Living in Toowoomba - a Guide to Moving to Toowoomba

Toowoomba is a city located in southeast Queensland, Australia, atop a mountain range named 'the great diving range' or popularly called 'the range'. Herein is what can generally be expected for someone wishing to travel to or move to Toowoomba.

Accommodation in Toowoomba

Accommodation prices in Toowoomba are generally seen as being in the middle of the spectrum, with average rent in Toowoomba for a three-bedroom house anywhere from $200 - $250 per week. The cost of buying a similar house in the suburbs of Toowoomba is about $250,000. A motel room at the Burke and Wills motel is about $130 a night, with cheaper accommodation down to about $65 per night available in smaller motels scattered throughout the city.

Crime Rate in Toowoomba

Crime rates in Toowoomba are comparable with average crime rates in Australia. Reported offences against people, for example violence, were lower than the average for Queensland whereas property offences, such as theft, were equal to the Queensland average. Queensland's crime rates are comparable to the national average.

Education in Toowoomba

Toowoomba has a large collection of schools, both public and private, alongside a university campus, a TAFE College and a well-equipped public library. There are two same sex boarding schools, an all girls and all boys school, as well as a collection of Christian- based schools coinciding with the public and private schools of a more general teaching nature. The TAFE College offers a large collection of trades and skills based courses, such as computing or building orientated courses. The University of Southern Queensland has a large collection of courses available both on campus and externally, from arts and humanities to science and teaching.

Entertainment in Toowoomba

Entertainment in Toowoomba is adequate, but lacking any of the large-scale events and niche culture experiences that exist in places like Brisbane. Toowoomba has two separate cinema complexes, the older Strand and the newer Grand Central. Sporting clubs are popular in Toowoomba, with a plethora of indoors and outdoors sports being played. One thing that Toowoomba does have over other cities is a great set of public parks, which are maintained very well and have some of the best gardens in Australia. Toowoomba also has one major LAN gaming club in the centre of the city.

Transport in Toowoomba

The roads in Toowoomba are adequate, though due to the square design of the city there is arguably more traffic lights then would be needed. One area in which transport in Toowoomba is let down is the truly woeful public transport. No public rail system exists and furthermore the buses do not travel a large enough proportion of the city frequently enough. As such, it is often debateable as to whether walking from your house to town is more efficient than taking public transport. The public transport system is not as critically flawed in regards to the school system, with on time transport being organized for each school.

Weather in Toowoomba

During Summer Toowoomba is warm, but rarely noticeably hot. Spring and autumn are quite pleasant, but winters can be bitterly cold with early morning temperatures often below five degrees Celsius and the mountain breeze adding a chill factor to that.