Moving to Queensland Australia

[MagratGarlik]

As the title says. Considering moving to Queensland. What do we need to know?

What is life like?

Is there lots of avoiding the local nature?

Can it be done with dogs?

Is it very isolated?

Is it very expensive?

Probably a million and one other questions. I know nothing. Tell me, please.

[putyourhatonsweetie]

Hello ....I live in central Queensland and may be able to help, but it is HUGE...so you may need to give more clue re location. For example Brisbane life would is vastly different to other major towns which would be different again to rural/ remote.

[StupidFlanders]

Where are you thinking? It is a huge place!
Do you have children? Ages?
Are you citizens?
Do you have employment lined up?

[Erebus]

I lived in Qld for 15 years, half in Brizzie, half on the Sunshine Coast. As others have said, you'd need to be more specific! Qld is a vast state with varying conditions.

[drfayray]

QLD is the second largest state in Aus. I live in Brisbane - I love it. Where are you considering ?
Distances are vair different to the UK.
Ex ILs once said shall we all pop up to Cairns? Doesn't look too far on the map... This is when we lived in NSW

The job situation isn't too brilliant at the moment though and it is expensive.
Wild life doesn't bother me.

[MagratGarlik]

Much further up than Brisbane. Cairns area.

We have children aged 5 and 8 and employment - yes, weighing up whether to take up a job or not.

[putyourhatonsweetie]

then I am no use whatsoever as I am further south and haven't even visited ... best of luck

[MagratGarlik]

Thanks anyway.

[Erebus]

Make sure the job is quite well paid! Australia is $$ these days.

Cairns itself is good though be prepared for it being seriously hot and humid in the summer. And wet! I last went there 2 years ago at Easter & I couldn't believe the changes from the previous trip a good 15-20 years previously when it really was a frontier, backpacker town, trying desperately to woo the newly rich Japanese. It's a lot more flash now! Still wooing the tourist dollar, mind (Chinese, this time). Some parts were a bit down at heel since the recession, too. But they've got a great new boardwalk and salt water swimming lagoon. Bear in mind you can't swim in the sea off Cairns itself. Ever!

And don't expect oodles of kulcha!

[damon79]

Ignore Erebus, a lot of what they posted was wrong.
You can swim in the ocean most of the year and it has 100x more culture than Sydney, which is now culturally and morally bankrupt and multiculturalism works in Cairns, so rare.
Cairns is amazing. Been living here for 2 years.
Erebus is right about one thing though, Chinese in droves. OZ is not big $ unless you want it to be, like everything else really. Many Aussies like to live above their means for image, they drive around in SUVs they cant afford as well asbuy property which they often cant afford as well.
If you want to know more about Cairns there is a sweet site written for people that are moving there.
cairnslife.wordpress.com
They talk as bout many things most sites don't. I found it very helpful and you can get REAL facts from people that LIVE there. All the best.

[damon79]

Ignore Erebus, a lot of what they posted was wrong.
You can swim in the ocean most of the year and it has 100x more culture than Sydney, which is now culturally and morally bankrupt and multiculturalism works in Cairns, so rare.
Cairns is amazing. Been living here for 2 years.
Erebus is right about one thing though, Chinese in droves. OZ is not big $ unless you want it to be, like everything else really. Many Aussies like to live above their means for image, they drive around in SUVs they cant afford as well as buy property which they often cant afford as well.
If you want to know more about Cairns there is a sweet site written for people that are moving there.
cairnslife.wordpress.com
They talk as bout many things most sites don't. I found it very helpful and you can get REAL facts from people that LIVE there. All the best.

[damon79]

Also wondering what field you are in. Jobs up here for white collar are not as consistent.

[Erebus]

Damon -it might be OK to say that you disagree with a lot of what I posted, but to state it was 'wrong' actually kind of illustrates what I mean.

"I don't agree, therefore you're obviously ill-informed and wrong, mate."

Very Australian.

How, out of interest, do you know that I didn't live in Cairns for years? As an Australian?

[Erebus]

...'coz I did but in the bits in between Briz and the Sunshine Coast ! I never bought a house there, but I worked up there a lot via my white collar job.

[twilight3]

OP, I don't know if my info is relevant as it's been 8 years since I lived in Cairns and I have only been for a holiday recently.
I have to admit that as a family we had an awesome time, we're in fact planning to move back to Queensland in the next couple of years (a bit southern though, maybe townsville or even Briz, it'll depend heavily on jobs.

Life takes place much earlier in the morning, as the sun shines nice and early, and also sets nice and early. It was very convenient for us as we had young children, in the UK it's a pain putting our second litter in bed when it's still sunny outside. Anyway, do you have children, and at what ages? So we can discuss schools, nurseries etc.

Dogs are fine, they will acclimatise very soon, get your pooper scooper with you, Ozies are pretty serious about that.

Can't think of anything much to say at the moment, probably because there were not specific questions. Come back with some and I'll do my best :-)

[Erebus]

I, as an adult, missed twilight!

Let's take Townsville. In high summer, the sun rises at 5.45am and sets at 7pm. In winter, 6.30am and sets at 5.30pm.

In southern UK, that's 5 am to 9.30pm (summer), and yes, 8am to 4pm (winter).

With older DC, I found it rather inconvenient, tbh!

[twilight3]

each to their own Erebus I guess, we loved life in Queensland for so so so many different reasons, so much that both DH and I retrained in our old age in order to get a visa