· Interviews with the vampireBrisbane, Australia · 16th Apr 2008 · Posted by Annie
Ok so they weren't really interviews with the vampire but we did hit the ground running with job interviews lined up left right and center, that's for sure!
We arrived in Brisbane on Wednesday evening with just a few hours to relax and sleep before getting up early on Thursday morning for our first interviews which we'd both managed to schedule particularly well before arriving here. We were lucky enough to be able to stay with Rheanna and Sanjay (read their travelstashes here) which certainly helped - thanks heaps guys.
After 3 days of gruelling interviews, both Chris and I were offered positions which we took. Chris took a job as a Senior Systems Engineer at GroundProbe and I took a job as a Applications Analyst and Software Developer at KBR. Not a bad result in such a short period of time!
With the job hunting out of the way, our next step was to find a place to live. Although we would've loved to, we couldn't really stay with Rheanna and Sanjay forever. Having them cook for us every night and do our laundry certainly made it hard to want to move out haha!! We lined up heaps of appointments with property agents and eventually found an awesome apartment right in the middle of Brisbane City, with a balcony, floor to ceiling windows in the bedroom, a secure car park in the building and a pool and gym in the buildling. Oh, and it's on the 31st floor and has magnificent river views (see below)!
The apartment building, M on Mary, even has it's own site (coz part of it is a hotel too) so you can read all about it if you like. Although the rent was a little higher than we'd hoped to have to pay, we figured that we could rent out the car park and bring down our rent that way. And the best bit? We have a second room! Ok so it's a bit more like a small dungeon with no windows (apparently it's a 'study') but it does have an air conditioning vent in it so it shouldn't be too stuffy to sleep in. Friends and family - PLEASE come and visit us!!! You're always welcome!!
So having signed our lives away with jobs, apartments and bank accounts, Chris and I flew back to Wellington to pick up our few possessions, ship a few boxes over to our new home in Brisbane and say goodbye to family and friends. It was very sad saying goodbye... goodbyes suck! While in Wellington we did manage to go to Strawberry Fare one last time for a grand dessert with Beth-Anne, Richard and Katie.
Back in Brisbane, Chris and I spent a few weeks buying up a bunch of furniture that we'd sold prior to leaving NZ for our 'Exploring the East' holiday. It was quite stressful going to lots of furniture shops trying to find the best deals (IKEA RULES!!) especially once we'd started working, but now that we've kitted out our apartment with another 42" tv we're all good. Who needs a bed anyway right? :)
We're really looking forward to getting to know Brisbane a bit better and doing lots of sight-seeing in and around Queensland.
We arrived in Brisbane on Wednesday evening with just a few hours to relax and sleep before getting up early on Thursday morning for our first interviews which we'd both managed to schedule particularly well before arriving here. We were lucky enough to be able to stay with Rheanna and Sanjay (read their travelstashes here) which certainly helped - thanks heaps guys.
After 3 days of gruelling interviews, both Chris and I were offered positions which we took. Chris took a job as a Senior Systems Engineer at GroundProbe and I took a job as a Applications Analyst and Software Developer at KBR. Not a bad result in such a short period of time!
With the job hunting out of the way, our next step was to find a place to live. Although we would've loved to, we couldn't really stay with Rheanna and Sanjay forever. Having them cook for us every night and do our laundry certainly made it hard to want to move out haha!! We lined up heaps of appointments with property agents and eventually found an awesome apartment right in the middle of Brisbane City, with a balcony, floor to ceiling windows in the bedroom, a secure car park in the building and a pool and gym in the buildling. Oh, and it's on the 31st floor and has magnificent river views (see below)!
The apartment building, M on Mary, even has it's own site (coz part of it is a hotel too) so you can read all about it if you like. Although the rent was a little higher than we'd hoped to have to pay, we figured that we could rent out the car park and bring down our rent that way. And the best bit? We have a second room! Ok so it's a bit more like a small dungeon with no windows (apparently it's a 'study') but it does have an air conditioning vent in it so it shouldn't be too stuffy to sleep in. Friends and family - PLEASE come and visit us!!! You're always welcome!!
So having signed our lives away with jobs, apartments and bank accounts, Chris and I flew back to Wellington to pick up our few possessions, ship a few boxes over to our new home in Brisbane and say goodbye to family and friends. It was very sad saying goodbye... goodbyes suck! While in Wellington we did manage to go to Strawberry Fare one last time for a grand dessert with Beth-Anne, Richard and Katie.
Back in Brisbane, Chris and I spent a few weeks buying up a bunch of furniture that we'd sold prior to leaving NZ for our 'Exploring the East' holiday. It was quite stressful going to lots of furniture shops trying to find the best deals (IKEA RULES!!) especially once we'd started working, but now that we've kitted out our apartment with another 42" tv we're all good. Who needs a bed anyway right? :)
We're really looking forward to getting to know Brisbane a bit better and doing lots of sight-seeing in and around Queensland.
