NorthernLights Posted March 10, 2016 Share Posted March 10, 2016 Hi, I'm looking for some up to date information about Cairns, Toowoomba and South Brisbane. My husband has the possibility of work in each of these. Now, he has to get a job confirmed and I also have to get one in the same place, but things look promising enough that we're starting to think we may have a choice (very privileged position I know). We'd be on a good salary so could afford to live wherever. We have 2 young children (primary and preschool) so schooling is very important. We're planning private schools. We're not religious and the majority of schools do seem to have a very religious ethos - is this the reality? Could anyone recommend good, ideally co-ed schools in these areas that don't have significant religious input? No objection to them learning about religions just don't want them to be pushed into it. I think the weather in Toowoomba would suit me and the kids best (very fair) but the job may be best in Cairns, but the kids may get less bored in their teenage years in Brisbane! I've read all the available info on the forum in previous posts but looking for fresh perspective I guess. How hot and humid is Cairns really? I know the summer is bad but the rest of the year? I'm pretty well travelled and have experience of humidity - I've been to Queensland before and don't remember it being so bad but mainly out in the Whitsundays. Some of the threads mention never getting clothes dry and mould issues...oh and the cyclones Brisbane work would be in Logan, which I know is a deprived area, but maybe living Daisy Hill area. Toowoomba seems to get mixed press - of Cairns and Toowoomba, which has the most to do? Not looking for night life, more good restaurants and family activities. Finding myself going round in circles trying to figure out what will be best for us as a family. In reality we'd be happy with any of them I think so the prospect of a choice isn't necessarily helping! Would be great to hear from people out there just now. Many thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted March 10, 2016 Share Posted March 10, 2016 I'm from Brisbane so probably a bit biased. Cairns was nice to visit but I don't know if there would be as much to do for kids as SE QLD and also regional QLD has huge youth unemployment which is something to consider for kids growing up. Never been to Toowoomba, have heard mixed reviews, can't really offer an opinion. I would take the job in Logan, although if the cairns job is that much better that would be a tempter. Logan itself is pretty awful in parts, other bits may be nicer, but I would actually live at the north end of the Gold Coast. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gbye grey sky Posted March 10, 2016 Share Posted March 10, 2016 We live in Mt Cotton, a lovely area only 15 minutes north of Logan. Redland Bay/Victoria Point worth considering as a similar commute time. Our daughter goes to Sheldon College which is a fantastic private school and not at all religious. It is a 10 minute drive for us (in the opposite direction from Logan). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
starlight7 Posted March 10, 2016 Share Posted March 10, 2016 I don't live up there but I love the areas around Cairns- not so much Cairns itself. Up in the hills there it is drop dead gorgeous and slightly cooler. My SIL's mother lives in Toowoomba and likes it but I get the impression it would be more of an older person's place to live rather than younger, depends whether you like a quieter life or not. You have got good choices there though- none of them bad! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted March 10, 2016 Share Posted March 10, 2016 We live in Mt Cotton, a lovely area only 15 minutes north of Logan. Redland Bay/Victoria Point worth considering as a similar commute time. Our daughter goes to Sheldon College which is a fantastic private school and not at all religious. It is a 10 minute drive for us (in the opposite direction from Logan). Been looking at the non religious private schools (way In the future for my daughter) Sheldon college looks like a fantastic school and ranks right up there with any of the really expensive inner Brisbane private schools. Looks like a great choice too redlands way. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest The Pom Queen Posted March 10, 2016 Share Posted March 10, 2016 I'm from Cairns, now Townsville. To me Cairns is the most beautiful place in Australia I love it. Yes we have humidity and this time of year is a shocker but as long as you work under aircon you will survive. The only downside to Cairns is lack of work (it sounds like you have this covered) cost of utilities, we don't have gas mains and we only have Ergon for electric, so factor around $1200 a quarter for electric, house and contents insurance most of the companies won't touch you and if they do expect to pay anything from $3000 - $15,000 per year. Rates around $3000 per year. Apart from this it is a great place to live and some good schools Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NorthernLights Posted March 10, 2016 Author Share Posted March 10, 2016 Thank you all. I'll definitely have a look at Sheldon and see where the catchment is. Not one I'd looked at. We'd be in an air conned work place so no problem there, if in Cairns, but I worry the kids won't be able to do as much outdoors if the heat and humidity is too great. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest The Pom Queen Posted March 10, 2016 Share Posted March 10, 2016 Thank you all. I'll definitely have a look at Sheldon and see where the catchment is. Not one I'd looked at. We'd be in an air conned work place so no problem there, if in Cairns, but I worry the kids won't be able to do as much outdoors if the heat and humidity is too great. I have three boys and we came up from Melbourne and they love it up here, in fact they all say they wouldn't go back to Melbourne. You do acclimatise. My youngest has just done a 5km run with school today and my eldest goes running every day. There are lots of sports clubs and after school activities. Mine are now 21, 19 and 14 and have never been bored. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NorthernLights Posted March 10, 2016 Author Share Posted March 10, 2016 Wow, a 5k run. Very good to hear that they've acclimatised. My son loves football and rugby and would be devastated if he couldn't run around outside. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest The Pom Queen Posted March 10, 2016 Share Posted March 10, 2016 Wow, a 5k run. Very good to hear that they've acclimatised. My son loves football and rugby and would be devastated if he couldn't run around outside. I wouldn't recommend a Queenslander if you buy a house we are struggling in our new house but a concrete house will be fine Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NorthernLights Posted March 10, 2016 Author Share Posted March 10, 2016 Bit concerned you can't get any form of house insurance in a cyclone area. Can understand why but a huge risk of losing so much with no come back I guess. Any particular school recommendations in Cairns? We're looking for primary at the moment. Thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NorthernLights Posted March 10, 2016 Author Share Posted March 10, 2016 Gbye grey skye could I ask if you considered JPC? That's the school that has been recommended to us and it does look good, and we've been told it's not too religious. Would you say Sheldon is a better school? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest The Pom Queen Posted March 10, 2016 Share Posted March 10, 2016 Bit concerned you can't get any form of house insurance in a cyclone area. Can understand why but a huge risk of losing so much with no come back I guess. Any particular school recommendations in Cairns? We're looking for primary at the moment. Thanks Suncorp is the one you want to go with. As they are guaranteed to pay out but sit down when you get the quote. Schools St Andrews goes from kindy to Yr 12, now it's a new principal I'd only recommend it for the early years. The school is all about numbers more than the quality of education these days. There are around 25-35 in a class. Peace Lutheran is an excellent school a lot smaller between 12-18 in a class when I put mine in after removing him from St Andrews. It was more like one big family. When I was in hospital they would cook meals for us, offer to do the garden etc, every teacher was happy for you to drop in whenever you liked. Other good schools are TAS (Trinity Anglican) or Freshwater Christian College. Although these are church schools they are not pushed in to religion. The fees are very reasonable. If you want a government school look at Redlynch they also do from prep to Yr 12. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NorthernLights Posted March 10, 2016 Author Share Posted March 10, 2016 Thanks that's very helpful. My son goes to a private school now with class sizes of 15, so I'd definitely prefer smaller classes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gbye grey sky Posted March 10, 2016 Share Posted March 10, 2016 Gbye grey skye could I ask if you considered JPC? That's the school that has been recommended to us and it does look good, and we've been told it's not too religious. Would you say Sheldon is a better school? Sorry but know nothing about it. We visited Ormiston College and Moreton Bay Girls College on our recce in 2014. All were good but our daughter preferred Sheldon and we were happy with her choice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NorthernLights Posted March 10, 2016 Author Share Posted March 10, 2016 Thanks anyway. It's great to hear about a good non-religious option to be honest. Will have a good look at Sheldon's website. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gbye grey sky Posted March 10, 2016 Share Posted March 10, 2016 Thanks that's very helpful. My son goes to a private school now with class sizes of 15, so I'd definitely prefer smaller classes. Word of warning. Class sizes are large at Sheldon with 142 pupils in 5 classes in year 7. Our daughter had a class size of 16 in her UK Prep school and has 28 here. We were a bit concerned about that at first but it is all well managed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NorthernLights Posted March 10, 2016 Author Share Posted March 10, 2016 Thanks, I think it's fair enough the sizes go up later through the school, beneficial even. He's a fairly shy child and I think would be better off to start with in a smaller class, though I'm sure he'll adapt. He'd be year 2 I think if we get out early next year. Any idea of the class sizes for that year group? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted March 10, 2016 Share Posted March 10, 2016 https://bettereducation.com.au/school/secondary/qld/brisbane_top_non_government_secondary_schools.aspx Worth looking here.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NorthernLights Posted March 10, 2016 Author Share Posted March 10, 2016 Thanks. Would you say it's a fair representation of what the schools are really like? Just knowing that the league tables here don't seem to mean that much. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gbye grey sky Posted March 10, 2016 Share Posted March 10, 2016 Thanks, I think it's fair enough the sizes go up later through the school, beneficial even. He's a fairly shy child and I think would be better off to start with in a smaller class, though I'm sure he'll adapt. He'd be year 2 I think if we get out early next year. Any idea of the class sizes for that year group? No idea, sorry. When are you thinking you will move over? Are you in a position to recce schools, suburbs etc before moving or are you relying on internet research? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gbye grey sky Posted March 10, 2016 Share Posted March 10, 2016 Thanks. Would you say it's a fair representation of what the schools are really like? Just knowing that the league tables here don't seem to mean that much. It is a good starting point and all 3 schools we saw were excellent so expect they will all be that are high on this list. For instance though Ormiston (which is a lovely school, don't get me wrong) were clearly VERY focussed on being top of the table to the extent that they would probably not really want children who were obviously going to struggle. Sheldon, on the other hand, talked mainly about helping develop the whole child and from what we have experienced they walk the walk, not simply talk the talk. Our daughter is shy, not at all sporty or scademic (favours drama and more arty pursuits). They cater well for her and have a good balance. You really need to visit the schools, meet the Heads, ask the questions, get a feel for the school ethos. You may need to get a place booked though. Sheldon, for instance, tend to be over-subscribed for certain years. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NorthernLights Posted March 10, 2016 Author Share Posted March 10, 2016 No idea, sorry. When are you thinking you will move over? Are you in a position to recce schools, suburbs etc before moving or are you relying on internet research? Thanks, I'd love to recce but it's likely we may have to at least have a shortlist. We have to come out for skills assessment briefly so will try to factor in time to fly up and have a look around. I didnt realise list the schools would be booked up for years. I guess it may be best not to get too set on any one in particular! Thanks for your help. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Debbs72 Posted March 10, 2016 Share Posted March 10, 2016 Hi I live in Cairns, we moved here mid January from Sydney as my husband was working here. We love it I'm in the beaches end I'm not to sure about the south. The humidity is a bit over whelming sometimes but we are gradually getting used to it. I don't know anything about the schools as my boys are older. The thing with cairns you have to think of is you have everything on your doorstep the barrier reef, the rain forest it's truly stunning. I agree with Pom queen this is probably the most beautiful place in world. As your husband already has work that's good as work here is hard to find, my son and I have applied for probably over 200 jobs in the last 8 weeks luckily we both now have a job but they are quite hard to get. i think it would be an excellent place to bring up children. I've never felt more safe anywhere in the world and we've done a lot of travelling. We got a quote for contents insurance for $680 which was a shock as was only $105 in Sydney. I know this is due to the cyclone problems but I have in my experience had much worse weather in Sydney. Anyway I know quite a lot about the northern end of cairns if you need any info. I've been up and down for the last year before we did the mive. Debbs Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lambethlad Posted March 11, 2016 Share Posted March 11, 2016 South Brisbane is not far from the theme parks your kids will love but personally I would choose Cairns. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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