# Simple Questions about life at Cairns



## shubh80

Hi

I am from India currently living in the US. I plan of moving to Australia if luck allows . I have some questions I believe can be answered by the people here, they will be great help to me.

*If any of the question is there in a sticky, just say "sticky thread" inline*. The thread name will be helpful too.

*I loved the queensland region and my priority is to live and work in or around Cairns. Is there much scope for an IT worker there?

*I work in Redmond,Washington and lots of my friends live in nearby towns like Bothel, Bellevue, Kirkland, Sawammish and drive to office using Freeways. Can you name the nearby towns where the people working in Cairns or Brisbane live and commute hassle free?

[I have few others but this may not be the appropriate thread ]


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## sr.dekker

Sorry mate, Cairns is not known for it's IT. Brisbane perhaps?


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## Wanderer

shubh80 said:


> Hi
> 
> I am from India currently living in the US. I plan of moving to Australia if luck allows . I have some questions I believe can be answered by the people here, they will be great help to me.
> 
> *If any of the question is there in a sticky, just say "sticky thread" inline*. The thread name will be helpful too.
> 
> *I loved the queensland region and my priority is to live and work in or around Cairns. Is there much scope for an IT worker there?
> 
> *I work in Redmond,Washington and lots of my friends live in nearby towns like Bothel, Bellevue, Kirkland, Sawammish and drive to office using Freeways. Can you name the nearby towns where the people working in Cairns or Brisbane live and commute hassle free?
> 
> [I have few others but this may not be the appropriate thread ]


If you do a bit of studying Australia's geography and population distribution you'll see that the Cairns region is quite small in population compared to anything about Washington and it is quite distant from major population centres.
There is possibly some IT work but it would be minimal and more of a service nature than system/product development.

The advantage in such a location is that traffic hastles would be minimal and Freeway are also minimal - have a look via Google Earth and you'll get a feel.
Brisbane is a lot different and typical of any major city in regard to transport, thre being a few hastles but again probably minimal compared with the US.


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## shubh80

it seems Redmond, the corresponding city in Washington to Cairns in Queensland has a lesser population , so population thing doesnt hold true

You picked up a good point though that Washington is boosted by Microsoft, Amazon and Boeing where as Cairns has tourist attractions and sugarcane , so all IT workers are needed for is to provide good shape to tourist sites 

Hmmm, I guess
*Palm Cove, Gordonville,Kuranda, Yungaburra,Atherton,Mareeba* seems to be the neighbourhoods of Cairns where people can commute to their work places?
Did I miss or add any?

(you said US traffic isnt the standard for aussie traffic; and the worst of US traffic is Silicon Valley California and NY outskirts, I take similar distances 
from town as safe distances to commute to and fro)


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## shubh80

thanks to Drekker also, btw I prefer Cairns to Brisbane, Brisbane is too south


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## Skydancer

Shubh, I've lived in Cairns for a year. We decided to move south to the Gold Coast, because Cairns weather is simply way too hot and humid for most of the year. Also, for much of the year swimming in the ocean is not possible due to the stinging box jellyfish threat. 

Have you actually visited Queensland? What do you mean Brisbane is too far south??


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## shubh80

Hi Skydancer, thanks for reply

You said you lived in Cairns, how was the life there ? A summary would be helpful not only for me but many others in this forum 

Why gold coast ? Is the weather better there? It is a tourist zone with great theme parks I heard

I want to stay in the tropics(I lived in Florida for 3 years) and the North to North East of Australia look great for that. Cairns looks great for that and much lively city and Darwin too too too expensive(at least the real estate).
[note SEEMS]

I am planning to visit Queensland but December holiday(my initial plan) seems too expensive thanks to airfares. I will though within 12 months.

Brisbane seems towards mid west of australia so further south


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## Skydancer

Brisbane still falls within the subtropical part of Australia. Most people find the climate much healthier than up north. The constant heat of Cairns can be draining on body and mind. In the monsoon season Cairns is plagued by mosquitos, and sandflies (biting midges) all year round. Those are the only reasons we left.

By the way, Florida's climate is also subtropical and is more similar to that of south Queensland rather than north. People are walking around in short sleeves and shorts right now here on the Gold Coast, and it's the middle of winter!


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## shubh80

that is immensely helpful, thanks for the explanation with reference to Florida

*how is the weather like in Darwin?is it same as cairns?
*can you find *salties* in Brisbane?



Skydancer said:


> Brisbane still falls within the subtropical part of Australia. Most people find the climate much healthier than up north. The constant heat of Cairns can be draining on body and mind. In the monsoon season Cairns is plagued by mosquitos, and sandflies (biting midges) all year round. Those are the only reasons we left.
> 
> By the way, Florida's climate is also subtropical and is more similar to that of south Queensland rather than north. People are walking around in short sleeves and shorts right now here on the Gold Coast, and it's the middle of winter!


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## Skydancer

I've never been to Darwin, but you can easily do a search online. I imagine it would be even hotter and more humid than Cairns. Salties, never heard of that. Is it some kind of packaged snack?


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## sr.dekker

Skydancer said:


> I've never been to Darwin, but you can easily do a search online. I imagine it would be even hotter and more humid than Cairns. Salties, never heard of that. Is it some kind of packaged snack?


I think you mean Salties as in: "salt water crocodiles"

You can find more info here:
animals.
nationalgeographic.
com/
animals/
reptiles/
saltwater-crocodile.
html

The map they provide confirms you own experience, that you won't find those very easily. You'll have to go searching for them, so they won't be bothering you while you're scorching your steak on the Barbie 

You need to stitch the URL togerher as for some reason I'm still not allowed to post URLs.


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## shubh80

*skydancer*

an animal which can have us as a clothed snack 
the saltwater crocs


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## Skydancer

Oh k.... You won't find any in southern Queensland. There's sharks in the canals and some find their way up rivers too.


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## shubh80

*PS*

sorry to miss srdekker reply

cool way of posting URLs
and a helpful URL too 

huh, and I thought we can spot saltwater crocs in north queensland like we do gators in Florida


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## sr.dekker

There are more freshwater then saltwater corocdiles. The map here shows you:
en.
wikipedia.
org/
wiki/
Freshwater_Crocodile, but you'll still have to go searching for them.


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## shubh80

I luv crocs 
the reason I applied to Florida was Dr Brady Barr (as stupid as it sounds)



sr.dekker said:


> There are more freshwater then saltwater corocdiles. The map here shows you:
> en.
> wikipedia.
> org/
> wiki/
> Freshwater_Crocodile, but you'll still have to go searching for them.


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## vipinb

Hey, i have been living in cairns for 2 weeks now and its surely very beautiful, i have not visited rest of Australia yet as i came here first thing to live with a friend, but one cant help falling in love with this place. The only problem being there are no IT jobs here, i am hoping to get some job in Brisbane when i go there after 3 months (its too cold right now over there) and then convince some one to employ me such that i could work remotely from Cairns. Cairns is so small i cant even find a good second hand bicycle here .
One thing you will need to adjust to after coming from US is everything is expensive compared to US especially internet which is never unlimited (can you believe that i actually need to check my usage ().


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## shubh80

*thanks*

Namastey Vipin,

Wow, expensive than US, that comes a shocker because I thought US pays are higher than in Aus. I can figure that Cairns is a small town but 129K people living there and you cant find a bicycle means there are no good Universities there either.

Brisbane is 1700KM away from Cairns and if you want to work remotely from Cairns, best of luck 

Which part of India are you from?(since you didnt complain about the weather)


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## sr.dekker

I think vipinb means working in Cairns at home and "dialing" in.


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## shubh80

I know, people in my team work remotely from China(vendor)
BUT in australia the internet cost can be severe, so it can be costly for Vipin or company

besides that Brisbane isnt known for huge IT companies with lareg workforce either or isnt it?

that way in a likelyhood Vipin may have to visit office once a month or so to attend meetings


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## vipinb

I am presently working remotely for my employer in Blore with a 2Mbps line 25 GB limit and its working out pretty ok, so working remotely is always an option but have to pay 100$ per month and i think you can get 50GB for 150$.
I know finding a job to work out remotely is pretty unlikely...but then that was just a wish list, no harm in hoping for it  and true Brisbane might not even work out since most of the jobs are in Sydney and Melbourne.
Climate is exactly the point, it never gets too hot or too cold and that's why I love this place other then the fact that people are very nice and you don't have the usual coldness among people you would find in cities...
University is very small and mostly into Nature Conservation kind of work since there is so much natural wonders here to conserve...


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## shubh80

how did u get ur migration?did u complete a degree in Aus?
wow.......when you work for Brisbane I expect there will be a vacancy in Bangalore...wink wink


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## Skydancer

Vipin, you say you have been in Cairns for all of two weeks. What do you know about the climate? It's the best time of year at the moment in Cairns... It might be wiser to wait recommending to people that it never gets too hot or too cold, until you have lived there for at least a full year  
Brisbane is not cold at all....


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## vipinb

Oh all i care about is that it should not b cold, as long as i can roam around in a t-shirt i dont mind...brisbane was 5 degrees 4 weeks back thats way 2 cold, i hate cold weather...being from india humidity and heat i dont mind at all....i use 2 play tennis in 49 degree celcius as a teenager so u can imagine!


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## Skydancer

Ok... Five degrees in Brisbane is highly unusual. That might happen a few times a year only in the middle of the night. Most people do walk about here with Tshirts all year round. I know about the heat, having lived in Cairns for more than a year, and I've lived in India for almost two years... 

Enjoy your time in Australia, wish you all the best


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## rosie652

i lived in cairns for 15 yrs,its amazing place to live.very hot and humid but your from india so you should be just fine.
cairns has 100,000 population.perhaps do some reserch on IT work before you move there,goodluck


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## shubh80

too hot and humid sounds scary(I am from India but I dont enjoy scorching heat and humidity )
may be will have a visit some year in January and see exactly how does it feel in summer


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## sr.dekker

Hi Shubh80, I've come across this website about Crocodiles in Australias:
General info on crocodiles in Australia

Cheers, mate.


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## shubh80

thanks 
I will have a look at it 
I believe crocs are found as south as Rockhampton ONLY


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## shubh80

skydancer

somehow I feel the climate of Gainesville, Florida which you described subtropical(I agree) compares fairly with Cairns, unless 6F on average is a big difference
you might wanna take a look

Climate Comparison for Gainesville, FL and Cairns, Australia


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## jcljones

*IT work*

I am currently in Cairns and I have seen a few jobs for IT hardware support positions here. Although they most likely want you to be a permanent resident so they know they will have you long term.


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## jcljones

jcljones said:


> I am currently in Cairns and I have seen a few jobs for IT hardware support positions here. Although they most likely want you to be a permanent resident so they know they will have you long term.


This best place for it positions is Sydney. It's definitely a big business town.


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## ibu

I was born in Cairns, it was a lovely town back in the 70's. These days it is pretty much just geared for tourism. Someone, perhaps yourself, mentioned a few places on the Atherton table lands as possible towns to commute from. Kuranda, is essentially a tourist village, also used to be very cute but is a bit tourist tatty these days. The other places you mentioned are all very nice and the climate of the tablelands is less humid that Cairns itself. Because they're on the table lands the drive would not be quite so straight forward winding steep bends don't make for a relaxed journey home and there is no regular commuter rail or bus service that I'm aware off. I could go into further detail but the major point I think has been made by someone else. You really shouldn't consider moving to a place you've never even visited, unless someone offers you a guarenteed job before you get there. Cairns can be ridiculously sticky. You get off the plane and you can feel your clothes starting to adhear to your body as you walk across the tarmac. In my opinion, if Australia is the place you feel you really want to live in then look for work in one of the larger cities, Perth, Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and have a bit of look around the country for a year or two before setting your heart on a smaller place. There is a university in Cairns, James Cook, the main part of it is in another North Queensland city, Townsville, which is a bit less humid, not quite so touristy and has a residential island with fabulous beaches 20 mins of the coast by ferry. It also has an army base and a teaching hospital so my guess it there is more employment in the IT field than Cairns linked with these two. I can't big it up enough to be honest, it's the city of my teen years but has changed loads since I lived there. check out these fabulous free things: Riverway lagoons






File:The Strand water park.JPG - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Did I already say that these are all provided free to the public and a maintained by the council. That's what I call town planning!


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## OrangeApple

*Cairns or Darwin and IT job prospects*

If you like the Tropical Areas like Cairns, you should consider Darwin.

We have a reasonably large IT industry (for a regional area) and a better lifestyle than you will get anywhere else in Australia. Because Darwin is the capital city of the Northern Territory its got all the lifestyle, medical, resources and other benefits of a major city BUT without the long travel to work times and the like. Also the Northern Territory is a friendly and vibrant place, great for newcommers as its much more multicultural and a younger population and people are more respected for who they are and what they do, irrespective of where they come from.

PS. There are plenty of jobs for skilled IT People, get in touch if you want to know more.



shubh80 said:


> Hi
> 
> I am from India currently living in the US. I plan of if luck allows . I have some questions I believe can be answered by the people here, they will be great help to me.
> 
> *If any of the question is there in a sticky, just say "sticky thread" inline*. The thread name will be helpful too.
> 
> *I loved the queensland region and my priority is to live and work in or around Cairns. Is there much scope for an IT worker there?
> 
> *I work in Redmond,Washington and lots of my friends live in nearby towns like Bothel, Bellevue, Kirkland, Sawammish and drive to office using Freeways. Can you name the nearby towns where the people working in Cairns or Brisbane live and commute hassle free?
> 
> [I have few others but this may not be the appropriate thread ]


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## damon79

*It guy in Caitns*

Cairns is amazing. I work in IT there. Jobs are not common but they do pop up.
A good site to learn more about living in Cairns
Has some pretty cool articles written by people that made the move there, definitely worth a read.
Cairns Life | A blog for people about living in Cairns


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## Herman

*cairns*

Yeah, Cairns is not big on IT or anything for that matter, Actually it is very remote with only cyclic seasons for tourism and sugar cane. Beautiful scenery but little depth in terms of culture and industry. The further south you go the better it gets. Sorry


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## Herman

*cairns IT ..*

Yeah, Cairns is not big on IT or anything for that matter, Actually it is very remote with only cyclic seasons for tourism and sugar cane. Beautiful scenery but little depth in terms of culture and industry. The further south you go the better it gets. Sorry


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## fouriertyp

Dear OrangeApple, 
I'd like to learn from your for more details on the IT opportunities in Darwin. I am moving Darwin with a state nomination PR plan soon. could you PM me with your contact details?



OrangeApple said:


> If you like the Tropical Areas like Cairns, you should consider Darwin.
> 
> We have a reasonably large IT industry (for a regional area) and a better lifestyle than you will get anywhere else in Australia. Because Darwin is the capital city of the Northern Territory its got all the lifestyle, medical, resources and other benefits of a major city BUT without the long travel to work times and the like. Also the Northern Territory is a friendly and vibrant place, great for newcommers as its much more multicultural and a younger population and people are more respected for who they are and what they do, irrespective of where they come from.
> 
> PS. There are plenty of jobs for skilled IT People, get in touch if you want to know more.


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