City edge and inner suburban living in Cairns
If you want to stay close to the city action, but would still like enough room to kick a ball with the kids or grow a vege patch in the backyard, try the city fringe and inner suburbs, all within 10 minutes' drive of the Cairns CBD.
The inner suburbs of Cairns, like the inner suburbs of Australia’s capital cities, are home to many multicultural communities and a mix of all sorts of families, couples, retirees, singles and young people with no real dominant ‘demographic’ in any of these suburbs. The housing mix is also diverse, ranging from smaller, low-maintenance apartments and townhouses to luxury homes perched on high hillsides.
Access to public transport is easy if you live in the Cairns inner-suburbs and city-edge with a regular bus services through Sunbus.
Median house prices in the Cairns inner suburbs and city edge*
If you're looking for convenient suburban living in Cairns, there is quite a range in median house prices in the Cairns inner suburbs with Manoora and Bungalow among the most affordable suburbs in Cairns for housing.
| Suburb | Approx. driving time to the city** | Median house price* |
|---|---|---|
| Bungalow | 6 minutes | $435,000 |
| Cairns North | 4 minutes | $617,500 |
| Parramatta Park | 2 minutes | $510,000 |
| Westcourt | 6 minutes | $415,000 |
| Earlville | 8 minutes | $470,950 |
| Manunda | 6 minutes | $450,000 |
| Manoora | 7 minutes | $398,750 |
| Mooroobool | 10 minutes | $480,000 |
| Edge Hill | 8 minutes | $741,250 |
| Whitfield | 9 minutes | $650,000 |
* source: realestate.com, September 2022; ** Google maps
What's it like to live on the edge of Cairns city?
Our outer-edge city suburbs are home to funky cafes, an increasing number of creative and collaborative working spaces, health services, apartments and accessible living options.
Cairns city edge living is not quite like the capital cities of Australia, where you generally find strips of bars, restaurants and nightclubs; there are plenty of free-standing houses on the outer edge of the city and a number of schools - both public and private.
With quirky housing, close to the city; Bungalow has several pubs, many services, and an amazing community garden in an unlikely spot. Parts of Bungalow are very industrial, with workshops, hardware stores and all mechanical and maritime needs covered in this suburb.
Cairns North is close to the city, the Botanic Gardens, Tobruk Memorial Pool and full of high-set and low-set Queenslander-style homes. Increasing numbers of creative types are setting up shared working spaces or garage workplaces in the neighbourhood, which also has some interesting a cool cafes filled with art or plants.
Parramatta Park is a short walk to the city and the two CBD university campuses. Cool cafes, restaurants and business call the suburb home too, which has an eclectic mix of housing, including apartments and old Queenslander style homes.
Cairns inner suburbs
All of Cairns inner-suburbs, around 5 to 10 minutes' drive from the Cairns CBD, contain a mix of free-standing homes and apartments. They are all close to major shopping centres, smaller shopping villages, parks, health services and sporting fields and clubs. Cairns is a multicultural city, with our inner-city suburbs boasting diverse and inclusive schools where it's not unusual for a class of 20+ children to have parents who were born in 20 different nations.
- Mooroobool is popular with families and and close to a wide choice of schools - public, private, primary and secondary - and services. Five minutes from more than one major shopping centre, Moroobool is multicultural and features mostly family homes on wide streets.
- Manunda has strong community connections, affordable housing with a mix of big backyards, compact townhouse options and unit developments. Manunda is close to shopping centres, many schools and is also home to one of the two Aboriginal Health services in Cairns - Wu Chopperen.
- Manoora: Many low maintenance living options are available in Manoora, from apartments to larger-scale semi-private estate developments like Village Edge which have smaller, manageable blocks and open plan housing. Several great schools are nearby as well as many parks, the Botanic Gardens, a supermarket, and health and other services.
- Earlville has wide streets, highset houses and plenty of families and services nearby, including a major shopping centre, Earville Shopping Town This southern Cairns suburb also has many services, a wide variety of schools and a mix of housing options.
- Westcourt: The main road into Cairns - Mulgrave Road - passes through Westcourt, where you will find a huge variety of shops, gyms, churches, services, takeaway outlets, cool cafes and medical centres, along with the DFO shopping centre. A wide range of housing options are available in Westcourt.
- Aeroglen is opposite the airport and at the base of Cairns' most popular walking tracks - known by locals as the Arrows. Aeroglen has very leafy streets, parks and a large sporting field; a well-used two-lane cycling track winds through Aeroglen.
- Edge Hill: You can see live music in a variety of venues in Edge Hill, including the unique Tanks Arts Centre. Enjoy the village feel with restaurants, cafes, beauty, yoga and boutiques clustered at the Edge Hill 'five ways'. Edge Hill has a large state school and is a hub for weekend sport with a sporting precinct of cricket, soccer and football fields nearby.
- Whitfield In Whitfield, you'll see rainforest hills wherever you look, plenty of parks, tree-lined footpaths, wide streets and a short walk to a fancy bakery or organic cafe. Whitfield has a large public state school.
What locals love about living in Edge Hill
I live in a worker’s cottage built around 80 years ago in Edge Hill. The house is a short walk, scooter ride or skateboard from everything my family needs or does.
For my teenage kids, we’re close to their schools, a public pool - with trampolines - air conditioned basketball courts, the soccer fields, gym and skate park.
For me, it’s less than 2 kilometres to a music gig in a converted WW2 tank, a choice of around a dozen coffee shops and restaurants, the supermarket, or the start of a rainforest walking track. If I was that way inclined, I could even get my teeth whitened or my nails done nearby.
Marie
Find out how one recently-arrived Cairns family is making their mark in the city fringe, particularly in the suburb of Stratford, as they open small bars, a homewares store and a gin distillery!