Cairns nth side mums anyone there ?

[Mumtotwokids]

Hi - Are there any mums in Cairns who live north side ? Just wondering how many there are ? :wave:

I'm new to the Bubhub and wanted to ask some questions on Cairns as we are seriously considering moving up next year and so far like the north side. I've seen a few other thread where others live south side and say this is better for families, but my husband loves the beach and won't move far from it. The south side seems to have a lot of families too - are there any on Hubbub ?

[mummeeto2]

Hi, we're on the southside at Edmonton. We haven't lived on the northside yet (not sure if we will ever move). In all honesty the beaches aren't too far away, maybe 30-45mins drive depending on which beach you're going to. I like the drive cos it gives the kids time to nap on the way there & home. Are you coming up to visit before you move? Maybe take a drive around the north & south to see what you'd prefer

[Mumtotwokids]

Hi Mummeeto2
Yes someone has suggested we go up in the worst of the weather too so we plan to go up in Feb 09, so we can see what the worst of the weather is like and check out the schools and suburbs.

We live near the beach here so I'd say we'd stick close to, but not necessarily at a beach, up there too. I was up there June last year but can't tell alot from driving around the suburbs - they all looked good for various reasons :) and it looked warmmmmmm. :sunshine:
I was wondering if any north siders, those familiar with the areas could give me some extra pointers so I could narrow the list, which currently runs from Kewarra Beach to Moorrobool :confused:

[Mumtotwokids]

I think I should have posted this in the FNQ section, I'll see if I can get it moved by one of the moderators.

[arty1]

Hi there, I live in Cairns on the northern beaches at Trinity Beach. (No kids yet but planning) We have been here for nearly 4 yrs. Absolutely love it. Moved from Brisvagas.

It depends what you need as to where you live e.g. Im studying and the JCU uni campus is at Smithfield only 5 mins down the road. The city is 15mins drive off-peak and can take up to 25-30mins peak hour depending on where you work. I work on the south side at Earville which is about a 25min drive. I do it 5days a week. Alot of people drive from the very south of Cairns at Gordonvale to the uni which can be about 40mins in a good run.

The houses are booming down the south, new and at a good price. Whereas it is move expensive to buy the northern beaches, although is the 'newer' end.

Friends who live the south say traffic is a pain in peak hour driving from the south to the city for work. But if your from Melbourne Im sure our traffic is nothing on yours. The whole of Cairns is booming and will only get busier.

If you can afford the beaches, than buy the beaches. You will reap the rewards when you decide to sell.

As for what beach to choose from...
Machen's beach is the first one north, an older area -ok.
Holloways Beach is the second north from city and is ok too but in the line of the planes so you have noise. The beach is nice.
Yorkies Knob has the boat inlet and is the 'posh' area
They are all about 5mins apart and you can get blocked in in the heavy rains. Good if you wanna miss a few days of work. Only can happen once a year.

Than up a bit further is Trinity Park. That has an area for boats too but Yorkies is the main one. Not really a beach
Than Trinity Beach where I live. Use to be a really good beach. Still alright, Getting washed away over the years.
Than Kewarra Beach, I havn't really seen that beach.
Clifton Beach. Expensive.
Than Palm Cove -tourist central. Expensive. Great Beach and has a jetty. I would say one of the best beaches.

Daycares are really hard to get into especially on the south side.

I think it wont really matter where you buy as the beaches aren't far away from the south.

[Mumtotwokids]

Thanks to the moderator for moving this :)


Thanks Arty1 that's what I was looking for- how far it is to travel from the beaches into the city and what the beaches are like for a family etc, so thanks for this.
We have been looking on realestate.com at different suburbs and wow some of the views were spectacular. (but have now put an upper limit to my searches at WOW some of those houses prices are really up there :p, but i'ts fun to have a peek.

Do kids travel alot for school and sports or do they stick to the local area ? It sounds as though travelling is not unusual - like Melb, if you want to get some where you just go and build the time in.

I think Palm Cove is lovely to visit, it seems to have a great beach, but we won't be looking there, it's out of our price range.

So thanks once again for the information. :goodvibes:

[arty1]

Just a piece of info we were told when we moved here....stay away from renting/buying in the "m" suburbs e.g. manunda, mooroobool, etc as they tend to be the lower-socio economic areas (a bit rough)

As for travel, alot of kids rely on the buses as there is no trains. The bus system isn't great I have heard. I don't think there is interschool sports? There are alot of sport areas around for kids to play at local clubs. There is here at Trinity Beach. Depending on where you want to go, two buses could be require as they change in the city. Although the bus routes are suppose to be changing to improve this.

If you do move here, as I found from moving from Brissie, Cairns is disadvantage compared to the cities. Just misses out on things. A nice place. Small enough but big enough at the same time.

Advantage is they are so many places you can see, on school holidays to take the kids to. With family always visiting, we try to visit different attractions, like I said been here nearly 4 years and we can still find things to see.

When we buy we will properly look at the south side just because its affordable.

As for family stuff, on the south side is Sugarworld -a water play park. A caravan park which has a huge play ground which my friend who lives here takes her children their on school holidays for their "camping" trip. He he he. I know a few people that do that.
On the Cairns Esplanade is a playground called Muddies which is very popular and I think a stake park. There is also another skate park at Redlynch (an expensive area). There are many dancing clubs for the girls. etc. So Cairns has alot of what the cities have, just not the quantity.

[Stella1]

I'm glad I found this thread, sorry to hijack Mumtotwokids, but we are also contemplating moving to the northern beaches (from Brisbane). My husband will be working on the Atherton Tablelands (closest to Walkamin) and we were wondering whether it is a realistic commute from say Trinity Park/Beach or other nearby suburbs?

[Mumtotwokids]

No problems about hijacking, as it's the same question really. My answer is that everything looks close on google earth :laughing: thats what we have been doing, plus realestate. It really is exciting the thought of moving.:sunshine:

It's interesting about the M suburbs (I've heard this before) but some of the houses are look nice at the top of Mooroobool (great views), and with price tags in the 600's it doesn't appear to be a low price range. Maybe just the flats of it ? Anyhow we're keeping our options open and looking all around.

[my2angels.0306]

Hello mum2twokids, U sent me a pm last month , so sorry I didnt reply , been busy with renovations etc, we r moving to Cairns in 2010, we have a bit to do here before we move but we r definatly going to make the big move, it seems so far away 2010, but hopefully it will be well worth the wait:)
we live on the gold coast *way to expensive here# we r looking at buying in Edmonton as houses are affordable and their seems to be lots of families living there. we want to enroll dd in the new public priamary school in edmonton near sugarworld and ds when he is of age, we will be enrolling him for kindy at C & K kindergarden when we get there for 2011, anyone know if the one in edmonton is good? our dd has been going to c&k kindy here and she loves it , so do I:thumbsup:, anyway we will be coming up for a holiday in may next year for 2 weeks so we can have a proper look around at schools and housing estates where we want to buy, Im looking at realestate.com and like the look of Issabella estate as the blocks are a decent size and near the new school. So are u going to go up to look around b4 u move up? anyway, talk soon.:ecomcity:

[arty1]

Stella1 I personally wouldn't want to live in Cairns and commute to the Atherton tablelands. From Trinity Beach it could take about 1hr 20mins in good off peak traffic (Smithfield is the bottom of the range, travel up the range through Kuranda about 20mins, than you get to Mareeba 40mins than onto Atherton about 1hour 20mins give or take)

If you want a good in between'er than Mareeba is a good distance for both. A bit of a country town -Dry and hot not rainforest as down on the coast is. I think the drive everyday could be excessive for work as you have to add on peak hour traffic time ??? and when their are accidents (more than less) than add on waiting time as it is single highway.

But if you really wanna live in cairns than the northern beaches is the best option. Im an not aware where Walkamin is wheather it is north or south of Atherton, there is another access to the Tablelands -the Gilly's range- very windy. It comes out around Gordonvale but I don't know how long it takes as we always go the Kuranda range to get there.

Sleeplessmummy Edmonton and the south surburbs do have alot of families. It is also the "bad" area and the schools don't have the best clientel. But as there are new areas/estates and you mentioned a new school, it could be fine.

[my2angels.0306]

Hi arty1, the bad area I think u are talking about is Edmonton near the bruce hwy and the School u may be refering to is Bently Park college, we will be looking to buy in the newer area, and Ive heard good reports about them all including Issabella state School, anyway thanks for ur input:), I think the area we will be buying a house in is Bentley Park(around Walker rd):thumbsup:

[Mumtotwokids]

Hi Sleeplessmummy
Thanks for replying. I have heard good things about the Isabella Primary School, don't know much about the suburb, the person who we know in Cairns is a little biased about their area (aren't we all:D) and they are on the north side so I don't get much feedback from the south side. But I have heard good things about the Principal at Isabella Primary. I would definately go with the larger block if that's what the suburb is offereing.

IKWYM in regards to getting the house ready etc. We are aiming for mid to late next year for a sale, but we are working on to get it all done before Xmas so we can enjoy it before we go. DH is painting our bedroom this weekend (again we did it 5 years ago) it seems we never finish with renovations and improvements, but I do admit that it's a bit of a favorite pastime of mine. When we move we will be buying a new house with no renovations to be done, just gardening. We definitely will be buying a house with a pool, airconditioning and fully screened! I've seen the size of the spiders up there and nearly skateboarded on the cockroaches!;)

[Mumtotwokids]

PS - Happy birthday to your DD happybirthday for Dec.

Our DD is having a fairy party for her 5th in a few weeks.

[my2angels.0306]

PS - Happy birthday to your DD happybirthday for Dec.

Our DD is having a fairy party for her 5th in a few weeks.



Thanks for birthday wishes, what date is ur daughters birthday, my dds is the 14th dec, she will also be having a fairy party at hungry jacks, she has invited all the kids from her pre-school:laughing:, .happy birthdayhappybirthdayto ur dd too


We r busy with the renovations too, there seems so much to do. we will also be buying a new house when we move to Cairns, with an air con and we might buy one of those big blow up pools that u bet from clarke rubber, dont think i want the maitnenece cost of an inground , but once we get there we might change our mind and get a big pool, lol. Im Samantha btw, r u on facebook? oh yeah there is a great cairns forum i found, if u want the details pm me. cheers:noel::xmas::reindeer:ps dd told me to add all the xmas smilies lol

[Stella1]

Thanks for the info arty1. I think my husband has just discovered exactly what you are saying. He arrived in Cairns over the weekend and will be based there until Christmas time (the company are providing accommodation in Cairns) and he found the journey to Walkamin too far to consider long term (he is able to do some work in Cairns over the next month). Walkamin is between Atherton and Mareeba - he says he can't see us living in Mareeba but Kuranda or Atherton are possibilities, if he can find a decent house to rent in either of these towns. He said he saw a new estate about 3/4 of the way up the range to Kuranda and he thinks the sign said "Smithfield Heights". I haven't been able to find it anywhere online - anyone know where I am talking about?
Thanks heaps everyone!

[BazzasMum]

Smithfield Heights isn't really half way up the range - more like righht at the bottom. It would all be classed as Smithfield on realestate sites. There's a new development there called North Point. Large houses on small blocks...

try Caravonica - it's where the Skyrail starts. Easy access to the range too. We live at Kewarra - love it! Nice and quiet for families, but easy access to everything.

We've got friends who live at Speewah - just past Kuranda on the Mareeba road. All acreage properties up there. lovely though. One of their girls is off to high school next year and will be making the trek to Mareeba. Her mum works at Kuranda High and isn't impressed. Have only heard good things about Smithfield High though.

As for primary schools - we have a private Anglican school in Kewarra, and Trinity Beach is public. They have an escorted bike service for the kids, which is great.

Sleeplessmummy - I think an inground pool is less maintenance than topside. Keeps cooler, less liable to rip, the pumps are better, and doesn't require chemicals very often.

The beaches get better breezes in summer, and less midges/mozzies than southside.

We lived up here 7 years ago - then moved to the Gold Coast as friends from Adelaide had just moved there and were raving about how much work thre was. Bad move, but you don't kow what you've got till it's gone..... we moved back up here last March!

[Stella1]

thanks BazzasMum - I guess we will have to hope a decent property becomes available in either Kuranda or Atherton. My husband has had a look at a few but nothing that suits our needs so far. He has left his details with the agents though.. see what happens. I had a look at Caravonica and I think it will still be too far away to commute. (thanks for the tip though).

[jodi]

There are heaps of people who live in Kuranda/Mareeba, and work in Cairns. A lady I used to work with in Earlville lived in Kuranda, and it took her about half an hour in travel.
At the very bottom of the range is Canopy's Edge, Smithfield. That's probably the closest you'll get to living in Cairns, and not the tablelands.
There are a few new estates going up between Kuranda and Mareeba, hopefully you find something suitable soon.

As for ignoring the 'M' suburbs, I would personally ignore that. City View, which is one of the top estates in Cairns with million dollar houses is actually Mooroobool.
It's not the suburb you have to be careful of, but the street itself.
The worst street in Cairns for theft is Digger Street, North Cairns. Yet this is one of the most popular streets for apartments. And the apartments there aren't cheap.

My suggestion would be to check it all out first for a while. You'll either like north cairns, or south cairns. It's usually one or the other.
South Cairns is an older area. Bigger block sizes, heaps of schools.
North Cairns is relatively new (well most of it anyway). Smaller block sizes, prone to flooding (be careful when it rains, you'll be stuck), close to the beach.

They're both about 15 min drive into the cbd. South side you've got lights to go through, north side you've got roundabouts.

If you need any more help, more than happy to help :)

[AliyahBlake]

Sorry I'm going to be another thread hijacker :o

I have been reading your posts with interest as my family and I will be making the move from Sydney to Cairns next Jan/Feb. My DH is currently waiting to hear on a couple of jobs up there, so as soon as he has one we'll be moving.

I chatted to a friend of mine who grew up there and still has family there, so she was able to tell me some good suburbs to move to. She reckons to go for the northern suburbs of Cairns - the pick would be Redlynch (she lived there before) and Kanimbla (we actually have good friends who live there and love it). She said any of the beach suburbs are fine, and south is OK too, but it's just a little further away from the city.

We are going to rent for 6 - 12 months first, as we want to keep our house in Sydney to rent out, and hopefully after 12 months we'll have a good idea of where we want to buy and settle, and a bit more money to do it!

Anyway, I hope to catch up with some of you Cairns bubhubbers soon - will let you know when we're up there :D

[Mumtotwokids]

Maybe we should just rename it to " Planning to move to Cairns :yelclap:"

We like Redlynch too:yes: and Kanibla, but not fixed on anything at all yet.

We are still hope to go up there next year to see more, we might see you at the airport.

[BOSS302WMOM]

Stella1 I personally wouldn't want to live in Cairns and commute to the Atherton tablelands. From Trinity Beach it could take about 1hr 20mins in good off peak traffic (Smithfield is the bottom of the range, travel up the range through Kuranda about 20mins, than you get to Mareeba 40mins than onto Atherton about 1hour 20mins give or take)

If you want a good in between'er than Mareeba is a good distance for both. A bit of a country town -Dry and hot not rainforest as down on the coast is. I think the drive everyday could be excessive for work as you have to add on peak hour traffic time ??? and when their are accidents (more than less) than add on waiting time as it is single highway.

But if you really wanna live in cairns than the northern beaches is the best option. Im an not aware where Walkamin is wheather it is north or south of Atherton, there is another access to the Tablelands -the Gilly's range- very windy. It comes out around Gordonvale but I don't know how long it takes as we always go the Kuranda range to get there.

Sleeplessmummy Edmonton and the south surburbs do have alot of families. It is also the "bad" area and the schools don't have the best clientel. But as there are new areas/estates and you mentioned a new school, it could be fine.

Walkamin is 10mins out of Mareeba, between Mareeba and Atherton. Live in Smithfield Heights and thats at the bottom of range across from canopys edge right next to Smithy shopping centre. The drive between Smithfield to MAreeba is bugger all did it every day for about 1.5 years.

Atherton is wet, Mareeba is dry but I'd stay away from it if you like to walk.

Smithy is a very nice area... Pennine Close, Survey street, cumberland avenue, Cantal close and surrounding.

Kuranda is expensive for what you get.

Koah is also nice in betweener.

Northern Beaches is also a great family location I was not a fan of the edmonton bentaly park area, we looked at the area but each to their own, I liked being close to the beaches plus it was closer to Mareeba for work

[Stella1]

thanks for the responses to my questions (again sorry for the semi-hijack!). We have taken a lease on a house in Kuranda and move in just after New Year. My husband did the drive from Cairns (timed from Smithfield) and felt that Kuranda was probably our best option. We were worried about him driving up/down the range most likely in the dark each way, before and after 12 hour days Monday - Friday (7-8 hours on Saturdays). He chose Kuranda for its proximity to Cairns for me, while still being a reasonably commute for him. He will still have a 45 min drive each way, but that is similar to what he was doing here in Brisbane.
Thanks again everyone - might start a thread about childcare and childrens activities around the area... :)

[BOSS302WMOM]

Thats good to hear. I lived at the bottom of range and worked nights in Mareeba, it was a good drive before they decreased the speed limit.

In regards to childcare there is not a lot in the Smithy area(pretty sure ABC is shutting down, but the beaches have a few) there a few in Redlynch ABC centers I think and Two all the same company(Cant remember the name, I drive past it EVERY day and had work exp there for a week) in the Freshwater area(directly across from the Kuranda Scenic Rail Freshwater station) and Aeroglen area(near airport) called Sunshine.

[Navywife]

Be really careful with the blow up pools as up here it is illegal to have them with out fixed and approved pool fencing. And they can be strict on it (esspecially if you have nosy neighbours)

[BecH]

Hi guys we have just moved here from Brisbane and live at Kewarra beach. It is lovely, and there seems to be a fair few kids around. I am feeling a bit lonely away from family and friends so if anyone ever want to meet up for a play I have a 3 year old and 17 month old twins. :wave:

[BazzasMum]

:wave: BecH we're in Kewarra too. How's the weather? :laughing: Got a 3 1/2 yr old and a 3monther.

[MeLFunKTioN]

Hi i'm loitering around !

Have a 3yr old and a 20mth old (both girls) and a 3rd girl due March 29th.

Having lived northside most of my life.... and now live semi-southside (Woree/Bayview)... i much prefer southside but each to their own !

Good luck with all your moves (hi to the few people i've 'met' before too!)