BeeTee: Brissie here we come!

[BeeTee]

Hi guys & gals

1stly thanks to Shandell for introducing me to this forum - lot's of (scary and also helpfull and exciting ) information available...

My wife and I have finally reached the point where we are leaving SA for Australia - Brisbane!!! Currently in Rooihiuskraal in Centurion...

We'll be leaving on the 2nd of June, arriving on the 3rd of June.

I think we're both really looking forward to it, while feeling slightly intimidated as well, not having any family in Brisbane at the moment...We do have family in the rest of Australia though, spread all over the place: Kalgoorlie (soon to be Innisfail!), Alice Springs (soon to be Perth! Speak up sis, I know you're lurking around here somewhere ), Townsville...Canberra...

Anyways we're both in IT, so I'm hoping that we'll get employment fairly quickly - would help settle the nerves a bit

Reason for coming to Aus - the usual...we all know what they are I think...

Any tips/advice for settling in Brisbane, where to go, what to do next, etc would be appreciated...

So any Brissie-folk here willing to share some of their experiences/trials/tribulations in settling in Brisbane with us Brisbane-wannabe's?

Jaco & Marisa

[Cindylou]

Hi Guys

You'll find loads of helpful people here, and hopefully be able to help some people in return. I'm still in the application stage, so still got a long time to wait for our move. All the best of luck with your move & hope its not too stressful!

Cindylou

[Nadine]

Hi There,

We arrived in Brisbane on the 5th of December and used to love on Reddersburg Street – just down the road from you.

I am in the IT industry and we came in on my skills 136 perm residency visa.

I thought that I would find a job relatively quickly and boy was I wrong, it took me to the middle of March to find work, my husband was a lot luckier and he found work quickly so settling for him was easier.

What do you do in the IT industry?

Do you have any children?

Where are you planing on staying when you get here?

Brisbane is beautiful, the weather is amazing, the people have been fantastic, settling has been relatively easy for us, we have 2 kids and once they started school (kindergarten) they were happy and settled quickly.

You will find a lot of people on this forum live in Brisbane and some are recruiters etc, so hopefully can assist you in settling quickly.

Please feel free to PM me or post any further questions you have.

Cheers

Nadine

[Rialet]

Hi Julle

I agree with Nadine on everything and I am an IT recruiter and know Shandell as well - sien julle hoe goed werk die forum!!!

Brisbane is wonderful but the business market can be tuff - just be prepared for it!!! We arrived on the 1st of Jan this year, settled in ok with here and there a few hick ups (nothing major) but made a lot of friends and have a hectic social life (partly to get business contacts as well).

Would also like to know what Nadine has asked!!!!

Cheers

Rialet

[Lmari]

Hello almal

Ek wil net vir julle almal se hoe gelukkig julle almal is wat hier is en wat nog kom en die wat

beplan om te kom, om sulke goeie inligting te kry hier via die forum.

Toe ons 11 jaar terug weg is uit SA uit na NZ toe, het ons niks geweet of iemand gehad wat ons al

die inligting kon gee nie. Ons het nie probleem gehad met enige van die immigrasie nie. Al ons goed was

reg gewees. Van die dag af wat ons dit ingegee het was twee weke en ons was goed gekeur. My man

het Auckland toe gevlieg en binne twee dae het hy ons PR gekry. Ons medies was 'n fees, want die GP wat

dit vir ons gedoen het was alreeds geregistreer in NZ.

Ons sou die einde van Okt vlieg en twee weke voor die tyd toe kry ek koue voete. Ons meubels was alreeds

weg en al daai jazz. My man is toe alleen weg en nie seker of ek wel sal volg nie. Ek was nog nie

reg nie.. dit het net te vinnig gebeur. Maar gelukkig die week voor Kersfees toe besluit ek dit is nou tyd vir

my en die seuns om te gaan. My man was ook baie gelukkig om binne sy eerste week 'n werk te kon gekry

het.

En vandag sit ons in Australia heel gelukkig.

Dankie vir almal wat almal met sulke goeie raad bedoen. Julle is so bevoorregt!

L'mari

[BeeTee]

Small world Nadine - we live in Amberfield Glen - just down Reddersburg road

No kids...not yet...not planning on having any...but I read somewhere on the forum that someone here also never wanted kids while in SA, but things changed once they had settled in Oz? <gulp!>

We've rented a studio aparment or something to that effect somewhere in the CBD for the 1st week - I think we'll look for something more medium term once we're physically there, while you're still in SA you have no point of reference - you know when they advertise the place it doesn't make a whole lot of sense if they say "XYZ is located north of ABC, just east of D, within walking distance of E, located in the wonderfully nice suburb of F". We've all got our own definitions of "wonderful" right?

[RESUME ON]

I'm currently employed as an Oracle consultant for Medscheme in Roodepoort - I've got in the region of 8 years experience in the various Oracle development tools. My wife has 9 years experience in various other languages: Java/C/C#/.net and she has a Bsc in computer science.

[RESUME OFF]

It's actually a bit scary to think we might have to wait 3 months for employment?! We'll have enough money from the sale of the house but you know how it is we want to use that as a deposit on a home or something - not live off it...maybe I should go flip some burgers or something while I wait for an Oracle position to come through

Anyways seriously if you guys know of positions that might be available in our fields we'd gladly send you guys our cv's...I've been spamming Seek and Careerone but some people don't even reply - might be because we are not at this point in time physically in Oz yet...

Enough rambling on my part...

So which areas do you guys live in? and where is your work situated? how do you get there? and how long does it take you? what is the commute like? <gasp><gasp> ok enough questions while I catch my breath

Ja Lmari - ek stem 100% met jou saam - hierdie plekkie is 'n juweel!!! wens ek het dit vroeer ontdek - het gister die hele dag "af" gevat om op te lees hier oor alles.

Wat ek laaik is dat hier word al die mites en legendes beeindig deur die mense wat reeds in Oz is.

Hier in SA is dit mos altyd "my ma se oom se neef se niggie se pa se broer se ma se seun wat daar bly het dit en dat en die en daai mee gebeur en hulle wil net terugkom en is ongelukkig en julle gaan dieselfde en so aan en dis hoekom julle stupid is om te gaan en yak yak blah blah"...jy weet mos as mens die hele tyd dieselfde goeters hoor dan begin mens dit onwillekeurig te glo...

Almal hier by die werk wat my so stilletjies kom vra hoe dit werk en self belangstel gee ek nou hierdie website voor...nogal snaaks hoe almal in die koor sing van "sheepshagger" en "chickenrunner" maar dan stilletjies kom uitvra...

So wat ek hiermee wil se is: baie dankie vir julle almal se hulp - al is dit net met 'n staaltjie oor iets wat gebeur het met julle - dit word regtig uiters baie wardeer.

J

[Rialet]

Hi BeeTee

Jy is welkom om my te PM re julle resumes en werksgeleenthede.

We are in Carindale on the South side (dis nou van die rivier sou ek reken) and are really happy in this suburb. Has a wonderful shopping centre and close to our children's school. Conveniently located on various busroutes into the CBD (I make use of public transport and it is great!!!). Carindale also offers easy access to highways that lead to both the Sunshine and Cold Coasts and it is probably about 20km from the Airport.

First thing you buy when you get here - a referdex!!!!

Hope this helps - you are welcome to post any other questions.

Cheers

Rialet

[Nadine]

Hi,

We are also in Carindale but have bought a house on the West Side of the City. I work in Toowong which is just west of the city and the travel from Carindale in each day is around 45 mins 1 way. I did not want to travel for hours as I used to live in Centurion and work in Sunninghill.

I think staying in the city when you first get here is a great idea, everything revolves around the city, most businesses are in the city etc.

I can give an idea of rate for Oracle developers as I have recently contracted on for a 2 month period, we are paying him $50 per hour. Unfortunately the company I work for is predominantly an Infrastructure company so I do not often have leads for developers.

From an outside view it seems that its all about networking, who you know in the oracle world. I can ask one of the guys if its okay with them that you contact them and ask them Oracle specific questions or if they know of any good jobs out there. Just let me know.

Any more questions, feel free to ask

[BeeTee]

Thanks for the replies guys, so much to learn so little time

What is a referdex?

Rialet, do you and Shandell work at the same company?

[Rialet]

Hi BeeTee

Referdex - jy gaan dit minstens die volgende jaar of langer nodig he om jou pad hier rond te vind. Soos 'n "street map" net baie vollediger en dit word jaarliks opgedateer.

Wat jou tweede vraag betref - amper.........Details volg later!!!!

Groete en hou duime vas vir die Bulle!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Rialet

[Guest Larry]

Stuff the Refidex! - Get a Brisways!

I find the UBD Refidex series to be thoroughly out of date. The Ausways series of map books are far better, more correct and more up-to-date.

The series started off with MelWays for Melbourne and surrounding areas. Then followed SydWays. And then last year, BrisWays was released. BrisWays contains maps from the Sunshine Coast down through Brisbane, the Gold Coast and down to northern New South Wales.

Their website is here: Ausway

Edited May 19, 2006 by Larry

[BeeTee]

Wat jou tweede vraag betref - amper.........Details volg later!!!!

Hmmm...ek dink hier is 'n onderduimse geknoei aan die gang

Ok raait, volgende vraag:

Is dit nodig vir my as PR immigrant om te bother met 'n international driver's license (een van daai AA goed)?

Sover ek kon agterkom is my SA edition driver's license gelding vir drie maande daar as immigrant...is dit waar?

[Guest Larry]

As a new migrant, you can use your South African driver's license for three months. I suggest getting an Australian one as soon as you are able. - You might not pass the test first time and might have to wait for a new appointment.

I got my Victorian driver's license three weeks after I arrived. - I had to go through the whole license test all over again! The only thing that I managed to get out of them was a full license. - Not a provisional license. - I could prove that I had a license for over twenty years.

[DesertDaisy]

I have both an SA licence and a UAE licence. Getting my UAE licence was easy - automatic transfer. I take it we will have to redo the test to get an Aussie licence (we will hopefully be living in Perth)

[chatterbug]

Hi BT!

Welcome to the forum - I'm sure you'll get lots of info and support over here.

We have been in Brisbane for a touch over two years and are thoroughly enjoying it! We live in the bayside suburb of Cleveland (SEast of the city - 32kms; 45 -50 min commute in peak traffic - 35 mins during off peak times - and nothing compared to the JHB - PTA commute and traffic, much more relaxed in my opinion!)

We've rented a studio aparment or something to that effect somewhere in the CBD for the 1st week

This is quite a good idea - you'll get to know the city a bit better before (if ever) you move out to suburbia. We lived in a rented apartment, in Spring Hill (practically next to the cbd) for a couple of weeks till we found our bearings!

while you're still in SA you have no point of reference

hehe - Most of us knows what this feels like, it is important to get a refidex (or Brisways) and to maybe rent a car (you can rent rent a second hand one before you organise your own) and to start exploring. Some of us (from Brisbane) can help point you in a general direction if you wish! Just shout with some specific questions re suburbs etc.

It's actually a bit scary to think we might have to wait 3 months for employment?! We'll have enough money from the sale of the house but you know how it is we want to use that as a deposit on a home or something - not live off it...maybe I should go flip some burgers or something while I wait for an Oracle position to come through

Quite a common dilemma, do you go and get "any work" to start off with or do I wait for a more suitable job in your field. I suppose it depends how much money you have. I applied for anything that I thought I could do, while I was secretly praying that I got the right job from the onset! Fortunately the latter happened (within 2,5 months). Try and be patient with yourself however you'll have much to adjust to. Waiting for 3 months for the right job in my opinion is realistic, so try and pace yourself. It's difficult when you see the rands converted into $ being spent for "normal living" without something coming in but I'd rather be prepared for that possibility.

MMm the license thing.... Larry has some good advice! I took it too easy and failed my 1st attempt (speeding....what else for a ex PTA/Joburger) and almost couldn't get another booking before the end of the 3 months....had to go to a far off dorpie to get one.

Have you considered your needs/wants/desires ito a suburb to settle in? There are so many options so it would be worthwhile to think about this question to make it easier when you get here? We for e.g. wanted to live close to the sea so that made it quite easy for us!

Good luck with it all!

Chatterbug

[BeeTee]

We for e.g. wanted to live close to the sea so that made it quite easy for us!

[HOMER SIMPSON ON]

The seeeaaa.....<droool>

[HOMER SIMPSON OFF]

Yeah I guess eventually the wife and I would like to settle closer to the sea...at this point in time to be honest we havent got a clue which way...I'm sure after a couple of months in Brisbane we'll know which way we wanna go...All I know is, I'm at this point in time extremely allergic to any thoughts of any kind of serious traffic/serious commuting between home and work - currently I'm working in Roodepoort and living in Rooihuiskraal...go figure...I've spent the last 8 years getting up at sparrow's poep in the morning just to try and beat the Great Trek to JHB...and with the annual increase in cars/peeps moving to Gauteng the time you've got to hit the highway by gets earlier and earlier...

Tired of that...

Anyways, did you guys go for driver training of sorts before you went for your license test or something? Is there like a waiting period after you fail or can you book another test immediately (beaurocracy willing of course)?

[Guest Larry]

If commuting scares you, you could always look about 100km north of Brisbane on the Sunshine Coast... Like Caloundra.... Caloundra City.

It takes me less than 5 minutes to get into work in the mornings. - 10 minutes if I go by push bike.

[Riekie]

Dit is inderdaad 'n klein wêreld!! Ons is ook van Centurion - Ermelo straat (die huis met die blou dak - wat nou nie meer blou is nie......) en manlief werk ook vir Oracle......

[ExASP]

Ja Hiekie..hier is ek nou...reading all your mail in English sure seems silly ..siende dat ons so afrikaans is as wat jy kan kry...sadly I cant help you on Brissie as you well know...lol seeing that Alice is just not the same i think.

You do know that some of the answers you could have gotten from me you ninny...if you just asked...Dont even waste your time getting an international license, as your SA one is valid for three months.

In the NT it is eay to get a license..one written test and a drive through town and you have it.

Ons dink aan julle op die dag..en gaan groet vir Heks no2!!!

Love

Heks no1

[BeeTee]

Bleddie Alice Springers - mens kan hulle ook aantrek maar nerens heen vat nie!!!

[chatterbug]

Hi BeeTee,

I understand about the aversion to traffic and commuting. As Larry mentioned, if you are lucky enough to get a good job there the Sunshine Coast (which includes Caloundra at the southern part) is a good option. However if you are dependent on a bigger city to increase your chances of securing a job, you'll probably have to face some of the traffic.

Believe me though - the traffic, ito the fast speeds, general aggression and impatience on the roads can in my opinion not come close to the PTA/JHB morning traffic. (I did the PTA to JHB commute for a couple of years so I have a fair idea) I'm not saying some of those things don't happen on the road over here at all - in isolated cases it does but in general I find it to be quite a relaxed ride with a general level of courtesy on the roads. Very rarely do you hear someone using a hooter for example. I don't know how it is in other cities /areas though.

If you however are used to a faster pace on the road, you'd need to start practicing your tolerance for frustration! hehe. Things are just slower here for me, for example almost all traffic lights are 4 phase and I still get frustrated at waiting so long at a traffic light.......it however works quite well in practise. The best is to turn that music or radiostation up and cruise in to work!

The property vs commute thing is a bit of a trade off I suppose. The reality is that the closer you live to the city the more you'll be paying for your property. As a general rule, you'll pay quite a premium for houses within a 10km radius of the city and the sizes of the land are smaller. Thus properties and suburbs further out than that give you the best value for money, with the biggest blocks of land and they are generally newer.

Also remember that there is quite good public transport if you need to use it. Our first rental property in Cleveland was walking distance from the station and this was a handy alternative.

Good Luck

Commuter BUG

[Guest Larry]

As chatterbug has said, commuting making use of public transport is indeed a viable option. - When I lived on the Mornington Peninsula, 50 km south of Melbourne and worked near the Melbourne city centre, I used to take an hour and a half each way to get into work and back home. - Just in case that sounds horrible, let me assure you that it was easy.... Twenty minutes each way in the car, followed by 65 minutes in the train.... Usually reading a good book.

Edited May 24, 2006 by Larry

[chatterbug]

A mate of mine travels from Helensvale station (Gold coast) by train to work in Brisbane daily. The other day I asked him if it wasn't getting to him. His response was that he gets to read or get prepared for work or writes his reports (he's a consulting engineer) on the train and he bills his clients for the time that he takes doing this. So he has some extra "billing hours" by taking the train.

I'm sure that makes it worthwhile!

C' BUG

[BeeTee]

Cool. Thanks for the replies guys.

Im definately going to see if we can eventually settle somewhere where we can make use of some form of public transport or something, anything other than sitting in traffic the whole day

"Times is few my cousin" - time is really running out for us: Stuttaford Van Lines will be here from tomorrow till Wednesday to pack and load our stuff...and this coming Friday we're getting on the plane...

Vlindertjies begin nou so bietjie pla

Edited May 28, 2006 by BeeTee