Townsville

[Guest The Pom Queen]

Anyone work on construction or education here?

There seems to be plenty of schools there I suppose it depends what you teach.

[jac2011]

Im trying to get hold of anyone in Townsville looking to meet up once we arrive in September, is anyone still using this forum? If there are any fellow Brits wanting to meet and greet we are 2 adults (early 30s) with 3 children DD 11 DS 9 and DS 4.

 

Be nice to have a social circle on arrival.

[Guest The Pom Queen]

Im trying to get hold of anyone in Townsville looking to meet up once we arrive in September, is anyone still using this forum? If there are any fellow Brits wanting to meet and greet we are 2 adults (early 30s) with 3 children DD 11 DS 9 and DS 4.

 

Be nice to have a social circle on arrival.

Unfortunately you have me

[jac2011]

I think it's just me and you @The Pom Queen

 

I have spent a few months trying to track down a social group, much like the perth poms, brisbane poms and adelaide poms all seem to have but I am having no luck.

 

Seems like there was a mass exodus to Townsville a few years ago but nothing much since??? Sounds hard to believe seen as the city is expanding rapidly.

[wallabybob]

I'm here as well

 

Have you received your visa yet?

 

I don't think there is a pome group here in Townsville, well not that I know of. I know a lot of pomes through soccer and work but don't socialise with most of them.

 

I'm happy to meet up when you arrive here and would be happy to introduce you to some pomie friends and a few locals who have children, my neighbours are from Surrey and she works at the hospital, I think you are looking at working there. They have a daughter 16 and a son 10, I have a son who is 13. I have friends in the fairfield waters area and have a daughter 7 and a son 5 who attend Oonoonba state school, I think your looking at that area and school.

 

I'm 51 and my wife is 21.....Well that's what she says, she is 45, if you would like to meet once you arrive I'm happy to have a bbq so you can get to know a few people at least and would be able to get any info you require.

 

John

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[jac2011]

I'm here as well

 

Have you received your visa yet?

 

I don't think there is a pome group here in Townsville, well not that I know of. I know a lot of pomes through soccer and work but don't socialise with most of them.

 

I'm happy to meet up when you arrive here and would be happy to introduce you to some pomie friends and a few locals who have children, my neighbours are from Surrey and she works at the hospital, I think you are looking at working there. They have a daughter 16 and a son 10, I have a son who is 13. I have friends in the fairfield waters area and have a daughter 7 and a son 5 who attend Oonoonba state school, I think your looking at that area and school.

 

I'm 51 and my wife is 21.....Well that's what she says, she is 45, if you would like to meet once you arrive I'm happy to have a bbq so you can get to know a few people at least and would be able to get any info you require.

 

John

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

John that is a lovely offer. We are so worried about settling in or being isolated. Is there a better way to get in touch? We arrive around the 22nd of September and have a few weeks accommodation sorted so far... Thankyou

[adele244]

Hi all, we are looking into the possibility of Townsville. The property prices are a big attraction to us, plus the place sounds wonderful, although research into the job market is a must.

 

My question is .......are there any areas in Townsville that should be avoided?

 

Many thanks, and @jac2011 I have been reading your pasts posts and I always feel excited for you!!!! Exciting times x x

[jac2011]

@adele I have been advised to avoid Rasmussen, Condon and Kelso but again that is only from speaking to a few people. Everyone has their own views. Bushland Beach looks amazing but apparently travel into the city from northern locations can be tricky in high rainfall and if there are traffic issues.

 

I am looking at Idalia, Douglas and Annandale. Possibly Mount Louisa. I wont know till I get there though but I want to head as south as possible for the hospital.

[Guest The Pom Queen]

Hi all, we are looking into the possibility of Townsville. The property prices are a big attraction to us, plus the place sounds wonderful, although research into the job market is a must.

 

My question is .......are there any areas in Townsville that should be avoided?

 

Many thanks, and @jac2011 I have been reading your pasts posts and I always feel excited for you!!!! Exciting times x x

Hi @adele244 we also wondered on good and bad areas and to be honest we have found out there are no areas that are classed as good or bad and that they are pretty much all the same unlike any other area I have lived.

Kelso did have a poor rep basically because it was on the border with Rasmussen where a lot of public housing is, however Kelso has some beautiful acreage properties that are no where near. Also the defence force has just built a brand new housing development on the border and it is very nice, you also have the Riverway development down there which is lovely. My eldest lives in Douglas which is suppose to be one of the best areas but there are a few dodgy streets there and Annandale probably gets more break ins than places like Kelso or Condon. So basically I wouldn't rule any area out just make sure you are security conscious something we never were in Cairns. Most home owners have dogs.

[Guest The Pom Queen]

@adele I have been advised to avoid Rasmussen, Condon and Kelso but again that is only from speaking to a few people. Everyone has their own views. Bushland Beach looks amazing but apparently travel into the city from northern locations can be tricky in high rainfall and if there are traffic issues.

 

I am looking at Idalia, Douglas and Annandale. Possibly Mount Louisa. I wont know till I get there though but I want to head as south as possible for the hospital.

Douglas would be perfect for you as you could walk to work. My son lives off Riverside Blvd, lovely area and he can walk to uni if he wants. You also have a Woolworths on the university complex if you didn't want to drive to Stockies.

Have you looked at the flood maps for Idalia? The link is here http://www.townsville.qld.gov.au/council/publications/reportdrawplan/engineerreport/flood/Documents/RossRiver-Baseline-Vol1%20(Opt)_Part1.pdf I haven't had a read yet but it looked like it could be flood prone, although saying that it's all new housing estates down there so I'm sure they know what they are doing.

[adele244]

Thank you so much for the advice @Pomqueen & @jac22011. As I feel this is a lovely thread with realistic and sound advice, I'm going to bear all with our situation both work and finacially and see what you think of it.

 

Initially it was Brisbane, Brisbane area all the way, as it appeared more jobs were on offer around that area. After scouring Realestate.com everynight it became apparent that just a OK house in an OK area would set us back $375-400k, we will have around $200k to take with us.

 

Work wise... We have quite a successful electronics business, which basically repairs anything with electricity!, we do work for school, hospitals (Repairing Plasma TV's, Laptops etc) but our main work is with the cinema industry, repairing their high powered amplifiers and now we are doing really well in the music industry repairing studio equipment such as Mics, Mixing desks, amps for such as Abbey Rd Studios, bands and manufacturers. Anyhoo basically we need a lifestyle change, my husband is a grafter not a "Director" and does not enjoy what he does anymore as most of it is paperwork and sorting staff out. We never have holidays or much family time and it is time for a change.

 

So... when I saw the house prices further up, such as Townsville it was a real appeal as it would enable us to have a small mortgage (I'm seeing many houses at around 250-300K) which would only entail a mortgage of around $50-$100K that would be a lovely relief, however the consequence to this would be far less job opportunities.

 

A job say at the local hospital or school, or hotels being their onsite repair/maintenence/electronics guy would be perfect for hubby and he gets quite enthusiastic at that thought/dream?!. That would be right up his street and it wouldn't matter too much if it wasn't well paid as we would only have a small mortgage.

 

So this currently is our dilema... more job opportunities in Brisbane but with a big mortgage or less job opportunities but small mortgage in Townsville. One thing Pomqueen mentioned was the acreage properties, I noticed this too, and if work was a serious problem we could always attempt to build another business up like we have done here, build a large workshop and see how that goes......But ideally he wants a regular job.

 

We have 2 children aged Jacob age 5 and and Jess age 10.

 

Thats why I asked about the bad areas, because of the house prices being so low, I was wondering if it was because they were in real rough areas. Some really good prices for a couple of house I saw in Douglas, so that's encouraging what Pomqueen said that it was a good area.

 

Infact @Pomqueen you have now put the thought into my head about researching Cairns, something I never considered before. What are your thoughts about job prospects between the 2 places (Cairns & Townsville) and property prices?

 

Sorry guys for this long post..... I cant half rattle on!!! :chatterbox:

[srg73]

Iwas speaking to a real estate agent the other day whilst waiting for a client. She said Mackay and Townsville are in trouble, people leaving due to work and pricing dropping very quickly. If you have work arranged then great and I'm sure you can take advantage otherwise tread carefully. Also have a friend desperate to return to GC after a couple of years in Townsville, he hated nearly every minute.

 

s

[Guest The Pom Queen]

Iwas speaking to a real estate agent the other day whilst waiting for a client. She said Mackay and Townsville are in trouble, people leaving due to work and pricing dropping very quickly. If you have work arranged then great and I'm sure you can take advantage otherwise tread carefully. Also have a friend desperate to return to GC after a couple of years in Townsville, he hated nearly every minute.

 

s

Compared to Cairns I hate Townsville but there is a lot more work here, everywhere I look there are adverts in shop windows, something you don't see in Cairns. Townsville won't ever struggle because of the defence force, if ever the army base and airforce left then maybe but that won't ever happen. Property seems to be very much like Cairns where it remains stagnant. Although it seems to be starting to pick up here whereas Cairns hasn't. I can't say anything for Mackay as I don't live there @Bobj may know

[Guest The Pom Queen]

Thank you so much for the advice @Pomqueen & @jac22011. As I feel this is a lovely thread with realistic and sound advice, I'm going to bear all with our situation both work and finacially and see what you think of it.

 

Initially it was Brisbane, Brisbane area all the way, as it appeared more jobs were on offer around that area. After scouring Realestate.com everynight it became apparent that just a OK house in an OK area would set us back $375-400k, we will have around $200k to take with us.

 

Work wise... We have quite a successful electronics business, which basically repairs anything with electricity!, we do work for school, hospitals (Repairing Plasma TV's, Laptops etc) but our main work is with the cinema industry, repairing their high powered amplifiers and now we are doing really well in the music industry repairing studio equipment such as Mics, Mixing desks, amps for such as Abbey Rd Studios, bands and manufacturers. Anyhoo basically we need a lifestyle change, my husband is a grafter not a "Director" and does not enjoy what he does anymore as most of it is paperwork and sorting staff out. We never have holidays or much family time and it is time for a change.

 

So... when I saw the house prices further up, such as Townsville it was a real appeal as it would enable us to have a small mortgage (I'm seeing many houses at around 250-300K) which would only entail a mortgage of around $50-$100K that would be a lovely relief, however the consequence to this would be far less job opportunities.

 

A job say at the local hospital or school, or hotels being their onsite repair/maintenence/electronics guy would be perfect for hubby and he gets quite enthusiastic at that thought/dream?!. That would be right up his street and it wouldn't matter too much if it wasn't well paid as we would only have a small mortgage.

 

So this currently is our dilema... more job opportunities in Brisbane but with a big mortgage or less job opportunities but small mortgage in Townsville. One thing Pomqueen mentioned was the acreage properties, I noticed this too, and if work was a serious problem we could always attempt to build another business up like we have done here, build a large workshop and see how that goes......But ideally he wants a regular job.

 

We have 2 children aged Jacob age 5 and and Jess age 10.

 

Thats why I asked about the bad areas, because of the house prices being so low, I was wondering if it was because they were in real rough areas. Some really good prices for a couple of house I saw in Douglas, so that's encouraging what Pomqueen said that it was a good area.

 

Infact @Pomqueen you have now put the thought into my head about researching Cairns, something I never considered before. What are your thoughts about job prospects between the 2 places (Cairns & Townsville) and property prices?

 

Sorry guys for this long post..... I cant half rattle on!!! :chatterbox:

First thing I will say is check your hubbies qualification and what he needs to practise here a lot of electricians have had to start from scratch, I don't want to put a downer but this should be your priority.

I will be honest with you I love Cairns, it will always be home to me and I'm not a fan of Townsville, it's not Townsvilles fault I prefer it to Melbourne I just loved Cairns so much. We had to move for medical reasons and like you decided to buy a smaller house outright. I have found that hard as well because we have gone for an old Queenslander but we love the area, we can walk to the shopping centre, the mater is 2 minutes away, 3 minutes to the movies and 5 to the strand.

Acreage is really good here and we could have happily lived on the acreage in Kelso another area but further out is Nome a lovely village next to the Billabong Sanctuary. Unfortunately my hubby lost use of his legs (meds working now) and we decided acreage would be no good.

Going back to tradies, in Cairns we could never get an electrician out to do work, Townsville we got a quote the same day.

Self employed is the way to go

[jac2011]

Iwas speaking to a real estate agent the other day whilst waiting for a client. She said Mackay and Townsville are in trouble, people leaving due to work and pricing dropping very quickly. If you have work arranged then great and I'm sure you can take advantage otherwise tread carefully. Also have a friend desperate to return to GC after a couple of years in Townsville, he hated nearly every minute.

 

s

 

Iv never heard this at all from anyone living in Townsville and a check of the local paper every few days shows me that the city is doing well and expanding therefore creating more jobs. It is the largest city outside of Brisbane and has a large university, a large hospital, a few private hospitals, lots of shopping centres, 3 cinema's and some restaurants that foodies class as some of the best in Australia. There will always be the odd person who dislikes an area.

[jac2011]

Cairns does appeal and does look amazing, property prices are low and the house style's are beautiful. However, if your into electronics, then the hospitals, cinema's, university etc in Townsville would surely offer more opportunities.

[adele244]

Iv never heard this at all from anyone living in Townsville and a check of the local paper every few days shows me that the city is doing well and expanding therefore creating more jobs. It is the largest city outside of Brisbane and has a large university, a large hospital, a few private hospitals, lots of shopping centres, 3 cinema's and some restaurants that foodies class as some of the best in Australia. There will always be the odd person who dislikes an area.

 

I must admit, Most reports I see from folk all seem to praise Townsville, even Pom Queen who's heart totally lies with Cairns. @Pomqueen I am just trying to figure out if you live in Cairns or Townsville (or used to live in Cairns but now Townsville) please help me out with that one.

 

My hubby is quite lucky with regards to his trade, its a bit confusing but he is actually an Electronics Technician NOT an Electrician. Which means he opens up electronic equipment and replaces chips and components on circuit boards and repairs it - this work doesn't require any licences UK or OZ. he does have an electricians qualification as well, but he doesn't want to go back to "house bashing" as he calls it (fitting plug sockets etc) plus as you said, it would require him to start from scratch as an Electrician.

 

Cairns does sound beautiful. but that is good news Pomqueen that you see more job opportunities there. @jac2011 3 cinemas!! That is really good! When you get there please start up a meet group, so I can meet you all if/when we get there next year. x x x:hug:

[Guest The Pom Queen]

I must admit, Most reports I see from folk all seem to praise Townsville, even Pom Queen who's heart totally lies with Cairns. @Pomqueen I am just trying to figure out if you live in Cairns or Townsville (or used to live in Cairns but now Townsville) please help me out with that one.

 

My hubby is quite lucky with regards to his trade, its a bit confusing but he is actually an Electronics Technician NOT an Electrician. Which means he opens up electronic equipment and replaces chips and components on circuit boards and repairs it - this work doesn't require any licences UK or OZ. he does have an electricians qualification as well, but he doesn't want to go back to "house bashing" as he calls it (fitting plug sockets etc) plus as you said, it would require him to start from scratch as an Electrician.

 

Cairns does sound beautiful. but that is good news Pomqueen that you see more job opportunities there. @jac2011 3 cinemas!! That is really good! When you get there please start up a meet group, so I can meet you all if/when we get there next year. x x x:hug:

@adele244 we lived in Melbourne for 8 years and Cairns for just short of 5 years. We just moved to Townsville because Cairns doesn't have the medical facilities both myself and my husband need. If it had I would have lived there for the rest of my life. That's great news re your husbands job.

By the way there are 3 cinemas in Cairns, Earlsville, Central and City.

[jac2011]

I must admit, Most reports I see from folk all seem to praise Townsville, even Pom Queen who's heart totally lies with Cairns. @Pomqueen I am just trying to figure out if you live in Cairns or Townsville (or used to live in Cairns but now Townsville) please help me out with that one.

 

My hubby is quite lucky with regards to his trade, its a bit confusing but he is actually an Electronics Technician NOT an Electrician. Which means he opens up electronic equipment and replaces chips and components on circuit boards and repairs it - this work doesn't require any licences UK or OZ. he does have an electricians qualification as well, but he doesn't want to go back to "house bashing" as he calls it (fitting plug sockets etc) plus as you said, it would require him to start from scratch as an Electrician.

 

Cairns does sound beautiful. but that is good news Pomqueen that you see more job opportunities there. @jac2011 3 cinemas!! That is really good! When you get there please start up a meet group, so I can meet you all if/when we get there next year. x x x:hug:

 

adele, I certainly will. Like Pom Queen the scenary of Cairns and the style of the houses with the large green mountainous back drops were what attracted us. We want to live in a tropical, fresh, clean environment and for us we felt this was offered in northern QLD. I love cities dont get me wrong, but with three children even with a city on my doorstep we only nip in every few months. For us Townsville has an ever expanding airport and relatively cheap flights to most the major cities on the east coast, so we take advantage of Brisbane, Sydney, Melbourne in the future for mini weekends away. Cairns is a 4 hour drive North and Airlie Beach and the Whitsunday Islands 2 hours south. This offers us the opportunity to have day trips or overnight visits or even a week away with the children with only a small outlay in petrol. Even Port Douglas is a short drive away in reality. So for us, when we looked at the positives and negatives we were certain the positives outweighed the negatives.

 

My favourite part seems to be Magnetic Island just a 20 minute ferry ride away! I am hoping at some point in the future we can purchase a holiday let there. We would love to have a bolt hole for weekends and to ensure we can kayak, scuba dive, cycle at the drop of a hat.

 

Due to the lower house prices we will have a lower mortgage, less outgoings and more money to enjoy the life we are going for.

[Bobj]

Compared to Cairns I hate Townsville but there is a lot more work here, everywhere I look there are adverts in shop windows, something you don't see in Cairns. Townsville won't ever struggle because of the defence force, if ever the army base and airforce left then maybe but that won't ever happen. Property seems to be very much like Cairns where it remains stagnant. Although it seems to be starting to pick up here whereas Cairns hasn't. I can't say anything for Mackay as I don't live there @Bobj may know

 

As has been said, there is a downturn in the Mackay workforce as well, however, the property market hasn't dropped too much.

 

Cheers, Bobj.

[adele244]

@adele244 we lived in Melbourne for 8 years and Cairns for just short of 5 years. We just moved to Townsville because Cairns doesn't have the medical facilities both myself and my husband need. If it had I would have lived there for the rest of my life. That's great news re your husbands job.

By the way there are 3 cinemas in Cairns, Earlsville, Central and City.

 

I am sorry you had to leave Cairns, it sounds like you adored it there, however, I am glad that you are getting the care that you both need x x Thanks for all the sound advice you have given. x x x

[adele244]

Another good thing about Townsville, the sun sets a good 45 mins after Brisbane.... It just ticks all the boxes for us.

 

Erm....except my hubby gets grumpy if it too hot in the UK (like we are talking 22 degrees!!) It gives him headache!! So God help him up there!! He will just have to man up :laugh:

[adele244]

adele, I certainly will. Like Pom Queen the scenary of Cairns and the style of the houses with the large green mountainous back drops were what attracted us. We want to live in a tropical, fresh, clean environment and for us we felt this was offered in northern QLD. I love cities dont get me wrong, but with three children even with a city on my doorstep we only nip in every few months. For us Townsville has an ever expanding airport and relatively cheap flights to most the major cities on the east coast, so we take advantage of Brisbane, Sydney, Melbourne in the future for mini weekends away. Cairns is a 4 hour drive North and Airlie Beach and the Whitsunday Islands 2 hours south. This offers us the opportunity to have day trips or overnight visits or even a week away with the children with only a small outlay in petrol. Even Port Douglas is a short drive away in reality. So for us, when we looked at the positives and negatives we were certain the positives outweighed the negatives.

 

My favourite part seems to be Magnetic Island just a 20 minute ferry ride away! I am hoping at some point in the future we can purchase a holiday let there. We would love to have a bolt hole for weekends and to ensure we can kayak, scuba dive, cycle at the drop of a hat.

 

Due to the lower house prices we will have a lower mortgage, less outgoings and more money to enjoy the life we are going for.

 

Thanks for that useful info @jac2011, it sounds perfect for all your needs. Will it just be you working (a nurse I gather?) Yes I totally agree with you, I am not a fan of the city and I cant remember the last time I went into Sheffield, but yet you have all those fantastic cities for short holidays!

 

Magnetic Island sounds beautiful (in fact I saw a job vacancy advert for a maintenance guy at Peppers Blue hotel?) which is on magnetic Island. How fantastic would that be to have a job there!!

 

Just looking at your signature, you are heading our in September - My goodness that will absolutely fly by.....wish,it,was,me.com!!!!

[jac2011]

I am a nurse and I will be the only working until next year when hubby starts work hopefully in line with the academic year. My son is 5 in December and starts school Jan 16. No point putting him in childcare till then!

[junglechick]

I would definitely recommend Townsville, I have lived here 5 years after spending the first 5 years of my time in Oz in Sydney which I didn't like at all (I was a poor student - it would be great place to live if you have plenty of money). I have spent a lot of time in Cairns and also really like it there, to me the main advantage of Townsville is we are drier than Cairns - they can get rain that sets in for weeks on ends and we really don't get that much. Cairns is probably better placed for tourist stuff - closer to the reef, tablelands etc. etc. Townsville has everything you would need, 4 cinemas, lots of restaurants, pubs, parks, the strand, shopping centres - it is not the big city but then I like that. There are a lot of small towns in Australia that I wonder how on earth anyone lives there, they have one high street and thats about it - they would drive me nuts. But equally the big cities where you spend ages in the car getting to anywhere don't appeal either. Townsville is in the middle. In terms of good suburbs - avoid Kelso, Rasmussen, Condon as they are a little out of the way and there is a fair amount of housing commission. Mount Louisa, Douglas, Annandale, Mundingburra, Cranbrook and Aitkenvale, Hermit Park, Pimlico, Mysterton, Idalia, some parts of kirwan. I would highly highly recommend renting for a year before you buy anywhere as you really can't pick a location before you've lived here. I would also say that Townsville is a 2 year place - you need to give it 2 years of being not sure about the place and then you'll never want to leave! I am always happy to meet up with new arrivals, I met lovely poms through this forum 5 years ago and we're still friends today.