What can we say Lesley? From we first made contact with Lesley in January 2011 she worked tirelessly to help us make all our dreams come true. We are a family from Ireland moving to Sydney for one year with work. We have 5 children aged 13 years to 3 years so one at high school, three at primary-school.
We gave Lesley the enormous task of finding us a large family home, within walking distance of the beach, easy reach of primary and secondary schools, and easy commute to work. I should also mention that in hindsight we also gave her an almost impossible budget to work with.
She listened to us, ALL of us, and with the patience of a saint. She helped us with every aspect of our move, every single step of the way. I can honestly say that I have never met anyone as dedicated and kind in either my professional or personal life and simply couldn’t recommend her enough.”
Lucy ( Doctors on placement for a year in Sydney)
Hi Lesley,
I decided to enlist Northern Beaches Know How’s help to find a home and a pre-school place for our youngest when she lost her place as our move was delayed. We had done the rest of the research ourselves but ran out of time and were worried that we would have difficulties finding a home quickly. We would search the internet from London and advise Lesley what properties we wanted her to see. Lesley was very quick to respond and visited the houses and emailed photographs, comments and DVD footage to us. This proved invaluable and she always gave very honest feedback and fully understood our needs and we were able to secure the property we wanted.
Lesley also visited lots of pre-schools and gave us the pros and cons of each. Her background as a teacher was very helpful in advising on the more difficult aspects for a parent to evaluate as we were not familiar with the Australian pre-school system but we were able to secure a place for our daughter with her help.
I also took a tour with Lesley which I found very insightful and she was able to bring me to places of interest and point out other things she thought would be helpful to us as a family. I then received a very prompt email after our trip with lots of email addresses and contact details for the places that were of interest.
I find Lesley to be very supportive, knowledgeable, understanding and willing to help or advise on any matters. It is very reassuring to know she is there in the early days if you have any problems or difficulties and until you have developed a network of your own. The fact that she has moved country with her family a number of times means she really understands how stressful it is and is very empathetic. If she finds something of interest she often sends a friendly or kind email with something that she thinks will be of use to you. I would have no hesitation in recommending Northern Beaches Know How I think Lesley runs an excellent company and I don’t believe for a second I would have had better service from a larger company in fact I think I saved myself a lot of bureaucracy.
Best Regards
Aine
I can’t thank you enough for the two mornings we spent with you, in your lovely car, getting to know what will be our new home – The Northern Beaches.
Visiting the 4 schools with you and seeing how high the standard is put our minds to rest. Driving around the different towns and looking at all the different facilities meant we had a real orientation of the area.
Thank you for all your care, for answering our many questions and for the care and affection you showed our son Connor. Not least, for his treasured kookaburra fluffy toy.
We are now planning our final journey, still not sure exactly when, but we are now able to do this planning with real knowledge and peace of mind.
Thanks lesley and we hope to see you soon.
The Costello Family
Johannesburg South Africa
NEW JERSEY USA
were completely unfamiliar with the new surroundings and way of living. We met Lesley shortly after our arrival and she has been an integral part of our relocating to the Northern Beaches ever since. She took us on a number of tours of the beaches, describing at length each suburb and its characteristics. This was extremely helpful in our subsequent finding of an appropriate flat and school for my son. Lesley also advised us in terms of everyday necessities, e.g., where to find the nearest grocery store, shopping mall, doctor, community centre…etc. She is knowledgeable about all aspects of living on the Northern Beaches – the lifestyle, community, and amenities. Thank you, Lesley, for your kindness, professionalism, humour, and genuine willingness to help those in need. We truly appreciate all you have done for us.Hana & Martinoxox
I arrived in Sydney from London, in June 2008. I initially had no background knowledge of the city, but by chance chose a rental property in a lovely area called Frenchs Forest. Shortly after enrolling my children at the nearest school, I was introduced to Lesley.Lesley became a lifeline for me in those early days, giving me sound advice on everything I needed to know about the area, indeed, on Australia in general. As a mother of three herself, she was also able to help with needs of my children.
Although many people offered me help back then, I found Lesley to be a lot more in tune with how I was feeling, and any concerns I had, as more than once, she has moved country herself. For this reason, I suggested to her that she might consider a role helping others in the same situation.
Lesley is a very friendly and compassionate lady, and I feel that those investing time with her, will greatly benefit from her extensive knowledge of the Northern Beaches Area.
Sue
Thank you for all your help and advice over the last 2 years , helping us to settle into Australian Life.
Your knowledge of the local areas, schools , shops, services, places to visit & great restaurants has been truly amazing .
Our families have become good friends as a result & we hope your knowledge & generosity helps other families moving
to Australia too !!
Rance Family November 2009
