garyp

Whats the pros and cons?
Been to both but cant decide which would be more suited to me. Gold coast much busier to what I am used to living in a town in UK but very nice.
Enjoyed whats around Cairns such as Kuranda and Nothern beaches/Port Douglas.
Both have their tourism but can anyone give me an insight into family life for either?

moneypenny20

Both much of a muchness family life wise I would think. You have to go with your gut instinct. What bits of the Goldie did you visit? It's quiet where I am but then it's quiet compared to what I had before which was a small town of about 30,000 surrounded by countryside but London about 25 miles away. Do you know which would be better for work? And can you handle high humidity (and aircon) of Cairns in summer? In an ideal world I'd live on the Goldie for 8 months of the year and then move up to Cairns for winter but never mind, it aint going to happen

BeachBassist

yeah I think going with your gut instinct and also take the tourist shades off best way to find the right place for You.

I personally didn't like Brisbane (only saw the airport and what I saw from the train...but I don't like cities anyway). I also walked from Coolangatta to Palm Beach and my choice is definitely Coolangatta (although love the scenery on the way). I might check out Byron Bay and I want to visit Perth. but if I had to I think I could live in Coolangatta and be happy.

Burbage

No water restriction in Cairns.

moneypenny20

None here either.

Sally Simpson

There is plenty going on in & around Cairns for a family, some good schools, traffic generally not bad at all & it is easy to get around.
Weather in winter is fabulous, you just need to cope with the wet season when it can be very humid & feels hotter than it really is! Of course the benefit of wet season is how lush & green it is most of the time.
Personally I think it is a great place for my family but I also haven't been anywhere else yet either!
Primarily you probably need to look at job opportunities in both places as a starting point.
Good luck

kporte

The drawback being, you live near Sal. So, Goldy it is then?

johnnyx0

Hey, how far down the coast do you stop worrying about stingers?

garyp

Just come back after interview and visited and liked both. job oppportunities possibly in both when time to go.
only seen the busy surfers paradise bit where the traffic was busy driving out to what I am used to. took a nice wrong turning to paradise point. I realise gold coast is a big place and it must have its quieter places to live. never went south to coolangata which looks nice.
I live in an area at mo where population is approx 70000 and my town is approx 12000 back in uk. dont want too much of a culture shock.
liked both places but getting drawn to both. Cairns has everything but you are isolated so far north with extremes of weather.
just want what is right for teenage kids who are still reluctant to go

Burbage

For about another month.

Burbage

South of Rocky.

Jockstar

This is a major thing. We moved to the Goldie 5 months ago. But are moving back to Sydney next week. I like the GC but the lack of jobs is a big thing. I never moved up here to commute to work over a hour one way and nearly 1.5 half back.ie working in Brissie or Ipswich. If you can find stable work on the Gold Coast then i'd say go for it. Never been to Cairns so cant comment. Good luck.

johnnyx0

Cheers, Burbage. BTW, whats the job situation like in Cairns at the moment?

adamlt1972

I think both have their strengths and weaknesses (obviously) but having visited both recently you might need to think about the climate in Cairns.
At certain times it can be stinkingly hot and humid, so you'll end up hurrying between air conditioned environments, and you'll have to work out if you can handle living like that for part of the year .
I was there over a public holiday weekend, so the city centre was a bit of a ghost town, save for some down and outs brawling at 3pm. At nights bits of the city centre seem to be taken over by British/Irish backpackers, so at times it can feel like a night out in any British city (not a good thing in my view).
On a positive note however some of the areas around Cairns are beautiful; Port Douglas is one of my favourite spots in Oz, with a nice laid back feel, and other places around are lovely.
The heat is a real benefit at this time of year too, which explains why the city is a major tourist destination for Aussies.
Don't read too much into the Gold Coast from Surfers (which I always consider to be the ba##ard son of Blackpool and Las Vegas); although thats the busiest part, some of the quieter areas are fantastic, particularly if you head inland into the Hinterland. Going south into North NSW is nice too.
I'm sure someone will be able to confirm this, but I'd imagine you'd get more house for your money in Cairns than you would on the GC though.

Burbage

Well I have one.