Our family is considering a move from Adelaide to Airlie Beach. The lifestyle appears to be more inline with what we want - we love nature, the beach, warm weather, laid back lifestyle, exploring.
We have an 8 year old and a 14 year old.
We have a building trade and teaching/mental health employment background.
The only catch is, we haven't been there yet, however, a property for sale has caught our eye. We love Queensland and travel there every 1-2 years, but, I have read terrible reviews on living in Airlie Beach re. some say it's over glamourised, boring, a heat bowl, very transient place, nothing to do for kids etc. It's easy to find bad reviews on the internet though so I wondered how much of this is true.
I'd love to hear from people who live there, relocated there or have travelled there.
Or, if there are better areas to be looking at.
Of course we will visit before making a decision but I am curious to hear from others first - thanks :)
5 Replies
Airlie Beach is beautiful however it is an all year round tourist spot full of backpackers mostly. We haven’t lived there but my sister in law has and it had more cons than pros for them. Their kids were 4 & 7 when they moved there but as they got older they realised there wasn’t much there for them once they hit their teenage years so they relocated to the Sunny Coast. It’s very regional. The nearest large town is Mackay 1.5hrs away and Townsville is over 4 hours away. Airlie/Cannonvale has the basics Woolies, Big W etc and lots of souvenir shops 😂. It’s expensive like most of coastal Queensland. It has nice beaches but you can’t swim at them due to crocs & stingers. They do have a beautiful lagoon though. It is only a short boat ride out to the gorgeous islands and the reef. The winters are gorgeous but the summers are hot & humid and it gets its fair share of cyclones. I love QLD. We live on the Sunny Coast but I have lived in Adelaide so I understand why you want to move north. I have lived in Cairns too. The humidity is a killer up there. Take a trip to Airlie but spend more than a few days there so that you really get a feel for the area.
I have family that moved from vic to cannonvale and they have never considered moving back. This was 20 years go.
We moved to Airlie Beach from Adelaide when our children were 12 and 14. It's beautiful and we all have fond memories of our time there. Positives are the relaxed lifestyle, safe environment and quality time together as a family. The negatives are for some good retail therapy you need to drive to Mackay, playing sports you have to travel, people are transient they come and go. This covid 19 would be economically be killing the region and will take many years for recovery just like years ago when Ansett and TAA airlines went under. We are now living in Cairns and our family is thriving.
We have travelled there and I'd have to agree I think it was slightly overrated. It was SO humid and hot but I'm not a fan of the heat, hubby loved it though because he doesn't mind it. Water looks beautiful but you can't swim in it. We swam in the man made lagoon but I have admit I felt a bit uneasy about what might have gone on in there overnight when the drunk backpackers were out and about, lol. That being said it looked very clean. When we visited there were lots of places that were still being repaired from cyclone damage. Main Street is very touristy and a little bit tacky, compared to so many naturally beautiful places on the coast.
My family lived there for 8 years . Yes it is beautiful, it is hot , it is very cliquey. There’s not much for kids to do . It’s expensive , over glamourised and very transient. The locals say it’s a sailing town with a drinking problem ( maybe it’s the other way 🤷🏼♀️)
It was a great place for my daughter to grow up but now there are a lot of drugs in the town and being a small town you have small town mentality .