Locations
 

Hi,

Finally I have been offered a job in Queensland as a mechanic however I have been offered 6 locations and, after reading up on them, I still would love any further info on the locations.

I have a wife and 3 young girls so we need to rent a 4 bedroom to start with.

The locations are Roma, Dalby, Emerald, Chinchilla, Toowoomba, Gladstone.

Any help is greatly appreciated.

Thanks

Richard

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Haven't been to all of them but Toowoomba is wonderful. We loved it when we visited and looks like a fantastic place to live.

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Good ! It does sound great but apparentley very prone to flooding ?

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January's flash flood was a freak event, Roma, Dalby, Emerald, Chinchilla, Gladstone were all flooded as well. Roma has already suffered flash flooding this season, and Emerald has had several bad flood events in the last few years. Its a Queensland thing I'm afraid, wherever you move to check out the flood history of the property

Have a look for posts by Jen1977ni - she's in Toowoomba and has posted a lot about it.

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thank you so much pollyana !

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Toowoomba has a flower festival.

If I had the option to go to Toowoomba or anywhere else in QLD, it would be Toowoomba, based entirely on the fact that they have a flower festival, and that the girl who worked in our company's QLD office was a sweetheart. Congrats on the job offer. :)

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It's 700 meters above sea level and hear about flooding there far less than the others. Out of interest where did you read it was flood prone?

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There are some pretty remote places in that list. :ohmy:

I read an update post from some people that moved to Dalby that you might find interesting.

http://britishexpats.com/forum/showthread.php?t=730266

Picking off a map, I would probably go for Toowoomba or Gladstone because I would rather be coastal than inland (for the latter).

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Not been to any of them but I'd pick Toowoomba simply because it's closest to the coast and (possible) civilisation. (cue sarcy comments about Brissie) ;)

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I used to live in Emerald back in 2002-3 and hated it. So far away from everything (your looking at a three hour drive to Rockhampton or a 10+ hour drive to Brisbane) and so expensive to live as its a mining town. I've been back up there a few times this year to visit friends and the only thing thats really changed is that there is now a housing estate on the other side of town, oh and its gotten more expensive to live. It really is a shit hole.

I go to Dalby quite a lot (husband used to live there and his work is based out of there). Its only about a 40 minute drive from Toowoomba. Don't think that I would want to live there but its OK. Mind you if I had to live there, I guess it wouldn't be the end of the world.

Roma is somewhere that I have been to a few times but don't know much about. Its quite remote and I belive (although I may be getting this mixed up with somewhere else out there) that ist really expensive to live as its recently got a mine nearby. Same with Chinchilla. You couldn't pay me to move to either of these places.

Toowoomba is the place that I would pick for sure. The in laws live there, so I get to spend a massive amount of time around the area and lived there for a couple of months when I first came over. Its a really pretty town, with a little bit more to do. At Easter they have a mass in the pub, whats not to love about a town that does that! I actually considered living there, but like I say the in laws are there and I'd rather chew off my own foot than have to deal with my MIL on a daily basis.

Never been to Gladston-never want to go to Gladston so can't help you there

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I'd be bold enough to say Gladstone is a shit hole too - it's also 'full' so if you can find a house rents are astronomical. Haven't been to Toowomba but the proximity to Brisbane and civilization has to be appealing.

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Great that helps alot guys!

Thanks for the honesty also and Kamie I hope your in laws don't read this lol

Thanks again:thumbsup:

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You would pay a fortune for rent in Emerald and it's also creeping up in Gladstone - would agree that Toowoomba would be the best option on your list.

.

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Toowoomba is an old town which is not dependent on mining or gas exploration, so it has more diversity than the others. It is also close enough to Brisbane for day trips to be easy.

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I have to agree with Toowoomba! I often have to travel to Toowoomba to visit the uni there and it strikes me as a lovely place. There are plenty of shops, restaurants, great scenery and I think the house prices are quite reasonable. The only downside is that it is about 2 hours from the coast, but then you could always make a daytrip of a visit to the beach if thats your thing!

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OOPS only just seeing this now! We've been in Toowoomba for 22 months now and in all honesty it's been great. We were posted here with the ADF and for a first posting it's been perfect climate wise and the people are just lovely! There are some brilliant schools too, PM me if you require advice re schools and decent 'burbs to live in. I teach in a lovely school in the town which people are falling over themselves to get their kids into.

Any further questions, just give me a shout!

Jen :)

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Have you chosen your location yet? My husband has been given an offer of Chinchilla.

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Yeah unfortunatley we where given Roma and we have accepted . My company should help with housing etc but it is hard to find housing there. My visa is just about to be started so hope 4 weeks or so.

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We weren't sure and was given choice of Roma or Chinchilla we chose chinchilla on the fact it was slightly more inland are you working for Toyota?

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miss typed - was not as far inland I meant

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Hiya, Chinchilla is ok but Toowoomba is by far the best of the selection,If you lie rural settings and want a large back yard/ acerage plus its a nice run to the coast out of peak times or over the boarder to NSW and then down to Sydney if you want. It s a couple of hours from Byron Bay, but you will learn in Oz that distance means nothing really but then again I have been know to drive for 3 hours get a drink and the sunday paper and drive 3 hours home again. The mining towns are very expensive to live in if you can find a house and the groceries etc are similar due to the higher income in teh area plus the cost of transport.
The flood/ tsunami last year was a freak of nature and you can be flooded anywhere even here in the UK. It just means you pick your property and stay out of any that are within the 100 year flood zone.

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Toowoomba was my first choice but no job offer there. Chinchilla friendly I have made friends with a local lady via facebook she has told me highs and lows. Looking forward to meeting her when we arrive. She love Toowoomba too.