Maybe moving to Toowoomba

My husband has been offered a job and the company is going to be getting the work visa for him. But we have questions can someone please help us answer them. He was offered a job with a yearly salary of $110,000 AUD which is a pay cut from what he is making now, but he wouldn't have to work the crazy hours he is right now! But is this amount enough too live in Toowoomba? As I have heard that the cost of living in Australia is a lot higher then in Canada, right now we live in Edmonton. Also we have two kids; are the schools in Toowoomba good and how much is the school fees?

This has all happened very fast and we aren't too sure if he should take this job or not, he just applied to see what would happen as we are looking for a change. If anyone has advice it would be greatly appreciated!

Canadiangal

Hi there,

I was in Toowoomba earlier this month and will be moving there with my wife to take up a job later in the year.

We have been living in Edmonton since 2004, and are originally from Adelaide in South Australia.

I figure Toowoomba is similar to Red Deer. It's about the same population, (+/- 100,000 people) and is about the same distance from the nearest big city (140kms from Brisbane) and surrounded by farms. Instead of the Mountains, some of the best beaches in Australia are only a couple of hours away by car.

There are many schools in Toowoomba. It's a bit of a regional centre, so there are State schools, Private schools, catholic schools, pre-schools, primary schools, vocational colleges and a University Campus. The State schools will be less expensive than the private schools, but I'm not sure what the amounts are.


Housing ranges from AUD$1 million plus for a house up on the range and down to AUD$250,000 for a house in the suburbs. (just like any town I guess). It may be tough to rent a place - as there did not look to be many rental houses available. But I didn't look really hard ! Google "realestate australia" for a page with some good info.



Overall Toowoomba is a business town with lots of activity servicing the mining, oilfield, processing, farming, grazing, transport and educational industries.

There's not a real lot to do about town from my perspective, but the locals seem to like it.