Myself and family (hubby and children aged 8 and 6) have decided to take the plunge and go for it ..... after years of deciding and then un-deciding we have decided to just go ahead and give it a shot and start a new life down under.

We are looking at Cairns to move to (mainly due to having friends there) but also we like the look of the climate. We are now looking at contacting various companies and trying to get sponsorship but in very early stages.

But I cant shake this nagging feeling of "what if it is the wrong decision". I know no-one can give any guarantees but just wondered if it was a very normal feeling or did you all feel absolutely 100% about your m

We are about 85% sure its what we want but fear of the unknown is scaring us !!!! So I thought I would get pro-active and join this forum and get some practical information about Cairns.

What is the weather like, what are schools like, what are the best areas to move to, job opportunities, creepy crawlies (yes yes I know that old chestnut keeps coming up but I am actually terrified of spiders ). My hubby is a gasfitter and I would prob not work initially whilst we settle in but then look for something part-time (office type work, shop work, working in a school etc)

Also, how long does it take to feel "at home" ..... or does the homesickness never go?

Any info would be extremely appreciated so fire away

Go for it we spent a year getting visa then thought no, yes, no, yes etc etc... Then thought back to how we got up every morning logged on to the internet to see if we had visa for a wile year then read how it's singers to get now and just thought if we don't co it wf will regret it so we are off to VIC at Christmas! Cairns is fab went ther fit three weeks in 2005 no specific s to give you but I would definitely live there if I hAd the chance !

Hello....before you get too far into anything else look here..

http://britishexpats.com/forum/forumdisplay.php?f=32

I wouldnt worry about the other things until you clarify your immigration options... then you will have plenty of time to worry...

Hi there

Welcome to the forum and congratulations on deciding to take the plunge! You sound a bit like we did in the beginning! We kept saying shall we shan't we etc etc an did all the what ifs and spent a few weeks not even talking about it as it was such a huge decision - more for me really as hubby has always been up for it - since our reccie early this year anyway! But for the past 2 months we have both really been keen on going and have started the process We just thought sod it - you only live once and if we don't like it we can come back. We don't want to be sat in our rocking chairs in our old age thinking "what if ????)

We are looking at Queensland but further down on the Gold Coast as this is where we have rellies and the place we loved more than anywhere else when we went to Oz earlier this year. We have two girls aged 6 and 8 and they too would like to live n Oz.

What type of visa are you coming under?

Wouldn't worry too much about creepy crawlies too much really, we only saw about 3 or 4 in our 2 months out there and they weren't too bad

Good luck!

You are getting ahead of yourself a little bit. First thing to do is to look into the visa situation, no point getting excited about a move if you can't actually get there. You mentioned sponsorship, but it is very hard to secure this from overseas and not many people manage it so perhaps you should also look into the independent routes.

Yes l read a thread from someone who moved to NZ instead of OZ becasue they were affraid of creepy crawlies and they now realised they made a mistake moving to NZ and want to move to OZ but can't. So don't let a few little creppy crawlies infulence such a important decsion.

I live in Cairns & we chose here for the climate. You do need aircon in summer & some days in summer do feel unbearable but on the whole it is not too bad. Winter is usually fab but has been a bit wet this year so far.
Creepy crawlies....wel I hate spiders too. We do get them but no more than we did in the UK. There are also snakes & large roaches & plenty of ants.
Plenty of good suburbs & schools.
It is easy to get around, no real major traffic jams but public transport is not great. Cost of living can also be higher than other places in Aus as prices in shops are generally higher than further south.
Personally I think it is a great place to live.

I would be researching the job situation very carefully though. Cairns has suffered greatly during the recession because it is almost entirely dependent on tourism & although they keep touting a reduction in unemployment, the cynics say this is because lots of people have had to move away to get work!
If you have friends here, they should be able to help you with this.

As others have said, you need to look at your visa options & go from there.

Good luck!

On the wildlife in Cairns, there was this recent news article.