anona2

Lots of crime
High unemployment
Rubbish everywhere
High cost of living

I've lived in several places on the eastern seaboard and Yeppoon is by far the worst. It's amazing how people could turn such a spectacular natural location into such a horrible place to live. Crime is rampant in Yeppoon itself and even going for a walk you come across it: graffiti everywhere, kids rifling through the goods left by charity bins and throwing it all over the place and anything that is not bolted down being pinched. There is more rubbish in the parks than in the bins themselves. I thought I was being precious until locals started telling me to ensure I had everything under lock and key if I didn't want it stolen and a newspaper report with some local businesses saying that crime has gotten out of control over the past six months. My partner does not feel safe to leave the house after dark. There are plenty of fights and foul language and there seems to be more kid playing truant from the high school than actually attending classes. In outlying suburbs it may be better but Yeppoon itself is terrible.

There is very little employment in Yeppoon necessitating a 40-minute drive into Rockhampton: it's a clear run until you reach Rockhampton but Rocky itself has terrible traffic for a town of its size. If you're moving away from a metropolitan area congratulations, unless you're lucky enough to find work on the coast you'll feel like you're back in one with the commute.

House prices are reasonable vis-a-vis other cities but otherwise the cost of living is very high: fuel, fruit and veg, mechanics (I was amazed at the price some quoted for a simple car service) etc.. Yeppoon seems conflicted over whether it wants to be a sleepy coastal town or the next tourist Mecca and the layout of the city reflects that. There are new developments springing up everywhere.

The islands off the coast are indeed beautiful: if you're a boatie or from the big city you may well love Yeppoon but I'm less than impressed. The local council concentrates on the region's foreshore and one or two streets back from the foreshore - they've recently built what is actually a quite nice lagoon - and if you visit it's easy to see how you could be lured to move here.