janinekidd

We are moving to the Redlynch area of Cairns in September and would like to hear from any expats going or already there that could help me with some questions.

Thanks in advance

Bix

You rang ?

Wannabauzzienurse and us Bixes live there.
Tum just arrived too but has no internet connection yet.

janinekidd

Ok hi to everyone.

I have a 3 year old or she will be in August. Im 27 and my partner is 28.
First of all I would like an idea of schools if thats possible. I think Janine will go into school at 4 over there am I right.

Secondly houses, as Im from Brisbane they all look the same. Is it the same in Cairns? Whats Redlynch like? I know an wannabieanozzienurse replied and said everything for young children is free. But what about cricket lol. Is there any cricket clubs arund there my hubby is a keen cricketer and would be devestated if there wasnt.

Anothr question we are hoping to come out in September might be a little longer. Does anybody know what I can do about finding a rental. Should my hubby negotiate with his sponsoring company? Obv we are uprooting as a whole family. Or is there any hotels or anything nearby. Any help greatly appreciated.

I should know half of this but when we emigrated before. We were staying with friends so was a little difficult. And the sponsoring company said they would pay 3 months and find us a house. They said they would give us use of a car till my partner could find one (they didnt) they wouldnt even give him time off to sort anything. So we were stuck from the word go. Poor Reidfamily lol.

Speak soon

wannabauzzienurse

I think kids here start at 5 but may be wrong. Plenty of nurseries around though for the younger ones.

Cairns has good variety of housing, majestic old queenslanders are common in the older suburbs, timber pole homes sit high in the hills (nice if you can afford it!), modern estates are also plentiful with 4x2 homes, average block size is 600sqm but bigger block sizes are available.
Did I say everything was free? perhaps I was drunk! there is a lot for kids to see and do for free......the Eslanade Lagoon, Muddy's park (ideal for a 3 year old) parks beaches etc
Not sure about cricket clubs, I'm sure they exist but soccer seems to be more common.

If you're hubby is being sponsored perhaps he can try and negotiate with them to pay for 2 weeks in an apartment to give you time to look around when you get here. My sponsor did this for me when I arrived. What job does your husband do? Do you know where he'll be based?
There are loads of hotels, motels, apartments catering for all budgets.

FloridaLee

I was doing a bit of research into Redlynch today.

If ADSL Internet is important to you then the closer to the Redlynch exchange you are the better. The exchange is located on Brinsmead Kamerunga Rd. I think you have to be within 3km of the exchange to get ADSL.

This is probably a useless bit of info for you but it may help others

Bix

Our kids were beyond school age when we came here so will rely on others to answer the specifics but in the meantime here's some information that might be useful.....

http://education.qld.gov.au/etrf/faq-prep.html
http://www.ceo.cairns.catholic.edu.a..._redlynch.html
http://redlynchsc.eq.edu.au/

Both the private catholic and state schools have good reputations and will cater for whole school life, Primary right through to school leaving age.
The State one has expanded recently and are adding a new year each year so will be the full works in your childs timeframe.

I would say the houses are probably similar to what you saw in Brisbane but WonderingWombat is a good person to answer that having lived in both places.

Something to keep the hubby happy.....
Cairns Cricket Assoc Inc, 4 Egan St Manunda QLD 4870 Ph: (07) 4051 9260
http://www.qldcricket.com.au/clubs/d...sp?PageID=7230
http://www.qldcricket.com.au/default...4&locationId=7

Rental situation has been extremely tight but just read in the last few days that it is beginning to get better. I would not take a rental until you are here and can see it. In addition to the normal house rentals there are a large number of apartment blocks being built close to Redlynch Central which is close to the shopping centre and schools. Two and three bedroom units are rented. If you can get the sponsor to put you up in a hotel, motel or resort for a while that would be good. I wouldn't rely on them finding a longer term rental for you though. You might hate it and be locked in for longer than you would like. There are loads of all types of accomodation in Cairns due to the holiday industry.

Bix

Good info
Yes, the exchange is not far from the Red Beret Hotel in the Kamerunga direction. I'm within cricket ball range.

Actually we were due to get ADSL2 but Rawnet who were going to provide it went bust. Optus have taken on a couple of the exchanges done but it's only in the CBD areas.

FloridaLee

I heard about Rawnet and what they were doing. Shame the busted as im sure ADSL+2 would be pretty good being so close to the exchange.

I was researching Cairns as we've never been up that far and have read some good things about the area. It's also warmer than down here on the Gold Coast, which is freezing atm

We're still unsure if I should fly up and take a look to see if we would like it better than the Gold Coast.
I did a trip around Brisbane at weekend and we decided that we like the GC better. We have the "I wonder" question going around in our head atm

Bix

Tis no secret I'm in love with this place.
It's called a city but is more like a large country town.
The fact it is a tourist centre means there is always plenty going on and things to do but it is much more than that.
If you like cities, odds are you will not like it here but otherwise it's got most things.

FloridaLee

Thanks for that Bix. Where we lived in Florida was a smallish type area but had a big city within an hours drive. The same when we lived in the UK. We don't like the traffic but like to have the big shops there if needed.
I think a big chunk of it is the work side. I work in IT and there are more jobs here on GC / Brisbane, however I have seen jobs that I could do advertised in Cairns.

I think I will save up and take a trip up later in the year to see for myself

Thanks again

Bix

Yeah, I would imagine it is a bit of a backwater for IT but everywhere needs some. Council, hospitals and airport are likely to be the main ones I guess.

I've heard several people compare the climate here to Florida as the best match example so if you liked it there then this should be very similar.

We have crocs instead of alligators of course.

Cairns is approx 1 hour drive from Palm Cove to Edmonton which roughly covers it from end to end. From those ends it would be about 40 minutes into the main CBD.

Traffic is bad though. We have to stop for red traffic lights