SteveinOz Posted August 29, 2011 Author Share Posted August 29, 2011 Just another small update for you all..... We have settled in quite quickly and so far we are still loving it here. Generally things are more expensive than the UK but you have to put that out of your mind and just get on with life as it's not really worth worrying about. General shopping we find coles seem to be cheaper but you do have to shop around as they all stock different things. Also when buying household stuff, ie. furniture, electrical items, it's always worth asking what they can knock off for you. We must have saved over $1000 on the stuff we have bought. If you don't ask you don't get, the worst they can say is 'no'. Sorted out my Queensland driving license today, not too much of a problem. But be prepeared to wait for quite a long time, and it doesn't matter what time you go as it seems to be busy all day!! Will try to offer some more advice as and when we come across things. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bowdonius Posted September 1, 2011 Share Posted September 1, 2011 Hi folks I hope to call upon anyone with a knowledge of Townsville, we are in the later stages of preparing to go there (month or two away now) can anyone reconmend any part of Townsville for us to rent in, we are a 37 year old nurse (will be working @ mater hospital) me 34 year old stay at home dad and our son Victor 2 year old, or indeed if you know of any part we should avoid that would be great also. Or if you just have some info about the place all would be welcome thanks for taking the time to read this post :notworthy: Hi Guys Try kirwan, annadale and bushland beach for the best houses and best facilities... some other parts its tough to get a decent house . Try townsville rentals and john gribben we found them very helpful , more than the others. Hope this helps , let me know if you need anything else. james & louise ( from the isle of wight ):biglaugh: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bowdonius Posted September 1, 2011 Share Posted September 1, 2011 Just another small update for you all..... We have settled in quite quickly and so far we are still loving it here. Generally things are more expensive than the UK but you have to put that out of your mind and just get on with life as it's not really worth worrying about. General shopping we find coles seem to be cheaper but you do have to shop around as they all stock different things. Also when buying household stuff, ie. furniture, electrical items, it's always worth asking what they can knock off for you. We must have saved over $1000 on the stuff we have bought. If you don't ask you don't get, the worst they can say is 'no'. Sorted out my Queensland driving license today, not too much of a problem. But be prepeared to wait for quite a long time, and it doesn't matter what time you go as it seems to be busy all day!! Will try to offer some more advice as and when we come across things. Hey great advice. Also worth trying the house/garage sales advertised everyweek in the townsville bulletin - As its a transient town lots of people leave and sale everything before they do. Great bargains to be had. Also the auctions are a great place to get good gear and affordable prices. Depends what you fancy but we have got a great mix of new and secondhand and saved thousands.. Happy Hunting Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteveinOz Posted September 1, 2011 Author Share Posted September 1, 2011 Hi Guys Try kirwan, annadale and bushland beach for the best houses and best facilities... some other parts its tough to get a decent house . Try townsville rentals and john gribben we found them very helpful , more than the others. Hope this helps , let me know if you need anything else. james & louise ( from the isle of wight ):biglaugh: One problem with Bushland Beach, if you work in the City, you will be driving to work with the sun in your eyes and driving home the same. Can also reccomend John Gribben, they are looking after us with the house we are renting, prompt and friendly service. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted September 3, 2011 Share Posted September 3, 2011 To add to the list of suburbs... I'd recommend Kalynda/Bohle Plains, Idalia, Douglas especially Riverside Gardens area, the newer bits of Mount Louisa and most of the Western parts of Kirwan. And not forgetting Belgian Gardens if you happen to be a multi-millionaire. Places to avoid...and this is just my opinion, apologies to the folks who live there.....Railway Estate definitely, Kelso and Rasmussen have a bit of a bad rep and some bits of North Ward are surprisingly run down. Areas like Cranbrook, Aitkenvale and Mundingburra are very mixed, some streets are very nice, others decidedly run down. The truth is there are more good bits than bad in my experience. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted September 3, 2011 Share Posted September 3, 2011 Another thought, for any singles or younger couples, lots of new apartments in and around the CBD, Palmer Street and closer to The Strand. Townsville is growing fast, lots of new developments going on around the edges near the new ring road, and lots of money being spent in and around the CBD itself. You can get a reasonable idea of an area by checking out www.realestate.com.au and searching Townsville. Houses prices are a good guide to what the locals think of an area, just try comparing like for like....a reasonable price for a 3-4 bed house in a good area is $300K plus...anything cheaper is likely to be in an older less desirable area. Also the local paper has a weekly round up of crime figures etc, http://www.townsvillebulletin.com.au/ In my experience there is a very very low level of crime, certainly compared to what you might be used to in UK. Plus 'The Bully' will give you a good feel for the place, it covers a huge area of North Queensland but bear in mind it is a VERY local paper if you catch my drift. As has been said before, travel to and from work isnt generally an issue, it wouldnt be fair to say there is no traffic here, but there certainly isnt that much worth mentioning most of the time. You won't need to drive for much more than 30 minutes to get from the beach to the hospital, to the CBD and to practically any suburb even during the rush hour. Access to shops and facilities is easy from just about everywhere, the 3 big shopping centres at Willows (Kirwan), Castletown (Garbutt/West End) and Stocklands (Aitkenvale), furniture and DIY and electrical etc is mostly based at Domain (Mount Loiusa/Heatley area), every suburb has at least a couple of local shops usually with a Coles or Woolies, and a selection of fast food type places. Not necessarily walking distance cos nobody walks anywhere generally, just too damn hot a lot of the time. Can't comment on schools, but stuff for the kids is generally on The Strand with the free waterpark and rockpool, and at Riverway for free swimming etc. Most of the kids seem to play lots of sport and there are all manner of sporting facilities all over the place catering for just about any sport you can mention. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
clark Posted September 10, 2011 Share Posted September 10, 2011 hi guys, im craig and mad the leap to tsv last month and hope to meet up with simular minded peoiple moving to townsville, im 40yrs old and single living in west end would like to meet up to xchange emigration stories with fellow newbies or oldies, hope to get in touch cheers Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteveinOz Posted September 16, 2011 Author Share Posted September 16, 2011 hi guys, im craig and mad the leap to tsv last month and hope to meet up with simular minded peoiple moving to townsville, im 40yrs old and single living in west end would like to meet up to xchange emigration stories with fellow newbies or oldies, hope to get in touch cheers Drop us a message if you fancy a beer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
clark Posted September 17, 2011 Share Posted September 17, 2011 hi steve and gill when do you get over to townsville as id love to get together for a pint and share my emigration process, ive been here in tsv at west end for a month since mid august now, and already got a job after 3 hrs of looking, seams a freindly town, and very hot even at 27 each day, people say its been one of the coldest winters townsville has had!, so i hope youd like to get in touch, for a chat, i be happy to tell you my limited experience of townsville, cheers clark:biggrin: Just thought I would start a thread regarding Townsville. We are due to move in the next few days and will post some of our experiences as we go. Would also be helpful if people already there or people about to go also posted so we can all keep in touch and share experiences and help. Cheers Steve & Gill Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
clark Posted September 17, 2011 Share Posted September 17, 2011 hi steve and gill where are you based, as yea we couldv meetb up for a beer and a chat cheers clark Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
clark Posted September 17, 2011 Share Posted September 17, 2011 hi steve thimk i cocked up my reply so where are you based in townsvill as im in west end so yea howv about a beer and chat cheers clark Drop us a message if you fancy a beer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteveinOz Posted September 18, 2011 Author Share Posted September 18, 2011 Have been here a couple of months now and we are based in Annandale, get into town most Saturdays and Sundays, nice to walk along the Strand then a cold beer in one of the 'pubs'. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
clark Posted September 20, 2011 Share Posted September 20, 2011 hi steve yea how about meeting up ths wkend, maybe saturday arvo, west end is short walk as close to town or the strand.my mobile no. is 0458600543 if you wanna give me a ring cheers clark Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
clark Posted September 23, 2011 Share Posted September 23, 2011 hi all in townsville its great weather around 28degs and onlt gonna get hotter i've been here fer 6 weeks now and still not found any ex pat brits, as i'd like to meet up with anyone who's made the leap to sunney townsville, im renting in west end at the mo , and it only took me 3 hours to find a job, but if you look hard enough its like any where, you will find something, maybe not your ideal job but its a start on the way to becoming an aussie and thats what we are all here for, so if theres any ex pat brits wanting to know any thing give me a shout cheers all clark Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted September 23, 2011 Share Posted September 23, 2011 hey mate, i'm sure we'll catch up eventually. Nice here tho isnt it:cool: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteveinOz Posted September 25, 2011 Author Share Posted September 25, 2011 hi steve yea how about meeting up ths wkend, maybe saturday arvo, west end is short walk as close to town or the strand.my mobile no. is 0458600543 if you wanna give me a ring cheers clark Sorry mate, was in Mackay for the weekend, will send you a text in the next couple of days. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest sargil Posted October 11, 2011 Share Posted October 11, 2011 Hya I've heard the cost of living there is so much higher ie a fiver for a can of coke, how true is this?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest sargil Posted October 11, 2011 Share Posted October 11, 2011 could you please give me a rough comparison for the above?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest The Pom Queen Posted October 11, 2011 Share Posted October 11, 2011 Hya I've heard the cost of living there is so much higher ie a fiver for a can of coke, how true is this?? Well we got one for $1.50 when we were there a few weeks ago. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest sargil Posted October 11, 2011 Share Posted October 11, 2011 ive sent you a private message Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted October 11, 2011 Share Posted October 11, 2011 http://www.townsville.qld.gov.au/Pages/default.aspx the local council website, full of info and good links to local attractions and amentities http://www.coles.com.au/ go to the catalogue, when it asks for postcode type in 4810 (its Townsvilles central postcode, prices vary from city to city, state to state) http://www.realestate.com.au/rent/in-townsville%3b+/list-1?preferredState=qld gives a good overveiw of the types of property available for rent and a guide to prices http://www.townsvillebulletin.com.au/ the local newspaper, gives you a reasonable feel for the place, bear in mind it is very local tho. Also check out the 'crimebusters' section, it has a round up of weekly reported crime and locations.....personally i would say its a very low level of crime compared to most places. http://www.aip.com.au/pricing/retail/ulp/qld.htm fuel here is currently about $1.40 per litre for unleaded....and actually cheaper than most other parts of Queensland for some reason Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted October 11, 2011 Share Posted October 11, 2011 Hya I've heard the cost of living there is so much higher ie a fiver for a can of coke, how true is this?? :no: Completely untrue.....in a pub maybe, but even then thats ridiculously steep, only costs about $6 - $7 for a beer Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest sargil Posted October 11, 2011 Share Posted October 11, 2011 thank you actually checking out other comparisons it seems that the only major difference is the grocery bill and maybe haircuts?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted October 11, 2011 Share Posted October 11, 2011 thank you actually checking out other comparisons it seems that the only major difference is the grocery bill and maybe haircuts?? Depends where you are comparing it too, Townsville can be slightly more expensive for groceries than Brisbane or Sydney for example, simply because of transportation costs. Fruit and veg can be bought at the many local markets much cheaper than the supermarkets. Its hard to compare to UK prices, everything seems a hell of a lot more expensive, but you won't get payed in Pounds, and once you stop comparing Pounds to Dollars the general cost works out roughly the same. Really can't comment on haircuts:nah:...tho my OH does manage to spend a fortune on her hair:eek:....but then she did that in UK too:arghh: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
clark Posted October 13, 2011 Share Posted October 13, 2011 hey gill and steve thanks for meeting up last saturday night , it was good to put a face to the name and get your take on townsville life, unfortunately it was under poor rugby results but come on the taffies,( never thought i'd be saying that) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.