raven1234

raven1234

1 Review0 Questions0 Answers

Reviews

Townsville City

"Boring but cheap"

My husband and I moved from Sydney to Townsville after he was offered a job at the university. We are both highly educated, but I am struggling to find a job. In addition, I never had to drive in Sydney as I could take a bus anywhere. That is not case here, we only have one car and I don’t really drive. I find that locals seem friendly, but it was easier to meet people in Sydney ( and that is saying a lot). I am finding that our lifestyle has suffered greatly since moving here as there were a lot more parks, gardens , places to go with my daughter. Most playgrounds were covered and close by. I could always hop on a bus and go to the botanical gardens or get a coffee and walk around manly beach.The heat and bus system in Townsville prevents this. We stay indoors all weekend with air-con. Sydney housing was much more expensive and cramped, but we were not usually spending our days cooped up. I thought that moving to a larger suburban house would be better for our family, but I was very wrong. Not recommended for people who are used to good public transport and plenty of interesting places to go. Not just the beach.

2
megs8

Hi Raven123
We lived in Townsville for nearly 10 years and never really got used to the heat. I do suggest that you pack your bags as soon as you are able to and leave. Don't settle in there and definitely dont buy property as there is no growth.

sarahl15

Absolute garbage. If you can't find a job you obviously aren't looking hard enough, there is an extensive bus service in Townsville that takes you all over the city. There are heaps of parks and gardens, I really can't even believe this review to be real seems like a total fake out by someone from another town that wants to sabotage Townsville.

Megs, go away TROLL.

AliG123
AliG123

you find the real estate agents get very angry when they read these reviews.

raven1234
raven1234

I have to say that I differ in my opinion of living here sarahl15. For me, it's mostly about the summer heat and the fact that you cannot really be outside during the daytime to enjoy the outdoors with my kid. I disagree with the sort of transportation network that you describe. From your comment, I get the impression that you must drive everywhere and have not actually had to wait for a bus in the heat. This is a big contrast for me compared to living in a large city like Sydney, where there is actually an extensive, tram, rail, and bus network. Since Townsville is small it probably doesn't want to invest in a better transport system, as most people are not stuck in traffic. However, if you don't drive it is very tough. In terms of jobs, I have an advanced academic degree, but the uni does not have the money or resources to hire at the moment. Perhaps that will change in the future. Because the city is small there are just less opportunities for people who have a specialised degree. It is probably better for people in allied health, the services industry, or military? I am just trying to paint my impression of living here and we all differ in our perceptions. There is no right or wrong, but I do think people with similar circumstances should be informed before making an important decision.

AliG123
AliG123

Most people drive in townsville, the uni bus service is problematic, you can wait for hours for the bus to turn up. The only silver lining is UBER is now in town so you can ditch the buses if you wanted. There's always some mad talk of "light rail" but of course there's not the numbers to support it, no one wants to walk their bags back to the house for a kilometer in ferocious sun or hammering rain. the real estate agents have become furious since discovering this page by the looks of it.

an1

What did you expect, youre living in NQ? Of course its going to be hot in Summer. Its more spaced out than Sydney, so like most regional cities it is more common to drive. By the sounds of it you belong in Sydney

larryg3

Wow Ali, I can't believe you think everyone on here is an agent, some of us are locals who love Townsville and are sick of the few who are so agro against it, if you have nothing nice to say then shut up.

AliG123
AliG123

Maybe I should warn more people in a more determined way not to wreck their finances and foolishly buy into Townsville. I think you have motivated me.

AliG123
AliG123

Raven1234 you'll need to get a car, Townsville becomes too hot and inconvenient without one. Stage your day , go down to the beach early. Winter is generally very pleasant in Townsville. As i said get a car it's the only way in most places

gailh6
gailh6

I moved to the city last year and have found it to be great, my house value has gone up too... AliG you sound like you need some help, are you ok? If you need some help don't be afraid to reach out <3

Travo97

You mean like how people in Sydney 'violently' defend the city by pointing out the harbour, the bridge, the opera house and you have pretty much seen the pinnacle of Sydney's offerings? find something better to do on a Monday.

AliG123
AliG123

You see this is what happens when real estate agents just continue provoking people into making more comments. Let's just have an honest conversation, crime needs to be controlled and we needs jobs here.

AliG123
AliG123

What's the point of luring more victims on to the rocks ? Buying a house in Townsville nearly destroyed me.

AliG123
AliG123

I'd bet there are plenty of people that bought into Townsville that are furious about how things have worked out here.

gailh6
gailh6

As you said, getting old, painfully old. I doubt the person who made that comment on November 23rd last year is still around to see these comments. So really trolling these reviews is not what I would consider helpful. I am sorry you had a bad experience here but like the rest of the people in the world when you have a bad experience learn to move on. Don't keep hanging on, no amount of bad comments is going to turn people against the city. It has its problems like any city and continually bashing it achieves nothing. Over the years prior to the mining downturn Townsville was one of the countries fastest growing regional cities so like me those people must have seen the good in the city and unlike a place like Mackay the population has not gone backwards, people are still moving here but there preference is for new house and land packages hence why prices in established properties have fallen. They are still selling though. Its silly to think prices would keep going up like those artificially inflated capital city prices, even Brisbane prices are anaemic as they didn't have as many investors from China and elsewhere buying empty apartments and houses.

AliG123
AliG123

If only all the detractors just died and you could present a happy story , eh ?

AliG123
AliG123

Crime is out of control in Townsville, get the car thieves in prison and maybe things will stabilise.

fiona-newf

So helpful! People are used to different lifestyles and paces and moving means changing lifestyle. Not a bad thing at all, just different. As a current Sydney-ian looking at Townsville it's great to get all perspectives to make an informed decision. Still love the idea of moving here, it looks and sounds like a beautiful place. Thank you for your honest perspective.

mariap15

I understand where Raven 1234 is coming from.I do not live in Townsville but I understand how you feel.Living in Sydney and then moving to Townsville would have been a big culture shock. Townsville will never become Sydney. Sydney has a very large population .Sydney has an infrastructure to cater a large number of people.Busy transport services.Many retail shops.Many parks, schools ,hospitals ,etc. Townsville and most of Qld towns /cities are very small and slow ,like villages. What you see is what you get . Progress is very slow compare to Sydney . The capital growth is very low compare to Sydney. Having a degree doesnt guarantee a job.I am from Brisbane and its slow compare to Sydney .As I slow down and get older Townsville is a peaceful place to settle.

chrisheffernan
chrisheffernan

took me a bit to find a full time job here in townsville but i finally got there with a bit of persistence, sure brisbane has all the work but they dont have the accomodation and youll be a lottery winner if you do manage to find a place to live in brisbane - good luck down there, townsville rocks and i have no plans to leave it - either back to new zealand (where its twice as bad) or to any other part of australia

chrisheffernan
chrisheffernan

ALIG123 - no matter where you fo in the world there is out of control crime - im from suburban wellington new zealand (hutt valley) and crime is twice as bad as youve described here in townsville - over there you get stolen cars to use in ram-raids of dairies (mini marts), assaults, knife crime and (thanks to a labour government) the cops cant do squat about them plus even though self defence is permitted under new zealand law it will be you who defends yourself/property/another person who ends up being arrested and charged (all thanks to this (nz) labour government)

chrisheffernan
chrisheffernan

megs8 -if you dont like the heat then id suggest melbourne youll quickly be sick and tired of the time consuming process of de-icing your car on winter mornings and the 11c days plus the odd day of freezing rain and wind

The opinions expressed within this review are those of the individual and not those of Homely.com.au.
Report