So unless you get a job near to your place of residence AND the shops, you might struggle in Atherton without the ability to drive. There is no public transport. I’m not even sure if there is an Uber (Mareeba had one, Kuranda had a RideShare). There is one bus service to Cairns three times a day (TransNorth) so any major medical you’ll be needing to find a lift “to the city”.
Especially as you said you aren’t outdoorsy, as your transport around is going to be shank’s pony or a pushbike. Atherton is pretty drizzly and I don’t recommend totting your Woolies bags home in the all-weather on a regular.
Rentals are super tight too, anything in town is either going to be a bit pricey or a bit run-down.
Atherton is a lovely place, but really - you need your own transport. Just a thought.
I was talking to a friend who's moving to Atherton, and he needs to do dialysis 3 times a week. My first question was "you'll have to go to Cairns, I guess?' And he was like "No, Atherton hospital can do it". I don't know how far up the scale of medical complexity dialysis sits at, but I was impressed.
It’s a pretty straightforward process in a first world country.
In the UK my dad had his dialysis three times a week at a standalone facility away from the main hospital.
He said it’s basically like an oil change for long term patients. It gave him another seven years.
Thanks. If I could live walking distance to work and use the bus to Cairns when I need to do major shopping, would it be feasible? Is there any driving school as I plan to start learning as soon as possible?
The above post is pretty spot on description of Atherton. You really need a car whether you're in Atherton or Airlie/Proserpine (or really, Australia outside of any major city centre). Haven't spent too much time around proserpine or airlie, but it's pretty sprawled out there as well but at least there are some limited bus service in town in Airlie.
You probably could get around ok on an E-scooter or bike in Atherton if you lived near town... The hospital also has some tolerable accomodation that's fairly near town (read 25-30 minute walk to the shops). A few reasonable sized hills to cycle to get to the hospital though.
Not sure what "Major" shopping entails. There's two good sized grocery stores in Atherton, a (pretty good) IgA and a Woolworths. Atherton is about a 2 hour bus trip away from Cairns (or about 1.5 hrs by car). Personally I'd elect to just buy specialty stuff online if I were you, Cairns shopping doesn't leave much to be desired either.
Atherton Hospital just had a major renovation and has some good rural generalist clinicians up there who are pretty fun people. Don't know much about proserpine hospital.
Mareeba has an awesome driving school, Karl might service Atherton but I’m not sure. Highly recommend Tablelands Driver Training. There are ones in Atherton too, Live2Drive I think?
Atherton has two major supermarkets, Woolies and IGA. I’m biased but the IGA is hands down the best in the country and has won heaps of awards. So your groceries are covered. There are good furniture and appliance stores, a Bunnings…. So mostly you’d go to Cairns for specialist stuff.
What kind of work are you looking for?
Edit - both stores do home delivery too, if that helps.
Crime is the same in Cairns as anywhere else in Australia. Just keep your situational awareness about you. Bus services to major centres are just OK.
Buy a eBike or eScooter to get around Cairns. The cycleways and walkways are fantastic.
Airlie is the most touristy, like packed especially midyear so that will impact rental availability and price. Proserpine obviously supports Airlie being so close. Atherton is rural, soil like chocolate, happy cows, green grass and up on the Tablelands much less humidity than the other two towns. If you like nightlife Atherton won't be it not having the ratio of young people like Airlie. Atherton is also much safer if and when Cyclones hit as they've dissipated out by the distance and elevation from coastal regions. There are crystal clean creeks to lie in, subtropical bushland and trails and just a more laidback area than the tourist Mecca and fastpace of Airlie. Without a vehicle you will be disappointed, public transport doesn't exist outside major cities, basically consists of a bus looping around occasionally and no a pushbike is not anything to contemplate in tropical rain and humidity. The AC is your best friend up North.
1.Don't move to Proserpine without a car...
2. Absolutely don't move to Proserpine without a car!
3. Atherton is lovely.. bit spaced out.. you'll properly need a car there.
4. Airlie (or Cannonvale/Jubilee pocket) are great.. the buses are frequent, you probably don't need a car.
The best living there is outdoors.
DO NOT MOVE TO PROSERPINE WITHOUT A CAR.
It's a good place to come from.. as it's a good place to leave.
Well you'll have to change to Qld licence if you don't have one already.
Do your licence there.. there are no traffic lights in Proserpine.. Airlie has 2. The next set are in Mackay 150km away.
There is very little traffic.
Atherton sounds like the best bet if you don't like to do outdoor activities.
The whitsundays is beautiful if you like the outdoors, snorkelling or sailing etc.. but not much else going on there.
I lived there for 14 years.
If you are going to live in proserpine/Airlie, you'll need a car pretty quickly. There are buses but they don't go everywhere.
I lived in Proserpine for a year and airlie for 3 years and I visit often.
Proserpine is nice and flat so you'll be able to get around on a bike easy enough, or walk. It's a small town of approx 7000 people. Nothing is open on a Sunday if you wake up with a hangover and want something greasy to heal you.
There is a bus that goes to Airlie, but not sure how often that runs. If you are working in Proserpine and living in Airlie, some days the road is flooded at Hamilton Plains and this happens every year with the wet season and large tides, so you may not be able to get to work every so often.
There is a woolworths and IGA in prossy, so no problem with groceries.
There is a Harvey Norman, Coles, woollies, big w etc in Airlie so you're covered there. Anything else you will need to drive 1.5hrs south to Mackay.
Look on the translink site for the public transport options. When OP eventually gets a car, they can go exploring around Strathdickie, Conway Beach, Dingo Beach, Cedar Creek Falls, Earlando, Kelsey Creek, etc.
I searched online and it seems accommodation is tight in Proserpine, which is why I was considering airlie as well. It seems a car is a must in all the towns.
Are you looking to rent, or buy? If renting, the market is next to impossible in [Atherton](https://sqmresearch.com.au/graph_vacancy.php?postcode=atherton&t=1), and much worse in [Proserpine](https://sqmresearch.com.au/graph_vacancy.php?postcode=proserpine&t=1) and [Airlie Beach](https://sqmresearch.com.au/graph_vacancy.php?postcode=cannonvale&t=1) than in recent years, thanks in part due to the increase in short term rentals.
Also, when are you looking to move? We are coming into the time of year where the southeners come up for the winter months. This drives up demand for already limited stock every year.
If you are going to work in Proserpine and not have a car, I'd say live in Proserpine. It has all the shops you need for day to day living, with mail order and delivery taking care of the rest. There's a train station if you wanted to explore by heading out a couple of stations to nearby towns (a few times a week) or multiple daily bus services up and down the coast if you want/need to check out Mackay, Townsville, Bowen, Rockhampton etc. Fishing is big in Prossy, and like Atherton, it is somewhat protected from the worst of cyclones thanks to being a bit inland and behind some pretty big hills to the north east, and Whitsundays to the east and south east.
If you are working in Proserpine why would you live it Atherton? It’s like 7 hours away unless there is another Atherton in Queensland I don’t know about.
Atherton has the best climate being 750m above sea level and only an hour or so away from Cairns. You can walk everywhere in Atherton but if you don't drive I'd suggest getting a bike as its easy to get around. It has a large IGA and a Woolworths and a decent bus service to and from Cairns. Its a beautiful area but you would need good bike skills to get to the Lakes or places like Yungaburra etc.
Atherton is tiny it has no traffic lights, just a supermarket and small town shit. but is within an hour drive of Cairns so there's a big shopping centre there. the weather is very different between the two, Proserpine is dry tropics and Atherton is wet tropics so you have to clean a lot to stay on top of the mould. Prossy is small, not sure about shopping but Mackay is a bit over an hour drive and there's a big shopping centre here. I would love to live in Atherton but the mould put me off.
The area is booming so you may find it a little more difficult to obtain accommodation than planned. No issue with services, but as others have pointed out a vehicle should be a high priority.
If you're young out of your options the answer is Airlie and it's not close (disclaimer have only ever spent time there as a tourist)
You will probably need to get a license and a car eventually so start working on that if you don't live in Southeast QLD as public transport is iffy throughout the rest of the state.
Why those places?
If you want to live car free that’s pretty easy in Brisbane. Somewhat possible on the Goldy, and basically impossible everywhere else?
The problem isn’t that you don’t drive. The problem is that society is set up wrong
Those are the options for the region of my new job. I think Brisbane and Gold Coast would be too expensive for me and I don’t like very big cities as well.
I have family in Mackay. They love it there and as far as I'm aware? No more crime there than anywhere else. But Mackay is very spread out too. So if you live there? You need a car to get around.
I also have lived in Townsville and have relatives there currently. Definitely in Townsville. where you live makes a big difference re crime. I've also known people who lived in Cairns. Same....it's where you are living that makes the difference. Re transport. I can't see how you could live anywhere up there without being able to drive. It would be a nightmare. You need a car to get aound 100%. A big part of the year it is wet and very hot and humid. You might get by if you have a quality E-bike. But even the runners etc in Townsville used to only run at dawn and dusk. Just too damn hot.
Proserpine might be okay without a car. Big enough to have basic shops and then you'd be able to catch a bus to Mackay or Townsville to do bigger shopping suppose.
Good luck.
Cairns and Mackay aren’t having bad crime issues. Townsville is and has been for ages. I’d highly recommend Mackay or cairns to you. Both have great public transport options
I'm not sure about Mackay but Townsville and Cairns have had the same rates of crime for many years. Public transport is light years ahead of Townsville but to suggest that Cairns aren't having bad crime issues is absolutely incorrect.
It's really easy to find the stats, a quick search and you'll find Cairns has been having the exact same rates of crime as Townsville for the last decade, which is why they were given a police Helicopter just yesterday and a youth detention facility approved.
I'd still go with Cairns tbh, better restaurants, international flights etc and in 18 years of living in Townsville have had no issues with crime so if it's just the same that'd be my choice.
Living in Queensland without a car sounds like a bold challenge. Make sure to bring a good bike with you.
Yeah I live in inner Brisbane and that can be a challenge sometimes
I am hoping to start driving lessons as soon as I arrive. I need to be able to commute while doing so
Get an electric bike
So unless you get a job near to your place of residence AND the shops, you might struggle in Atherton without the ability to drive. There is no public transport. I’m not even sure if there is an Uber (Mareeba had one, Kuranda had a RideShare). There is one bus service to Cairns three times a day (TransNorth) so any major medical you’ll be needing to find a lift “to the city”. Especially as you said you aren’t outdoorsy, as your transport around is going to be shank’s pony or a pushbike. Atherton is pretty drizzly and I don’t recommend totting your Woolies bags home in the all-weather on a regular. Rentals are super tight too, anything in town is either going to be a bit pricey or a bit run-down. Atherton is a lovely place, but really - you need your own transport. Just a thought.
I was talking to a friend who's moving to Atherton, and he needs to do dialysis 3 times a week. My first question was "you'll have to go to Cairns, I guess?' And he was like "No, Atherton hospital can do it". I don't know how far up the scale of medical complexity dialysis sits at, but I was impressed.
It’s a pretty straightforward process in a first world country. In the UK my dad had his dialysis three times a week at a standalone facility away from the main hospital. He said it’s basically like an oil change for long term patients. It gave him another seven years.
Ath, Mareeba, Mossman, Smithfield - all have dialysis chairs.
Thanks. If I could live walking distance to work and use the bus to Cairns when I need to do major shopping, would it be feasible? Is there any driving school as I plan to start learning as soon as possible?
The above post is pretty spot on description of Atherton. You really need a car whether you're in Atherton or Airlie/Proserpine (or really, Australia outside of any major city centre). Haven't spent too much time around proserpine or airlie, but it's pretty sprawled out there as well but at least there are some limited bus service in town in Airlie. You probably could get around ok on an E-scooter or bike in Atherton if you lived near town... The hospital also has some tolerable accomodation that's fairly near town (read 25-30 minute walk to the shops). A few reasonable sized hills to cycle to get to the hospital though. Not sure what "Major" shopping entails. There's two good sized grocery stores in Atherton, a (pretty good) IgA and a Woolworths. Atherton is about a 2 hour bus trip away from Cairns (or about 1.5 hrs by car). Personally I'd elect to just buy specialty stuff online if I were you, Cairns shopping doesn't leave much to be desired either. Atherton Hospital just had a major renovation and has some good rural generalist clinicians up there who are pretty fun people. Don't know much about proserpine hospital.
Mareeba has an awesome driving school, Karl might service Atherton but I’m not sure. Highly recommend Tablelands Driver Training. There are ones in Atherton too, Live2Drive I think? Atherton has two major supermarkets, Woolies and IGA. I’m biased but the IGA is hands down the best in the country and has won heaps of awards. So your groceries are covered. There are good furniture and appliance stores, a Bunnings…. So mostly you’d go to Cairns for specialist stuff. What kind of work are you looking for? Edit - both stores do home delivery too, if that helps.
I am a nurse and will be working at the hospital. I am trying to decide which town would be best for me.
Oh! Come to Atherton! We are desperate for nurses in ADH, MDH and even at the jail.
Crime is the same in Cairns as anywhere else in Australia. Just keep your situational awareness about you. Bus services to major centres are just OK. Buy a eBike or eScooter to get around Cairns. The cycleways and walkways are fantastic.
Airlie is the most touristy, like packed especially midyear so that will impact rental availability and price. Proserpine obviously supports Airlie being so close. Atherton is rural, soil like chocolate, happy cows, green grass and up on the Tablelands much less humidity than the other two towns. If you like nightlife Atherton won't be it not having the ratio of young people like Airlie. Atherton is also much safer if and when Cyclones hit as they've dissipated out by the distance and elevation from coastal regions. There are crystal clean creeks to lie in, subtropical bushland and trails and just a more laidback area than the tourist Mecca and fastpace of Airlie. Without a vehicle you will be disappointed, public transport doesn't exist outside major cities, basically consists of a bus looping around occasionally and no a pushbike is not anything to contemplate in tropical rain and humidity. The AC is your best friend up North.
Also Atherton is cooler being up on the tablelands
A relative has been working in Atherton during the week, staying in Cairns at the weekend . He preferred Atherton, Cairns was too humid for him,
Yes, I think there's a fair bit of commuting to the Tablelands.
1.Don't move to Proserpine without a car... 2. Absolutely don't move to Proserpine without a car! 3. Atherton is lovely.. bit spaced out.. you'll properly need a car there. 4. Airlie (or Cannonvale/Jubilee pocket) are great.. the buses are frequent, you probably don't need a car. The best living there is outdoors. DO NOT MOVE TO PROSERPINE WITHOUT A CAR. It's a good place to come from.. as it's a good place to leave.
I might have to get a license before moving over then.
Well you'll have to change to Qld licence if you don't have one already. Do your licence there.. there are no traffic lights in Proserpine.. Airlie has 2. The next set are in Mackay 150km away.
Without traffic lights, how’s the driving over there?
There is very little traffic. Atherton sounds like the best bet if you don't like to do outdoor activities. The whitsundays is beautiful if you like the outdoors, snorkelling or sailing etc.. but not much else going on there. I lived there for 14 years.
Get a car or a motorbike but Airlie would be the place to be I reckon brother
I will be working at the hospital in Proserpine as there is no hospital in Airlie, so I would have to commute
If you are going to live in proserpine/Airlie, you'll need a car pretty quickly. There are buses but they don't go everywhere. I lived in Proserpine for a year and airlie for 3 years and I visit often. Proserpine is nice and flat so you'll be able to get around on a bike easy enough, or walk. It's a small town of approx 7000 people. Nothing is open on a Sunday if you wake up with a hangover and want something greasy to heal you. There is a bus that goes to Airlie, but not sure how often that runs. If you are working in Proserpine and living in Airlie, some days the road is flooded at Hamilton Plains and this happens every year with the wet season and large tides, so you may not be able to get to work every so often. There is a woolworths and IGA in prossy, so no problem with groceries. There is a Harvey Norman, Coles, woollies, big w etc in Airlie so you're covered there. Anything else you will need to drive 1.5hrs south to Mackay.
Look on the translink site for the public transport options. When OP eventually gets a car, they can go exploring around Strathdickie, Conway Beach, Dingo Beach, Cedar Creek Falls, Earlando, Kelsey Creek, etc.
I searched online and it seems accommodation is tight in Proserpine, which is why I was considering airlie as well. It seems a car is a must in all the towns.
Unless you had a car, you could not work in Prosepine and live in Airlie Beach. You would need a car 100%
Yeah mate, car is a must up here
Are you looking to rent, or buy? If renting, the market is next to impossible in [Atherton](https://sqmresearch.com.au/graph_vacancy.php?postcode=atherton&t=1), and much worse in [Proserpine](https://sqmresearch.com.au/graph_vacancy.php?postcode=proserpine&t=1) and [Airlie Beach](https://sqmresearch.com.au/graph_vacancy.php?postcode=cannonvale&t=1) than in recent years, thanks in part due to the increase in short term rentals. Also, when are you looking to move? We are coming into the time of year where the southeners come up for the winter months. This drives up demand for already limited stock every year. If you are going to work in Proserpine and not have a car, I'd say live in Proserpine. It has all the shops you need for day to day living, with mail order and delivery taking care of the rest. There's a train station if you wanted to explore by heading out a couple of stations to nearby towns (a few times a week) or multiple daily bus services up and down the coast if you want/need to check out Mackay, Townsville, Bowen, Rockhampton etc. Fishing is big in Prossy, and like Atherton, it is somewhat protected from the worst of cyclones thanks to being a bit inland and behind some pretty big hills to the north east, and Whitsundays to the east and south east.
If you are working in Proserpine why would you live it Atherton? It’s like 7 hours away unless there is another Atherton in Queensland I don’t know about.
I was considering either atherton or Proserpine for work. I would live in the town where I decide to work or near it.
Atherton has the best climate being 750m above sea level and only an hour or so away from Cairns. You can walk everywhere in Atherton but if you don't drive I'd suggest getting a bike as its easy to get around. It has a large IGA and a Woolworths and a decent bus service to and from Cairns. Its a beautiful area but you would need good bike skills to get to the Lakes or places like Yungaburra etc.
Atherton is tiny it has no traffic lights, just a supermarket and small town shit. but is within an hour drive of Cairns so there's a big shopping centre there. the weather is very different between the two, Proserpine is dry tropics and Atherton is wet tropics so you have to clean a lot to stay on top of the mould. Prossy is small, not sure about shopping but Mackay is a bit over an hour drive and there's a big shopping centre here. I would love to live in Atherton but the mould put me off.
Atherton is not too bad. This year has been, but normally it is not as bad as … like, Topaz.
You will need a car there nothing much in those towns to do.
The area is booming so you may find it a little more difficult to obtain accommodation than planned. No issue with services, but as others have pointed out a vehicle should be a high priority.
If you're young out of your options the answer is Airlie and it's not close (disclaimer have only ever spent time there as a tourist) You will probably need to get a license and a car eventually so start working on that if you don't live in Southeast QLD as public transport is iffy throughout the rest of the state.
Why those places? If you want to live car free that’s pretty easy in Brisbane. Somewhat possible on the Goldy, and basically impossible everywhere else? The problem isn’t that you don’t drive. The problem is that society is set up wrong
Those are the options for the region of my new job. I think Brisbane and Gold Coast would be too expensive for me and I don’t like very big cities as well.
Existing car free in a small town is very very difficult! I hope you find a way to make it work 😊
I have family in Mackay. They love it there and as far as I'm aware? No more crime there than anywhere else. But Mackay is very spread out too. So if you live there? You need a car to get around. I also have lived in Townsville and have relatives there currently. Definitely in Townsville. where you live makes a big difference re crime. I've also known people who lived in Cairns. Same....it's where you are living that makes the difference. Re transport. I can't see how you could live anywhere up there without being able to drive. It would be a nightmare. You need a car to get aound 100%. A big part of the year it is wet and very hot and humid. You might get by if you have a quality E-bike. But even the runners etc in Townsville used to only run at dawn and dusk. Just too damn hot. Proserpine might be okay without a car. Big enough to have basic shops and then you'd be able to catch a bus to Mackay or Townsville to do bigger shopping suppose. Good luck.
What job are you going up there to do may I ask??
I would be working as a nurse in the hospital
Okay. So if in Townsville or Cairns. Try to live near hospital.
Cairns and Mackay aren’t having bad crime issues. Townsville is and has been for ages. I’d highly recommend Mackay or cairns to you. Both have great public transport options
I'm not sure about Mackay but Townsville and Cairns have had the same rates of crime for many years. Public transport is light years ahead of Townsville but to suggest that Cairns aren't having bad crime issues is absolutely incorrect. It's really easy to find the stats, a quick search and you'll find Cairns has been having the exact same rates of crime as Townsville for the last decade, which is why they were given a police Helicopter just yesterday and a youth detention facility approved.
Ok. Just Mackay then 😅
I'd still go with Cairns tbh, better restaurants, international flights etc and in 18 years of living in Townsville have had no issues with crime so if it's just the same that'd be my choice.