# Townsville Queensland



## irish family move to oz (Sep 12, 2010)

Hi Guys,

Well im moving to Townsville , Queensland in July. I cant wait ! We have started our packing and everything! My Husband will be leaving Ireland within the next month or so and We wont see him until we arrive in July. It will be very hard but we cant wait ! Im wondering if anyone here is or has moved to this area and if they would share their experiences? Also if you have any information about this area? I have done a google search but its not the same as hearing it from someone who has been there really ! We will be arriving with our two children ages 6 & 3.
July wont come fast enough !!!
Steph


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## Dolly (Feb 17, 2008)

Hi Steph,

Have a look at the other Townsville thread for info. Or hopefully someone from that area will be able to give you some advice.

Dolly


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## Halo (May 8, 2008)

It is the sticks but a very chilled out place.....


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## Nignoy (Jun 4, 2010)

Be ready for the time of your life, great standard of living , wonderful town, ancient and modern, great schools, barrier reef on your front door, we live 200kms west of Brisbane, but we are able as pensioners to pop up to townsville for 3 months of the year to chillout, great beaches ,fishing, fresh seafood to die for , and the offshore islands are paradise, we were 54/52 when we emigrated from uk in 1996, without a proverbial pot to wee wee in, we actually moved away from the coast after we retired, but we still head for Townsville any time we can, consider yourself very lucky ,you have a mindblowing future to look forward too!!


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## monaghanjoe (Jun 24, 2010)

hi irish family this is my first time on this forum my husband an i are also planning on moving to Queensland area in march/ April will be interested to see how you an your family get on, good luck.



irish family move to oz said:


> Hi Guys,
> 
> Well im moving to Townsville , Queensland in July. I cant wait ! We have started our packing and everything! My Husband will be leaving Ireland within the next month or so and We wont see him until we arrive in July. It will be very hard but we cant wait ! Im wondering if anyone here is or has moved to this area and if they would share their experiences? Also if you have any information about this area? I have done a google search but its not the same as hearing it from someone who has been there really ! We will be arriving with our two children ages 6 & 3.
> July wont come fast enough !!!
> Steph


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## 90199 (Mar 21, 2010)

I was up and down that coast as a merchant seaman in the 1960's, yes I know I am an old git, the climate was sub tropical and I found it very agreeable.

I too tried to emigrate to Australia, but it wasn't to be, I wish you the best of good fortune in your new and no doubt very different life,

Hepa


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## jojo (Sep 20, 2007)

I have a friend who lives in Townsville. Heres a couple of bits of e-mails that she sent me which may give you an idea of how she feels about living there - you never know you may meet her when you finally arrive


> "...we're living in Far North Queensland right slap bang middle of the Great Barrier Reef marine park about 5 hours drive north of Cairns so it's a tropical climate. We'll have been here 4 years in June and it's been a great place to start our Aus adventure however we are planning on moving to Melbourne as soon as finances allow. **** wants to go to Uni there and certainly he will have more options as where we are now is quite limited. It's great for families and younger teenagers though....
> 
> 
> ************
> ........Anyhow Australia is a great place to live for the most part...I said in my last message we were living north of Cairns and that was a typo as it's actually south lol...if it was 5 hours north you'd be somewhere in the sea! It's a very hot and humid tropical climate....basically 2 seasons...the Wet and the Dry. The Dry is winter and is beautiful for the most part, blue sunny skies over 25 degrees so still quite hot. Occasionally it is cooler but literally this last winter we had about 3 or 4 cool days. The most cool winter days we've had is about 3 weeks. It really is gorgeous at that time of year (May to Oct) The Wet is hotter and very humid, rarely below 32 degrees but because of the humidity feels much hotter. Nobody sunbakes here because the ozone layer and this is the skin cancer capital of the world. Everyone has a pool though and you die without air con as we found out as ours broke down and we had none in the lounge/kitchen area for nearly the whole of the summer and only got it fixed about a month ago....eek! Although it's tropical in Townsville we are in the 'dry' tropics as we sit in a rain shadow so actually compared to say Cairns get very little rain (for the tropics) but we do get the occasional cyclone (hurricane) although thankfully not since we've been here. The wildlife is...erm...let's say challenging to a phobic!! I have seen thankfully few spiders although the few sightings I have had have been memorable!! You can buy bombs in the supermarkets to let off in every room to kill them, as well as various sprays and can also call out pest control to deal with them. Not wanting to take any chances I use all 3 methods and also spray myself!! Snakes here are of the most deadly you will ever encounter so although I'm not actually scared of snakes I really don't wish to meet one so I'm very careful where I tread. I've only encountered one in the wild which isn't bad in nearly 4 years. Up here we also have crocodiles to avoid, deadly stingers (jelly fish) as well as the usual sharks so being the coward I am I stick to my pool....coward....hell yes!! I realised very quickly that everything here and I mean EVERYTHING wants to bite you, sting you or eat you!"



Jo xxx


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## Weebie (Sep 16, 2009)

If your interested in spending your days doing nothing then its great. Nice little affordable town with no serious career opportunities though. Youll live a plesant lifestyle but a boring one at that.


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## jojo (Sep 20, 2007)

Weebie said:


> If your interested in spending your days doing nothing then its great. Nice little affordable town with no serious career opportunities though. Youll live a plesant lifestyle but a boring one at that.



Yep, that sounds like my kinda town, maybe I should look into the possibilities lol!!!

Jo xxx


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## Nignoy (Jun 4, 2010)

There are opportunities for work everywhere if you care to look, there are so many trades that australians are not proficient at , british trained tradesmen are sought after, even I still get job offers and I have been retired a while now.


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## Weebie (Sep 16, 2009)

Nignoy said:


> There are opportunities for work everywhere if you care to look, there are so many trades that australians are not proficient at , british trained tradesmen are sought after, even I still get job offers and I have been retired a while now.


That's because Australians don't become tradesmen they become doctors, lawyers and engineers hence there is a need for the services of brit trades because essentially theyre doing the jobs locals won't do.


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## Nignoy (Jun 4, 2010)

Doctors dont build houses, bridges, go into any Good hospital in Australia, most of the Specialists are British 67% of all Intensive care nurses in australia are either British or British trained


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## jojo (Sep 20, 2007)

Weebie said:


> That's because Australians don't become tradesmen they become doctors, lawyers and engineers hence there is a need for the services of brit trades because essentially theyre doing the jobs locals won't do.


Thats a bit of a daft generalisation and doesnt make a lot of sense. Australia isnt known for only producing highly educated professional beings?? Countries need all sorts to make them work. I'm pretty sure that Australia has worked out that doctors, lawyers and accountants would need an infrastructure build by "lowly" labourers etc to work in????

Jo xxx


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## deeva (Jan 18, 2011)

irish family move to oz said:


> Hi Guys,
> 
> Well im moving to Townsville , Queensland in July. I cant wait ! We have started our packing and everything! My Husband will be leaving Ireland within the next month or so and We wont see him until we arrive in July. It will be very hard but we cant wait ! Im wondering if anyone here is or has moved to this area and if they would share their experiences? Also if you have any information about this area? I have done a google search but its not the same as hearing it from someone who has been there really ! We will be arriving with our two children ages 6 & 3.
> July wont come fast enough !!!
> Steph


Hi Steph,

We plan on moving to Brisbane later in the year,hubby is heading in May an if all goes to plan, myself and son will be following him over when he gets set up and sponsorship comes through.He'll have to do a trial period first.I too am dreading when he leaves but we have no choice. Are you going to ship all your stuff over or buy all new over there ? I'm half frightened and half excited at the idea of leaving , its great to find others in the same boat.Keep us posted on how things go


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## Nignoy (Jun 4, 2010)

to deeva and stepha, we hope you enjoy your new life in qld, it is a huge change but a wonderful one, both brisbane and townsville are great places to grow old in, dont be put off by the tricks the weather have played on us the last few weeks, life goes on and as any Queenslander will tell you it gets better from day to day.


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## Guest (Feb 6, 2011)

Nignoy said:


> to deeva and stepha, we hope you enjoy your new life in qld, it is a huge change but a wonderful one, both brisbane and townsville are great places to grow old in, dont be put off by the tricks the weather have played on us the last few weeks, life goes on and as any Queenslander will tell you it gets better from day to day.


I had not been following this thread but the recent activity made me read some of the initial posts. And the contrast between the weather description in them and recent events is... I don't know.... surreal???? Despite your assurances, the contrast is something I am simply unable to wrap my mind around. This is of course not intended to dishearten those planning to move there. Best of luck!!!!


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## irish family move to oz (Sep 12, 2010)

deeva said:


> Hi Steph,
> 
> We plan on moving to Brisbane later in the year,hubby is heading in May an if all goes to plan, myself and son will be following him over when he gets set up and sponsorship comes through.He'll have to do a trial period first.I too am dreading when he leaves but we have no choice. Are you going to ship all your stuff over or buy all new over there ? I'm half frightened and half excited at the idea of leaving , its great to find others in the same boat.Keep us posted on how things go


Hiya !

I am feeling every emotion you are feeling right now haha!
we have decided to sell everything here and only take the important stuff like photos etc ! When is your husband off ??? Its very nerve racking isnt it !
era keep touch here and we will get through it together !!! 
stephanie x


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## irish family move to oz (Sep 12, 2010)

Nignoy said:


> to deeva and stepha, we hope you enjoy your new life in qld, it is a huge change but a wonderful one, both brisbane and townsville are great places to grow old in, dont be put off by the tricks the weather have played on us the last few weeks, life goes on and as any Queenslander will tell you it gets better from day to day.


thanks for your lovely mail ! Although the Weather in Qld has been very daunting ! and now Bush Fires in Perth  Here in Ireland we are having strong winds and it has been raining 5 days straight ! thats about the worst of what we get so I am quite nervous about Qld with floods and Cyclones etc !
But we are still moving and looking forward to the big change and who knows,
maybe we will fall in love with Townsville and never come home !


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## Nignoy (Jun 4, 2010)

Dont worry about the weather,where we are living now near Toowoomba, was in the middle of the floods, and far worse than anything we have experienced in our 15 years here, but it was only water, you take precautions and prepare your selves, but with the community spirit here you are never alone!!come to this wonderful country, and every success in your new lives, this still is and will be for many years a land of untold opportunities!!


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## MaidenScotland (Jun 6, 2009)

Nignoy said:


> Dont worry about the weather,where we are living now near Toowoomba, was in the middle of the floods, and far worse than anything we have experienced in our 15 years here, but it was only water, you take precautions and prepare your selves, but with the community spirit here you are never alone!!come to this wonderful country, and every success in your new lives, this still is and will be for many years a land of untold opportunities!!




Glad your ok john... kept missing you in chat xx


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## irish family move to oz (Sep 12, 2010)

Nignoy said:


> Dont worry about the weather,where we are living now near Toowoomba, was in the middle of the floods, and far worse than anything we have experienced in our 15 years here, but it was only water, you take precautions and prepare your selves, but with the community spirit here you are never alone!!come to this wonderful country, and every success in your new lives, this still is and will be for many years a land of untold opportunities!!


Hiya ! 
Thank you so much for your mail. It is great to hear from someone who lives near where we are off to ! Looking forward to starting our new life Down Under 

thanks !
Stephanie


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## Nignoy (Jun 4, 2010)

MaidenScotland said:


> Glad your ok john... kept missing you in chat xx


glad you got out of egypt okay, did you rescue your shoe collection as well


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## Yvonne.72 (Jan 9, 2011)

irish family move to oz said:


> thanks for your lovely mail ! Although the Weather in Qld has been very daunting ! and now Bush Fires in Perth  Here in Ireland we are having strong winds and it has been raining 5 days straight ! thats about the worst of what we get so I am quite nervous about Qld with floods and Cyclones etc !
> But we are still moving and looking forward to the big change and who knows,
> maybe we will fall in love with Townsville and never come home !


The difference is that people up in tropical North Queensland are largely prepared for cyclones - they are a fact of life in maritime tropical climates. Most of the newer homes, schools, public buildings etc. are built to cyclone standards. As the older properties get damaged by storms they are replaced by more robust structures. Be sure that you have cyclone shutters that you can close your house up with and chat to the locals about how to prepare (put patio furniture inside or in the pool to stop it from blowing around, secure/ remove lose items outside, that sort of thing) Usually there is bags of notice for a cyclone and you should have plenty of time to get prepared for it.

Despite Yasi being a category 5 storm there only fatality I know of was an unfortunate man who died from carbon monoxide poisoning resulting from using a generator in a confined space.


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## Yvonne.72 (Jan 9, 2011)

This tells you how to prepare for cyclones

http://www.emergency.qld.gov.au/emq/css/pdf/English_Cyclone Book_11oct07.pdf


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## deeva (Jan 18, 2011)

Nignoy said:


> Dont worry about the weather,where we are living now near Toowoomba, was in the middle of the floods, and far worse than anything we have experienced in our 15 years here, but it was only water, you take precautions and prepare your selves, but with the community spirit here you are never alone!!come to this wonderful country, and every success in your new lives, this still is and will be for many years a land of untold opportunities!!


Hi 

Sorry to hear you were caught up in the floods, I hope you haven't been affected too much by it all.Thanks so much for the mail , and even after you've been through all that you still have words of encouragement for us. Hearing from people that have been through this journey and have no regrets is what will get us through the process. 

Thanks


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## deeva (Jan 18, 2011)

Hi Steph

His expects to be going in May/June. Just so much to do and organise here before he heads off. 
Ya I think thats all we are going to take with us also ,just the few boxes of personal stuff, sure we'll have to leave all the furniture anyways as we'll have to rent our house out for the short term as there is nothing selling here at the moment.

Had ye a house to sell or anything?any luck with it?


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## irish family move to oz (Sep 12, 2010)

deeva said:


> Hi Steph
> 
> His expects to be going in May/June. Just so much to do and organise here before he heads off.
> Ya I think thats all we are going to take with us also ,just the few boxes of personal stuff, sure we'll have to leave all the furniture anyways as we'll have to rent our house out for the short term as there is nothing selling here at the moment.
> ...


Hiya !

No love, we have a council home so it is just a matter of handing back the key, thankfully !

Today I started to take down the photo frames off the wall and pack away photos,
its making our move so real ! My Hubby is kind of all set to go now, im just going out to buy him a new suitcase for Valentines haha ! Let me know what you guys are up to !
steph x


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## irish family move to oz (Sep 12, 2010)

Yvonne.72 said:


> The difference is that people up in tropical North Queensland are largely prepared for cyclones - they are a fact of life in maritime tropical climates. Most of the newer homes, schools, public buildings etc. are built to cyclone standards. As the older properties get damaged by storms they are replaced by more robust structures. Be sure that you have cyclone shutters that you can close your house up with and chat to the locals about how to prepare (put patio furniture inside or in the pool to stop it from blowing around, secure/ remove lose items outside, that sort of thing) Usually there is bags of notice for a cyclone and you should have plenty of time to get prepared for it.
> 
> Despite Yasi being a category 5 storm there only fatality I know of was an unfortunate man who died from carbon monoxide poisoning resulting from using a generator in a confined space.


Hi Yvonne,
thank you very much for your mail, it really is nice to speak to someone who knows about Queensland etc. 

That is terrible about the man, but thankfully nothing more happened at the time of Yasi.
Keep in touch,
steph x


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## TILLY BEAR (Feb 14, 2011)

monaghanjoe said:


> hi irish family this is my first time on this forum my husband an i are also planning on moving to Queensland area in march/ April will be interested to see how you an your family get on, good luck.


Hi all have just joined this forum so am also new to this my husband is 47 soon to be 48 and i have a 10 yr old daughter,he hasnt had any work for over a year and we are hoping to emmigrate to Australia,but not sure if our ages would go against us.I am 45 ,he has been driving rigid trucks and tractors all his life and loves that work.Ihave been doing housework for others and at guesthouses.Has anyone out there been in the same situation and can give us some advice?


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## deeva (Jan 18, 2011)

TILLY BEAR said:


> Hi all have just joined this forum so am also new to this my husband is 47 soon to be 48 and i have a 10 yr old daughter,he hasnt had any work for over a year and we are hoping to emmigrate to Australia,but not sure if our ages would go against us.I am 45 ,he has been driving rigid trucks and tractors all his life and loves that work.Ihave been doing housework for others and at guesthouses.Has anyone out there been in the same situation and can give us some advice?


Hi Tilly Bear

From what I know I think the only ways to get into australia are:

If you have a qualification that is on the australian government skills shortage list and the age limit on that skilled visa is 45.

Another is to get a job offer from a company willing to sponsor you but I think even with that you must have a skill that is needed in australia.

Or if you are age 18-30 travelling without children you can get a 1 year working holiday visa .

Or if you have a family member that is an australian citizen or resident they may be able to sponsor you.

You can check out the latest skills list here:
http://www.immi.gov.au/skilled/_pdf/sol-schedule3.pdf

Hopefully somebody else can confirm this for you too. hope it helps


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## TILLY BEAR (Feb 14, 2011)

Hi Deeva well ichecked out that website and the thing is my hubby has done so many of those jobs like floor and wall tiling and carpentry to houses and roofs his brothers a carpenter and hes worked with him down through the years my hubby could turn his hand to most things but the way things are gone here its impossible to get any work.unfortunatly tho he doesnt have papers for any of them,so i think we will have no choice but to get sponsorship.


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## deeva (Jan 18, 2011)

Hi Steph

Just wondering how your getting on? Has your husband left for australia yet?If so I would love to hear how he is getting on and what he thinks of life over there. We are currently just having a big clear out & hubby is still planning to go in June. Anyways let us know how things are going. 

Take care


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## irish family move to oz (Sep 12, 2010)

deeva said:


> Hi Steph
> 
> Just wondering how your getting on? Has your husband left for australia yet?If so I would love to hear how he is getting on and what he thinks of life over there. We are currently just having a big clear out & hubby is still planning to go in June. Anyways let us know how things are going.
> 
> Take care


Hiya !

Well we had a set back 
Hubbys post got lost when the floods hit in Queensland so we had to re send all the paperwork , which then ment he missed his course date ! So now all we are doing is waiting on a call to give us the date and he is gone !! the course is for his electrical licence in Oz.
I myself have packed some cases and our house is almost fully packed up !
we are very excited ! Im planning to follow Ger in June/July providing everything is set for me and the kids to go !
How are things your end?
Steph x


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## irish family move to oz (Sep 12, 2010)

Sorry for the late reply !!
Hubby has been in Townsville 2 weeks now !! has done his 
electrical licence in Adelaide for 4 weeks 
so he has been gone now almost 7 weeks !! We miss him terrible !
But on the other hand we are hoping to leave Ireland the end of Aug / Sept ! 
and we are all packed now and ready to go !!! hope all is well 
stephanie xx


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## Nignoy (Jun 4, 2010)

irish family move to oz said:


> Sorry for the late reply !!
> Hubby has been in Townsville 2 weeks now !! has done his
> electrical licence in Adelaide for 4 weeks
> so he has been gone now almost 7 weeks !! We miss him terrible !
> ...


good luck , september will be here before you know it, dont forget to pack your factor 50 sept and october,early spring in townsville boootiful, prepare for paradise:clap2:


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## FWL (Jun 20, 2011)

Weebie said:


> That's because Australians don't become tradesmen they become doctors, lawyers and engineers hence there is a need for the services of brit trades because essentially theyre doing the jobs locals won't do.


Congratulations on the most ridiculous post in the thread.

So everyone in Australia is a doctor, lawyer, engineer or the equivalent? I beg to differ.

Anyway, good luck to the OP on the big move.


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## irish family move to oz (Sep 12, 2010)

Nignoy said:


> good luck , september will be here before you know it, dont forget to pack your factor 50 sept and october,early spring in townsville boootiful, prepare for paradise:clap2:


oh thanks for ur message ! yeah we are all excited haha 
makes a big change from the cold, rainy summer here in ireland haha


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## irish family move to oz (Sep 12, 2010)

monaghanjoe said:


> hi irish family this is my first time on this forum my husband an i are also planning on moving to Queensland area in march/ April will be interested to see how you an your family get on, good luck.


how r ye getting on guys? have ye moved ?


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## irish family move to oz (Sep 12, 2010)

deeva said:


> Hi Steph
> 
> Just wondering how your getting on? Has your husband left for australia yet?If so I would love to hear how he is getting on and what he thinks of life over there. We are currently just having a big clear out & hubby is still planning to go in June. Anyways let us know how things are going.
> 
> Take care


hey  
well hubby is over 6 months now
and im leaving ireland dec 3rd !!
destination : Townsville 
2 kiddies are all excited about their move and their 1st x mas in Australia 
how are ye getting on?
steph x


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## Nignoy (Jun 4, 2010)

not long nowlane: enjoy your new home:ranger:


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