NicM
Reviews
"Oh Parap, how I miss you"
I lived here for three years and I miss it sooooo much. Excellent public transport, great pubs, great culture, one of the best "vibes" in Australia. The only downside is the extreme cost of living.
Who lives here?
- Professionals
- Singles
- Tourists
- LGBT+
- Trendy & Stylish
"It's a mixed bag"
I've lived off and on in Toowoomba for 15 years and honestly I'm not a huge fan. Someone once told me if you lived here your whole life you think it's the greatest place on earth but if you leave for a bit or come from somewhere else you won't think it's so great and I tend to agree (although I guess it all depends where you are coming from).
That said it has recently started to come along in leaps and bounds with a trampoline park, inflatable world, sushi train, gelato and a whole other bunch of stuff to eat or do. It has plenty of schools, relatively low crime, plenty of childcare and affordable housing. On paper it looks great but it lacks "the vibe" you can get at other towns or cities, the nightlife is pretty ordinary and it can be pretty stressful living.
Also the weather is the worst I've come across. Summer is muggy and gross, winter bitterly cold and the rest of the year seems to be one extreme or another. Also I would say it's not a "friendly" place. That doesn't mean it's unfriendly but it's not a happy smiley place either
In summary if you are moving from Mt Isa, Alice Springs, Katherine or Halls Creek you will probably find it a step in the right direction. On the other hand if you are moving in from darwin, cairns, coastal towns etc you will probably be disappointed. It all comes down to where you are moving in from;)
Great for
- Beautiful parks
- Everything you need
- Hot in summer freezing in winter
Not great for
- Not many singles!
- No culture or shopping
- Not friendly
Who lives here?
- Families with kids
The worst drivers in Queensland...using indicators and obeying stop signs is optional! Not a great place to walk around after dark as the drunks are out in force. The people seem to think that Toowoomba is a vibrant and world class city but it is just really a town which has not matured much in mentality beyond the 1950's.
Yes, I've encountered some crazy driving antics there but it's a breeze compared to Sydney and Tasmania was worse. They realised that indicators existed when the Millennium rolled around.
Tess good for you, you have had a perfect experience with Toowoomba! This however, does NOT negate the relevance of someone else's experience. In fact your comment is irrelevant in context of someone else's review.
So why are you still in Toowoomba ? We have lived all over Qld, NSW, and Vic and have chosen Toowoomba as the place we have come back to, to retire. We have family who live on the Gold Coast ( for reasons I wont go into but they are not able to move at this point in time) and they including to primary aged children who cant wait to come up for a weekend away from the rat race. With the new 500 million expansion of Grand Central shopping center that should fix any lack of shopping facilites, ( though I admit Ruthven Street is in desperate need of a face lift) once the new Grand Centeral opens maybe things will change. I am hoping that once the new Well Camp business park opens we will see many of the more trade like business moving out to well camp and being replaced by retail stores and coffee shops. The railway park lands maybe the start of this change. We actually love the weather, yes you get the odd day with humidity but nothing like it is on the coast, You have the beautiful Autumn trees and can sit round an open fire in your home at night. The weather is in fact similar to Melbourn except you dont get such long winters and than goodness non of the 40c plus days, and Melbourne is set to over take Sydney for growth so there must be people who actually like the change in seasons. As you say there are now things for children to do starting to appear, the parks are just beautiful especially the japanees gardens. As for night life well that is another reason we chose Toowoomba, you dont see the fights and drunks filling the city streets at night, but if that is what you miss it is not that far to drive to Brisbane or the Gold Coast. Bottom line, Toowoomba and major cities are different and we have a choice as to where we live. For us the peace and quite, beats the crazyness of the cities any day,