What's Brisbane like?

[Conor]

Well im currently in the North of Ireland and im my flights booked for Australia on 1st Nov 2008, flying into Brisbane. My girlfriend and I will be looking for a house share type of place to stay and we hope to get jobs then travel. Thing is we are taking $6,000 and with a job is this enough to support us through the year. Im just worried about not getting a job and running out of money also how do you get a job when your traveling. Over here in Ireland I love to chase storms so im very much looking forward to see Australia in true force as its looks pretty mean!

[PR]

November is a lovely month in Brisbane, but summer begins in December and it can get quite hot.  Brisbane is sub-tropical and quite humid in summer too.

For share accommodation, you could try looking at realestate.com.au.  It seems that rooms are currently available from about $140 per week upwards in Brisbane.  Sydney and Melbourne will probably be more expensive, although I haven't looked, and country towns and areas are generally cheaper.  Tourist hotspots such as the Gold Coast and Sunshine Coast will also be dearer.

Have a look at Australian Job Search for work.  That is the main government website for work.  There are many other job sites such as CareerOne and Seek depending on the type of work you want and/or can do.  There are Internet cafés all over the place and public libraries also have Internet access available, so accessing job sites shouldn't be a problem wherever you are (unless you're in a really remote outback area).  There are also notice boards in shopping centres, etc., to check for work.

Brisbane's local newspaper is the Courier-Mail which also has links to other major newspapers around the country.

I really can't comment on whether AU$6,000 will be enough for you, as it depends on so many variables and your lifestyle expectations!  I will say, though, that I've known people to come over with less than that and manage okay.

You could probably pick up a car for about $1,000, but petrol is expensive (but still only about half the price of petrol in UK!) so you need to think about how you intend to travel around the country.

If you're willing to work at almost anything (within reason), you shouldn't have a problem supporting yourselves.  Let's face it, if you run out of money you can always go home! It's not as if you'd be stuck here ... you wish!!!  ;D

I don't know much about storm chasing here but the cyclone season is in summer in the tropical north. I can only suggest that you search for information on that through, say, google.com.au <- that's the Aussie version of Google and you can search 'Australia only'.

Often people like to know seemingly 'silly' things (you'd be surprised what I've been asked about!!!) like "Can I get Walkers crisps in Australia" (the answer is no!) or "Can I buy shampoo in Australia?" (the answer is yes, of course!) but I'm happy to answer any queries about what to expect here, no matter how 'daft' it may sound.

Don't forget, you can always book accommodation (including hostels), car hire, tours and travel packages through the main site - Backpacker Tours which utilises search engines to find you some very competitive prices! ;D

I hope those links are helpful, and if you've got any more questions, feel free to ask away!

[Conor]

Thanks for the long reply! Well iv been doing all of research so I hope iv must questions answered but still a few, maybe not as silly ones lol Ok here its goes, how many poisonous creatures are in queensland and is it common to get a poisonous crawling through your room at night? Over here your wages are only thing that isnt rising, stupid stuff like bread, milk and even clothes prices is rising, is it like that in australia? What is the life like over there? Is it hard working and on time or as you would usuaully see very calm and relaxed? What part of brisbane should I stay away from and is the crime rate high?


Thanks lol  ;D

[PR]

Thanks for the long reply!

You're welcome!  ;D

how many poisonous creatures are in queensland and is it common to get a poisonous crawling through your room at night?

Blimey! How many poisonous creatures?! In short ... a LOT!!

Let me see now, there are all manner of snakes, including the most poisonous in the world, the taipan. HOWEVER, you'd be very lucky to see one unless tramping through the outback wilderness or in a zoo! Also in the outback, you'll find scorpions and loads of other 'poisonous' critters.

In the sea, we have (apart from sharks ) Irukandji jellyfish, bluebottles (jellyfish - aka Portuguese Man of War), box jellyfish, blue ringed octopuses, stone fish, cone shells, sea urchins, moray eels, stingrays, lionfish puffer fish and more! Have a look at the Sydney Aquarium's website for more info. Oh, and did you know that platypuses are also poisonous?

Many spiders are poisonous but also many haven't got big enough gobs to bite people! The two most common poisonous spiders are the funnel-web and the redback. Bites from these two are either fairly rare or not consequential enough to be a problem. There are antidotes for both and no-one has died from either in yonks and yonks! If you want to know more about our spiders, have a look at the University of Southern Queensland's 'Find a Spider' website.

Then, of course, we have things like crocodiles (not to be messed with!), kangaroos (which can disembowel a person, koalas (can scratch you badly), possums (scratch and bite) and emus (kick)! Have I put you off coming yet?!!

A website to learn about the basics Aussie critters is Australian Fauna. It gives a broad outline of some of our native creatures.

The top and tail of it, though, it that you're very unlikely to ever come into contact in a 'dangerous' situation with these creatures unless you go looking for it (danger) or swim in the wrong places. Seriously, you just don't usually encounter most dangerous creatures.

Over here your wages are only thing that isnt rising, stupid stuff like bread, milk and even clothes prices is rising, is it like that in australia?

Yep, unfortunately, it's the same. :(

What is the life like over there?

Ooooh, now that's a BIG question!   Beautiful one day, perfect the next!  Better than beaut, in fact!  Put it this way, I wouldn't swap it for quids! ;D

Is it hard working and on time or as you would usuaully see very calm and relaxed?

Not really sure what you're asking here. ???  Work is work though, wherever you go. :-\

What part of brisbane should I stay away from and is the crime rate high?

Most of Brisbane is pretty safe.  I would think that you're unlikely to go to the 'not-so-good' suburbs, as they don't contain anything that would attract a visitor/tourist. Fortitude Valley (next to the city) contains Chinatown which is well worth a sortie, but also is notorious for SPAM SPAM SPAM - I'm an idiot for trying this here on this boards, prostitution and rougher pubs.

A good website for suburb comparison is at Our Brisbane.  There's also a load more information about Brisbane at that site.



So, I hope all of that fills you in a bit? I might move these last few posts to their own thread, as there's some info here which may be of assistance to others too. ;D

[Conor]

Sorry for the late reply. Thanks again thats some good info! My bro is leaving for a month to travel abit of Australia now this Wed so I will hear some stories from him. Im for spain in two weeks so the excitement is starting to rise about that then when thats over is all the down to Australia. Im only for spain for a week and iv been a few times so its just not as good. My girlfriend is also coming to spain and she has never been on a plane before so it will give her an insight to what to expect during the serious long haul down below;)