ramot Posted July 12 Share Posted July 12 (edited) 3 hours ago, Cheery Thistle said: We are headed to Brisbane. Wanted to escape winters. I’m fairly sure that winters are milder in QLD than in Scotland. Though I’m sure someone on PiO will tell me I’m talking rubbish and QLD is freezing. Chilblains are not on my list of concerns - spiders and cockroaches are though! We are not moving for the weather, but climate is a factor in our move - if it wasn’t Aus we’d be going somewhere else warmer. It’s not just the cost of living crisis exactly here, it’s the combination of that with low wages and the lack of investment and the lack of public money, the closure of services. You’ll (maybe) see what I mean once you’ve been back a while. For example, a local school parent who is in the parent council told me the school has £8 per pupil per year for resources. My daughter’s swim club has a constant battle to find suitable venues for swimming lessons because so many pools have closed. In Brisbane we were literally tripping over pools and free lagoons/splash pools. We were also pleasantly surprised by the price of things when we were over - found many things to be very similar in price and going out was definitely quite a lot cheaper. My advice to anyone moving back is to try and move to one of the more affluent pockets if you can afford it and jobs allow - that way you’ll be cushioned somewhat. This article gives a wee insight into my ‘whingeing’ https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-glasgow-west-66954929.amp North Lanarkshire to close 39 pools, leisure centres and libraries. Also attaching some pics of the bare shelves in supermarkets (taken in the middle of the day, not last thing at night) and a video of our summer so far (watch with volume up)! IMG_7629.mov 30.84 MB · 0 downloads I genuinely wish you all the best for the move back and if you strongly feel that’s where you should be then it’s likely you’re right and all the other stuff is completely irrelevant/insignificant. We have reached the point of no return with our move and we’re going to find out for ourselves the challenges of living in Aus. It’s true that life is a challenge no matter where you are. Good luck with it. Winter has been strange this year on the Sunshine Coast. We’ve had unusual wet, and cold miserable weather for us 19’ daytime. The last few days the more usual beautiful blue skies, 23’ daytime, 10/14’ night. Serious winter is forecast for next week! 18/19 days, 5’ at night, hope it doesn’t last longer than a week. When you experience your first few winters here, you will probably still wear shorts and tea shirts, until you adjust, we locals wear trousers, jumpers with quilted vest, even boots, whereas visitors come off the beach wearing a bikini and sarong. We were different to most, as we had come from Brunei, and were so cold our first few winters, thought we would have to move further north, but love the winters we usually get now. Don’t throw all your winter clothes away, you might regret it or worry about cockroaches and spiders, just have the annual inspection and spray etc. Hope you will be happy in Brisbane. Edited July 12 by ramot 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cheery Thistle Posted July 12 Share Posted July 12 Well your winter sounds better than our summer this year. I have had central heating on several times in July - that’s unheard of in my lifetime. It’s very strange. I’m bringing 2 coats, one heavy padded waterproof Jack Wolfskin jacket, several pairs of boots and jeans, a light non padded waterproof jacket and also waterproof over trousers! Be prepared lol. But most of my recent purchases have been ‘summer’ clothes or things I can layer. Our Airbnb in Brissie had some cockroaches - became a running joke with hubby and daughter - me vs cockroach, every night running about spraying all the nooks and crannies, to get up the next morning to several lying dead on their backs!! We are looking forward to an adventure and just hope it’s the right move. Time will tell. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ramot Posted July 12 Share Posted July 12 27 minutes ago, Cheery Thistle said: Well your winter sounds better than our summer this year. I have had central heating on several times in July - that’s unheard of in my lifetime. It’s very strange. I’m bringing 2 coats, one heavy padded waterproof Jack Wolfskin jacket, several pairs of boots and jeans, a light non padded waterproof jacket and also waterproof over trousers! Be prepared lol. But most of my recent purchases have been ‘summer’ clothes or things I can layer. Our Airbnb in Brissie had some cockroaches - became a running joke with hubby and daughter - me vs cockroach, every night running about spraying all the nooks and crannies, to get up the next morning to several lying dead on their backs!! We are looking forward to an adventure and just hope it’s the right move. Time will tell. I find cashmere jumpers from M&S are perfect weight for winter here. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marisawright Posted July 12 Share Posted July 12 53 minutes ago, Cheery Thistle said: Our Airbnb in Brissie had some cockroaches - became a running joke with hubby and daughter - me vs cockroach, every night running about spraying all the nooks and crannies, to get up the next morning to several lying dead on their backs!! Cockroaches are one of the downsides. People joke about the snakes and spiders in Australia but they have never bothered me in almost 40 years and probably won't bother you. But cockroaches are the stuff of my nightmares, especially the flying ones. It's got nothing to do with how clean your home is, really, it's more about which suburb you're in. In Sydney, Bondi and Paddington were heaving with them but when I moved to Randwick -- which isn't that far away -- I hardly saw one. So you may be lucky! They say that if you see one or two cockroaches, it means you've got an infestation, since they always live in groups. The best thing to do, when you move into your new place, is to set off a 'cockroach bomb" in the kitchen just in case, then put baits around. The bombs are a bit of a hassle as you have to vacate the place for a couple of hours then wipe everything down (they're toxic as), but personally, I don't believe in giving the little buggers a second chance. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cheery Thistle Posted July 12 Share Posted July 12 15 minutes ago, Marisawright said: Cockroaches are one of the downsides. People joke about the snakes and spiders in Australia but they have never bothered me in almost 40 years and probably won't bother you. But cockroaches are the stuff of my nightmares, especially the flying ones. It's got nothing to do with how clean your home is, really, it's more about which suburb you're in. In Sydney, Bondi and Paddington were heaving with them but when I moved to Randwick -- which isn't that far away -- I hardly saw one. So you may be lucky! They say that if you see one or two cockroaches, it means you've got an infestation, since they always live in groups. The best thing to do, when you move into your new place, is to set off a 'cockroach bomb" in the kitchen just in case, then put baits around. The bombs are a bit of a hassle as you have to vacate the place for a couple of hours then wipe everything down (they're toxic as), but personally, I don't believe in giving the little buggers a second chance. Oft Marisa I will almost certainly be outsourcing that to an expert - I’ll pay for the platinum package just to make sure Worst comes to the worst, Mr Thistle can always be a human shield - knew I’d included him on my visa for some reason!! The cockroaches were the worst that we saw on our trip - or maybe the 2 possum encounters, the second of which I first thought was a rat!! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marisawright Posted July 12 Share Posted July 12 (edited) 9 hours ago, Cheery Thistle said: or maybe the 2 possum encounters, the second of which I first thought was a rat!! Maybe it was? Possums are a lot bigger -- a possum the size of a rat would still be inside it's mother's pouch. Edited July 12 by Marisawright Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blue Manna Posted July 13 Share Posted July 13 1 hour ago, Marisawright said: Maybe it was? Possums are a lot bigger -- a possum the size of a rat would still be inside it's mother's pouch. You can get some pretty big rats. Some the size of cats. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blue Manna Posted July 13 Share Posted July 13 11 hours ago, Marisawright said: Cockroaches are one of the downsides. People joke about the snakes and spiders in Australia but they have never bothered me in almost 40 years and probably won't bother you. But cockroaches are the stuff of my nightmares, especially the flying ones. It's got nothing to do with how clean your home is, really, it's more about which suburb you're in. In Sydney, Bondi and Paddington were heaving with them but when I moved to Randwick -- which isn't that far away -- I hardly saw one. So you may be lucky! They say that if you see one or two cockroaches, it means you've got an infestation, since they always live in groups. The best thing to do, when you move into your new place, is to set off a 'cockroach bomb" in the kitchen just in case, then put baits around. The bombs are a bit of a hassle as you have to vacate the place for a couple of hours then wipe everything down (they're toxic as), but personally, I don't believe in giving the little buggers a second chance. I lifted a sewer man hole cover once in one of my previous jobs. Never before have I seen that many cockroaches move that fast. Still sends shudders. I imagine they can't get around the ubend, but if the plumbing is not right, I imagine that's how they get in. I've lived in houses before where we've bombed until the cows come home, but we've only succeeded in reducing the size of them. I imagine they would need some work on the drainage to get rid of them. If you suspect you have them, wash everything before you use it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blue Manna Posted July 13 Share Posted July 13 12 hours ago, ramot said: I find cashmere jumpers from M&S are perfect weight for winter here. Have you looked at Woolovers? Based in the south of England. Quality is pretty good, and they often sell to Australia cheaper than the UK. Their sales are worth looking out for. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ramot Posted July 13 Share Posted July 13 21 minutes ago, Blue Manna said: Have you looked at Woolovers? Based in the south of England. Quality is pretty good, and they often sell to Australia cheaper than the UK. Their sales are worth looking out for. Easier for me to pop into M&S when in UK, not going to charge around comparing jumpers , when I am happy with the ones I have previously bought from M&S. Don’t buy anything on line from M&S any more too expensive to return Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marisawright Posted July 13 Share Posted July 13 47 minutes ago, Blue Manna said: I lifted a sewer man hole cover once in one of my previous jobs. Never before have I seen that many cockroaches move that fast. Still sends shudders. I imagine they can't get around the ubend, but if the plumbing is not right, I imagine that's how they get in. Cockroaches can't swim, so they're not going to swim up through the toilet. They like sewers because they're damp, not because they live in water. They get in through openings in your doors, windows, walls, roof. Fly screens and sealing up window frames etc can help, but it's hard to seal up a house completely. If you've got an electrical conduit coming into the house, it's also a cockroach conduit, for instance. In an apartment, it's impossible to keep cockroaches at bay unless everyone in the whole block is vigilant. It's one thing I enjoy about Melbourne -- I've never seen one in 6 years. It's too cold for them. As in the UK, you find them in boiler rooms in big institutions like hospitals, but very rarely in homes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nemesis Posted July 13 Share Posted July 13 10 hours ago, Marisawright said: Cockroaches can't swim, so they're not going to swim up through the toilet. They like sewers because they're damp, not because they live in water. They get in through openings in your doors, windows, walls, roof. Fly screens and sealing up window frames etc can help, but it's hard to seal up a house completely. If you've got an electrical conduit coming into the house, it's also a cockroach conduit, for instance. In an apartment, it's impossible to keep cockroaches at bay unless everyone in the whole block is vigilant. It's one thing I enjoy about Melbourne -- I've never seen one in 6 years. It's too cold for them. As in the UK, you find them in boiler rooms in big institutions like hospitals, but very rarely in homes. The first unit I lived in, back in Brisbane, had the usual drainhole in the middle f the bathroom floor. I was sat in the bath one day, minding my own business, and the next minute I was out of that room faster than I've ever moved in my life. The cockroaches were coming in from the garden, through the drainhole. There were at least 30 as I slammed the door, told my then hubby to sort it. He muttered something about it just being part of Aussie life, but even he agreed to do something when he went in there and saw them still coming up through the drain. Hideous, still make me shive thinking about it. I also had a friend who had a roach lay eggs in his computer keyboard, he was sat there one day and these tiny insects started crawling out between the keys. I used to shake my keyboard upside down every day after that! 3 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cheery Thistle Posted July 13 Share Posted July 13 13 minutes ago, Nemesis said: The first unit I lived in, back in Brisbane, had the usual drainhole in the middle f the bathroom floor. I was sat in the bath one day, minding my own business, and the next minute I was out of that room faster than I've ever moved in my life. The cockroaches were coming in from the garden, through the drainhole. There were at least 30 as I slammed the door, told my then hubby to sort it. He muttered something about it just being part of Aussie life, but even he agreed to do something when he went in there and saw them still coming up through the drain. Hideous, still make me shive thinking about it. I also had a friend who had a roach lay eggs in his computer keyboard, he was sat there one day and these tiny insects started crawling out between the keys. I used to shake my keyboard upside down every day after that! Yes it was the same in that Airbnb, a drain in middle of bathroom. Boak!! It was a ringtail possum I saw on the telegraph pole - the tail at first made me think it was a rat! 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blue Manna Posted July 13 Share Posted July 13 (edited) 13 hours ago, Marisawright said: Cockroaches can't swim, so they're not going to swim up through the toilet. They like sewers because they're damp, not because they live in water. They get in through openings in your doors, windows, walls, roof. Fly screens and sealing up window frames etc can help, but it's hard to seal up a house completely. If you've got an electrical conduit coming into the house, it's also a cockroach conduit, for instance. In an apartment, it's impossible to keep cockroaches at bay unless everyone in the whole block is vigilant. It's one thing I enjoy about Melbourne -- I've never seen one in 6 years. It's too cold for them. As in the UK, you find them in boiler rooms in big institutions like hospitals, but very rarely in homes. They won't come up through the toilet, but there are plenty of drainage holes in a house. Drains generally go into sumps in the UK, but not sure about Australia. Regardless, as properties get older, drains get lose or cracked and it does provide access. But you are right that they can get in through any crack. But they don't like being exposed, so unlikely they will come through cracks that are open to the air and visible. Plus, they can swim, but I don't believe they can duck dive. Hence the U bend should be safe. Edited July 13 by Blue Manna Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marisawright Posted July 13 Share Posted July 13 11 hours ago, Cheery Thistle said: It was a ringtail possum I saw on the telegraph pole - the tail at first made me think it was a rat! They're very cute when you see them close up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ramot Posted July 13 Share Posted July 13 (edited) 8 hours ago, Blue Manna said: They won't come up through the toilet, but there are plenty of drainage holes in a house. Drains generally go into sumps in the UK, but not sure about Australia. Regardless, as properties get older, drains get lose or cracked and it does provide access. But you are right that they can get in through any crack. But they don't like being exposed, so unlikely they will come through cracks that are open to the air and visible. Plus, they can swim, but I don't believe they can duck dive. Hence the U bend should be safe. Edited July 13 by ramot Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quoll Posted July 14 Share Posted July 14 1 hour ago, Marisawright said: They're very cute when you see them close up. They’re bloody scary though when they land on your tin roof from a great height in the wee small hours! I see we had a powerful owl in our garden a couple of nights ago, apparently they like possums - he’s welcome to those in my garden! 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Toots Posted July 14 Share Posted July 14 13 minutes ago, Quoll said: They’re bloody scary though when they land on your tin roof from a great height in the wee small hours! I see we had a powerful owl in our garden a couple of nights ago, apparently they like possums - he’s welcome to those in my garden! I know they are around here but rarely see one. They move around a lot when it's dark and unfortunately are hit by cars. A friend had one or maybe two in the roof space so of course they peed and pooed there so the smell was awful. We don't have trees around the house so no dropping onto the roof making a racket. We had plenty of that in Sydney. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ramot Posted July 14 Share Posted July 14 This possum outside our house was a good size, I tried to post the video of it going up the tree like a rocket, I failed 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lothar Posted July 15 Share Posted July 15 On 10/07/2024 at 06:46, Atlas said: Hi all, Husband and I are seriously considering moving back to the UK, and whilst I’ve always known it could be a possibility, I’m surprised that we still feel a pull after being quite settled in Melbourne for the past 7 years. We have good, secure jobs over here, bought a property 3 years ago, have 3 children aged 5 and under and have 2 cats and a dog. We have made some fantastic friends along the way and our kids are happy, as are we for the most part! The tricky part has always been distance from family. Our immediate family all live in England or Scotland and as the kids get older, and parents get older, it feels harder and harder to justify being so far away. It’s not so much that we are looking for support or help with the kids, but more that we are a close family and just miss seeing them. Whilst the lifestyle in Australia is great, I guess we don’t feel like we will be able to replace that family connection? We try to see family every 12 months now that we have kids, but this is of course expensive and leaves little leftover in terms of holiday funds and annual leave. We feel that our kids are young enough that they’d really benefit from a closer relationship with grandparents and cousins etc. though, so we make it work financially for now. Curious to hear from others who felt the same, in particular those with young kids. Thank you for reading! Hey @Atlas, I am not "officially" a Pom in Oz as I was born in South Africa, but I lived for just under 11 years in the UK (2008-2018 close to Woking) and then in 2018 we moved to Perth, Aus. I don't want to write a wall of text but I just wanted to provide some support. We were in a similar position as you, we had good jobs, a nice house in a good suburb and 3 kids going to a great school, the one difference is we don't have family in either the UK or Aus so that was never a part of our decision. Even so as a family we felt a lot more at home in the UK, so we packed up and landed back in the UK on the 6 of June 2024. I know its still the honeymoon period of moving country but so far it has been amazing. We slotted right back in where we had left, all our friends are still here and the kids have settled better at their new schools than what they ever did in Perth. All in all it has been a great decision (well so far at least ) Feel free to reach out if you have any questions. 5 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nemo239 Posted July 25 Share Posted July 25 On 12/07/2024 at 22:37, Marisawright said: Cockroaches are one of the downsides. People joke about the snakes and spiders in Australia but they have never bothered me in almost 40 years and probably won't bother you. But cockroaches are the stuff of my nightmares, especially the flying ones. It's got nothing to do with how clean your home is, really, it's more about which suburb you're in. In Sydney, Bondi and Paddington were heaving with them but when I moved to Randwick -- which isn't that far away -- I hardly saw one. So you may be lucky! They say that if you see one or two cockroaches, it means you've got an infestation, since they always live in groups. The best thing to do, when you move into your new place, is to set off a 'cockroach bomb" in the kitchen just in case, then put baits around. The bombs are a bit of a hassle as you have to vacate the place for a couple of hours then wipe everything down (they're toxic as), but personally, I don't believe in giving the little buggers a second chance. Absolutely, living in the suburbs I only see the occasional snake or big spider, but the constant battle against ants, cockroaches, mosquitoes and flies annoys me to no end! 3 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quoll Posted July 25 Share Posted July 25 22 hours ago, Nemo239 said: Absolutely, living in the suburbs I only see the occasional snake or big spider, but the constant battle against ants, cockroaches, mosquitoes and flies annoys me to no end! Yup, it’s the mozzies, flies and ants for me - having been nipped by a bull ant once was enough to teach me to wear shoes when walking in the bush - excruciating pain, fortunately nothing more than that. My FiL, though, had an epipen because he was allergic to them and was a very keen bush person. Mozzies love me but I’ve discovered anti itch patches which are doing quite a good job. I’ve yet to discover a good fly repellent but I got a head net for Christmas which goes some way to helping. You do learn to cope! Spiders, just irritating, although the youngest son did get bitten by a redback on the lane ropes in the AIS many years ago. Thank God it was half drowned with a half assed bite but he still spent the night in A&E. occasionally we see them in the wood pile. We have bush around so I do see snakes but not as many as DS who lives in the bush and occasionally decapitates them with his scythe. He wears wellies on his block all the time. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ramot Posted July 25 Share Posted July 25 Lived in our house on the Sunshine Coast for 21 years, we sensibly have a pest inspection and control every year, apart from a very rare ant invasion usually caused by weather conditions, we have had no problems with other pests. If you live in a hot climate anywhere in the world then you know and accept that you leave nothing open in the food cupboard, you put everything in sealed plastic containers, you have fly screens on the windows and doors. In other words you take sensible precautions that relate to your environment. Have only seen 3 tree snakes in the garden, not saying there haven’t been more. Have never ever considered needing to wear a hat net, or hat with corks, except in the outback. Mozzies can be a nuisance outside, some people definitely attract them more, but they aren’t bad enough to stop you being outdoors here luckily. I find the wasps in UK more of a problem. If you are happy where you live, you accept and put up with things, that are deal breakers if you are unhappy. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ramot Posted July 25 Share Posted July 25 1 minute ago, ramot said: Lived in our house on the Sunshine Coast for 21 years, we sensibly have a pest inspection and control every year, apart from a very rare ant invasion usually caused by weather conditions, we have had no problems with other pests. If you live in a hot climate anywhere in the world then you know and accept that you leave nothing open in the food cupboard, you put everything in sealed plastic containers, you have fly screens on the windows and doors. In other words you take sensible precautions that relate to your environment. Have only seen 3 tree snakes in the garden, not saying there haven’t been more. Have never ever considered needing to wear a hat net, or hat with corks, except in the outback. Mozzies can be a nuisance outside, some people definitely attract them more, but they aren’t bad enough to stop you being outdoors here luckily. I find the wasps in UK more of a problem. If you are happy where you live, you accept and put up with things, that are deal breakers if you are unhappy. The above relates only to bugs etc. Homesickness and missing family are an understandable different situation. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SophW Posted August 8 Share Posted August 8 On 12/07/2024 at 12:33, Cheery Thistle said: Well your winter sounds better than our summer this year. I have had central heating on several times in July - that’s unheard of in my lifetime. It’s very strange. I’m bringing 2 coats, one heavy padded waterproof Jack Wolfskin jacket, several pairs of boots and jeans, a light non padded waterproof jacket and also waterproof over trousers! Be prepared lol. But most of my recent purchases have been ‘summer’ clothes or things I can layer. Our Airbnb in Brissie had some cockroaches - became a running joke with hubby and daughter - me vs cockroach, every night running about spraying all the nooks and crannies, to get up the next morning to several lying dead on their backs!! We are looking forward to an adventure and just hope it’s the right move. Time will tell. When's the big move? Please keep us posted! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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