Recently moved to Cairns

[keeks123]

Hi, I've recently moved to Cairns with my little family. My partner has a job here starting soon. 

Let me start by saying its a beautiful place. But I'm not sure if I've made the right decision for us all and if it's somewhere I can live forever. We've sold our home back home and given up everything to be here. 

I can honestly say i don't love it here so far. I've been here 2 months. Everything is so big a spread out. The people I find mostly rude. The weather here is so hot so we can't spend much time outside with the kids which makes how beautifulit is pointless. The Ocean is too dangerous to swim in because of the jellyfish. Finally I have no family here and I'm not sure if the positives of being here is enough. 

Sorry I know I sound like I'm moaning and I'm sure people think I should have been aware of all the negative points before moving.

Is there anyone else out there who feels this way? Or has any advice on what to do? 

 

Thanks 

 

[Toots]

29 minutes ago, keeks123 said:

 

Yes Australia is very big and spread out.  If you are still very unsettled after a year or so, maybe you could move somewhere else.  You are living in the tropics so yes, it will be hot and humid.  I really dislike that sort of climate too.  We lived in Perth WA which is very hot in summer but not humid then we also lived in Sydney for a long time which has a nice climate most of the year but also hot and humid in the summer.

I don't think you are moaning.  It's very hard to be so far from your family and everything is unfamiliar so I do sympathise.

We are retired now and moved to Tasmania.  We have a much milder climate and on warm days the beaches are very safe for swimming.  No nasty things to put up with in the sea.  The downside is, the employment opportunities aren't as good as on the mainland.

Innervoice a member of this forum lives in Cairns and I'm pretty sure he enjoys life there.  

Some Australians can be very abrupt but there are many lovely friendly souls too.  Hopefully you will make some friends which will help you to settle.

 

 

[rammygirl]

I couldn’t live in cairns either. Very happy in the Adelaide Hills though. 
We often fly up to Queensland in the winter though

[calNgary]

Move South down the coast a bit and you will notice a massive difference to what you have experienced so far in Cairns. We have lived in SEQLD for 17 years and just made the move North near Bundaberg, so far im enjoying it and it reminds me a lot of what the area we used to live was like back before it was built up and crime started to rise. Best of all I'm still only a 4 hrs drive from Brisbane city if i need to go.

        Cal x

[Toots]

16 minutes ago, rammygirl said:

I couldn’t live in cairns either. Very happy in the Adelaide Hills though. 
We often fly up to Queensland in the winter though

Same here.  Queensland is lovely in the winter.

[Jon the Hat]

It is the middle of summer, I am sure you will find other times of year a much nicer experience outdoors wise.  Still Cairns is not for everyone I am sure.

Are Australians rude?  Some of them certainly speak their mind without filter which can be a little confronting, but you do get used to it.  

Re not knowing anyone, that is bloody hard as when you are feeling a bit low it is the last you thing you feel like doing, but you have to put yourself out there a bit I think, find a club or something to join where you can meet people you have something in common with.

[ramot]

53 minutes ago, calNgary said:

Move South down the coast a bit and you will notice a massive difference to what you have experienced so far in Cairns. We have lived in SEQLD for 17 years and just made the move North near Bundaberg, so far im enjoying it and it reminds me a lot of what the area we used to live was like back before it was built up and crime started to rise. Best of all I'm still only a 4 hrs drive from Brisbane city if i need to go.

        Cal x

With a pitstop on the Sunny coast on the way perhaps one day

[InnerVoice]

3 hours ago, keeks123 said:

Hi, I've recently moved to Cairns with my little family. My partner has a job here starting soon. 

Let me start by saying its a beautiful place. But I'm not sure if I've made the right decision for us all and if it's somewhere I can live forever. We've sold our home back home and given up everything to be here. 

I can honestly say i don't love it here so far. I've been here 2 months. Everything is so big a spread out. The people I find mostly rude. The weather here is so hot so we can't spend much time outside with the kids which makes how beautifulit is pointless. The Ocean is too dangerous to swim in because of the jellyfish. Finally I have no family here and I'm not sure if the positives of being here is enough. 

Sorry I know I sound like I'm moaning and I'm sure people think I should have been aware of all the negative points before moving.

Is there anyone else out there who feels this way? Or has any advice on what to do? 

I agree, Cairns is a really beautiful place but it's a tough gig for your first destination in Australia. You are entitled to moan!

I'd already lived in Sydney and Brisbane for over a decade before I moved to Cairns so I was reasonably accustomed to Australian culture and their ideosyncrasies, but I still found it hard. The summers are brutal. When it isn't unbearably hot it's bucketing it down, and then there are the cyclones of course, which are always in the back of one's mind at this time of year. There's about 3-4 months of the year when the weather is really nice (June to September), but it doesn't last. Then you wake up one morning in early October and you think to yourself "huh, it's bl**dy back again!" (the heat)

It might be contrary to your preferred lifestyle but I'd recommend getting up early (around sunrise), and trying to do outdoors stuff around then. It's a beautiful time of the day. The stingers are a nuisance but then most popular beaches have swimming enclosures with nets, so you can enjoy a swim during the summer. And then there's still around five months of the year when you can swim in the sea without having to worry about them.

I'm sure you'd find the climate in southeast Queensland more preferable if you decide to relocate, but it's never going to be a cure for homesickness. Honestly, I think a couple of months is too short to make a decision about your future in Australia, and I'd avoid any kind of knee-jerk reaction. Once you get into some kind of routine you will hopefully feel a lot more settled. There's a Poms in Cairns group on Facebook, so that might be a good place to start making new friends and connections.

https://www.facebook.com/groups/446353569073747/

[Ausvisitor]

16 hours ago, InnerVoice said:

Sorry quoted in error...

Outside of the really big cities, Australia does feel like a sprawling mass as there is loads of land so why not use it 

In the big cities (Melbourne, Sydney) most stuff is so close together that especially on A Melbourne you can go months never travelling further than 5km from your house (it's now 6 weeks since I last went further than 5km from.my doorstep and I am in the office most days and out at a bar, restaurant or stadium most nights)

The big cities feel like villages (but with huge buildings and loads of people) 

So you might prefer a location with more population, and Melbourne certainly has a more UK similar climate (but still warmer) 

That said Aussies typically make friends in school and stick with them, they add acquaintances but their "firm friends" are built over many decades. You'll circumvent some of this if you have kids of primary age as you'll spend inordinate amounts of time with the kids friends parents until they hit about age 9-10.

Aussies are typically friendly and will go for a beer or coffee with most people but you will have to do some of the leg work 

Edited January 9 by Ausvisitor

[RubyMonday]

On 09/01/2025 at 12:03, keeks123 said:

Hi, I've recently moved to Cairns with my little family. My partner has a job here starting soon. 

Let me start by saying its a beautiful place. But I'm not sure if I've made the right decision for us all and if it's somewhere I can live forever. We've sold our home back home and given up everything to be here. 

I can honestly say i don't love it here so far. I've been here 2 months. Everything is so big a spread out. The people I find mostly rude. The weather here is so hot so we can't spend much time outside with the kids which makes how beautifulit is pointless. The Ocean is too dangerous to swim in because of the jellyfish. Finally I have no family here and I'm not sure if the positives of being here is enough. 

Sorry I know I sound like I'm moaning and I'm sure people think I should have been aware of all the negative points before moving.

Is there anyone else out there who feels this way? Or has any advice on what to do? 

 

Thanks 

 

How is the weather in Cairns at the moment other than being hot, is it dry or stormy? I'm south west of you in Charters Towers sitting in the dark atm after a horrible storm. My skylight has disappeared and left a hole so it's been raining directly onto the floor and the agent has said they can't arrange a repair until Monday at the earliest. The power has been out for hours, no idea when it's going to come back on and there is damage all over the town. I moved here in July and this isn't really the experience I was hoping for but otherwise it's been ok. I've heard the weather is generally worse up north and on the coast so hopefully you won't get it. I need to buy some supplies for power outages/weather events asap, you should as well if you haven't got any. I was lucky I got a really bright torch as part of the town welcome kit for new arrivals otherwise I would have just had my phone. I'm just longing for March/April to come so it can be back to the dry tolerable heat. 

[Marisawright]

One of the pitfalls of emigrating is that British people are inclined to think " the more sun, the better".   Whereas the reality is, being too bloody hot is just as bad as being too bloody cold. 

Australia is a huge place.  Not all of it is as hot as Cairns.  I live in Melbourne, where most Australians complain that the winter is too cold (I do have a puffer jacket, beanies and gloves for the winter).  There's lots of places in between which offer a variety of weather.  

 

[lothar]

2 hours ago, RubyMonday said:

How is the weather in Cairns at the moment other than being hot, is it dry or stormy? I'm south west of you in Charters Towers sitting in the dark atm after a horrible storm. My skylight has disappeared and left a hole so it's been raining directly onto the floor and the agent has said they can't arrange a repair until Monday at the earliest. The power has been out for hours, no idea when it's going to come back on and there is damage all over the town. I moved here in July and this isn't really the experience I was hoping for but otherwise it's been ok. I've heard the weather is generally worse up north and on the coast so hopefully you won't get it. I need to buy some supplies for power outages/weather events asap, you should as well if you haven't got any. I was lucky I got a really bright torch as part of the town welcome kit for new arrivals otherwise I would have just had my phone. I'm just longing for March/April to come so it can be back to the dry tolerable heat. 

I think the fact the town gives you a torch in the welcome pack was a dead give away what to expect

[Nemesis]

3 hours ago, RubyMonday said:

How is the weather in Cairns at the moment other than being hot, is it dry or stormy? I'm south west of you in Charters Towers sitting in the dark atm after a horrible storm. My skylight has disappeared and left a hole so it's been raining directly onto the floor and the agent has said they can't arrange a repair until Monday at the earliest. The power has been out for hours, no idea when it's going to come back on and there is damage all over the town. I moved here in July and this isn't really the experience I was hoping for but otherwise it's been ok. I've heard the weather is generally worse up north and on the coast so hopefully you won't get it. I need to buy some supplies for power outages/weather events asap, you should as well if you haven't got any. I was lucky I got a really bright torch as part of the town welcome kit for new arrivals otherwise I would have just had my phone. I'm just longing for March/April to come so it can be back to the dry tolerable heat. 

Ring 132500 and see if the SES can tarp it till Monday. They are busy, but might be able to do something for you. 

https://www.getready.qld.gov.au/emergencykit

Edited Saturday at 13:08 by Nemesis

[Quoll]

Cairns wouldn’t be for me either and I have lived in the tropics in the past too. What to do about it? That’s more difficult. You said your DH is about to start a job - that’ll either make things better because you won’t be feeling a financial pinch or worse because he’ll be making new mates at work and finding his feet while you are still treading water. Once he’s started he’s going to be more reluctant to move because moving gets harder once you’ve got a job and become one of the lads.  

I tend to disagree with the others that 2 months is quite long enough to know whether you like somewhere enough to be prepared to live there for the rest of your days. At this point though all you can really do is to discuss it with your DH so he knows how you’re feeling and you can suss what he’s thinking about the situation too. If he’s loving every minute then you’re probably screwed and will just have to live with it. If he’s ambivalent then it’s easier to have a plan. Set a date when you will evaluate your situation and don’t worry about it til then - don’t make it so far in the future it scares the pants off you, say 6 months in the first instance. In the meantime work very hard to “belong” where you are - you really have to put yourself out there, it’s not easy, but try and find some group that shares an interest with you. Dont expect to make friends like the ones you’ve had all your life - I’ve been here over 40 years and have no “friends” like the ones I’ve had all my life back home. I have acquaintances with whom I’m friendly but none are the sticking kind. The more you try and find them the harder it will be but if you do strike lucky and find someone on your wavelength then that’ll be a nice bonus.

It’s quite ok to say that a place is not for you. You should have the choice to move on. Whether you move elsewhere in Australia or move on to where you came from, it’s all ok, just another chapter in life’s adventure. However, be sure to set those dates where you evaluate how things are going and what you might do next - don’t (as we did!!!) let yourself drift past the point of no return - financially, educationally, socially etc.

Chances are you’ll grow to love it, many do. Good luck! 

 

[InnerVoice]

2 hours ago, Quoll said:

I tend to disagree with the others that 2 months is quite long enough to know whether you like somewhere enough to be prepared to live there for the rest of your days.

I can safely say that the vast majority of Poms don't move to regional Australia with the intention of it being for 'the rest of their days', with most using it as a stepping stone. It's generally much easier to find a government job (education, health, police) regionally than it is in the cities, certainly in Queensland, and can be a good starting point in gaining Australian work experience. Regional Australia is a lot more affordable in terms of housing too, and depending on where you're working you might even be offered free accommodation.

[RubyMonday]

17 hours ago, lothar said:

I think the fact the town gives you a torch in the welcome pack was a dead give away what to expect

For some reason my reply didn't post last night. I'm not actually complaining, the power came back on after about 4-5 hours which is pretty decent to be fair. The only problem is the lights don't work still but it will get sorted. I got a bunch of battery camp lamps today. The locals here are really kind and helpful, they seem to go out of their way for each other and there's a real community spirit that I've never had coming from a city in the UK. That they give you a welcome pack at all and were so keen to welcome me and explain the area was really sweet as well as clearly useful. I knew that I'm not a heat lover and the tropics won't be for me long term. At least electric seems to be fairly cheap here so I can run the aircon without worrying about cost. We're due another storm here today but hopefully it won't be as bad. My landlord called me today to say she's gotten onto SES and has arranged for them to see about the roof, she's struggling to get an electrician for the lights but it's understandable. They're happy to use their key to sort it out while I'm away since I'm due to go ono holiday tomorrow. 

To OP:

Moving to a foreign area even with a lot of motivation and research can still be uncomfortable. Either you fit in, adapt to fit in or move. There are plenty of very different places in Aus or back in the UK to try. It's not worth your time and mental health if you've given it a fair go and it's really not for you.  

[presley]

For me, it is not a place to live permanently.