EricB

Nige,

Atherton sounds as though it gives us more options in the same area, at least we wil be able to drop a degree or tow without losing what we start.

Kiwipaul,

I think what I want from a city is perhaps different to your requirements. All I want is to know I can get the neccessities from the shops and DIY stores, that it is reasonably safe and clean, and that there is work. I have no real interest in spending any real leisure time in the city itself. We are certain to buy a house with pool so can stand to avoid the sea for periods. Heck , I may buy a boat and I understand the reef is free of stingers.

EricB

Pete,

I reckon you are right in that the big cities will offer the Enterprise level of IT work. Howevere it is not appreciated just how much computers have permeated our lives . Every little office has a network, every primary school, every large retail outlet. They are often supported by external companies that hire and fire like crazy.
you just have to be flexible about the support level you are willig to go in at.

I still really intend to try something completely new when all said and done and Townsville (if I can get over the bad reports) may be worth another look.


thanks all for the input.

Eric

onlyme

Hello,

I currently live in Sydney, have done for 3 years now.

I recently worked in Cairns for 3 months, in the summer. I'm in the IT business.

My opinion of Cairns is :
1) relaxed.
2) not a lot if IT work
3) not a lot of work - apart from construction. They were looking for labourers when I was there, but were finding it hard to get them. Who the hell wants to work outside in 35 degrees + 90% humidity !?
4) lots of drunk people there...mainly Abbo's and old men.
5) did not feel safe, due to the above ie. might not be a good place for kids.
6) most people hung out in the air conditioned shopping centres all day.
7) its not a bad place for a holiday, if you like diving and snorkelling....
8) I was put off swimming in the sea because of the minute jelly fish they have there, they can even get through the so-called safety nets.
9) if you move there, lock stock and barrel, be prepared to stay there, forever, or be prepared to start again from scratch. Same goes for Perth, that is of course if you are financially challenged. The reason I say this, is because I met a few poms when in Cairns and they have been there for >10 years. Some of them said they would like to go home ie. UK, but can't afford it, they can't afford to move to Sydney either. In fact, one persons Dad died while I was there and he couldn't afford to go back to the funeral !
10) when I asked people why they lived there, they said the weather, meaning the winter, not the summer.
11) 8am in the morning it was 25 degrees

Not my cup of lap sang suchong.
Dave

EricB

1) sounds good.

2) Ok. No worries.

3) Hmm.


4) heard similar for Townsville, only it is supposed to be Nam vets there.

5) Anyone know where in Oz would be? We would be living out of town anyway.

6) Logical...

7) Most of life isn't about hours of pastime. I can think of several more activities that would be great with that climate.

8) Aren't they everywhere? Isn't most time spent in your own pool?

9) I certainly wouldn't want to live in Sydney. I reckon unless there is a housing boom we are all likely to get trapped by emigration. There is a trap here in the UK that is for certain (can't afford to move up, can't stand to move down). Prices in Cairns compare to other areas (apart from Sydney) quite well so there would be potential to move location. The trap would be work and schooling.

10), 11) Weather was fine when in Malaysia so I think we would be OK here too. There is always a part of the day which is good with a pool.

Cheers. Eric

ianhs

Eric
If you can take m'sia climate then aclimatizing to cairns would be easy. The summers can be stinky hot though, and be mindful of the typhoons and rainfalls during the wet season. Dengue fever hit Cairns in early March 2003, not endemic but a concern. Avg Houses are around lowend of A$150K, A$550K in Sydney, so there are few regional movements for young couples to have a life in FNQ after an initial struggle with mortgage in Sydney. Compare Cairns,Darwin,Perth I would choose Cairns anytime, and if one has a homebase in Sydney / Brissy that would be perfect. BTW, when buying in Cairns, a good fridge, tropical strength aircon and backyard pool are pre-req's to cool down. And the fishing, outdoor if you like the rainforest outdoors, its the place to be. Checkout www.australiajobsearch.com.au and www.realestate.com.au for job concentration and prices. Innisfail, townsville and in-between towns may be a little quiet and out-of-town for job choices, there-again on a A$150K borrowing - there is still the oldfashion - hubby goes to work and mrs stay home mentality, but not in sydney or the more expensive capital cities where both have to pull in a good income to stay afloat.
Good luck .

EricB

Ianhs,

thanks for your posting. There are some good thoughts there. I suspect that the big cities like Brisbane will have lost some of the Queensland character, - I think you maybe saying the same indirectly. It is more likely to be wife at work and husband at home with us. My current job skills in Computers are just that, - on job skills, recken they will count for little on arrival if the work is even there. Back to the aquatic biology I hope. We don't want to struggle to live that is for certain. Sydney /Perth / Canberra hold no interest.

Dengue is a worry, whether that alone is enough to put us off I am not sure yet. Our backup choice is Mackay. I can see we may need to travel around on arrival to work out our final choice.

Cheers

Eric

ianhs

Eric
(i type a response earlier but seems not recorded, so here it is)..

If you are top heavy in w3c skills, you will have no problems and can dictate the terms etc, if you have m/f skills then its syd & mel, mayb brissy. Aquatic biology, thats interesting, FNQ have a establish and also growing industry for inland freshwater, coastal and marine aquaculture - ranging from barramundi,redclaw,jade perch,tropical ornamentals(aquarium), prawn, mudcrabs (costal) and the new ones eg tropical abalone, coral trout and reef fish.
Another one is the pearl oysters in FNQ. So if you have aqua-vet, aquaculture bio-tech research knowhow it will be sought after. Aquaculture farm casual work seasonal available but pay/physical work is usually at award avg 12-15ph for farmhand, farm mgr gets accomodations and 40K+ and crop %. URLs of www.dpi.qld.gov.au is state fisheries site, www.austasia.com.au is good allrounder site, but farm profile is price item per article retrieved, and www.jcu.com.au is jamescook uni with good marine/aquatic faculties, check them for marine/reef biology.
Hope this helps with your aquatic wishlists and thoughts

Ian

EricB

ianhs, Wow, - what a post! - you have given me so much there , can't thank you enough. It will take a fw hours for me to check all that out.

I'll reply again later.

Many thanks


Eric

les

yeah Cairns alright for a holiday, I've got to say your post is a case of deja wotsit. we were in the same situation a year ago and Cairns really has a lot going for it it is a vibrant city with a strong tourist industry ( the tourism has taken a bit of a knock over the last year sept 11 and sars) but it will bounce back.
There is a full range of shops and all the schools etc are of the normal high Australian standard.
We didn't go to Cairns instead we went to Townsville! less tourists and more industry but still a very nice tropical city small but with a small town type atmosphere the gap in the mountains at Townsville doesn't allow the humidity build up like at Cairns and the weather is just as nice but not as oppresive we bought a house on the northern beaches and have a 20 minute drive to town but a 2 minute walk to the beach if you go for a cup of coffee on the way. when we get English visitors we have a 4 hour drive to Cairns
So we have the advantage of the best tropical climate and location andthe best jobs availability in North Queensland and the worlds number 1 holiday resort is 4 hours away
Good luck with your decision I know how hard it is but whatever happens if you arrive and look at the place positivly then NQ is the best place in the world to live!

Don

I think the issue boils down to job availability/ job satisfaction. Everything else about Cairns could be a real positive for positive-thinking people. If I were Aus-bound it would be high on the list of possible destinations.