"(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 like) the simplicity of life compared with the city. Everything is much more straight forward. You pretty well get to know everybody in the town and I think it is a lot more honest, straightforward way of living than living in a city where in many cases you don't even know who your neighbour is. .... Socially I think it's a much more friendlier environment to live in a country town..

The job that I have in natural resource management, I didn't even know such work existed. I had never heard of natural resource management until I actually came out here and applied for the job and so its an opportunity that arose from nowhere for me and I would never have even thought of applying for a job on the coast in such an organization.

There are opportunities. You've just got to take the opportunities that are here. There is limited major employers, the council is the major one and probably Northern Gulf Resource Management Group is the second major employer and the Council itself has certainly put on a lot of people on lately but there's a heck of a lot of opportunities on the surrounding properties. The property owners just cannot get workers and if you know a little about the country and have worked in the country before, there's a heap of opportunities or for people who live in the city and want to come out here, you can get training in certain agricultural areas that would be of great benefit to people in the area - so there is a heap of work out here if you set your mind to it and want to do it."

-- Ian Beeton, Georgetown

"I visited your region (Georgetown) for the first time last weekend August 29 and immediately fell in love with it. I will definitely be going back again from time to time. I will be following closely the development of the region which no doubt has the potential to be the next "El Dorado" of Australia. But the most precious commodity I found was the people. Within few minutes of buying a drink at the Wenaru Hotel, barely half an hour after arriving in town, I was able to strike up a lively but humorous conversation with a couple of the locals. These were blokes I have never met before, yet we were able to converse spontaneously with relative ease albeit the jokes & laughter. These blokes have lived most of their lives in the region working as Ringers, Drivers,Fossicking, Handymen etc - Jack-of-all-trades type of characters and each has wonderful tales, even if one allows for a bit of exaggeration. I can see myself either setting up a Medical Practice or working for the Regional health services in Georgetown sometime in the not too distant future. Great place, Gracious people!"

--Dr Andrew Korinihona, Gordonvale

I was impressed with the TerrEstrial Museum in Georgetown and the greenness of the township........ Pride is evident in the town with its well maintained gardens and lawns. I have no degree in agriculture but I could see at a glance that Georgetown presents opportunities for agriculture and horticulture. Plenty of water, relatively good soil, and access to markets.

--Alison Alloway, Westcourt