spraying is all that's needed.... oh and if you have hedges, obviously some hedge trimming. Trees will shed the odd branch particularly during a storm, so a small chain saw is good too...
So the essentials which you’d need to budget for are:
Sprayer /weedkiller (8l carry around is probably OK - 15l backpacks are available but cause back ache!)
Hedge trimmer (good to get one with rotating handle)
Whippersnipper (strimmer/brush cutter)
Small Chainsaw (less essential but trees drop branches in storms and need trimming beyond the capability of the hedge trimmer)
Blower/Vaccuum (not essential, occasionally useful )
Pressure Washer (keep those patios clean!) and make sure you get a powerful one !
A ride-on mower
A catcher for the rideon mower (optional, I don’t have one – you can just spray the cut grass out to the side and it disappears into the grass)
And of course large wheelbarrow
General tools
In
About the Samford area
Samford Valley comprises Samford Village, Samford Downs, Highvale, Camp
Samford
Samford Downs – Drive past
Highvale. Drive up past Samford downs and the area is called Highvale, all the way up to the foot of
Camp
Cedar Creek/Closeburn - Drive out beyond Samford village, not west up Mount Glorious Road, through Highvale towards Mount Glorious to get to Samford Downs, but instead through the Samford High St, north out towards Dayboro. Just 5 minutes out you turn left down
Samsonvale - .... Further past Cedar Creek, about 10-15 mins out of the village is Samsonvale. There’s a new land development just off "
Bunya is an area between Eatons Hill and Ferny Hills - there is acreage there and I have seen one or two smaller estates in there. I haven't really seen much of Bunya but I believe there is shopping complex somewhere there as opposed to a village.
Other areas a reasonable distance from Samford to the northwest are Yugar, Draper, Bunya, Clear Mountain, Cashmere, Warner and Eatons Hill - before reach the densely populated suburbs again (Albany Creek).
Mt Glorious & Nebo. Travelling west from the village takes you past Samford Downs, through Highvale and then winding up the mountain road to reach either Mount Glorious on the right, or for a longer trek, turn left and reach Mount Nebo.
To decide on the areas you like you really need to drive around these areas and decide if want to live amongst a collection of large houses on 1-3 acres, or prefer more isolated pockets of acreage, perhaps in a cul de sac, with various types of housing. There will always be nice areas in each location. The areas outside of Samford may have more land but may be more isolated which can mean less access to friends for your children without plenty of car journeys.
Maps
When I originally heard about Samford, it frustrated me when I just couldn't see it anywhere on a map of
Since we moved here I've found some other maps : Try looking at Multimap but the best map is at whereis.com.au as it clearly shows which areas are built up and which are rural.
This map shows Samford and surrounding areas; Dayboro is off the map to the north.
The following map shows Samford Village in relation to the centre of Brisbane... Samford is top right... the city is bottom left, north of the river.
Airconditioning
Re aircon - it's amazing how few houses have it, even though we only use it ourselves when it's around 34 degrees or over, or when the air is unusually still at lower temps. It's even more amazing how