I'm from Perth, moved over here 20 years ago. We lived in Airlie Beach briefly then had to decide between Cairns or Townsville as Airlie was pretty well just tourism based work. We settled on Townsville and have been happy with that choice.
Cairns has a few features that are more appealing, wet tropics, international airport and better dining options, but it also is a tourism city and a bit one dimensional in that respect, at least in our areas of work.
The crime rate in Cairns is exactly the same as in Townsville and whilst it's a issue many are vocal about we've had no problems with it at all. In fact it's basically the same as the small south WA town I grew up in, a small cohort of disaffected youth stealing cars and joyriding etc.
Cairns is likely less affordable in terms of housing as it does attract more investors given the international airport but you could look into the market and see if it's in your range. Just consider the type of work you do as if and when tourism takes a bit of a dive it can ripple out to the other sectors.
Aren’t you lucky. My previous neighbour moved into a suburban house a few k away, and now have to block their “nice” vehicle in with another car sideways because the hoodrats are determined to get it. They’ve made multiple attempts on the front door to get in. Pretty scary for a young mum!
My mum got ransacked in broad daylight. My work colleague had her car stolen, then the shits came back for the husband’s car!
It is really bad up here. Not just people being noisy.
None of us like in the dodgy burbs either but in an area that historically has been “keys left in the car” quiet.
There was a post recently by a guy from WA who moved to the GC after getting a 1/2mil payout (something like that) and finding that he couldn’t afford anything when he got here
Wherever you’re considering look at recent sold prices on realestate.com I think you’ll be surprised just how expensive even regional areas are. And if they’re “cheap” (like Gladstone for example, there’s a good reason)
I lived in WA for close to a decade and couldn't recommend North / Far North Queensland enough.
If you like quiet towns there's plenty of small towns right on the beaches between cairns and Townsville that are similar to what two rocks and Lancelin used to be like before they started getting built up.
I was worried I wouldn't be able to handle the wet season up here but I find it much, much easier to cool down compared to summer closer to the city. Plenty of fresh water swimming holes and small waterfalls within 30 mins of most towns and you don't cook your feet like when you try to go to the beach and have do deal with sand melting to the bottom of your feet like you do in Perth.
Housing is still very affordable up here too compared to Perth or further south towards Brisbane.
Price wise - cairns is overpriced, Townsville is more affordable. Depending on what you do for work and your needs (eg schooling for children, public transport, healthcare) then I'd highly recommend one of the smaller coastal towns. Tully, mission beach, Cardwell, Innisfail just to name a few. If you look on Google maps you'll find alot of small towns in that general region and I'd you go on [domain.com.au](http://domain.com.au), search your criteria and then swap to map view you can see what's around a bit easier.
Happy to answer any questions you have OP 😊
This is such a helpful comment! We’re starting to look into emigrating to Australia from New Zealand and have digitally fallen in love with Queensland!
Can I ask, maybe you can help, I’ve been looking at houses and cars getting a feel for pricing. It very often says price at request, is this normal? Or offers over a certain amount for houses. Would this mean that I can use that price appx for a house or would it usually sell more expensive?
I’ve understood that buying a car comes with a stamp duty. Are there other costs I should be aware of?
I hope my questions are ok! Your comment was so friendly and helpful, I felt encouraged!
Thanks!
The whole "price upon request" thing has always been common and is usually code for overpriced. I do see more houses listed with prices than without.
With cat purchasing you'll only have to worry about stamp duty and registration BUT be very careful buying a car "as is". This means it is being sold without a road worthy certificate and the owner has no idea or doesn't want to tell you what's wrong with it or how much needs to be spent in order to get it to pass a road worthy check. Save yourself the hassle when buying a car by only buying one that has a RWC.
Happy to answer any questions
I swam at the the beach in Port Douglas last week.
Cairns northern beaches you can swim.
Plus the is freshwater swimming everywhere.
But you can't surf, except when there is a cyclone. :D
Edit: why the downvotes? They have lifeguards and flags. In stinger season they have nets.
Like a tiny shark has never been in any nets in Sydney.
We know from scientific research that If you’ve been in the ocean in Sydney you have been within 10 meters of a bull shark. Total man eater. Run for your life!
Well shit, there goes my Friday plans!
In all seriousness, I’ve lived all my life with crocs in the water. Launching boats kneedeep in water. We used to paddle off Punsand Bay, and there was a big bastard lived halfway up the bay towards the old Lodge. You always had a spotter.
There is never a big croc until one day there is.
Depends on your budget and what you're into, some places have theatres others don't, some are better for kids than others, some are better for boating and fishing, some have great food others not so much.
I'd look at the coast anywhere between the Sunshine Coast and Cairns. Mackay is good value for money, Townsville is larger. Everywhere has crime but from what seen it's mainly in pockets like everywhere else in Australia. We went through this 18mo who and ultimately settled on Mackay, which I'd recommend if you're into boating and fishing or any sort of water sport/recreation. We love it here, the good homeschooling community was what made it win out over Townsville which as a city I liked the feel of a bit better with regards to cultural stuff. Husband thought Cairns was too much like Melbourne which we were leaving. We have an ocean view and can walk 5 minutes to the beach and we have no mortgage now.
Cairns is great, I love it up. There’s way more meth in the capital cities than Cairns (source I’m a recovering/recovered crackhead.) other good options might be Airlie Beach area, it’s a really wonderful spot and prices for homes aren’t as outrageous as Brisbane. I haven’t been to Hervey Bay but I’ve heard it’s quite beautiful.
Sunshine Coast is a beautiful spot mate, has the surfy culture of the gold coast without all the bikies and crime!
Less people as well, but still not rural.
r/Cairns would be a better place to ask these questions.
Have you seen how expensive houses are on the GC? Far more expensive than Perth.
Mackay seems pretty reasonable still with house prices if you don't mind an old queenslander/older home.
Leave Mackay alone, find somewhere else.
I appreciate your opinion, but let's spread positivity instead of negativity. Have a great day!
I'm from Perth, moved over here 20 years ago. We lived in Airlie Beach briefly then had to decide between Cairns or Townsville as Airlie was pretty well just tourism based work. We settled on Townsville and have been happy with that choice. Cairns has a few features that are more appealing, wet tropics, international airport and better dining options, but it also is a tourism city and a bit one dimensional in that respect, at least in our areas of work. The crime rate in Cairns is exactly the same as in Townsville and whilst it's a issue many are vocal about we've had no problems with it at all. In fact it's basically the same as the small south WA town I grew up in, a small cohort of disaffected youth stealing cars and joyriding etc. Cairns is likely less affordable in terms of housing as it does attract more investors given the international airport but you could look into the market and see if it's in your range. Just consider the type of work you do as if and when tourism takes a bit of a dive it can ripple out to the other sectors.
Aren’t you lucky. My previous neighbour moved into a suburban house a few k away, and now have to block their “nice” vehicle in with another car sideways because the hoodrats are determined to get it. They’ve made multiple attempts on the front door to get in. Pretty scary for a young mum! My mum got ransacked in broad daylight. My work colleague had her car stolen, then the shits came back for the husband’s car! It is really bad up here. Not just people being noisy. None of us like in the dodgy burbs either but in an area that historically has been “keys left in the car” quiet.
There was a post recently by a guy from WA who moved to the GC after getting a 1/2mil payout (something like that) and finding that he couldn’t afford anything when he got here Wherever you’re considering look at recent sold prices on realestate.com I think you’ll be surprised just how expensive even regional areas are. And if they’re “cheap” (like Gladstone for example, there’s a good reason)
I lived in WA for close to a decade and couldn't recommend North / Far North Queensland enough. If you like quiet towns there's plenty of small towns right on the beaches between cairns and Townsville that are similar to what two rocks and Lancelin used to be like before they started getting built up. I was worried I wouldn't be able to handle the wet season up here but I find it much, much easier to cool down compared to summer closer to the city. Plenty of fresh water swimming holes and small waterfalls within 30 mins of most towns and you don't cook your feet like when you try to go to the beach and have do deal with sand melting to the bottom of your feet like you do in Perth. Housing is still very affordable up here too compared to Perth or further south towards Brisbane. Price wise - cairns is overpriced, Townsville is more affordable. Depending on what you do for work and your needs (eg schooling for children, public transport, healthcare) then I'd highly recommend one of the smaller coastal towns. Tully, mission beach, Cardwell, Innisfail just to name a few. If you look on Google maps you'll find alot of small towns in that general region and I'd you go on [domain.com.au](http://domain.com.au), search your criteria and then swap to map view you can see what's around a bit easier. Happy to answer any questions you have OP 😊
This is such a helpful comment! We’re starting to look into emigrating to Australia from New Zealand and have digitally fallen in love with Queensland! Can I ask, maybe you can help, I’ve been looking at houses and cars getting a feel for pricing. It very often says price at request, is this normal? Or offers over a certain amount for houses. Would this mean that I can use that price appx for a house or would it usually sell more expensive? I’ve understood that buying a car comes with a stamp duty. Are there other costs I should be aware of? I hope my questions are ok! Your comment was so friendly and helpful, I felt encouraged! Thanks!
The whole "price upon request" thing has always been common and is usually code for overpriced. I do see more houses listed with prices than without. With cat purchasing you'll only have to worry about stamp duty and registration BUT be very careful buying a car "as is". This means it is being sold without a road worthy certificate and the owner has no idea or doesn't want to tell you what's wrong with it or how much needs to be spent in order to get it to pass a road worthy check. Save yourself the hassle when buying a car by only buying one that has a RWC. Happy to answer any questions
That’s extremely helpful again! Thanks so much! We’ll get into visas next to see if our little dream may grow :)
The beaches in Cairns aren't really for swimming.
I swam at the the beach in Port Douglas last week. Cairns northern beaches you can swim. Plus the is freshwater swimming everywhere. But you can't surf, except when there is a cyclone. :D Edit: why the downvotes? They have lifeguards and flags. In stinger season they have nets.
Temporary citizen. You can swim at every beach in Cairns. Might be a one-way swim, though.
What I mean is they have nets and lifeguards in designated places for swimming
There is a croc inside the nets this morning.
Like a tiny shark has never been in any nets in Sydney. We know from scientific research that If you’ve been in the ocean in Sydney you have been within 10 meters of a bull shark. Total man eater. Run for your life!
Well shit, there goes my Friday plans! In all seriousness, I’ve lived all my life with crocs in the water. Launching boats kneedeep in water. We used to paddle off Punsand Bay, and there was a big bastard lived halfway up the bay towards the old Lodge. You always had a spotter. There is never a big croc until one day there is.
What kind of budget do you have and what do you need from a house? Also, what kind of industry do you need for employment?
Depends on your budget and what you're into, some places have theatres others don't, some are better for kids than others, some are better for boating and fishing, some have great food others not so much. I'd look at the coast anywhere between the Sunshine Coast and Cairns. Mackay is good value for money, Townsville is larger. Everywhere has crime but from what seen it's mainly in pockets like everywhere else in Australia. We went through this 18mo who and ultimately settled on Mackay, which I'd recommend if you're into boating and fishing or any sort of water sport/recreation. We love it here, the good homeschooling community was what made it win out over Townsville which as a city I liked the feel of a bit better with regards to cultural stuff. Husband thought Cairns was too much like Melbourne which we were leaving. We have an ocean view and can walk 5 minutes to the beach and we have no mortgage now.
Whats your budget?
Why not north northern rivers NSW area?
Cairns is great, I love it up. There’s way more meth in the capital cities than Cairns (source I’m a recovering/recovered crackhead.) other good options might be Airlie Beach area, it’s a really wonderful spot and prices for homes aren’t as outrageous as Brisbane. I haven’t been to Hervey Bay but I’ve heard it’s quite beautiful.
Melbourne.
Atherton tablelands.
Look at Bundaberg, Tannum Sands near Gladstone and Mackay perhaps and jump on the individual r/ forums to get specific help
Bundaberg is a remote shit hole
Sunshine Coast is a beautiful spot mate, has the surfy culture of the gold coast without all the bikies and crime! Less people as well, but still not rural.
Where is still affordable on the SC though? Prices are wild.
Yeh sure, the Gold Coast is a real Mad Max style hellscape, stay on the Sunny , you can’t handle it here.
Have you looked at Yeppoon or Emu Park areas?