GraemevG Posted October 19, 2014 Report Share Posted October 19, 2014 We've just been granted our PR VISAs are are very excited about planning our LSD visit. I suppose my question is a bit of a "how long is a piece of string" type question, but what are your recommendations on how much time to spend on a LSD visit?We are considering 21/2 - 3 weeks and are pretty convinced that Brisbane is where we want to settle (as we have a large number of friends and family in the area), but also feel the need to visit Sydney and Melbourne as it appears that there are more job opportunities in these two cities. As a result we would spend the bulk of our time in Brisbane. I suppose my question really is whether or not we should spend too much time in Sydney and Melbourne if we wish to settle in Brisbane. My thought would be to then just visit them as tourists for us to get a better feel for our new country.Also, what areas would you recommend as good starting point for us to stay in Sydney and Melbourne for this LSD visit?Any advice is welcome to us as "newbies"! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DXB2OZ Posted October 19, 2014 Report Share Posted October 19, 2014 What job field is the primary earner in? Where are those jobs? That's where the bulk of your time should be spent. For us, we knew the jobs would primarily be Melbourne and Sydney, so we just did a weekend visit to Brisbane.Be aware also that you will probably be zombies for the first few days with jetlag, so don't plan anything too important for those days. By the end of two weeks your brain will be about to disintegrate to mush from sensory overload, so don't plan any critical information gathering for the end of your trip. Also plan some down time along the way - it makes you more productive in the long run.For areas to stay, I would suggest try and stay in the type of area where you would want to live. Look at things like schools, commutes (if either of you will be probably working in the city centre), proximity to sea/mountain/trees/parks/theatres/restaurants, etcAn LSD is a big deal! But it is also a holiday. Focus on fact finding and information gathering, but also have some fun. Go to the parks or beaches. Plan to visit something special. If you have kids you are introducing them to a land you plan to call home for a very long time to come - try and make that introduction a positive experience.Good luck. It is so exciting. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BriD Posted October 19, 2014 Report Share Posted October 19, 2014 We found our LSD trip so very awesome...mostly for just getting a feel of the country we wanted to make our home. In all honesty...you won't be able to truly get a good idea of what it would be like to live there until you are living there. However you can come pretty close if you try and simulate normal life here and there. For instance by getting self catering accommodation. Then you can go shopping for groceries at the local Coles and get an idea of the prices and the overwhelming new brands etc.We spent just under 3 weeks in Oz. We spent a weekend in Brisbane - though we have ALOT of extended family there...it was not good on the job front. So we tried not to focus on people but more on the priority which is absolutely the job.We then moved onto Melbourne and spent a week in area. 5 nights in Melbourne, with a 2 night break on the Great Ocean Road (an utter holiday portion of our trip - totally awesome). We then moved onto Sydney...plonked ourselves right in the tourist centre. After all Sydney is world renowned and to be in Oz and not experience the highlights of Sydney would be insane. So we did 4 nights there. We had a self catering apartment. Was awesome. Then moved onto Blue Mountains for a couple of nights. We have some family there.We did not obsess on areas or anything. We tried to make it more holiday, but observed the areas as we drove through them. We stopped at parks, we explored shops. You don't know where you will end up...so no use falling in love with an area if you cannot guarantee you will end up there.We found it made us very excited for our actual landing. We got a feel for the place and it helped us be able to imagine our lives as they might be when we made the big move Good luck and enjoy the trip! Sure you will LOVE it 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crossedover Posted October 19, 2014 Report Share Posted October 19, 2014 Hi GraemevG,An LDS trip is so exciting, we just loved our trip. Before we left we were pretty sure we would end up in Brisbane but ended up loving Perth, our initial plan was to move to Perth BUT now we are going to take the big plunge and head to Sydney.We spent about 5 days in each city...Sydney, Brisbane and Perth, somehow we sadly by-passed Melbourne. 5 days was enough to get a taste of what each city has to offer but obviously your conclusions are drawn from the few areas you decide to visit. I do agree only living in a town/ city will help you draw a better conclusion, but for us migrating folk we have to rely on our LSD trips to get a feel.It is going to be such a personal decision and experience. I felt Perth would have been the easies to adjust to.... Brisbane for me just looked a little unkept and needed a revamp ( definitely influenced by where we chose to stay and visit), Sydney was slick and faster, I felt there were a lot more foreigners there (ha ha ha), actually it was not a place I thought I would like to live... Exposed cabelling overhead?! It just did not invite me.... But in the end I think there will be more job opportunities and family in Sydney and if it does not worth we can head either up North or down South.I think it is the suburbs you choose that really matters, every town is likely to have a suburb match for each of us.... I am praying the perfect suburb will make itself known to us really soon!!!!Wishing you all the best and have a fantastic holiday/LSD trip.We booked to stay in Air B'n B's in both Sydney and Brisbane. We stayed in Surry Hills in Sydney which allowed us to pretty much walk everywhere, take good walking shoes/good slip slops. Surry Hills is quite central we walked around all hours of the day and night. We hired a car in Brisbane and explored a bit more. Just be aware, the weather also influences your experience and perception of a place. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GraemevG Posted October 19, 2014 Author Report Share Posted October 19, 2014 Thanks for the comments!I am also considering making the drive along the Pacific coastal highway from Brisbane to Sydney with a stop over for the night at Port Macquire or Coffs Harbour. It would save on four airfares and give us the chance to see another part of Australia, do you think this would be worthwhile or should we rather just fly? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mara Posted October 19, 2014 Report Share Posted October 19, 2014 With limited time and a lot to see, I would fly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HansaPlease Posted October 19, 2014 Report Share Posted October 19, 2014 Definitely worthwhile driving that route instead of flying. Although if it's the holiday season then it's slow going on that route - so you would have to allow yourself more time on that route. Also, don't let the word "Highway" fool you - some parts can be single lane with low speed limits... Still worth a drive though. Coffs and Port Macquarie are really nice areas. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heymanse Posted October 20, 2014 Report Share Posted October 20, 2014 My husband and I did the drive last year. We decided not to do a stopover and drive straight through to Brisbane. Took us about 10 hours and we did stop along the way at various places to have a look, places like Coffs Harbour and Byron Bay. We took the drive during the September school holidays and we actually had quite a good drive. Much of the M1 is now a two lane. The part that is one lane, is getting shorter and shorter. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HansaPlease Posted October 20, 2014 Report Share Posted October 20, 2014 That's good to hear Heynanse. Truth be told we had an awful trip in 2011 but that's because of the roadworks and it was holidays, so I didn't say anything. I assumed the roadworks are complete now - from your experience it sounds like they are... 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GraemevG Posted October 20, 2014 Author Report Share Posted October 20, 2014 thank you all for the feedback! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fish Posted October 20, 2014 Report Share Posted October 20, 2014 That's good to hear Heynanse. Truth be told we had an awful trip in 2011 but that's because of the roadworks and it was holidays, so I didn't say anything. I assumed the roadworks are complete now - from your experience it sounds like they are...I think the roadworks are scheduled to finish in Mar 2057 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sunnyskies Posted October 20, 2014 Report Share Posted October 20, 2014 I think the roadworks are scheduled to finish in Mar 2057 Lol 2020 is target completion date.http://www.rms.nsw.gov.au/projects/key-build-program/pacific-highway/index.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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