Young urban teachers assigned to rural schools in Queensland, Australia, experience difficulties in adjustment related to isolation from family, friends, and other professionals. Twelve teachers in a small remote settlement and 12 teachers in a rural school close to a suburban area completed a questionnaire exploring their relationships with their pupils, the community, and the State Board of Education, and their perceptions of their own professional positions and morale. All the teachers were young, urban, and relatively inexperienced, and all had been assigned to their positions by the State Department of Education. In comparison to the less isolated teachers, teachers in the remote settlement: (1) had more difficulty separating their profession from their social lives; (2) were less able to establish appropriate relationships with their pupils; (3) felt more alienated from the rural lifestyle around them; (4) felt more strongly that the State Department of Education was insensitive, and; (5) expressed less confidence in their own professional abilities. Almost all teachers in both schools said that they would not remain in their present positions if they did not get the positions they wanted, a response with ominous significance for the future of rural Australian schools. Unless rural teachers' professional isolation is recognized, it is unlikely that the position of rural pupils can be improved. The study questionnaire and 34 references are included. (SW)