on a mission

Anyone living and working in Mackay?


Any info would be good

Vegemite

Me. And Framac, but I'm going to run him over in my 4WD when I get back, so it'll just be me, .

What would you like to know?

on a mission

Been aasked to consider a job up there.

Social aspect,
schools,
nightlife,

general living really.

For me aslong as i can put my tinny out, beaches and socialise easily Im happy.

chris96

nice place, quite remote in my opinion.

Vegemite

Well if you're looking for a place to launch your tinny, Mackay is one of the top spots in Queensland, in my opinion. It's not far from the southerly Whitsundays, which are great places to dive and just relax on (most of them deserted and national parks). Plenty of places to go crabbing and fishing too.

The region is quite big and incorporates a valley to the west of the town, called the Pioneer Valley, all in all there are 31 beaches in the region. The beaches are a golden sandy browny yellowy colour, (did you get any of that? lol), except the beaches on the nearby islands are white.
The city itself is really tiny - just a few blocks, not too many highrises (although that is changing rapidly). I think it now has about 80 000 people there.

The nightlife is just basic there (due to the small size of the town)..theres an irish pub, a few nightclubs, some nice bars at the marina etc.

Schools are probably just like everywhere elsein Oz. There's plenty of schools around, both state run and private.

Real estate has recently taken a ginormous hike - you'll pay about $350k minimum for a decent 3 bedroom house, rent is about the same (for a house).

The council there, in my opinion, has always needed a good kick up the arse,
(they take ages to do anything), but lately they seem to have gotten their act together a bit more. Mackay will be getting a public lagoon along the river, which has been long awaited.

The place itself has a tropical feel, its humid, but absolutlely beautiful in winter time (and for me, summer too). It is very green most of the time and close to heaps of rainforest. It is a very wealthy area due to its proximity to the booming coal mines out west. It's surrounded by sugar cane fields, sugar is one of its main industries.

Hope this helps,

any more questions just ask me. And if you do move there, let me know, I'll be happy to help you with anything once you're there too.

What sort of job have you been offered, by the way? Is it in the welding industry?

hollykimalan

Hi
We are moving to Mackay in April next year. I have a job as a nurse in a hospital there.....
I am looking forward to hear what folk have to say!
Alan
x

on a mission

Sounds great, some mixed reviews here, but thats seems to be one persons paradise is anothers misery and all that crap.

moocow

house prices have boomed due to the mining in the region so you will need to get in ealry if you want to rent.

it is a nice town tho on the beach but swimming is dangerous due to stingers and they don't get the waves like further south. but it is coller than say Rocky or townsville and gets a nice sea breeze.

Pioneer valley is beautiful and if you go up to Eungella National Park you can see platapus swimming in the wil, this is well wort the trip.

sambo76

My step-brother and wife moved there about 2 years ago when she scored a decent job in the council there. He says basically the same as everyone else on this thread. Beautiful places are close by, but nightlife is virtually non-existent and the town is dull. If it wasn't for the big $ they get to be there, then they would leave in a flash. But they're young have travelled a huge amount, and have no kids so I guess it was never gonna suit them! If you like you're mining communities, you'll love it there, and it does make a great base to explore Qld's central coast. Hope this helps.

Sambo