WelcomeIf you are new to Poms In Oz and migrating to Australia or currently living in Australia feel free to say hi to all the other either in or moving to Oz.
We have a black lab and a small terrier.... we did a lot of shopping around, and went for Jets4pets cos of the price, and the fact that they used Qantas, not some tin pot airline that might forget to put the heating on !!! OMG, very stressed about it, there have been a lot of tears over the last few days. But I have spoken to two other owners here whose dogs flew through, so fingers crossed.
Townsville is, well Townsville - we came here twice as a stop off for Magnetic island (where we got married in 2005). It is huge - 170,000 and growing hourly. There is a massive amount of building going on, which can only mean it is on the up and up. We love it - I cannot imagine going back to the UK now, which is just as well cos we have bought a house !!!
We are in the "Northern Beaches" area, and the beaches are simply stunning. It takes us 20 minutes to get into town, and I love it there too - a real mix of the old buildings and new blocks. The Strand is amazing - every single Townsvillian walks up and down in shorts and trainers every night, with an assortment of dogs. And poop-scoops- I have never seen any dogmuck ANYWHERE !
The payoff for the development is that the developers have to provide community facilites - we cannot believe the Riverway swimming lagoon centre, which is free. The sense of community is great - and there is so much going on all the time.There are a lot of Poms here, many in the medical/army side of things.
The only real test is the weather - it is getting quite tough now (the wet season arrived four days ago - our pool overflowed, every frog in the neighbourhood called all night - fantastic!!!!). It has only been 28 degrees, but the humidity is like being wrapped in clingfilm all day. At home, I live in a cozzie and flipflops- in the pool.
One thing I would say - I recommend you visit where ever you plan to end up, and check out what is personal to you. We met a Pom today who hates it, because (I think) of the weather. And you will get homesick, however much you love a place- it just helps if you do love it.
Hope that helps - look at the "this is the Life" townville council website too. alliekate x
