"(Georgetown is) a nice little quiet town. I grew up in a small country town, it's the kind of lifestyle I enjoy and so does my wife.

There is virtually no crime. Everybody knows everybody else. There is the peer group pressure that works when anybody gets a little bit out of line then virtually the whole town just clamps on them and brings them back into line again. But the other thing that's good about it too, is that the town has an involuntary safety net. It just doesn't let anybody drop completely ......... they are always there to help.

It's just a good place to live. It's not too far from Cairns ......(and) I know virtually everybody by first name and of course they all know me.

I don't want to just promote it as a place to retire, it's a place where you can really bring up kids and you don't have the worry, even with the main road here, they can ride their bike safely. They can walk the streets. You know what they are doing, you know what the other kids are like. They are really not getting into too much trouble. They may be climbing a tree, or getting some fruit - you know those sorts of things ... but they're not breaking into houses and not doing anything like that. My kids are grown up but I see the other kids, my wife's a teacher at the school and I see what the other kids are like."

-- Will Attwood, Georgetown

I have grown to love new challenges and new lifestyles in the past 14 year since leaving the city life of Brisbane where I grew up. Where as living on the coast around the Cairns area is beautiful with its green rainforests, Normanton has shown me even more beauty with its stunning sun rises, sunsets and rustic terrain. The country life style definitely agrees with me.

--Trish Kelleher, Normanton

You don't really know what its like to live here until you actually do live here. I'd encourage [people] to come and have a go, I think its definitely something that would benefit most people's lives; they would find it interesting, they'll enjoy it, they'd be able to contribute something good to these communities as well".

--Eric Gubesch (Teacher)

Once you visit or become part of a Gulf Savannah community the pleasures and personal benefits are many fold; the life style is at a comfortable pace that allows you to enjoy the regions features like flora (the landscapes of the Gulf and Savannah plains are to behold) and fauna (there as scores of the prettiest birds species and animal life that is long gone from the highly populated areas of the country.

Boating and Fishing is just the most rewarding activity in this region particularly during the dry season and combining with the winter season in the Gulf Savannah Region it is just the most perfect environment for this type of relaxation.

My family and I would encourage everyone to come and have a life changing experience and indulge in the affordable features that can be shared in the abundance in the Gulf Savannah Region.

--Dennis Kerr (Engineer)

We came to Burketown ... to show our children that there is more to life than shopping malls and bumper to bumper suburban traffic. We have found the community to be welcoming and friendly and ready to ‘show us the ropes'. We have enjoyed the change and welcomed the experience of living in a remote community.

While certainly isolated from a kilometers point of view, all the things we want are to be found here, including broadband internet access and mobile phone coverage. We also have cable TV and the usual conveniences of living in the 21st century. Access to medical services has been a pleasant surprise, as we no longer have a four month wait to see a specialist and never have trouble finding a car park at the clinic. Really the cost of living here is no worse than the coast and as long as you plan a little you don't miss out on much beside traffic and pollution.

Our move has been a positive one and I would encourage all families to consider the substantial charm and positives of remote regional living.

--Colin Marshall

Luke: I moved up from Melbourne at the same time. I applied with Century Mine as a Mechanical Engineer and worked there for twelve months. I saw lots of opportunities within [Doomadgee] .... and they offered me a job and I subsequently accepted it and here we are.

Kate: We had decided that at the end of [our] four year stint in Melbourne .... that we would go remote and I have always wanted to work in an indigenous community ever since primary school. I think it does go back to ... doing indigenous studies in primary school ... and being quite fascinated with that. [It is] something that is really fundamental to Australian development as a whole, as a country, that we need to address.

Luke: [I like] the work opportunities and outside of work, a lifestyle that I grew up with. A lot of camping, a lot of fishing, a lot of outdoor activities and it is a beautiful part of the world that a lot of people don't get to see and we made the most of that opportunity. I would also say that it would be a good experience for anyone who's looking for something a little bit alternative and who wants a good rewarding job where they work hard and they see the fruits of their work.

Kate: You do need to be prepared and do research because you are in a harsh physical environment so you have to be prepared for that. You have to make sure that your own support network is aware of what you have to face on a day-to-day basis professionally, personally and also all the bits in between. I would encourage people to actually have family members come up and see where they are ... particularly if you are a city person. I would [recommend it to others]. We won't realise just how much it has impacted us I think, and this is what friends have actually told us as well .... that you won't realise how important it is until you move onto something else.

--Luke & Kate Steele (Doomadgee Shire Council)