Anyone in Townsville!!

[Guest 1010ozzy]

hi i am in townsvilleon the grad programme. we live at hermit park and its beautiful!

emma

 

 

:biggrin:well you are welcome to join any of our met ups, if your interested

 

Dawn

[Guest momma]

Hi We have been in Townsville 4 weeks now and it is fantatic:jiggy:Would be interested in meeting people:cool:We are living in Bohle Plains, feel a little isolated :unsure:

[angie&jay]

Quick question for all in Townsville regarding kids clubs...having one into his footie, one into his sea cadets and similar pursuits, and a daughter getting into to her horse riding, will i have any problems with similar activities in Townsville? Also info/opinions/experiences on schools (both secondary and primary) would be very much appreciated.

 

Many Thanks.

 

Angie

[Guest 1010ozzy]

Hi

yesterday was our first meet up and it went really well. We will be arranging another date soon so will keep you posted

 

Dawn:biggrin:

 

 

NEXT MEET UP :biggrin:

Sunday 30th May

1pm @ Irish Finnagans

Cannon Park, opposite Willows Shopping Centre

 

If you look on the back of your grocery receipts you can get vouchers for buy one meal get second for A$7.00!! I do love a bargin!!!

 

If you can make it let me know as I will try and book a table nearer the end of the week.

 

Hope to see you all on Sunday

 

Dawn:biggrin:

[Guest]

Hi Dawn We would love to meet up, see you there. Pauline & Ces

[Guest 1010ozzy]

Hi Dawn We would love to meet up, see you there. Pauline & Ces

 

 

Great, C U Sunday

There should be a good crowd

 

Dawn :biggrin:

[Guest Janey66]

I'm moving to Townsville hopefully end of Sept with my hubby and wee boy. Been lurking around the site for a bit waiting on my visa and feeling like my head was gonna burst. But I got it!!! So much to sort out now. Will have a proper look at this thread and it would be lovely to get to know you all.

[Guest Janey66]

You all sound like lovely bunch!!! I will be staying in Kirwan as thats where my job is. Hubby is coming on my visa and hopes to get a job after we get there and it will give me a chance to get settled and get the wee munchkin into school. I would love to meet up once I get there and will keep sticking my beak in on the thread to get to know you all. Was wondering if anyone who is there knows of the good areas to live in Kirwan? We are looking for somewhere to live at the moment. Still haven't sold our house yet!!!! Not a good time to sell here.

 

Thanks

Janey and Graeme...oh and Jack, the munchkin

[Guest]

Hi Janey......where to live in Kirwan? Depends a lot on your budget, but don't restrict yourself just to looking at Kirwan.

Beauty of Townsville is that you can get from one side to the other in less than 30 minutes give or take....if you have a car, public transport isnt great. Very little traffic even at 'rush hour' and the new ring road means you can get from the north to the south of town in no time at all.

Kirwans got some really nice bits, the further West and North you are, the newer the areas are, not that theres much wrong with most of the areas East and South either tho.

New areas like Kalynda (also known as Bohle), Bushlands and North Shore are all developing areas outside of the ringroad and still within 20 minutes drive to Kirwan.

Plenty of shopping all over the place, Willows and Stocklands Shopping Centres being the biggest, and Domain for furniture and DiY etc, but they are no more than 20 minutes from anywhere else.

Can't comment on schools and childcare from personal experience, but folks i know have found good schools and daycare within easy reach of Kirwan.

 

Any questions, ask away:cool:

[Guest tbones]

Hi everyone,

 

Just wondering where the nicest place is to live in the Townsville area? We're a couple in our late 20's with no children (yet) and my partner will be working in the CBD. We want to live somewhere that has has a good vibe to it, ie, nice restaurants, good bars etc. IS this something we could find in the suburbs surrounding Townsville such as Pallarenda, Kirwan, Douglas or would we be better off in the city, close to the centre?

 

Thanks

[Guest]

You won't find a great deal in the way of bar or restaurant culture in many of Townsvilles suburbs.....majority have a very small selection of cafes/bars/restaurants locally, but to be really right in amongst the cooler, beach, cafe bar lifestyle head for the areas between Castle Hill and The Strand.

North Ward and Belgian Gardens are the place to be for the newer apartment lifestyle...but very pricey. Close enough to walk down to the Strand for cafes, bars and restaurants, close enough to the louder nitespots of Flinders Street and Palmer Street.

Pallaranda would be a stunning place to live, but actually very very quiet and tucked away fromTownsville itself. Rowes Bay still has quite a village feel about, but is a little tired and worn...prices are rocketing as it is prime for redevelopment.

I'd avoid being too close to Flinders street and definitely avoid going south of the river close to the town centre.

 

Sounds like i'm turning into an estate agent:arghh:

[Guest tbones]

Hahaha... change of career perhaps? :wink:

 

Thanks so much for the info, we are actually flying up there next week to have a look around before committing to anything and it's very helpful to know what areas to aim for.

 

If you don't mind me asking another question what is the cost of living like there?

 

Rental properties appear to be very cheap compared to inner Melbourne ie 4 bedroom house with pool for the same price as a 1 bed apartment. I understand that Melbourne is bigger etc so obviously will cost more, but comparatively how much is food, petrol, utilities etc?

 

Do you have to pay a premium due to being so far North?

 

Thanks again.

[Guest]

Sorry, really can't comment on cost of living, don't have much to compare it too as this is only place we have been in Oz. I do know we could buy mangos and bananas cheaper in UK even tho they are grown just up the road from here!

 

That said, sunday markets are full of locally grown cheap fruit and veg.

 

I know that buying a new car here can be upto 10% more expensive than buying in Brisbane, cheaper to get a flight and buy there then drive back, including cost of fuel and overnight accomodation.

 

Colleagues of mind do say overall its slightly more expensive than further south, and there isnt the competitive choice of shopping etc so lack of compettion leads to some strange pricing (not to mention an even stranger approach to sales....car showrooms are open 9 to 5 and might open for an hour on saturday morning....you need to take time off work just to find a salesman in work:confused: And of course you might well find that he is having some time off to buy a fridge or something:arghh:)

 

I'm afraid mt career as an estate agent would be short lived, far too honest:jimlad:

[Guest tbones]

Oh, it looks like I might be in for a bit of a shock then as I'm used to living in big cities where shops are open 7 days a week and buzzing....:eek:

Thanks for the info, again it's very helpful! Interesting stuff about buying a car, I mean I thought it would be more expensive but not that much more.

 

Just out of curiosity how do you find living in Townsville? If you could change anything about it what would it be? (not including the near non existent Saturday staff :laugh:) and what are the best things about it?

 

Sorry if I'm being a pain with all the questions!

[Guest emmahardy214]

Oh, it looks like I might be in for a bit of a shock then as I'm used to living in big cities where shops are open 7 days a week and buzzing....:eek:

Thanks for the info, again it's very helpful! Interesting stuff about buying a car, I mean I thought it would be more expensive but not that much more.

 

Just out of curiosity how do you find living in Townsville? If you could change anything about it what would it be? (not including the near non existent Saturday staff :laugh:) and what are the best things about it?

 

Sorry if I'm being a pain with all the questions!

 

best thing about townville is that you are about 10 mins from everything!! we live in hermit park which is a lovely area with good schools. we are 10 mins from the city and the beach. i am a nurse at the hospital which is also 10 mins away! no major traffic and always somewhere to park. hope this helps . emma

[Guest]

no worries, as they say....a lot

 

Wouldnt change much at all, shops open longer would be nice but we are getting used to how things work.

Be nice if they could sort out some kind of daylight saving time, gets dark at 6 every night as near as damn.

Lack of choice and competition is a pain, cars, internet, phones, etc etc but maybe we didnt look hard enough.

Its a little bit distant from anywhere else of any size, but theres plenty of countryside and incredible beaches to see on the way to anywhere else, and theres always the airport if you are craving civilisation that much.

 

No rose tinted glasses but.....Its very laid back, near horizontal actually. Folk are friendly, helpful and always smiling. Weathers great so far. Its clean and tidy. Beaches, parks and swimming pools are immaculate. Sports clubs and facilities of every persuasion all over the place. No traffic to speak of. Theres crime and the usual not so nice people somewhere apparently, we havent come across any tho.

 

Maybe it has got a bit of a small town mentallity even tho its growing fast, but to be honest i like that about the place.:jiggy:

[Guest Janey66]

Hi everyone,we booked our flights and should arrive on 20th September.Travel time is 34 hours from Glasgow:SLEEP:.We are staying at Holiday Inn for a week to recover.Trying to secure a house rental just now in Kirwan,more forms:laugh:.Anyway just have to pack now,see you all soon.

[Joan01]

Hey Everyone,

 

Very informative posts and an eye opener with some points. Didn't realise it got dark at 6pm eeeek!! I assume thats all year?? So when does daylight come in? Does anyone know what the employment situation is like, just in general? Hubby works in mental health here, but he's willing to do anything to begin with. I'm a nurse and have secured a job in the mental health unit at the hospital. Is a lot of the places accessible by walking (we won't have a car to begin with)

 

We fly out on the 26th September, really can't wait. Hope to meet you guys at some point :hug:

 

Joan

[Guest emmahardy214]

Hey Everyone,

 

Very informative posts and an eye opener with some points. Didn't realise it got dark at 6pm eeeek!! I assume thats all year?? So when does daylight come in? Does anyone know what the employment situation is like, just in general? Hubby works in mental health here, but he's willing to do anything to begin with. I'm a nurse and have secured a job in the mental health unit at the hospital. Is a lot of the places accessible by walking (we won't have a car to begin with)

 

We fly out on the 26th September, really can't wait. Hope to meet you guys at some point :hug:

 

Joan[/QUO

 

I have 1 thing to say.... GET A CAR!!!!!! from personal experience i can say with hand on heart that walking round when you are jetlagged is not a good idea. if you have to hire a car for a bit till you buy one then so be it. we came in feb and it was a hard slog just walking to the shop. i am a nurse on the graduate nurse programme and there seems to be plenty of work here. we love it. my husband is working for an agency in construction industry and that seems to be picking up as well. emma

[Joan01]

Hi Emma,

 

Thanks for your reply, I was thinking more of walking in the heat would be a hard slog LOL!! Can you give me an idea as to how much car hire is roughly? We'll have to look into 2nd hand cars then, I've heard cars are really expensive out there. How are you finding acclimatising to the heat? Are you on a sponsored visa?

 

Joan

[Guest emmahardy214]

TE=Joan01;817725]Hi Emma,

 

Thanks for your reply, I was thinking more of walking in the heat would be a hard slog LOL!! Can you give me an idea as to how much car hire is roughly? We'll have to look into 2nd hand cars then, I've heard cars are really expensive out there. How are you finding acclimatising to the heat? Are you on a sponsored visa?

 

 

we got a battered up ford festiva second hand for 2900 dollars. its not ideal but it gets us around until we can afford something better. the heat is ok at the minute but it was really hot when we came. its not too much of a problem as most places have aircon. we are on a temporary 4 year long stay business visa but hope to apply for residency after a year!! with regards to the car hire i would just go on google.com.au and say what that comes up with. emma

[Joan01]

We've been looking at second hand cars on the internet, thats definitely what we'll have to get to begin with. We're coming over on that visa as well, although employers have said they'll sponsor for PR after 3 months so here's hoping. Just waiting on visa now, crossing everything hoping it comes through on time :arghh:

[Guest The Ropey HOFF]

Hi everyone

 

i think i posted on the earlier pages.

 

I applied for a job at the prison in Townsville and i missed that intake, but passed for the Queensland service and can go anywhere. Townsville just looks too quiet to me, but if it meant i got a well paid job i wouldn't rule it out. I like the look of the place, but i am concerned about the heat, but the house prices are alot cheaper and you seem to get alot more for your money. Has anyone heard of anything concerning the prisons, any problems, or disturbances, i am getting old now - 50 and i don't want to be restraining prisoners anymore, not unless i have to.

 

Best of luck everyone, jim

 

 

.

[Guest tbones]

HI Eric

 

Sorry I've only just got back to you. I didn't get an email notification to say you'd replied.

 

Well we visited Townsville for a four day weekend (just gone) and loved the place. The weather was certainly a lot nicer than Melbournes weather and we got a bit of a shock landing last night to 6 degrees in Mel.

 

I know what you mean about shops. I was gutted when I tried to get a bottle of wine at 8pm and everywhere was closed. Think we'll have to stock up in advance.

 

With what you said about buying a car did you mean that it was a lot more to buy just a brand new car or does that apply to second hand cars too?

 

You're so right about being laid back. We loved the pace of the town and we was very impressed with the way that everything is geared up for families. The pools, the immaculate BBQs down by the beach and the best thing is that they're all free.

We were also spoilt for choice for restaurants and pubs/bars in Palmer street and Flinders east and the Strand is lovely.

 

One thing I will say it that it was very sad to see a few drunk Aboriginals on the streets sleeping rough. We dont see that in melbourne so I was a little shocked. But they didn't seem to cause anyone any harm.

 

Overall, we really enjoyed our visit and was made all the better by getting a job offer so we're moving up there in a few weeks.

 

Thanks so much for all your info.

[bowdonius]

Hi Everyone

 

We are due to move to Townsville in January, I am coming over with work on a four year work visa. We have kids and looking for any advice in regards to schools and best locations to rent. Maybe evern meeting up with any brits for a coffee.

 

Be god to hear from anyone out there.

 

Lou & James