# Brisbane or Cairns?



## robertt (Jun 3, 2011)

Hi
I am new to this forum, but it seems to be a source of great advice
For a couple of years now I have fancied making the move to Australia, but my wife has reservations about leaving her extended family back home so I am still uncertain as to whether my dream will ever become reality!
I am a GP from Glasgow and am aware that there is a bit of a workforce crisis in healthcare in Queensland, there certainly seem to be lots of GP jobs unfilled whenever I search online.
I have read a lot about Australia and like the sound of Queensland. Brisbane sounds very sophisticated and cosmopolitan but I don't know if it would be worth going all the way round the world to swap one big city for another. I love the outdoors and like the sound of all that the Cairns area has to offer. I'm just not sure if it will keep my wife amused as she is a city girl and likes her shopping! Also I'm not sure if we could stand the humidity. We have three kids aged 11, 8 and 3.
I would love to buy a boat and spend my weekends on the barrier reef. There I go daydreaming again! But is it true that you need a permit to go boating to the reef or is that just certain areas?
I was wondering if anyone had experience of both Brisbane and Cairns and could give me an insight of what it would be like to live there? I know they must be very different in many ways but this forum seems to have many gems and nuggets of wisdom that might help steer me one way or another.
We are planning on a trip to Queensland so obviously this will help us get a flavour of things
Any help much appreciated!
Thank you


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## robertt (Jun 3, 2011)

Are there any GPs using this forum?
I would be very interested to hear of anyone's experiences and any difference in work/life balance compared to the UK. Is the work much different in general practice in Oz?
I'm getting really fed up with constant political interference and targets for targets sake in the NHS.


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## huey (Nov 10, 2010)

Not sure about Cairns, but there is a thread here heading to Brisbane:


http://www.expatforum.com/expats/au...-australia/72265-anyone-heading-brisbane.html


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## robertt (Jun 3, 2011)

Thanks Huey, interesting thread.
Any help greatly appreciated.


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## dunsford5678 (Mar 30, 2010)

robertt said:


> Hi
> I am new to this forum, but it seems to be a source of great advice
> For a couple of years now I have fancied making the move to Australia, but my wife has reservations about leaving her extended family back home so I am still uncertain as to whether my dream will ever become reality!
> I am a GP from Glasgow and am aware that there is a bit of a workforce crisis in healthcare in Queensland, there certainly seem to be lots of GP jobs unfilled whenever I search online.
> ...


Hi Robert

Yes I'm afraid you can't just go boating on the reef, and the boat trip on a fast catamaran is about 1.5 hours each way from Cairns so it's really a day trip when you are on holiday. Personally I think you're probably better off in Brisbane, Cairns is extremely humid, even Brisbane can be pretty hard to take in that respect. Cairns also doesn't have too much in the way of shops that aren't for tourists. I wouldn't be worried about it not being different enough, Brisbane is quite different to Glasgow. You might also like to consider the Sunshine Coast or Gold Coast near Brisbane.


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## robertt (Jun 3, 2011)

dunsford5678 said:


> Hi Robert
> 
> Yes I'm afraid you can't just go boating on the reef, and the boat trip on a fast catamaran is about 1.5 hours each way from Cairns so it's really a day trip when you are on holiday. Personally I think you're probably better off in Brisbane, Cairns is extremely humid, even Brisbane can be pretty hard to take in that respect. Cairns also doesn't have too much in the way of shops that aren't for tourists. I wouldn't be worried about it not being different enough, Brisbane is quite different to Glasgow. You might also like to consider the Sunshine Coast or Gold Coast near Brisbane.


Hi, and thanks very much for your thoughts. I need this kind of sensible advice as it's a big decision to move and it needs to be right first time. Have you spent much time in Cairns? Is the humidity much worse than in South Queensland? I kinda set my heart on Cairns but prob for daft reasons. I would like to live somewhere slightly quiet but within reach of city amenities, say within a half hour's drive. The Daintree, Atherton and Cape Trib all sounded quite appealing as weekend getaway destinations, but I suppose there are plenty of equally attractive destinations within reach of Brisbane.

Who knows where we will all end up?!


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## PipTurner (May 12, 2011)

Hi Robert
Well I have to say that I moved to Cairns from Darwin last year and I get a strong feeling that Cairns is your place! It's lovely here. The weather is gorgeous. I went through the wet season and seriously, with a/c you don't really have an issue. Admittedly I was comparing it to Darwin's Wet which is 'terrible'! If you like the outdoors, boating, fishing and a casual lifestyle then it's great. There are lots of lovely places to go, especially dinner (outdoor dining?). Like your wife, I'm typically a city woman (Perth up until my 'seachange' 3 yrs ago) although not much of a shopper, and the great thing about Cairns is you're only a couple of hours away on a cheap flight to all the mega-shopping cities like melbourne & sydney. The thing I noticed here in Cairns was the large number of Dr's Surgeries compared to Darwin (which has a massive shortage) but I have read in the local paper that Cairns has a shortage as well? Went to the local Surgery shortly upon arrival (Trinity Beach/Palm Cove) and was told 'sorry, we don't take new patients'... same as Darwin. Come for a visit! I think you'll love it. Economically it's 'terrible' here though... impossible to get a job (except for a GP I imagine!) as the entire town revolves around tourism (AUD too high presently), but realestate is unbelievably cheap! Beautiful homes at hundreds of thousands cheaper than other places in Australia. It does get cold here, but not cold enough to need heating (just a jumper!) but even now at the coldest the days are magnificient (26C - 28 C). Bring your family for a visit, I think you'll love it. I have a holiday apartement in Palm Cove and every guest that stays, makes comments about how they would like to live here, so that has to say something? Cheers Pip Turner


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## PipTurner (May 12, 2011)

PipTurner said:


> Hi Robert
> Well I have to say that I moved to Cairns from Darwin last year and I get a strong feeling that Cairns is your place! It's lovely here. The weather is gorgeous. I went through the wet season and seriously, with a/c you don't really have an issue. Admittedly I was comparing it to Darwin's Wet which is 'terrible'! If you like the outdoors, boating, fishing and a casual lifestyle then it's great. There are lots of lovely places to go, especially dinner (outdoor dining?). Like your wife, I'm typically a city woman (Perth up until my 'seachange' 3 yrs ago) although not much of a shopper, and the great thing about Cairns is you're only a couple of hours away on a cheap flight to all the mega-shopping cities like melbourne & sydney. The thing I noticed here in Cairns was the large number of Dr's Surgeries compared to Darwin (which has a massive shortage) but I have read in the local paper that Cairns has a shortage as well? Went to the local Surgery shortly upon arrival (Trinity Beach/Palm Cove) and was told 'sorry, we don't take new patients'... same as Darwin. Come for a visit! I think you'll love it. Economically it's 'terrible' here though... impossible to get a job (except for a GP I imagine!) as the entire town revolves around tourism (AUD too high presently), but realestate is unbelievably cheap! Beautiful homes at hundreds of thousands cheaper than other places in Australia. It does get cold here, but not cold enough to need heating (just a jumper!) but even now at the coldest the days are magnificient (26C - 28 C). Bring your family for a visit, I think you'll love it. I have a holiday apartement in Palm Cove and every guest that stays, makes comments about how they would like to live here, so that has to say something? Cheers Pip Turner


 (Oops, sorry, new to site and this reply looks strange, guess I pressed the wrong button - quote??)


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## robertt (Jun 3, 2011)

PipTurner said:


> (Oops, sorry, new to site and this reply looks strange, guess I pressed the wrong button - quote??)


Hi Pip!

Thanks so much for your post. That's exactly the kind of reply I was hoping for. Very helpful and you're telling me things I want to hear! I have been doing a lot of research on Cairns and to me it sounds just what I would be looking for but I was worried that my family might think it was too quiet or humid. 
We are def coming over for a holiday at some point to check everything out.
Do you know what the deal is with boating on the reef, if you have your own boat can you just go out or do you need some sort of permit? I realise it's a long trip and that companies taking groups of tourists need a permit b4t what about individuals?

Thanks for any help


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## PipTurner (May 12, 2011)

Hi Robert
Glad you found my reply useful! Every 2nd person has a boat here and even though I used to hate fishing (which I'd never tried until 2 yrs ago) I now love it. Don't get hung up about permits etc for fishing at the Reef, as there are thousands of boats & people fishing, so it can't be too difficult. There's also the River/s (Mulgrave and Barron... maybe more?) We love the Palm Cove Jetty, which is just fabulous also wonderful restaurants and cafe's and some designer clothing shops, etc.. (your wife will like Palm Cove!) so fishing is very much a way of life here. If you & your family come for a little holiday perhaps you should make it towards the end of the Dry or even during the Wet, that way you'll know if you can handle the heat/humidity? Also if you're wanting to checkout the local 'news' you can Google the "Cairns Post' which is the Cairns newspaper? It's hillarious that I'm being cheeky enough to tell you about Cairns, when I've really only been here 5 minutes myself!  Any other facts/figures you're interested in just let me know. Cheers Pip


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## mike456 (Jun 12, 2011)

I spent a couple of months in Cairns a few years back and it's a great place to visit.

The weather was great in July, but friends who were there a few months earlier said that they found it far too humid for their liking.

I would suggest that you might want to visit in the summer months to see how you find the humidity.

Best of luck


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## robertt (Jun 3, 2011)

Thanks for great replies

I was thinking of coming over to see Brisbane and Cairns next April, but now I'm thinking that might not be a great time of year? That would be the end of the Wet Season I believe? It might be a good time to test out the humidity endurance but I don't want my wife to be put off by seeing the weather at it's worst conditions. Also would we be unable to swim in the sea then due to marine stingers?
April worked out well with the kids school holidays, but otherwise might not be such a good time. Is July to August a better bet?

Thanks again

Robert


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## mike456 (Jun 12, 2011)

I think the box jellyfish can still be around into June, so if you want to avoid them then July to August is a good bet. That's the time of year I went and apart from a few rainy days the weather was great. You won't get a good idea of the humidity that you would experience in the wet season though, but it depends on what your priority is. If it's seeing Cairns/Cape Trib etc at its best then I'd go in late June.

I would recommend you have a look at the Sunshine Coast. You can always drive up the coast from there to the reef for a holiday and you might find the year round climate better. We're planning on heading there, as having travelled around Australia a few times over the years it was our favourite spot.


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## Darla.R (Mar 27, 2011)

I agree with Mike456 Cairns is a great place to visit. In addition to the Sunshine coast I recommend you also look at the Gold Coast which covers a large area and seems to have most things. Except for an indoor ski slope, which means we have to go to Perisher, Thredbo and places south of here.


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## kiwigser (Mar 1, 2011)

mike456 said:


> I think the box jellyfish can still be around into June, so if you want to avoid them then July to August is a good bet. .



According to an article written in New Scientist based on work from James Cook university, Irukandji (box) are around all year, even out on the reef. There is one the size of a peanut that can kill. I have dived on the barrier quite a few times but always wore a full wetsuit. Quite a few drownings are due to Irukandji. A Korean fishing 3 meters above the sea got stung with a tentacle and had 3 days in ITU. I cannot post the article because you need to subscribe to NS to read it,. although I have it on my computer but is pages long.


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