How good is Longreach for a young family?

1: I can't argue with that, power supply and cost are are a real concern, brown out and blackout are not uncommon, and they play havoc with expensive electronics.
2: the insect issue all revolve around rain, if it was regular it wouldn't be so bad, but we only get rain every couple of years now and the insect plagues act accordingly, the sanflies are by far the worst, luckily they only live a few weeks, so they can be tolerated with enough spray.
3: the bore water was fine for consumption, I'm not sure why you assumed it wasn't, infact all water is treated, even the mixed water when it was operating was treated, there is no bore water any longer as the pipe replacment and cost was higher than it's worth, river water is also treated not simply pumped directly into the pipes.
4. The housing is high, it has nothing to do with mines and never has, the housing has always been high due to the limited ecpansion space for housing in the town.
5: It's a mixed bag, it's fantasic for kids, no real violence, safe in the street, everyone knows everyone else, but shopping is limited. Online shopping helps and new shops have embraced the change of shopping attitide, it's still a trap for teenagers as there's not a lot of things to do if you're not into sports.
6: both the primary and high school have received reconition for many things, including some of the highest average OP scoring studentsa in the state, the primary school is one of the top in some fields although I'm unsure if that includes disability students.
7: The hospital has been and still is undergoing major renavations, I'm not sure what poor reputation means exactly, but we have delivered three children there, had a tongue tie removed and other treatments, all without issue. Serious issues are forwarded to amjor hospitals and patients are flown out.

8: Yeah that sounds about right, it's in the middle of nowhere and it'sa damn hot, beware.
I think a nice family would be welocme no matter what here, you don't need an escape plan or a way to pretend to be a part of the community. If you want to be here then that will be enough and all will be good, thinking you are better than a township because of shopping or temperature is not going to set you on solid ground, and makes no sence when you are here to embrace the lifestyle.

I have family in Longreach, and for several years lived there myself until recently. I had work, plenty of it, but below are some of the issues I had with the place (which you may or may not) and a few suggeastion and other towns you may also like to look into before making a choice. 1. Constant Power supply fluctuations, outages and spikes, which damage appliances and wreck havic on services. 2. Unique and prolific insect plagues. Most recently sandflys, mosquitos (dengue is further north but moving south ) gidgee bugs which stink and get everywhere, not to mention the king brown snakes ( a dog was killed recently in the town by a brown ) 3. The bore water which is not fit for human consumtion is now being mixed with the river water and treated for town drinking water, beware of skin rashes, boils ( which are staph related infections) and other health concerns, tummmy bugs, diorreha etc. 4. The housing is overpriced due to the rumour ( which is unsubstantiated but going around regardless ) that the town will see profits from the mining industry. Not likely. No miner is going to want to move from the city for example to a remote location with limited services or entertainment opportunities. None that I know anyway. Jobs will be FIFO, and except for the savvy business person no one esle will see much bang for any venture out there. Mining companies are cost cutting since the government started their new spread the wealth thing. 5. There are very basic services out there, most do online stuff or will wait to do a trip to the coast to buy necessary goods. ( towns folk are getting greedy and putting prices up, freight out of Longreach is expensive too) 6. Learning difficulties are not well catered for at the state primary school, and many parents who don't want to put their children through the torture of the local high school are sending their children to bording school. 7. The hospital has a poor reputation. 8. The heat is horrendous and lasts most of the year. Summer regulaly over 45 and up to 52C. My advice is 2 part. First if you move to Longreach be sure to have a good exit strategy, and go away as often as you can, be it to Townsville (8 1/2hrs), Rocky(7hrs), Emerald(4hrs) or Brisbane(13hrs). Approx drive time. Second If this has made you curious of other places, may I suggest Blackall and Tambo, which have a much friendlier and true blue country attitude. Better coffee too. Hope my insight offers you a little perspective. Good luck in your search.

What would Longreach be like for a gay person? I'm guessing that as a remote town people would generally have quite conservative values, but does the tourist trade help with this? Are there examples of violence against gay and lesbian people or anything like that?

I was driving through Roma 11 years back... My truck broke down there and a falla I met in the street there lent me his car for four days, helped me fix my truck. He lent me $80 and he got me a job in town. Bloody good people. It may have changed I don't know? But in general the people of western Queensland are very good people and if you show them respect they will help you feel welcome. Your best bet is always to travel through an area and spend at least three months getting a feel for the place and people... Offen at the end of three months a lot of truths are revealed and you will know if it's worth a greater commitment. As for your hubby not speaking English. It's best he learns a few funny things to say so jokes and have a sense of humor that will I dear him to anyone worth knowing in my exspireance ahaha Also when I passed through that area the meat works in Charliville was hiring a lot of migrant workers. Good luck to you :0)

The housing isnt really that expensive but just ensure that it isnt in a flood area. Longreach does flood. It is very quiet with lots of fresh air. I would highly suggest not moving to Roma it is a small minded town with access to jobs being hard unless u are related to anyone. Blackwater is nice great atmosphere but very expensive housing due to mining. Roma is the same due to the gas lines.

I lived in longreach 15 years ago and loved it. The people there are very friendly and invite new people in. If u enjoy being part of the community I would suggest being a scout leader. Sue and John Palmer run the scout movement out there. Being part of the community means u will feel more like a part of the town.

Wow never expected a reply. Well FIFO means fly in, fly out. Blackall is 2 hrs drive from Longreach in the same geographical region. Soils are the same black soil that you get bogged in. Bugs much the same and flooding occurs which cuts the town off from time to time. Housing is much more affordable but the climate is also similar, just nicer community. Chinchilla I've never lived in, but have driven through a lot. Much closer to the major town where services and facilities are not so far between. Will have a milder climate and I know some of the outlying country is quite nice. Toowoomba is a big town at the top of a hill which gets cold in the winter. Some of the other towns that are closer to the coast and greener witha country town feel are Warwick and Stanthorpe. They usually have rain and cooler climate, not too humid or too dry and some beautiful national parks in the area. I took a drive to a Queen Mary Falls just out of Warwick last year and found it really lovely, we fed birds much to my 8 year old son's delight. I am not aware of the employment opportunities in any of these towns but I would be confident saying that with IT experience you would have a good chance of finding employment. Good mechanics and auto electricians are hard to find and I'd say that the more people you get to know in these places the more likely your husband will be to secure employment purely from word of mouth. Country towns folk like to gossip about who is new what they do, etc. all usually with the best intentions. What language does your husband speak. Kindest Regards