Cairns
 

Never really thought about Cairns, but after watching that 'Wanted down under' it looked nicer than expected. What do you think of Cairns?

I heard someone once say on these forums that crime was high, but looking at recent statistics it seems very low?

Is the wet season all that bad?

Re: Cairns
 

Cant be any worse than flamin NSW this year!! (although we have seen a bit of a respite the last two weeks :))

Re: Cairns
 

If you can get hold of Bix or Bix da Boss, they would probably be the best to give you info on Cairns.

Re: Cairns
 

Bix's other half here;)

That programme has a lot to answer for:lol:

Been here 3+ yrs and we all love it:)

As for crime, yes of course there is crime as in any big/small city but since we have been here cant really recall anything really major.There are some suburbs that we wld not live in but that is the same wherever you live.

Cairns has offered us everything we could ever want and much much more, but obviously, it is not for everyone. Some people prefer the bigger cites and find Cairns too small, we absolutely love it that way:)

It is very family motivated and has loads of free events to prove it! If you have young children, there are so many activities at your fingertips you would find it hard to choose which ones to do!

And the Rain Forest, well, I could talk about that forever - we find it absolutely amazing and Cairns is surrounded by it - beautiful scenery wherever you go - I just love it:D

Take care
Bix da boss

Re: Cairns
 

Well, can you believe that:lol:

Bix is still snoring away in bed, so I am making the most of getting use of the laptop he he he!!

I am sure he will put his too pennies worth in though eh;)

Have a good day
Bix da boss

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I must admit I thought cairns looked very appealing. I have actually been reseaching the place, but the cyclones and the severe weather warnings scare me a little. Plus you can't go in the sea for 5 months due to poisonous jelly fish. May be I am a little nieve to the tropical weather. I do like the look of fremantle though which I have never thought of before/. aNY COMMENTS????

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Cairns is a great place to live. There are some crimes here which seem particularly shocking - rapes etc and living within a fairly small community excerbates the shock factor further. (That's my opinion and although I don't shock easily, when you're a parent, the local crime quota is of high importance). But compared to other major regional cities, it's not bad, and nowhere is paradise but major crime is here. That's life.

The wet season is a welcome change from the constant sunny / balmy / warm days we have the other 7 months of the year and if you like a tropical garden or grow your own veggies then its especially welcome. Sitting out on the patio with a glass of wine, listening to the rain fall on the tin roof, or even having a dip in the pool is excellent at this time of year.

In the wet, it's hot, hot, hot but the rain doesn't last long, just way more frequent.

Cairns has some of the trappings of the 'big city' (not all) but certainly without the road tolls and congestion and is easily commutable to CBD work from either Gordonvale or Palm Cove.

Good luck with your decision.:)

Re: Cairns
 

I think you hit the nail on the head when you said "I heard someone once say on these forums that crime was high, but looking at recent statistics it seems very low?"

People posts information on the forum (mainly) in good faith but it is easy to take things out of context or down to a personal level of experience that does not actually represent factual data.

What is the extent and impact of crime on the individual ?
Is it what they percieve, what they actually witness, or what they read in the papers ?

I guess the truth is that it's a mixture of the lot but maybe swayed in one direction by a personal experience.

Our experience is that we percieve the crime rate here to be no worse than the sleepy UK town we came from. We haven't witnessed any crime on the streets but undoubtedly it is there somewhere. The factual crime rate as you have seen is not as high as some would have you believe.

We have been impressed with the attitude of the police here. On occassions we have seen trends in certain public disorders and crimes. Very quickly they target these to nip them in the bud before they get out of hand and quite successfully from what we see.

So in summary I would say crime should not be a major factor in the decision process on whether you decide to come to Cairns.

The wet season is great with loads and loads of glorious heavy rain.
Warm rain however heavy is just so different from the cold and piercing stuff of our UK past lives. I actually like the wet season.

We have lived in 4 places in Cairns and have been selective as to where we lived to reduce the risk of flooding. Some roads and some areas are more prone to flooding than others. We are just a little more cautious in this respect than others.

Re: Cairns
 

Good place for my mafia family then, thanks ;)

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I am now going to Cairns now. Originally I was going to the Sunshine Coast or Brisbane. I'll give it a try, if it doesn't work then I'll move on, although I want to settle in one place.

Why not give it a try.

Crime happens everywhere. In London where I am there is a child (teen) murdered every week. That makes the news but the thousands of muggins don't.

Shaun

Re: Cairns
 

Hi there, we are also looking at Cairns. Could you tell us which of the suburbs you would avoid and where are the nice areas to be looking at? Many Thanks

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Here ya go.....

http://britishexpats.com/forum/showt...cairns+suburbs

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Well iv been here 7 months now and love it but i will say if you a do a manual job the wet season is pretty hard going. Im a electrician and pretty much half an hour after i start work im p wet through with sweat and thats it for the day, wet through! Be warned!!!!!

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You'll get used to it! Carry a spare shirt and change at smoko if need be...you'll be wet again 30 minutes later tho'!;) Still, the 30 minutes freshness is nice...

Otherwise, install a pool...come home, jump in , have cold, cold beer on hand...forget about the day...

Re: Cairns
 

Hiya Jessy

I am going back to Brisbane only because my hubby will have a better chance for job opps there, otherwise I would be going to Cairns in a flash. I live there for 3 years and loved it. Best hangover cure was driving 20 minutes to go swim in a freshwater swimming hole with icy cold water from the rainforest - awesome. No matter the hear you could always escape to the Tablelands or the Rainforest - less than an hour to drive to several beaches and great scenery. Scuba diving on the weekends too - lovely.

I don't recall much crime - just the usual for a small place.

The wet season was quite nice - I never minded getting wet during the wet seasons because the temp was so hot I would dry out in no time. In fact I often used to go in it to get wet!:blink:

I found it could get a bit boring at times, but that was probably the worse thing I could say about it IMO.