Where would you retire?

[Nathalie]

Hello all :D

We will be retiring in a few years and it is time to make plans. We need some advice as to where to retire. We love our salt water fishing and country life. Hopefully we will be able to have both but I doubt it (in any case the fishing would come first).
We will be in the 40s and 60s. We have a 4.6 centre console Formosa with 75 Mercury.We would like to end up somewhere where the fishing is good but has the best of both worlds fishing outside and fishing in the rivers that lead to the oceans for protection for those not so good days. Somewhere where there could be work if required as well. Any advise would be appreciated.

Thank you in advance

Nat.

[Marlin_Mike]

Hervey Bay

No contest, best of all worlds fishing wise.

Mike

[Chimo]

Hi Nat

Where are you now if I may ask?

One way to work it out is to do a matrix so for eg you list across the top of the page possible locations and down the left side you list all the attributes that you seek.

Then if you give a value eg 1 to 5 to each of the attibutes you can do some maths and get some ranking of each of the potential locations.

So if you want offshore sea fishing/ boating, inshore sea fishing/ boating, estury fishing/ boating, river fishing/ boating impoundment fishing/ boating, mountain walks, 4wd tracks, medical dental hospital service, shopping, airports (so the kids can visit) cinema, live theatre, suitable climate (not too hot / humid) (not too cold) choice of work opportunities, acceptable roads, boat ramp access, and importantly real estate growth and sales potential ( so if you choose to move you are not stuck with a depreciating property asset and in fact you can make $s on the market)

Sorry to dribble on but thats what GOM and GOW do and by the way thats another attribute to add; a location that your offspring would want to be near or even end up at too so they can look after you in your dribble stage!.

Hope these ramblings are some help, the system seems to have worked for us and has since 99/2000.

Cheers
Chimo

[johnnyb]

some where i can catch Marlin after Marlin after Marlin

[Cheech]

Hervey Bay for sure. Or Maryborough, which is on the Mary River about 30 minutes up stream from HB. There are locations on and near the river in between the 2 towns that you can live and get the country part of your equation.

[4x4frog]

Chalk up another for Hervey Bay.River Heads area in particular. I haven't seen a better part of the world ina long time and it's only 2 minutes form the barge to Fraser. There's plenty of rural properties just down the road form River heads too and it wouldn't get built out in the next 20 years like HB area proper will do.

[charleville]

This is a topic I have researched a bit ( having retired at age 57 a few months ago) and my response will probably not be what you would like to read but it is based on the experiences of a number of people who I have spoken to.

There are issues with leaving wherever you are now to retire and going to an idyllic location like Hervey Bay or anywhere else. (BTW, I lived at Hervey Bay for three years 27 years ago and it was wonderful! I also lived on the Gold Coast for a while and the traffic there made it like living in New York - hardly idyllic at all!))

The issues relate to support structures, family connections and your sense of community.

Often a couple will retire to a remote locale and find that they are disappointed because they no longer have their familiar infrastructure - eg their bridge club or bowling club friends who they have known for years and years. Loneliness can set in.

Often, everything will be fine until one of them dies or becomes infirm and without the support of family around them, it is really difficult for the remaining spouse, or healthy one as the case may be.

Similarly, grand-mums, in particular, miss seeing their grand-children and when the family is back in the big city and you are living in paradise, you will be the ones traveling to see the grand-kids, not the other way around - at least not after the first year or so. Families, especially when they enter the teens have their own society and world of weekend sporting and social events that will keep them in the big city. Likewise, their working parents are likely to be so buggered at the weekends that they just want to flop at home and not load up to take the grand-kids visiting the oldies four or five hours drive away.


The real tragedy that besets so many people when they sell up their long-time home and move to a far off place to retire is that when they do decide to leave paradise and return to the big city, often they cannot afford to do so. Real estate prices have moved and what they can afford is a modest unit or retirement home - not quite what they had in mind.

Talk to your friends who may have moved somewhere in retirement and see what their experiences have been - but only those who have been gone three years or so - after the halo effect of the new location has subsided.


Buying and selling homes and shifting costs a lot of dollars. Those dollars might be better spent on some long off-season holiday rentals in paradise but still having your home in its familiar environment to come back to.

If the old house in not quite what you think you need in retirement, you can always renovate.

[PinHead]

easy one..TOL's place..you get to be in the shed and drink on friday arvos..line the ends of the rods up and o#### holes in pegboard..what else is there to do in retirement.
Seriously..no intention of ever leaving here..11k to city..hour to either coast..best of both worlds.

[charleville]

easy one..TOL's place..you get to be in the shed and drink on friday arvos..line the ends of the rods up and o#### holes in pegboard..what else is there to do in retirement.
Seriously..no intention of ever leaving here..11k to city..hour to either coast..best of both worlds.


Agreed!:) When I lived in Hervey Bay, it was wonderful but awfully quiet. I know that it has grown from the 15 000 people in those days to 60 000 now but it still takes a lot of adjustment after living in the big smoke for a long time


.

[webby]

Probably to the firey depths of Hell, unless some angel repents all my sins ???

[choppa]

hervey bay is alright,,,,, but it'll be a long trek back to bribie to pick up ya boat if you leave it at my place,,,,,

save a spot for me webby,,,,, preferably close to the fan;D ;D ;D

choppa

[kingtin]

Some of you may remember that last year we went prospecting for somewhere to retire to.........I never did report on it ::)

Originally Woodgate was my choice but the deckie said that she would like to continue part-time nursing even into her 60's, so Hervey Bay became her choice as the hospital was expanding there. We had thought about Macleay or Russel island but again, she thought about the commuting costs if she continued to work part time.

I'm not knocking the place because we all have different values,standards and expectations but anyways, we had a long-weekend up in Hervey Bay and our decision was that if we couldn't be within 2 or 3 blocks of the beach, at Urangan, Torquay or similar (handy for ramp and pier) then why change the lifestyle that we had? Although properties were reasonably priced further back from the beach, you'd be lucky if you got any change from 400k for a two bedroom fibro within 2 blocks of the beach.

Also, on the weekend we were there, there was no less than 3 major assaults on the promenade with one resulting in a death and the local police chief commented on a gang culture that was arising there...........not at all the Hervey bay that we had come to know and love.

We still haven't arrived at a decision :-/

Good advice from Charlie there too. One has to think about family friends and infrastrucure and how one would manage if one lost their partner.

kev

[oldboot]

Well there are the obvious choices.

The gold coast...........if you have a lot of money and like that sort of thing.

The redlands........ yep we are up to our arm pits in retirees here, close to bris and a variety of price brackets........ hmm may be

Redcliff...... known as having one of the highest concentrations of anglers and wood turners in the southern hemisphere and at one time the highest concentration of TV repairmen.

Bribie.......especilay if you can offord one of those fancy new developments.

Yep... hervey bay.......

then you can look north.......there are quite a few nice little towns with good fishing access..... borroron for instance...... handy to turkey beach... not too far from a couple of impoundments....... and cheap as chips.

you could head for cairns........if you dont mind the heat...... but it isnt cheap anymore.

If you arent looking for anything fancy.......... Townsville has to be worth a look....close to the reef.....I believe that some think fishing compulsory there. You are certainly considered underprivaliged or weird if you dont own a boat....The hospitals are pretty good ( once they get some heart surgeons).... the aged care facilities arent too bad either.
There are lots of choices for fishing too.....a few of hours and you can be in cairns, down the coast or up the burdican dam.
Hell you can fish in the middle of town and catch barra if you are lucky.
There are 4 fishable impoundments right in town and you can cath fish 200metres from the main street
Even if you are poor, a bycicle a fishing rod and a cast net will feep you bussy for quite a while
Not as cheap as it once was. has to be worth a look though.

I think some serious research is required.........don't forget your fishin' gear.

cheers

[NAGG]

Airlie Beach for me:D ...... Not too far to Hinchinbrook for a weekend away. :)
Fish Peter Faust whenever I wanted to:P
Good barra river ( Proserpine)

Reef fishing

Nice Climate

Nagg

[youngy]

Gold Coast i am only semi retired but it has it all fishing wise and if you want a quieter home life you can live on the western side of the h'way and still have the fishing close bye. Cheers Wayne.

[DR]

This is a topic I have researched a bit ( having retired at age 57 a few months ago) and my response will probably not be what you would like to read but it is based on the experiences of a number of people who I have spoken to.

There are issues with leaving wherever you are now to retire and going to an idyllic location like Hervey Bay or anywhere else. (BTW, I lived at Hervey Bay for three years 27 years ago and it was wonderful! I also lived on the Gold Coast for a while and the traffic there made it like living in New York - hardly idyllic at all!))

The issues relate to support structures, family connections and your sense of community.

Often a couple will retire to a remote locale and find that they are disappointed because they no longer have their familiar infrastructure - eg their bridge club or bowling club friends who they have known for years and years. Loneliness can set in.

Often, everything will be fine until one of them dies or becomes infirm and without the support of family around them, it is really difficult for the remaining spouse, or healthy one as the case may be.

Similarly, grand-mums, in particular, miss seeing their grand-children and when the family is back in the big city and you are living in paradise, you will be the ones traveling to see the grand-kids, not the other way around - at least not after the first year or so. Families, especially when they enter the teens have their own society and world of weekend sporting and social events that will keep them in the big city. Likewise, their working parents are likely to be so buggered at the weekends that they just want to flop at home and not load up to take the grand-kids visiting the oldies four or five hours drive away.


The real tragedy that besets so many people when they sell up their long-time home and move to a far off place to retire is that when they do decide to leave paradise and return to the big city, often they cannot afford to do so. Real estate prices have moved and what they can afford is a modest unit or retirement home - not quite what they had in mind.

Talk to your friends who may have moved somewhere in retirement and see what their experiences have been - but only those who have been gone three years or so - after the halo effect of the new location has subsided.


Buying and selling homes and shifting costs a lot of dollars. Those dollars might be better spent on some long off-season holiday rentals in paradise but still having your home in its familiar environment to come back to.

If the old house in not quite what you think you need in retirement, you can always renovate.

Charlie is on the money...
stay where you are near to family & friends & take extended holidays as required...become grey nomads..

[Peter4]

Charlie is on the money...
stay where you are near to family & friends & take extended holidays as required...become grey nomads..

I agree with Charlie & DR. I am a financial adviser to retirees and those that have the most successful retirements generally stay close to family and friends.

This gives them a good family and social network and keeps them busy.

A successful retirement is when you are so busy doing stuff that you wonder how you ever managed to fit in time for a job. Nobody wants to sit around and do nothing at all!!

Regs

Pete;)

[danryan75]

im only 15 but i already have it planned out.


woodgate beach.

[alleycat]

Nathalie, if you want country living and great fishing thats near the water then go for either, ballina, yamba iluka or maclean, or south west rocks, all great climate and great coastline and fishing.

[Chimo]

As Charlie and others have said and I couldn't agree more, you do need to maintain family etc connection as well as meet the objectives you set as your chosen attributes. You also need to accept compromise:'(

You cannot be sure to get everything you want so some things will score lower eg Gold Coast traffic would be lucky to get a 1 on the matrix method. It used to be probably a 2 or 3 but its got busier.

On the other hand job choice is a 5 and there are plenty of boat ramps and as a retired person why would you want to use either the roads during peak hrs when the roads are in full use or the boat ramps in peak times at weekends?;)

The other good point that has been made is try before you buy but remember the mood and feeling during a holiday is not the same as when you live there.

In our case we could have stayed where we were; a la PinHead, and where we had spent more than 15 yrs but we would have seen the kids and other family for very short periods at best.

So we moved to where MOST of our needs were likely to be met and where the kids were likely to visit or maybe even follow (which they all ultimately did) because of the choices available to them by way of jobs / career and of course the lifestyle offered by the location which was one of our reasons for moving too.

Also get advice before commiting to a real estate agent, there are some shockers out there but also a few good ones that you can trust and boy does that make a difference to your outcomes::)

Where we are and you may move to may not be perfect, but for the time being, or until something else comes up at which time we and you can always do it again; it will do.

Hurry slowly with this decision;) or at least don't burn any bridges and don't blow the savings real estate wise either.

Chimo

[hoodunnit]

I`ve got a few years work left yet but i`ll be off to Port Vila,great weather,people,fishing,food.3 weeks in Bris.1 week in Vila, that`s the plan.

[charleville]

im only 15 but i already have it planned out.


woodgate beach.

;D ;D ;D

Then save your money with a real purpose,young fella, and buy a block of land there in a prime spot as soon as you can. You won't regret it when you are older. :)

[kingtin]

( once they get some heart surgeons)....



Spot on OB, that's something else to consider.

Although Qld health has some of the best heart surgeons in the S Hemisphere, and indeed the world, they are all based at The Prince Charles Hospital. Other major towns and cities don't seem geared up for (complicated) heart surgery and patients are shipped down to Brisbane. OK if it isn't immediately life threatening, but older folk who are prone to heart problems should consider this if they plan a move.

kev

[kingtin]

im only 15 but i already have it planned out.


woodgate beach.

If you can afford it by the time of your retirement. Woodgate is growing fast and demand is outstripping supply = high prices. As Charlie says, get in quick if you can but also bear in mind that the Woodgate that you see now will not be the same Woodgate when you retire. That's what has turned us off Hervey bay, we've seen it change so fast.

kev

[Chimo]

Hi All

We found that the best bit of literature, bar none, on this subject is the book as per the link below. It should be compulsary reading especially for the "advisors" out there as well as us plebs.

http://www.amazon.com/How-Retire-Happy-Wild-Free/dp/1580085784?tag=dogpile-20

Cheers
Chimo

PS You can read bits eg contents etc etc if you plug in to the blocks on the left of the page
http://www.amazon.com/gp/reader/1580085784/ref=sib_dp_pt/105-2615508-9338033#reader-link

PPS Peter4, You are probably familiar with How to Retire Happy Wild and Free judging by your earlier comments but if not I commend it to you

[Nathalie]

Hi All

Thanks for the replies.

Chimo – We live at Redcliff, fishing has been a bit disappointing for a while now catching heaps but all babies. I like your Matrix idea I will do that. Moreton Bay I don’t think is what it use to be.

Aleycat – I did think of Ballina as it looks like the place but as Charleville has said, it would be too far for the kids and grandkids, as I suspect (and will not mind) that we will be the ones doing the visiting. So It looks like North is where we will probably be headed, but in saying that though, as you get older it seems time goes by faster so a visit once a year could be affordable no matter where we were.

Cheech – Hervey Bay, Maryborough, Mary River sound OK I will look into that one.

It sounds like around Hervey Bay all round so far. We spent a week fishing at Hervey Bay last year. Would you believe we didn’t catch a thing till the last night at I think it’s called Rufus Reef. We defiantly found the reef, our sand anchor was bent all out of shape that night. But the water was beautiful it didn’t really matter that we didn’t catch anything we had a great time just drifting all over the place. The limited fishing locations were a bit of a concern though. As we only have a 4.6 with not a huge fuel tank we couldn’t go far out, and when you think about it we would prefer not to have to go miles out to catch fish as $ would be limited in retirement and we plane on fishing all the time.

What about Mackay or Bowen any good fishing up that way?

Nat

[PinHead]

Charlie is on the money...
stay where you are near to family & friends & take extended holidays as required...become grey nomads..

I find that phrase totally offensive and should be banned from the English language..I should report you to the Mods for even using..it is totally discriminatory against those of us who do not have enough hair to go grey.

[charleville]

If you can afford it by the time of your retirement. Woodgate is growing fast and demand is outstripping supply = high prices. As Charlie says, get in quick if you can but also bear in mind that the Woodgate that you see now will not be the same Woodgate when you retire. That's what has turned us off Hervey bay, we've seen it change so fast.

kev

I agree with you Kev but if the lad could scrape together some money to get a block at Woodgate by say, age 21 or so, just think of how it would appreciate by the time he was at the age when he might want to use it. Even if he did not want to use it for himself, the "seachange" phenomenon might make it a great investment to be sold to buy whatever he would really like. For a young fella, it would be a much better investment than a rapidly depreciating purchase like a new car on hire purchase.

I had an uncle, now deceased, who built a hut on land at Magnetic Island with four other mates when he was very young and the land was worth zilch. It was a real shack - I stayed there one night and the mossies would carry you away as the windows were just hinged bits of T&G boards that you wedged open with a stick.

Anyway, the long term arrangement amongst these five youngsters was that the hut and land would be left to the last survivor, who just happened to be my uncle. In his later years he sold his house in Townsville and bulldozed the hut and built a tidy little brick home there to which he and his wife retired. Years later after he died, his wife moved to managed retirement living and she sold the little house, which by this stage was in a much sought-after position overlooking Arcadia Bay for a very tidy sum indeed. :) :) :)

So the moral of the story is that in a country where the population just keeps growing and where the propensity to buy quality coastal spots continues to grow, an investment by a youngster in a relatively unknown place like Woodgate may hold very good potential over his lifetime. :)

[Chimo]

Hi Nat

You really should get a copy of How to Retire ...............

http://www.amazon.com/gp/reader/1580085784/ref=sib_dp_pt/105-2615508-9338033#reader-link

I would lend you mine and perhaps still will if I can get it back from my mate, who is also our bank manager!

We are at the stage were we don't know how the hell we managed to fit in going to work. It s getting hard to fit in fishing with all the stuff you end up doing with the offspring etc and there are only 5 days out of the 7 that you can fit it (fishing) in.

Chimo

[DR]

I find that phrase totally offensive and should be banned from the English language..I should report you to the Mods for even using..it is totally discriminatory against those of us who do not have enough hair to go grey.


i actually consider my hair to be 'light brown'.....very 'light brown'

[charleville]

Hi Nat

You really should get a copy of How to Retire ...............

http://www.amazon.com/gp/reader/1580085784/ref=sib_dp_pt/105-2615508-9338033#reader-link




I fully agree with this. I have three of Ernie J Zelinski's books and they are beauties.

To be honest, I think that his first, "The Joy of Not Working" is better but they all tell a similar story in a very entertaining fashion.

I first started looking at the possibility of an early retirement 12 years ago after reading "Your Money or Your Life" by Joe Dominguez and Vicki Robin. (Not to be confused with the book "Your Money and Your Life by David Koch. This is about understanding the relationship between money and your life's energy and just how much you may be expending your life's energy to keep your work life going and not the other way around. It motivated me so much I re-read it about 80 times. The investment advice in it is now dated but it is the principles in it that matter. There are a few other good books that I could recommend but I certainly agree with Chimo on Ernie's books.

Ernie J Zelinski's books are wonderful and can really remove lots of fears that people may have about retirement.

[charleville]

I find that phrase totally offensive and should be banned from the English language..I should report you to the Mods for even using..it is totally discriminatory against those of us who do not have enough hair to go grey.



Gee - you spend a lot of time on these boards, Greg - even in the middle of the night.

Are you retired?
;D ;D ;D ;D ;D


I know where you are coming from though - I don't have a lot of grey hair either...


http://img.skitch.com/20080114-gu4k4a9nx87hkbdhn9emw73faa.jpg


;D ;D ;D ;D ;D


.

[Chimo]

Hey Charlie

You didn't do that 80 re-reads while you were at work planning to retire did you?

Chimo

[charleville]

Hey Charlie

You didn't do that 80 re-reads while you were at work planning to retire did you?


All in my spare time, Chimo, when I was going through a flat spot in my career about 12 years ago, but it sure inspired me. :)

That led me to sites like http://www.retireearlyhomepage.com/ which introduced me to the research behind the 4% annual withdrawal rule. (which just happens to coincide with the minimum Allocated Pension rules that apply now but didn't back then.) It also led me down the path of reading everything that I could about achieving financial independence and the real value of money and your life's time. I read dozens of relevant books - one of my favourites being "The Millionaire Next Door" in addition to Ernies and Joe's. Other pop books like Rich Dad Poor Dad found their way in there alongside a lot of other more esoteric books.

I also looked at other factors affecting longevity and quality of life and borrowing a phrase from my doctor that it is not whether you die that is so important it is whether you half die - ie sustain one of life's ills that affect lots of us as we grow older and which can steal a healthly lifestyle from us in retirement - things like strokes, Parkinson's disease etc which can ruin your retirement plans if you leave it too late. I wrote a book on this myself but have never published except to a couple of hundred ex - work colleagues who asked for soft copies. A page with a few relevant sobering graphs is to be found at http://img.skitch.com/20080114-n76phhd726bjej8mewfixfi5sh.jpg

The Dominguez book developed into a cult around early retirement. Joe, himself retired at 31 and died a few years ago at 61. Google "Your Money or Your Life" or "YMOYL" and see just how many websites pop up.

So after a career that saw me start work at age 15, complete a trade qual whilst doing matric at night school and then an engineering degree and an MBA and a few other odd and sods of quals, I saw the light, saved my pennies and here I am, spending too many hours each day during the inclement weather on Ausfish playing silly buggers with Mod 5. ;D ;D ;D

[mbt]

Yes young fella if you like Woodgate by there asap, by the time you retire it will be had it , but at least you can sell it and have the money to move on to somewhere that hasnt been recked by our southern invaders.

[reelemin1974]

Maybe stay near where you are and do what heaps of retirees do, Buy a caravan and use your home as a base and explore the country, you can go wherever you want then. BTW My vote is definitely Ballina....although now all the fish are dead!!

[Chimo]

Yes Charlie things like Rich Dad Poor Dad and How to Retire Happy Wild and Free etc................ were useful reads about ten yrs ago and they certainly helped to clarify that the wages / salary was there to buy the groceries and make you look worthy of geting into the OPM scene to start making the nestegg grow. Your sites etc do also tell the story.

I hope our young Woodgate lad gets going soon for his sake but I have a feeling he may do better with some property that he can get some rent ffrom rather than a bare block at this stage!

Cheers
Chimo (GOM in front of the AirCon)

[PinHead]

Gee - you spend a lot of time on these boards, Greg - even in the middle of the night.

Are you retired?
;D ;D ;D ;D ;D


I know where you are coming from though - I don't have a lot of grey hair either...





;D ;D ;D ;D ;D


.

usually doing some Autocad work..stop and have a read once in a while to ease the boredom.

[Chimo]

If you need evidence:-*

Retire GC, Open Sea to the left, Bush to the right; they call it the Green behind the Gold

Chimo

[Freeeedom]

I've been retired about 4 years now and after lots of careful consideration of all the pros and cons I've decided to stay where I am. This means that the missus is close to the kids and the grandkids, and we also have all the services and entertainment that can only be found in the capital city. But at the same time I can head off camping for a week or more at a time anywhere from Hervey Bay to Iluka and all the places in between. I've fished the salt and the fresh, both land-based and from the boat and I'm loving it. I rarely fish the weekend any more, since I don't have to go to work on Monday (or Tuesday, Wednesday....) and can usually manage 3 or 4 trips a week. I'm still planning that big top end trip in the next year or so, but it's just one of the 1000 things to do before you die. This year I'm thinking of crossing a few more off the list by doing the rugby league grand final, then Bathurst and on to Phillip Island for the MotoGP all in one trip. I might even have time for a bit of fishing in Victoria. That's the great thing about retirement - you can do whatever you like, whenever you like and as often as you like (until your joints tell you its time for a rest). I guess the main thing is to stay active. A lot of people retire from work and then seem to retire from life as well. I can't see the point in that since I believe this life is the only one you get - so I intend to make the most of every minute of it.
Cheers Freeeedom

[charleville]

A lot of people retire from work and then seem to retire from life as well. I can't see the point in that since I believe this life is the only one you get - so I intend to make the most of every minute of it.




Yeah. The conventional wisdom is that people need to retire to something not from something.

[Briannes]

Hi try
Macleay Island, Moreton Bay. fish are great waters no more than 3kms any way, property is still cheap at this point but increasing by the month. moved here 2yrs ago best move ever.

[Poodroo]

For me I would definitely retire on Bribie Island. To me it is perfect because you have every type of fishing imaginable. You can head offshore and get stuck into Marlin, Dolphin Fish, Amberjack, Snapper, Pearl Pearch, and every reefie known to man. If it is too rough out there then you can simply stay in the bay and still catch speedsters like Mackeral, Tuna, Cobia or even still get stuck into the Snapper. Even if the bay is too rough there are nice squire, bream, flathead etc in the Passage. And then if the passage is even too rough if the weather turns cyclonic you can duck into nearby creeks like Bulimbah Creek where you can still chase flathead, Bream, and Mangrove Jack. I have an uncle who has been living there for some time now and there are a few people on here who know him and he has caught all of the above fish and more.

Poodroo

[tunaticer]

If money was no problem it would definitely be the 200 acres of freehold land and houses in the middle of Eurimbula National Park north of 1770. The owners of that plot have had it in thier family since it was granted to their ancestors some 150 yrs ago and will not part with it. I wonder why???
Waterfront with 3 dwellings and fully self contained and with rainforest covering about 80% of thier land and mangroves the rest. Geez it would be a hard hard retirement there.
But seriously tho...................why the hell would anyone want to retire and have to invent things for the rest of thier lives to keep sane. I think I will prolly work by choice until im about 80-85 and too old for the work i do any longer. I would hate to retire to such a beautiful place and learn to hate it through getting bored.

Jack.

[BigE]

what if the tree huggers are right & we all end up in neck deep water & all the fish are gone???? I think i'll join Webby at least in will be dry in hell and there had to be some Big Bad Fish in history , might end up chasing moby dick on those evil softies !!!!!!

BigE

[kingtin]

We're actually toying with the House Sitting Service. We can stay here in Brizzy, for the kids and part-time working, but when the feeling takes us, go and house sit for someone somewhere else in OZ. It's a growing service and the opportunities to see the world, let alone Oz, seem abundant.............we house sit for someone and someone else can house sit for us. Just google house sitting to see how popular it is becoming.........at least it gets the grey nomads out of their mobile homes ;D

kev

[sempre]

There is only one place ... Waddy Point , Fraser Is .

[bam424]

Been to lotsa places in Qld an found for the fisherman crabber and those who like prawns and maybe a drop of rum there is only one place and you have probably guessed it Bundy. Within one hours drive and or boating you can travel across 6 rivers or creeks and catch muddies in winter. Mate has retired there and has travelled around Aus twice and seen most places. He has a place on a river and it is to die for. Member who mentioned Eurimbula is spot on the country up that way is great. Another friend has just bought acerage up that way. I do like to holiday on GC though get out of traffic and do grocerys in the boat at Runnaway. I have thought of river heads but seems to be getting very popular.;)

[poundalead]

I would go Poona first if you want absolute peace and quiet (only noise you'll hear are the sandflies) and a very safe spot to fish, with friendly like-minded people and as many winter whiting as you could ever hope for.

Secondly, I would go to Agnes waters. It has every type of marine activity imaginable there, whether it be fishing the reefs, cruising, snorkelling, fishing up the creeks or chasing muddies.

Can't wait til I retire (only 39 years to go)

[oldboot]

I find that phrase totally offensive and should be banned from the English language..I should report you to the Mods for even using..it is totally discriminatory against those of us who do not have enough hair to go grey.

most of those terms are marketing terms.......the guys who thaught that one up just want your money.......thats offencive;D

Up north they call em....... "Turtles"........ because they are slow on the highway and carry their home on their back.

If you are tracleing south its smart to get past proserpine before 8.30 in the morning... after that you can get a steady stream of turtles comming out of the whitsunday's.....& yo;ll spend the rest of the day waiting to pass em;D ;D


Proserpine....... now there's a handy place.......

the best bet it to get a protfolio of rental properties with granny flats up all up the coast.........well you have to do an inspection twice a year and a bit of maintence & renovation to be overseen........the trip then becomes an expense deductable agianst the rentals.

cheers

[charleville]

.well you have to do an inspection twice a year and a bit of maintence & renovation to be overseen........the trip then becomes an expense deductable agianst the rentals.


Didn't I hear recently that the tax office had been cracking down on people doing this?

[blaze]

its a no brainer really, TASSIE, its got a moderate climate, all the bush ya want, surrounded by sea and only a couple hours away no matter where you are and the amont of people that are moving here to retire is staggering, sell up interstate and be come cashed up in TASSIE
cheers
blaze

[finga]

its a no brainer really, TASSIE, its got a moderate climate, all the bush ya want, surrounded by sea and only a couple hours away no matter where you are and the amont of people that are moving here to retire is staggering, sell up interstate and be come cashed up in TASSIE
cheers
blaze
No offense matey but moderate climate????
Gees I'd freeze my nipples off down there in winter.
I went to the snow once...just the once. It was good to see but there was only one problem. I couldn't walk or even move my arms with all the gear I had on to keep warm.
The cook wants to move there. But she's part Eskimo I think. In her car the A/C is set to 16. She also reckons I've hit my head a few too many times because I like the temperature in late 20's early 30's. Maybe she's right?? :-[
But I have to go down and explore for a little while one day.
Just walking through some of the gunga would be an eye opening experience let alone seeing some of the coast line....you know..those spots that 95% of the tourists don't see. :)

Now where would I retire too???
Well I'd have to say right where I am now seeing I haven't worked for 10 years.
But having a few options for 'visiting' other places for extended periods is good.

[Mark Lynch]

Coral Bay WA, the fishing goes off, white sand, smaller tides and ningaloo reef, or Hamelin bay WA, rock lobster and Dhufish (Real ones WA only).
I agree make every minute count, dont sleep it away, get out there and enjoy

the

[BobbyJ123]

Been retired for 8 years and loving every minute of it in Ball Bay. No noisy, or nosey neighbours, plenty of fishing, sea and freshwater. BARRA;D;D;D
http://www.fishingline.com.au/Queensland/Mackay/Fishing/Seaforth.htm

[revs57]

G'day Nat,

This is a great thread and there have already been some brilliant responses...I'm surprised there haven't been more hands go up for Northern Rivers NSW say from Coffs to Tweed...lovely part of the world down there and not too far for the Brisbanites with family.

I do like some of the thinking and advise from those who have retired with respect to location and proximity to family..its still around 15years away for me but I find myself pondering the question regularly. We are very keen on Minni Water for a very quiet lifestyle, but there is no infrastructure and medical support comes via Wooli a couple of days a week. Wooli has a few more facilities and the Wooli River is a good fishery for those crappy days you can't get out, but the bar is dodgy, would only look at it in a 4.6mt boat on the very best days.

We've also pondered the Sunny coast, maybe marooch to mooloolaba...perhaps buderim, but we'd probably be about the same distance if not a little further removed from the water than we are now.

we do like the Manly West area - not far from the ramps here, but real estate prices are getting rediculous...we've had to move out a little further to Wakerley to buy so we are moving at the end of the week hopefully. We figure this will be our second last shift, the last one being into our retirement situation.

Keep the responses coming

thanks to all for your thoughts, very helpful

Cheers

Rhys

[rob tranter]

Where ever I want

Been retired for six + years now it can be an expensive habbit.
Had to send the cook back to work, now I'm back part time, I like to live to well, plus still in debit and have one more rug rat to be rid of

That's why I don't understand all the talk of staying close for the kid's and grandkid's?

Why?

The further away they are the better, then I won't be stuck babysitting while they go out and enjoy themselves.

Been to Harveybay once and that was enough.

Once we do retire properly, I hope to be healthy enough and financial enough to wonder around this beautifull country of ours for a couple of years. Keep the place we're in at Coutts Crossing for a home base.

There are too many great spot's to pick from, and there's always another place better or as good as where you have been, so maybe visit them and stay where you are, it's probably heaps cheaper that way.

Rob T8-)

[oldboot]

Didn't I hear recently that the tax office had been cracking down on people doing this?


Ahh but isnt the tax office cracking down on everything..........like all of those things they crack down on.......its all in the detail..........It has to be an "at least credible" money making venture and not a blatant dodge.

Even if it is only half deductable you have free accomodation up & down the country.




As for Tasmania..........moderate climate!....:o ....holy snapping duck $%#T Batman, people freeze to death there....... yeh moderate in comparison to Sibera.

On of the biggest problems with lots of these places people go to retire.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
They are full of.........OLD PEOPLE:gossip: :uhoh: :gossip:

;D ;D ;D

cheers

[Bubba Gump]

I have our retirement house already sorted for when we eventually retire. Situated in Fiji, on Nadi Bay overlooking the Mamanuca Islands it is our own little slice of paradise. Hopefully we will spend the warmer months on the Tweed Coast and the Australian winter in Fiji, terrific fishing at both! Good luck with finding your dream spot.

[polky]

Nat check out Tannum Sands, right on the coast with good river fishing, barra fishing at Awoonga 15 mins away. Good medicial and other services, 20 mins from the city of Gladstone. Tannum has a pop of 10,000. Forgot excellent offshore fishing if this weather would hurry up and turn. I live here now and it,s where I,ll retire. Polky.

[Nathalie]

Hi All

This is great. I am taking everything on board.

Thank you.

Nat.

[the gecko]

Im going to River Heads too.

Second choice would be Yamba.

Actually, I really want to buy the house on the river that backs onto my favorite jack spot (Gold Coast), but the wife wants to be near the family, so Hervey Bay it is. Im sure I'll survive.

Andrew

[reidy]

Good day,
19 years from now (come on 60 ) i think i will retire to my boat.I may have to go home to sleep sometimes though but only when its raining.
Cheers Reidy

[eotbmg]

Why not move to Buderim?
All the other old fogies from all over seem to congregate here!!!!
I would move to Exmouth over WA. The fishing is as close to untouched as you would find anywhere, and heaps of work opportunities.
East coast i would move to Yeppoon. Great spot.
Cheers
Ben

[pickers]

get out of your backyard and try the north Island of NZ , the fishing shats all over what we have here and as well some of the best trout fishing in the world and it's all on one Island.
been there twice and won't be the last.
pickers

[choppa]

For me I would definitely retire on Bribie Island. To me it is perfect because you have every type of fishing imaginable. You can head offshore and get stuck into Marlin, Dolphin Fish, Amberjack, Snapper, Pearl Pearch, and every reefie known to man. If it is too rough out there then you can simply stay in the bay and still catch speedsters like Mackeral, Tuna, Cobia or even still get stuck into the Snapper. Even if the bay is too rough there are nice squire, bream, flathead etc in the Passage. And then if the passage is even too rough if the weather turns cyclonic you can duck into nearby creeks like Bulimbah Creek where you can still chase flathead, Bream, and Mangrove Jack. I have an uncle who has been living there for some time now and there are a few people on here who know him and he has caught all of the above fish and more.

Poodroo

ya know here is a response that is worth looking into,,,,

i've been here for over 20 years,,,, and seen a hell of a lot of changes,,,, and the great part about it that andrew didn't cover is that its just far enough away from brissie,,,, but its still close

an hour in any direction puts you in s/shine coast/gold coast (nearly),, glasshouse etc etc

but the best part is,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, you can't be buried on bribie,,,,

thats right,,,, no cemetaries,,,,

now if this doesn't give you a greater chance of outliving everyone,,, what does???????????

i hear a rumour that TOL may be moving here,,,,,, him and a truckload of pegboard or something,,,,,,,,,,,,,

choppa

[LBG-MANIAC]

Ideally Fiji But Yamba As A Second Option

[WHALEOIL]

We're actually toying with the House Sitting Service. We can stay here in Brizzy, for the kids and part-time working, but when the feeling takes us, go and house sit for someone somewhere else in OZ. It's a growing service and the opportunities to see the world, let alone Oz, seem abundant.............we house sit for someone and someone else can house sit for us. Just google house sitting to see how popular it is becoming.........at least it gets the grey nomads out of their mobile homes ;D


A couple here swear by it Kev. They used to sit around and do bugger all, now your lucky to find them home.
It has put a real spring in their step and they look so much healthier as well.

[Dirtysanchez]

I have a mate who has retired to river heads, he got in when you could get land on the water for 60 grand :(

Anyway, if anyone wants some let me know, he is now the estate agent up that way..

Charlie was right, my parents retired to Port Macquarie.. seemed OK at the time, then dad was diagnosed with cancer. Hospitals in the area are apparently below average. I live in Brisbane & my brother is in Sydney, so it is bloomin difficult for either of us to get down there to see them..

[Eagle]

The best place by far is Yeppoon in Central Qld. We have everything here that you could ever want. The climate is wonderful, the city of Rockhampton is only 25 minutes away and its a beautiful drive in to shop there. Yeppoon is nice and quiet and is a very friendly place. There are marlin out past the islands, charter boats if needed, river fishing for barra and heaps more. In Qld. there are no more death duties on your estate, makes a big difference.
In R'ton you have theatures, shoping centers, easy to get to hospitals and supurb botanical gardens. There is never a traffic jam in R'ton or Yeppoon and we have a super set of boat ramps at Roslyn Bay. The price of land is rising but there are still many good places to buy. The beaches are safe for kids, there are beautiful beaches along the coast to Emu Park and you are also very close to Awonga Dam with giant size Barra. If you like golf there are some great golf links and at Yeppoon, you also have the tame roos to help you with your game. It's the best place in Qld. by far.
Eagle

[gogetter]

dingo beach

great little spot. great people, great pub and the best fishing not far out..

shane ;D

[bugman]

It is amazing how many people think the best place in the world is the place they're in right now.

I wonder if we all had the chance to travel more would we think the same thing.

Hopefully (fingers crossed) retirement for me will be not working 9 to 5 for someone else but managing my own interests in my own time. I've got 6 years left in my 10 year plan.

For what it's worth, I love Tassie for all it has to offer in terms of natural beauty and resources but also because I have connections here with family and access to places many others wouldn't. I'll always have a connection here which will mean splitting time here (summer) with a place on the mainland.

At the moment we're looking towards Mooloolabah because of its deep water access to the sea and its proximity to great fishing grounds of all sorts. I'll need waterfront access of course for my big boat ;D

Spending time with family and friends wherever the hell it may be is surely what you want to do when you've got time on your hands.

Brett

[Volvo]

Where'sabouts in Tassie are ya mate:)??..

[larfin]

Well if you think you wont need to see doctors or dentists too often and dont need the big smoke 1770 is heaven.
cheers
greg

[Taipan]

Not so much for the fishing but I would retire down on the Tasman Penisular around Nubeena. Love the country down in Tas and how quite it is on the penisular.
Sounds like a plan Brett, summer at Nubeena and winter in Nth QLD

[charleville]

I wonder if we all had the chance to travel more would we think the same thing.


I spent most of my 41 year career traveling. I retired with more frequent flyer points than I could ever use but now when I go to an airport to drop off or pick up my kids, I actually feel nauseous just being there. People think that the jet setting life is wonderful but you don't want to do it each and every week of the working year.

Seeing other places and enjoying their culture is fun but the novelty of their culture really does wear off if you are not brought up on it.


For instance, looking at Aussie capital cities...

Melbourne - a city of spectators, extremely conservative both in dress ( more often than not black) and attitude. Very parochial about suburban Aussie Rules teams and just about everything else. An ugly city from the air but very nice parks and gardens on the ground.

Sydney - a magnificent city from the air but extremely ugly at ground level with horrific traffic issues. A wonderfully aggressive, arrogant attitude to doing business and most other things but so many of them cannot afford to live in the city which means that the long commutes to work kill any social activity with work mates. All that cafe society stuff that you see around Darling Harbour is mostly populated by interstate business travellers.

Perth - Lovely city, great restaurants in places like Northbridge. Inner CBD is ugly but step 50 metres beyond that towards the Swan River and it is georgeous. The locals have a great "can do" attitude but they do have a big chip on their collective shoulder about the people "over east."

Adelaide - Well, if I wanted to live in a country town, I would have stayed in Charleville. ;D

Hobart - awesome river and scenery, awesome seafood, lots of history. Bloody cold!


Within Queensland ...

Hervey Bay - lovely place but very very quiet - drives a city boy nuts after a couple of years.

Gold Coast - Town planning gone mad - unbelievably busy traffic - unbelievably busy everything - drives a country boy nuts after a couple of years.

Townsville - hot, hot, hot, dry, dry, dry.

Toowoomba - lovely city with lots of culture but it is a long way to the boat ramp at Manly. ;D

Charleville - Hot, hot, hot and cold, cold, cold. Pilchards bait is too expensive there. No water restrictions, though. ;D

[PinHead]

I spent most of my 41 year career traveling. I retired with more frequent flyer points than I could ever use but now when I go to an airport to drop off or pick up my kids, I actually feel nauseous just being there. People think that the jet setting life is wonderful but you don't want to do it each and every week of the working year.

Seeing other places and enjoying their culture is fun but the novelty of their culture really does wear off if you are not brought up on it.


For instance, looking at Aussie capital cities...

Melbourne - a city of spectators, extremely conservative both in dress ( more often than not black) and attitude. Very parochial about suburban Aussie Rules teams and just about everything else. An ugly city from the air but very nice parks and gardens on the ground.

Sydney - a magnificent city from the air but extremely ugly at ground level with horrific traffic issues. A wonderfully aggressive, arrogant attitude to doing business and most other things but so many of them cannot afford to live in the city which means that the long commutes to work kill any social activity with work mates. All that cafe society stuff that you see around Darling Harbour is mostly populated by interstate business travellers.

Perth - Lovely city, great restaurants in places like Northbridge. Inner CBD is ugly but step 50 metres beyond that towards the Swan River and it is georgeous. The locals have a great "can do" attitude but they do have a big chip on their collective shoulder about the people "over east."

Adelaide - Well, if I wanted to live in a country town, I would have stayed in Charleville. ;D

Hobart - awesome river and scenery, awesome seafood, lots of history. Bloody cold!


Within Queensland ...

Hervey Bay - lovely place but very very quiet - drives a city boy nuts after a couple of years.

Gold Coast - Town planning gone mad - unbelievably busy traffic - unbelievably busy everything - drives a country boy nuts after a couple of years.

Townsville - hot, hot, hot, dry, dry, dry.

Toowoomba - lovely city with lots of culture but it is a long way to the boat ramp at Manly. ;D

Charleville - Hot, hot, hot and cold, cold, cold. Pilchards bait is too expensive there. No water restrictions, though. ;D

I bet they want water restrictions there now..restrict the stuff from flowing through town..I must admit..Charleville is not one of my favorite places.

I have not travelled overseas..does not interest me..have travelled from Adelaide to Cairns and everywhere from Mt isa to Quiplie and Thargomindah...I have not found anywhere else I would rather live than Brisbane...will be staying here for good..PLUS...gotta see the grandkids often.

[Maxg]

Somewhere close to Onslow in WA. You are a stones throw to the Mackerel Islands, not too far from Exmouth Gulf, the Ashburton river close handy and a couple of other rivers north. Dampier a short drive away and you woud be living in an aquarium, with not a lot of fishing maniacs around.
Those Qld spots are too expensive for retirees, and you get your backcast mixed up with the fly floggers an arms length away.
Isolation and lotsafish is the go. You even get TV, Foxtel Yet.
Max

[bugman]

GDay Volvo,

I'm based in Hobart at the minute but it's fair to say I wouldn't make this my base long term.

Taipan has picked a nice spot - Nubeena... Aboriginal for crayfish although you do have to travel a little further than that now.

In reality you are only 3 hours drive from doing anything in Tassie at the most. It probably dosn't really matter where you are.... other than the wind that is.

Brett

[Tropicaltrout]

I would like a little piece of land up in the Gin Gin area, just enough for a few animals and a good shed that should keep the kids comming home to visit plenty with thier kids. For me i could fish for barra every other day.

TT

[alleycat]

Charleville, you didnt give much info on brisbane!, i think brisbane must have close to the worst traffic in the country, i live at loganholme and the traffic to the city banks back to here, when i come home from mud island i see the gateway motorway at 8.30 am, and i feel so sorry for those people, every day its banked back from the bridge back to the pacific highway, i used to bag old joh but the mob that replaced him have done so little to important infrastructure, and northern nsw for me for retirement.

[mad_pierre06]

Not too sure yet, maybe outskirts of Brissie, Bribie maybe. What will be important to me is that as I am currently in the process of moving into the area of work where I will be using the excessive difficulties of my younger years to help those who most need it - I am looking to become a school chaplain. So my intention is to work for as long as I can and see where I end up.

The beliefs which I hold dear mean that whilst I should have financial prudence at whenever my current point in time may be, I don't need to worry about what the future may hold for me financially as I know absolutely that all my and my family's needs will be met. God always has, and always will continue to provide.

As long as I am able to wet a line, hit a golf ball, and be able to be around to help those I can, I will be content.

As long as I don't have to move back to St. George, only yellow belly and cod out there. ;D

[gogetter]

It is amazing how many people think the best place in the world is the place they're in right now.

I wonder if we all had the chance to travel more would we think the same thing.

Hopefully (fingers crossed) retirement for me will be not working 9 to 5 for someone else but managing my own interests in my own time. I've got 6 years left in my 10 year plan.

For what it's worth, I love Tassie for all it has to offer in terms of natural beauty and resources but also because I have connections here with family and access to places many others wouldn't. I'll always have a connection here which will mean splitting time here (summer) with a place on the mainland.

At the moment we're looking towards Mooloolabah because of its deep water access to the sea and its proximity to great fishing grounds of all sorts. I'll need waterfront access of course for my big boat ;D

Spending time with family and friends wherever the hell it may be is surely what you want to do when you've got time on your hands.

Brett

brett,

i don't live at dingo beach.. just visited and it is a top spot. you ever been there?

no deep water access though thats back at airlie..... but ya can moore it off tha beach..

chow.

shane ;D

[mad_pierre06]

Hey Charlie, I see in the paper yesterday that no insurance company has offered home insurance in Charleville since 1990, after the floods there. That's bloody rude, mate.

[castlemaine]

A mate of mine dropped in one Saturday when my father-in-law and I were out the back having a beer. He asked my f-i-l "How's retirement down the Gold Coast?"
The reply went on and on about all the things he does every day and night, all week. Bowls, snooker, golf, raffle nights, dancing, dinners (discounted of course), fishing, trips away, etc..
But what surprised my mate and I was at the end of the speel of how busy he was all week he said, " I'm getting a bit bored lately".
It occured to my mate and I, that we work all week and some weekends, then once a year we look forward to a holiday. But my f-i-l's life was one big holiday and therefore he never has a break, year-in year-out. That's why he's bored.
My mate and I discussed later, that the best retirement would be doing a part-time job and take time off for other recreational activities. You can get too much of a good thing.
Cheers

[CHAPPY]

Re where to retire,

We have just done that at Cooloola Cove . It is on the Tin Can Bay inlet half way between Tin Can and Rainbow Beach in Queensland.

Access to Fraser Island, The Great Sandy Straits, Tin Can, Carrie Creek and only 2 hours from Monduran. Only 45 min. from Gympie or Maryborough.

Similar climate to Hervey Bay but less tourists. Tin Can and Rainbow get rather crowded during the holidays. We are close enough yet far enough.

Fantastic Country Club. Golf and Bowls . Great meals and atmosphere.

We took 3 years to decide and are extremely happy. Financially, good houses can still be had for 300K.

Country markets ensure cheap healthy food and the soil here will grow anything.

But think it through as going back, is expensive.

But above all, ;D DO IT.::)

[boodo]

iluka definately best of both worlds, awesome outside fishing and top river fishing
absolutley love the place !!!!!!!!!

[charleville]

Charleville, you didnt give much info on brisbane!, i think brisbane must have close to the worst traffic in the country, i live at loganholme and the traffic to the city banks back to here, when i come home from mud island i see the gateway motorway at 8.30 am, and i feel so sorry for those people, every day its banked back from the bridge back to the pacific highway, i used to bag old joh but the mob that replaced him have done so little to important infrastructure, and northern nsw for me for retirement.



I agree completely. Infrastructure planning of all sorts in this state is appalling.

Brissy's traffic is not as bad as any of Sydney's and not as bad as parts of Melbourne (eg Punt Road) but it is not that far short of Melbourne's.

I will offend half the readership here but I have to say that I have never understood the attraction of the western suburbs in Brissy - eg Kenmore, Jindalee etc. They are all too bloody far from the Bay, boat ramps, and cooling sea breezes for me. I have always been a south/eastern suburbs man.

Traffic worries me a bit in Brisbane because I don't think that the politicians are taking a broad enough perspective on addressing the root causes of the traffic. There is too much of a willingness instead to fix the symptoms.

eg the Lord Mayor is an engineer by profession (as I am) so he seems to see the solution always in engineering terms - eg build another tunnel or bridge. (Remember the old saying that if the only tool you have is a hammer, you will see every problem as a nail)

I think that Brissy could do well by trying to keep the cars off the road in the first place. eg run the world's best practice public transport and then make it free so that it becomes just too attractive for maybe 20 - 40% of car owners to ever want to drive into town or whatever. The cost of free transport must surely be hugely offset by not having to build tunnels and more roads and bridges plus future heath care costs to save our lungs and brains from smog.

Anyway - I could waffle on for ages about this topic. You know the problem in raising issues like this with us retired guys - we know everything and have all day to tell you. ;D ;D ;D

[charleville]

Hey Charlie, I see in the paper yesterday that no insurance company has offered home insurance in Charleville since 1990, after the floods there. That's bloody rude, mate.

Yeah - Charleville has a long history of flooding.

Yet the airport is an all weather airport and that is why it was a major base for US forces in WW2.

So theoretically, much of the town could be relocated to higher ground.

[Petere]

Ok i am still 28 years away from retirement at this stage, but I live on an acre just 10 mins from Bribie 2 mins from the local creek ( plenty of mud crab if you know where and great fish). Simply put we moved here for the kids, deep ocean access is only 10 mins away with out having to cross a br and this is my lot until i die.

Ningi is aboriginal for shell fish and bugger me if mud crab doesnt come in a shell.;D;D;D;D;D;D

[GAD]

Somewhere around FNQ , one of the places here probably right where I am, its warm and all the extra traffic and imports it has changed , but I've traveled for work a lot and always looked out for the places I like and can say with outa doubt This is where I'll live and semi-retire here , the cape is close and I like camping and 4wding so Lakefield is right close and available, Fishing the reef is closer here , I take my 5m out to the outer reef on a good day or night, barra and jack in the inlet and I should spend some time checking out the russel or daintree or coombaloomba dam has the biggest bream and nice barra at tinaroo with skiing . And about 15 year back we used to float down the mulgrave on a tube throwing small spinners for jungle perch and bream. Hinchinbrooke is close for some thing different, Karumba is 12 -14 hours away been a long time since I went the direct route to Karumba , did a bit of work in the cape camping out every night for a few years , and there are some unsung place up there still. Cooktown too windy and Townsville to far to the reef, pick a sweet spot in between.
Plenty of foriegn backpackers plus our good old aussie girls in swimsuits littering the esplanades to add to the eye candy that is tropical Far North Queensland, and thats in winter, winter if you can call it that is brief, pleasant when in the mornings it gets to like 12 degrees for an hour before it soars up to 25 -40[ I hate the cold my back hates the cold I found out when in wagga for a couple of winters then fairburn for another two]. me move well no, not while the heart is ticking and the brain is still clicking and when I'm done having fun and checked out , burn the husk and have a party play lots of hendrix ,cooper and floyd .Now a holiday out of town once in a while would be a better idea.

Greg

[NEWBY]

Now this may sound strange but what about Gladstone. Yes Gladstone. We have offshore fishing plus the great Barrier Reef, when its windy we have many creeks and rivers and the mighty harbour and we also have one of the worlds premium Barra spots at Awonga dam. People are great. Cost of living is moderate. Not too busy although that is about to change with all the expansion going on. Yes Gladstone. And it is voted the second most popular seaside living destination. $100 plane fare and 1 hour to Brissy. Strong infrastructure. Very few greenies. Yes Gladstone.

[snappa]

caloundra is my pick.....

the house is already there waiting for me to get sick of working..

and i cannt see me leaving the job.
all i do is hold the touch and wipe over some glass and get get paid PLENTlY


do hulls start cracking due to no water......

[seamaid]

8-) Well it stands to reason close to family and close friends if possible.
However the boss & i retired up here in Hervey Bay, Opps i mean windy bay for 6 years, catch of the day may be, crabs,esturary & reefies not to far off the several boat ramps.
Windy days a pleasent drive to the local dam, or further a broad.
Our recommendation HERVEY BAY.
Cheers Seamaid.8-)

[fish_on]

noosas great. not too far south to bris and goldy not too far north to fraser and surrounding areas

[deathstar 3]

Red Rock, NSW. Half way between Grafton and Coffs Harbour, about 1/2hr from Woolgoolga. On the beach with ocean access. All there is is a bowls club and the caravan park shop. Heaven!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!