WallyWombat

Hi there, We are on the move again moving from Gold Coast to Townsville and looking for recommendations for removalists who can also offer storage in townsville. We always feel better hearing from people with real experiences. We arent worth much to a removalist so always very cautious when booking with them. The cheapest quote we received was from a backloader but can't find many reviews for them. Look forward to hearin from you! Many thanks,

Hi Doubter - the isolation is what attracts us to Townsville as it gives you the illusion it is isolated, but really it isn't. Looking out from Castle Hill is kind of like looking out at other islands when on one of the Hawaiian islands...makes me feel alive and live in the moment...and just relaxed We are on the GC now and finding it too busy (and cold in winter!). The wages are pretty average down here to -so we might as well move north and be where we want to be. We are flying up to Cairns for the Easter weekend for a short break. i have a feeling it might be busy though as everyone has cancelled the Whitsundays and many people have cancelled their hols on North NSW. Whereabouts on the GC are you?

Hi, So, we had a great 10 days up in Brownsville. Enjoyed Magnetic Island and then stayed 4 nights at Jacana and then 3 nights on Palmer. The place really started to grow on us by the time we left. My husband is sold on the idea but I would still like to check out Cairns area so we are going up for 5 days at the end of April. It's seems a lot more laid back up there and a lot less people. We loved the heat too. I couldn't imagine living out near those Jacana apartments though and we would prefer to be a bit closer to town. loved the beaches on the north side - so natural and tropical. I am just going to review all the posts on Cairns now to see what to check out when we are up there. I find it fascinating now when we revisit areas as we now we have been in Australia for 4 years, we have a greater understanding of life here and see places completely differently as we first did when we were on holiday or just landed.

HI Pom Queen, Thank you so much for your reply and sorry I have taken so long to write back. I forgot that I had posted this and hadn't logged in for ages. We have booked Christmas on Maggie Island and then a week at Jacana Apartments. They were originally $150/night but went down to $105 /night so excited about that. Funny, months ago we wouldn't have dreamed of overlooking a river, but recently on the GC, we have just moved into a unit with a balcony overlooking the water way and just love it. It's amazing all the wildlife we see around here. I think we are slowly working out what we want in life by process of elimination. We first lived in WA for 2 years (around Perth) and found the winters too cold and long. So, then we took a road trip aiming for Brisbane but ended up on the Gold Coast as after a week in BNE we realised how much we love living near the ocean and don't believe in commuting more than 1/2hr per day so found work on GC. We were reluctant to move further north as we didn't want to miss out on swimming in the ocean 6 months of the year due to stingers. However, we have learned that we do more stuff around the water rather than in it, and it is still too cold for us for swimming in the water so don't take full advantage anyway. So, before you ask, yes, we are making decisions based on weather as most of our entertainment comes from natural things; I think everywhere needs good coffee places. It seems whatever I order, it comes out like a flat white /latte! Townsville seems like it is in a good position for what we like. (Bowen is one of my most favourite towns in the world!!). We are a couple in our 40's, early 50's, no kids and don't like to work too hard and just want to be warm all year round and love the outback and the tropics. I like the tropical feel in Cairns/PD but kind of want to stay away from popular tourist destinations. We are saving for a cool camping 4wd and camper and hope some day to have our very own tinny We have been to Brownsville a couple of times, once on holiday before we emigrated, and once camping in March (in a tent after driving for 2 months across Australia) so hoping we will get a more true sense of the place when we are staying somewhere with air conditioning. Speaking of which, do you have to use your air con there? We tend to like to be hot and never turned it on when living in Perth but not sure how it is there in the summer. I know my husband visited Darwin and said he would've found it hard if there was no air con there. Workwise, we will be the same as the only way we could make more money would be to move to a city, but aren't willing to do that. How long have you been living there now? Wally Wombat

Hi, We are heading to Townsville for 10 days over Christmas hoping to get a bit of a feel of the city and evaluating it as a potential place to live. We have been a couple of times before but have always been in holiday mode and never thought it would be somewhere we could live. But after having lived in Perth for 2 years, and Gold Coast for a year, we are now thinking Brownsville might be the fit for us. Can anyone recommend what area to stay in or any motel/apt to try? Many thanks!

Hi Dnursey, Are you coming for a holiday or permanently? We have just relocated to the Gold Coast and have to say that these resorts are all hit and miss. You can't really go by the pictures as they are "just a guideline" they say. We would never book these without seeing them first and are very thankful we did as some we saw were pretty poor. Turtle Beach is closer to the beach than Ashmore Village but not sure if that's a priority for you having kids. It looksl like some of those units of Turtle Beach are right on the GC Hwy so there will be that noise too if you get one of those units. We did go out to AshmoreVillage but weren't able to look in the units as they were all full. But it seems to get a lot of good reviews on this website. We have just moved into a permanent apartment in Mermaid Beach and loving the area.We are only 197m away from the beach and LOVING it! Personally, we loved the area south of Burleigh -Ppalm Beach and Currumbin - it would be great for families down there too. Let me know I can help with anything. Rosie

Hi, I might have a job starting in Surfer's Paradise shortly and just wondering if anyone has done that commute from Burleigh area to Surfers and could provide some feedback. Even when I drove to the interview after rush hour, (from Currumbin), it took just over an hour. I was hoping to rely on the public transport and take a bus to Broadbeach and then tram to Surfers - any feedback on how that might be? We are in temporary accommodation in Currumbin Waters and love this area but are thinking of trying to rent somewhere up in Burleigh as it is more central and has a good feel to it. I look forward to hearing from anyone! Thanks, R

Hi, That's exactly what I did. I scored all high on the Academic test apart from writing (7.5) which was good enough for a positive CPA assessment and then took the General test for immigration points. I found the General test ridiculously easier than the Academic test but it could have been just the luck of the draw. (This was back in September 2012) I was going to have the written module reassessed but it was quicker for me just to rewrite the test. Hope that helps.

Hi Marissa, wow...that seems like good value. Would $500 include the shopping cart, pictures and text added? Also, does that include the website address and hosting? thanks, rosie

Hi, we are in a rental so that is why. It is virtually the same price we paid in Canada. we found our car insurance and home insurance to be cheapest with RAC.

I hope so....we pay $283 per year. Duh! Sorry about that.....

Hi Nicola34, Can I ask who you have your house insurance with please? We are paying $283 for 50K contents but only in a rental. It is coming up for renewal so am going to start calling around again to get that lower. Thanks, Rosie

Hi Gary, Sorry to hear about your situation but thank you for the warning. After I read your post a while back, I was really worried as to how my boss was going to react and really thought long and hard aobut the best way to go about it. Now that I have my visa and handed in my notice on MOnday (giving 7 wks notice) ,I am happy to report that, although my boss was very shocked, he has been so good about it. We work really well together so I decided in the end that I should do what would make me feel better - and giving him more notice rather than 2 weeks was the right thing to do. Thankfully I was right. In fact, he even thanked me for giving so much notice. I did have my doubts though as it is a company where people don't tend to leave....but I guess moving to Australia trumps all else. The funniest thing about it all is all the people who start telling you secrets about their plans ( 2 people confessed they are looking into moving in to Australia too!). Hope things are better for you now - in the grand scheme of things, you will just look back on it and laugh...but I know it feels terrible when it's all happening. Hope you have recieved your visa since posting! We received our visas January 4th and feel like we have won the lottery - heading out early March All the best, Rosie

Thanks Plutology! Fantastic start to the new year for us . We will start planning this weekend and arrange for moving quotes. I can't believe I can do all of this stuff for real now