tripawaymars

5 MONTHS IN CAIRNS AND NO INTENTIONS OF GOING BACK!!!!!

Well, I was going to do a 2 month update but better late than never eh (Sally-Claire)!!

It has been almost 5 months since I arrived in sunny Cairns, leaving my partner and dog temporarily behind in rainy Manchester.
This thread may have to have a few parts to it as I don't seem to have the time to sit down for 3 hours or so in one go here....

Our story started last August, 3 months after I finished Uni in U.K and qualified in Sports Podiatry. I had been told that Podiatrists were in need in Oz and other friends from Uni were heading out here so we thought why not give it a go!! Could have had my own business in U.k but we just wanted a change, better weather and a different lifestyle.
After a 3 week trip last year and 4 interviews we decided on Cairns..why many ask?? As soon as we got further north towards Cairns we just fell in love with the landscape changing from very dry and pretty brown to lush gree rainforest and deserted beaches. We only had limited time in Cairns as we also headed up to Port Douglas and Cape Tribulation but it was enough to make our minds up.
People seemed friendlier than further down the coast and always had time for a chat or to give advice on the area. We had time to drive around the southern and northern suburbs and decided we fancied either Forest Gardens to the South or Trinity or Kewarra Beach to the North.

We had already been on British Expats many times as original job offers were in Townsville, Sunshine Coast, Mackay and Hervey Bay. We then discovered the Cairns threads and got so much helpful information from it. We made good friends with Bix and Bix da Boss who have made it so easy for both of us moving here, and since the move...am sure you will already know of them if you have read other cairns threads!! They kindly viewed some property rentals on our behalf sending back photos and very honest opinions. We missed out on a few we wanted in Trinity Beach then got one in Kewarra a few weeks before I flew out at the end of April.

We settled for an older rental which is 5 minutes walk from Kewarra Beach. It is a nice quiet suburb with a mix of old and new properties. We have a huge garden and pool and a mature garden with lovely tropical plants and many varieties of palm trees. We are also a nice distance from neighbours being an older property. The inside isn't huge but 4 bedrooms is plenty for a couple and a dog!! Dog gets his own room! Yes, he is spoilt. The owners are hopefully selling so if it is the right price we would like to stay and extend the house and modernise it. the older properties have a lot of potential providing you can get them at the right price. How we wish we had been in Cairns 5 years earlier and bought one...

Here are a few photos of our place (beach house) and Kewarra Beach:

tripawaymars

PART 2

I was only able to upload 5 photo files in the first part of my thread. Please advise if anyone knows how to upload more!!

Here are the Kewarra beach photos:


More update tonight as have to go into town now and look for a camper van for our travels in North Queensland.
Until later.

Bix da Boss

Well done Liz especially after the busy weekend you have had Hope your m8 enjoyed Cairns? Good pics - I remember taking that one of you on the first day you arrived - hot and beautiful (the day that is) he he he!!!!

Have left a msg on yr phone re this Saturday ok chuck

Take care and dont spend too much money on that camper van girls we dont want you getting lost in the outback

Gill
x

moneypenny20

Great update Most people know the friendly lion and his long suffering mate whether we're in Cairns or not

Bix da Boss

You had better watch out - we are coming your way very soon

Sent you a PM

moneypenny20

Yup got it hon. Just haven't got round to replying but I will

tripawaymars

More Kewarra Beach Photos..

At last i have managed to upload more kewarra Beach photos..they show my dog Storm on the beach early morning and the beach bar (closed on photo).
Oh, and me at Clifton Beach end of Kewarra (kewarra, Clifton and Palm Cove beach all join into one).
We love early morning walks with the dog and always stop and chat to other dog and non dog walkers. It is a really freindly area to live.

So, more on the update. As I said I arrived here first and had 2 weeks off before starting the new job. I had a hire car for a week and splashed out on a new motorbike and spent much of the second week riding along the coast road to Port Douglas, Sunday mornings at Port Douglas markets (photos to follow) and also up in the tablelands which really reminded me of the Peak District, derbyshire..near where I used to live. Hilly and green.

I also spent a lot of time and Gill and Bix's..either using their laptop or having a few beers and dinner..cheers Gill and Bix...it was also pretty hot still those first 2 weeks I arrived so spent a lot of time in the pool and using the BBQ.
At that point I knew we had made the right decision.

My first day riding my bike to work I admired the scenic ride I had to work..about 21 kms but all through the redlynch valleyand Barron Gorge area..not a bad ride compared to manchester rush hour traffic taking 40 mins on a motorbike to do 10 miles (80 mins in a car). A traffic jam here is more than 10 cars!!!
Work has worked out really well, thrown in at the dep end but sometimes I think you learn better that way!! Am past 3 months probation and on an associate fee now so all good. I work pretty much a 4 day week which suits me just fine and have been offered the business in a year or so...may end up retiring early after all!

The neighbours are also really nice and the Oz lifestyle is so much more slow paced than U.K which is a breath of fresh air.

I was of course missing the other half and the dog but knew it would only be for a few months. I went to a few ex pats meets and they really are a good bunch here in cairns and we all meet up quite regularly now.

I love the diversity of the area. From Kewarra Beach you can be in the rainforest in 20 mins, Port Douglas in 30 mins, the CBD Cairns in 15 mins, Atherton Tablelands in 50 mins and the Great Barrier Reef Islands in 90 mins (including drive to Cairns to get ferry). I love that choice...and you really dont have to worry what the weather will do..as you did in the U.K! It is nice to plan things last minute. I will continue again shortly.

Sally Simpson

About time too Liz!

Great update & photos. Thank you so much for sharing

I wish I could jump on the plane right now!!!!

tripawaymars

PART 3 UPDATE

Photos below are from my travels on the bike on the Captain Cook Highway between Palm Cove and Port Douglas and also at the Tablelands.

If you like quiet long sweeping roads through beautiful scenery then the tablelands are not to be missed. There are lots of old towns to stop at such as Atherton, Herberton, Ravenshoe and Yungaburra and then there are the volcanic crater lakes of Lake eacham and Barrine. There are also beautiful waterfalls including a few circular drives/walks with 3 or 4 waterfalls...and the wildlife is fantastic.

Then there is Cape Tribulaion and the World Heritage listed Daintree rainforest. This is about a 2 hour drive from Kewarra Beach or add 20 mins to that from cairns. there you can stay right in the heart of the rainforest. It is one of the few places in the world where rainforest sweeps down to meet the reef at beautiful white sand beaches. It is one of the oldest living rainforests and one of the most unspoilt in the world..as it was thousands of years ago. The rainforest walks there are great and 4WD enthusiasts can drive the Bloomfield Track all the way to Cooktown.

Cairns itself has plenty for adults, couples and families.
there are a lot of free activities for kids including the great outdoor lagoon pool which is right on the esplanade and in the city centre. There is also a big outdoot water play park called Muddies and a skate park..all within walking distance of one another.
For the adults there are bars and restaurants along the esplanade, ranging from snacks to upmarket food.
There are also nice bars and restaurants at Cairns Marina a few minutes walk away.
For shopping there are plenty of surf shops or there is Cairns Central Shopping centre. Rustys markets are great for fresh local produce with so much to choose from..get there late Sunday afternoon for half price on a lot of friut and veg. It's a bit hectic but worth it!

Saturday afternoons there is usually live music by the Esplanade too and a market.

There are jazz clubs, nightclubs, backpackers pubs (got dragged into one a few weeks back and felt old), irish bars and aussie pubs to choose from and live music venues. I would say it is hard to get bored but then living at the beaches we probably only go out and get a taxi back from Cairns once a month.

So is all this sounding positive?? too positive? Well, sorry to all those cynics but I love it here and so does the OH.

The negatives are there but they are not really significant. A few would be:

Local bus service is crap at night and first time we used it in the day the bus driver ran out of petrol (hilarious). Other times we get told there is one to Palm Cove at night and other times there isn't. It can be pot luck so we generally don't bother with them.

The taxi service isn't great and they don't have to be because they are the only one in Cairns (any taxi drivers get over here and give them a bit of competition). if there are any major events going on in Cairns it is so hard to get them to give you a time..they just say they will arrive when they can!

We miss a few of the High Street shops we used to shop at in the U.k but then we wear different clothing here so it doesn't really cause any hardship.

SAUSAGES, they just taste completely different here and we havn't yet found any we like..not that bothered though to be honest. The bacon is good!

Recruitment Agencies..if you want to use a recruitment Agency to find work we have found the ones in Cairns to be useless. The interviews here are however, very thorough. Jen has had a few bad experiences with companies not paying her here but now has a good job elsewhere which is secure. A secure job in Cairns is not always easy to come by from other peoples experiences we have heard. The work/life balance is better here and hours seem to be more flexible...that is from our experience anyway.
The downside is that a lot of places want qualifications rather than work experience which i found to be the other way around in the U.K. There are exceptions though as jens new job is a management position (which she hadn't really done a lot of in the U.K) and they went on her work/life skill experience.

High Interest rates. The house/mortgage interest rates are high so the gap between outlay for rentals and buying is large. We pay $1520 dollars a month rent but if we bought the place it would be about $2400 a month mortgage. In U.K the rent/mortgage market was similar, if not a bit more for rent. Then again, you wouldn't get a detached house with big garden, 4 beds and walking distance to beach for 160,000 pounds would you?

I will follow with some more photos in next few posts.

As you can see the negative things for us are not huge and not enough to affect how we live here.

Lack of nice over 25's wine bars...there are a few in Cairns but it is mainly more backpacker orientated. I guess the Marina isn't too bad. Apparently a new one has opened up called Buddah Bar which is over 25 so us expats must try that one soon.

Midges and sandflys between 4 and 6 p.m..mainly if you live near`the beaches or rivers..but you do adapt or use lots of Aeroguard.

tripawaymars

Told you i would get there in the end..am quite getting into it now..you will have to stop me now!!
mate, you will be here very soon and in time for our big xmas BBQ and pool party we are planning for early December..look forward to meeting you. Must go and make beef curry now!!
Lizx

tripawaymars

And we do love them so...

wardy2

great update Liz and fantastic piccies.

Glad you have settled so well see you soon

kaye x

tripawaymars

PHOTOS FROM FITZROY ISLAND LAST SATURDAY

We had our friend up from Sydney so decided to go to Fitzroy Island which is the nearest island to Cairns mainland (and much prettier than Green Island). It was a very hot day, over 30 and despite using factor 30 we still burnt slightly. We will be going back and doing the trekking walks to the summit when it is a bit cooler, on other words next year! 45 minutes by quick ferry from Cairns Marina. This is when we realise how lucky we are to live where we do.

tripawaymars

Cant wait to meeet you mate, we have got a really nice bu.nch of ex pats now here. Will be adding more photos so keep looking.
Lizx

wannabauzzienurse

Gorgeous photos Liz