Where to go to? Cairns? Brisbane? Perth?
 

Hi, apologies as this question is probably asked hundreds of times......
I'm really hoping to get some idea's on where to look to emigrate to from the UK.
We have 1 child, currently age 4, probably age 5/6 by the time we move, and want to live in a quiet area close to the coast. My Husband is a Roofer & I'm a Welfare Worker but I also work as an animal care assistant over here.
We want to be somewhere with great schools nearby, a safe family orientated environment. Obviously we need somewhere that we can get work too. It seems roofing vacancies are available in most areas from what research I've done - please correct me if I'm wrong!
We would be renting property first, We want to live somewhere that's not too expensive to rent & eventually buy property.
Had looked at Brisbane but it looks quite built up & "big city" also looked at Cairns which looked nice. Perth has been suggested too but again I'm not sure if it's too built up for us.
We're not flashy, we don't want a "City Life" We're looking for a laid-back family lifestyle, somewhere with great weather year round.
Many thanks in advance for any help received!

Re: Where to go to? Cairns? Brisbane? Perth?
 

Go where you can get a job!

Re: Where to go to? Cairns? Brisbane? Perth?
 

Great reply. Really informative.

Re: Where to go to? Cairns? Brisbane? Perth?
 

Brisbane is not that big really, and probably will offer more work as far as roofing is concerned, I would imagine. I am not in that industry, so don't really know. We just decided on Brisbane and arrived here. It took me a long time to get a job, but not my ex-wife. She found one fairly soon, but we had enough savings to see us through until we were both working.

Weatherwise, Brisbane is pretty good all year round. Perth has cold, rainy winters, I believe. North QLD will be more tropical and warmer all year round.

Good schools and safety, can be found in most areas and if you want a laid back life style then live further out and rents will be cheaper too and houses when you want to buy.

I'm sure some more suggestions will come along soon enough.

Good luck and Welcome to BE. :)

Re: Where to go to? Cairns? Brisbane? Perth?
 

Pragmatic! Check out seek.com to see what's available. All the other stuff is pretty generic but, honestly, if you're not big city people then aim for smaller country towns. Brisbane and Perth are big city with big city prices. Does your DH cope well with extreme heat on tin roofs? If not then aim for somewhere a bit more southerly.

Re: Where to go to? Cairns? Brisbane? Perth?
 

Thanks for the replies.
I've already looked on seek and there was roofing vacancies all over.
I'm not really fussed what I do work wise, just need a job that'll fit around school hours.
When we looked into visas it was suggested we should maybe go for SA & apply for a state sponsored visa. I'm not certain how that works other than whichever state sponsors you, you must then live there for 2 years.
We really like the look of Cairns but for Hubby's welfare he would literally be cooking if it's hot there all the time.
I don't know much about SA so need to research it more.
I posted in here to hopefully get some suggestions of smaller towns that may be suitable that i could then research, as generally, that's what forums are for, help & advice.

Re: Where to go to? Cairns? Brisbane? Perth?
 

Well the trouble is you are not giving us much to go on. "Family friendly and near the coast". Most places accommodate happy families and most of the population lives near the coast too. Good schools too are everywhere, they are not concentrated in one town or city.

If you want to work your way through this in a logical fashion, you need to focus in the factors that really differentiate one place from another and indeed that does cover availability of work. Other factors are the climate, which can vary significantly across Australia and also housing costs do as well.

Re: Where to go to? Cairns? Brisbane? Perth?
 

I see the first post says 'good weather year round' - to many people that rules out Cairns - very hot and humid, especially for working outside - and then with what can be a horrendous wet season with a few cyclones thrown in.

Re: Where to go to? Cairns? Brisbane? Perth?
 

You are going to have some months of bad weather no matter where you go, Australia's climate for any construction worker is harsh, hot as hell in summer. Roofing in brisbane in APR - NOV would be good, before it gets humid. Flies not the problem they are in the Southern, Western states. But UV high, but its dangerously high in most states anyway except Victoria for the 4 winter months.

Cant think where you would get cheap housing prices now except country towns, couple hours outside a city. Prices are low in brisbane compared to MELB and sydney but rising rapidly and the competition for anything under 500K is intense.

Carins, just been up there, humid even in winter, nothing compared to summer though:eek:, really scruffy, run down people and areas. For the lovers of hot and casual for sure.

Re: Where to go to? Cairns? Brisbane? Perth?
 

Ok so please help me to help you help me? I thought my OP was informative but it seems not. What other info do I need to post?
We don't want to be in a big city, city life wouldn't suit us. We were looking to relocate to a quiet suburb. Price wise for renting, probably looking at about $300 a week until we find employment & can afford better.
Places that other have suggested were Hervey Bay, Buderim, Mooloolaba, Little Mountain & Sippy Downs.

Re: Where to go to? Cairns? Brisbane? Perth?
 

The problem with the areas you have mentioned is the availability of work.

The population of the sunshine coast is not that big.....hence no work.

Most work is in the cities which is why most people live in them.

You are going to be pushed to find a rental for $300 in any area where there is a Lot going on.....and that is where the work is.......finding school hours work is going to be very difficult as it is is So sought after.

The best advice you have been given so far is go where you can find a job.....that is by far the most important thing.

Re: Where to go to? Cairns? Brisbane? Perth?
 

300 rent is low, but you could get a older unit for that sort of money.

Buderim is stunning, as is much of the Sunshine coast, beaches, rainforest, green, beautiful, building is picking up again, but many commute to work in brisbane.

Hervey bay, its quiet, very popular with elderly retired people but has lots of local young families, cheap housing, but really why move across the world for that? its pretty dead, bit backward really.

Have you looked at redcliffe peninsular, the work of surrounding areas of noth brisbane and city but quiet beach lifestyle half hour from CBD. Rent and housing cheap. ( buying frenzy under 400k )

Problem is roofing is normally going to be in the big new housing estates, ( on the edge of cities ) so commuting is probably on the cards if you dont want to do city.

Country VIctoria might suit, loads of new housing estates 40 mins to hour out of melb. Weather in vic is much cooler, hot dry summer, can be extremly hot, wet cooler winters, nights cool most of year, I like its weather but many would say aside from summer its more similar to the UK weather, and I got the impression you are more looking for sunny year round stuff.

Re: Where to go to? Cairns? Brisbane? Perth?
 

I'm sitting here wondering what a roofer in Cairns would be like actually. I couldnt imagine anyone sticking to it for very long up there. But they must obviously ! Maybe they are transient people ?

To the OP if you can handle it, Darwin is the go. Some of the highest wages in the country. What you get is everything you asked for, Except be careful what you wish for in this country. Heat will overwhelm most, as will the isolation.

Hervey bay, is possibly the best suggestion I've seen for you, on the info you given. Purely on the basis that it's the closest to civilization as you are used to in your current life in the UK... Your going to get culture shock anywhere north of there. There again some people can manage jumping in boots and all.... More for a single or childless couple I would think though.

Personal thought, I couldnt imagine any roofer working a 7 hour plus day on a Australian summers day .... They dont do they ??? The CFMEU knock of at 37C degrees AFAIK.

Re: Where to go to? Cairns? Brisbane? Perth?
 

I think that rules out just about everywhere. Perth is very hot in summer and very wet and cold in winter. Adelaide also very hot in summer and cold in winter. (The 2 places I've lived here)

Re: Where to go to? Cairns? Brisbane? Perth?
 

"Good weather year round" is not a particularly effective way of differentiating either. What is the definition of good weather anyway, it probably varies by individual. When I said climate can be a factor, I was suggesting that OP might need to consider temperature, humidity, rainfall etc. all fact based concepts not whether it is "good" or not.