NORTH BRISBANE

[Smartie]

Hi there,

We have heard that most people say to stick with North Brisbane as opposed to South Brisbane and I guess everybody cannot be wrong. Can someone pls just give me list of suburbs in North Brisbane that are good and that have good public schools. We will not be in a position to send our 2 girls to private schools so we are looking for good areas to target. My hubbie is doing the LSD tip in Sep so he needs to go to those particular areas and not waste his time on areas that will be of no good.

Thanks !!

[GavinK]

Hi Smartie,

I have found this website, which most users most probably have - www.ourbrisbane.com. they have a list of all suburbs in Brisbane, and a map to show you exactly where they are. Then all you do is click on a suburb and it will give you some more information - schools, parks, houses, shopping centre, etc. The link to the suburbs area is http://www.ourbrisbane.com/living/suburbs/ - i found it quite useful, let me know what you think.

cheers

Gavin

[Smartie]

Hi Smartie,

I have found this website, which most users most probably have - www.ourbrisbane.com. they have a list of all suburbs in Brisbane, and a map to show you exactly where they are. Then all you do is click on a suburb and it will give you some more information - schools, parks, houses, shopping centre, etc. The link to the suburbs area is http://www.ourbrisbane.com/living/suburbs/ - i found it quite useful, let me know what you think.

cheers

Gavin

[Nilo]

Hi Smartie

We live in a little suburb called Banyo in North Brissie. We do not have any children in school anymore so can not realy help you with "good schools" however there are schools all over the show.

We did not neccessarily choose a suburb it was just conveniently close the the Gateway Highway and for that matter 10 minutes drive from where my husband is working. And we got a reasonable priced neat house that suit our needs at the time.

We will howver be moving in the next two weeks to something bigger and decided to stay in the same area, for the same reasons as mentioned above. I am also feeling more settled at the moment and don't have the energy (emotional) to get to know a new area.

My sugestion is to get a map, see what suburb is convenient for where you'r going to work and try get rentals there.

The suburb set up in Brissie is very different from what we are used to. You don't neccessarily get "slum" (for use of a better word) areas. The good the bad and the ugly might live right next to you or only a few houses away. This is realy funny/disturbing??

The street we live in have 3 houses that are a bit iffy, one has a family of tyre spinning hooners, and at another there are 4 VW kombi's rusting away in the front yard, with the grass growing thru the windows?????!!!! How odd! Two houses away live a very vocal family and one can hear their arguments if you want to or not.

This is not just in this area this is the same all over.

Hope it helps a little.

Lovies

Nilo

[Smartie]

Hi Smartie

We live in a little suburb called Banyo in North Brissie. We do not have any children in school anymore so can not realy help you with "good schools" however there are schools all over the show.

We did not neccessarily choose a suburb it was just conveniently close the the Gateway Highway and for that matter 10 minutes drive from where my husband is working. And we got a reasonable priced neat house that suit our needs at the time.

We will howver be moving in the next two weeks to something bigger and decided to stay in the same area, for the same reasons as mentioned above. I am also feeling more settled at the moment and don't have the energy (emotional) to get to know a new area.

My sugestion is to get a map, see what suburb is convenient for where you'r going to work and try get rentals there.

The suburb set up in Brissie is very different from what we are used to. You don't neccessarily get "slum" (for use of a better word) areas. The good the bad and the ugly might live right next to you or only a few houses away. This is realy funny/disturbing??

The street we live in have 3 houses that are a bit iffy, one has a family of tyre spinning hooners, and at another there are 4 VW kombi's rusting away in the front yard, with the grass growing thru the windows?????!!!! How odd! Two houses away live a very vocal family and one can hear their arguments if you want to or not.

This is not just in this area this is the same all over.

Hope it helps a little.

Lovies

Nilo

Many thanks Nilo

The problem is that if we get the visa approval then we will move to Brisbane and then try to find work / schools etc. Its so hard to know where to live if you don't know where you are going to be working etc.

especially having 2 children. It just all gets too much for me to cope with at times....

Thanks for your advise though I really appreciate it.

I have heard that there are some really "strange" Australians around and that the domestic violence is rather high too!

Take care

Leanne

[rsteyn]

Hi Smartie

We have been here a month and currently live in the South Western suburbs Forest Lake to be exact but its on the south side of Brisbane. We love it here and found the Forest Lake and Spring Field Lake area very nice.

To give you an idea I work on the Nothern Side of Brisbane and travel by bus and train so no problem with getting to work and back.

My wife and I where speaking about this the other night and its hard to provide good suburbs as its very specific to the person rating them, but as a guide line if the houses in the area look nice and are not exceptionally cheap then you should be OK. Plus you will probably be renting the first year or so and that will give you ample time to check it out for yourself.

Hope that helped

Cheers

Rudi

[row]

We live in a suburb called Windsor (about 7 mins north of the city). We find it very convenient, but the houses are very old and plots of land very small - price to pay for living close to the city.

I have heard that Wilston State school is one of the best state schools around (it is very close to where we live). Are your kids in primary school or high school?

[Smartie]

We live in a suburb called Windsor (about 7 mins north of the city). We find it very convenient, but the houses are very old and plots of land very small - price to pay for living close to the city.

I have heard that Wilston State school is one of the best state schools around (it is very close to where we live). Are your kids in primary school or high school?

Thanks to you all of your help.

My daughters are 2 and 13 - Difficult ages to dual schooling !

[martyn]

Hi Smartie

We live in Bracken Ridge - it has good bits and bad but we really like it. It's about 30 mins on the train from the CBD. We have looked around and there are a few good schools (for example Albany Creek is meant to be good). You don't have to live in an area to use the schools, we're looking at all schools within 20 minutes drive (although my daughter is a long way from high school age!). There are a few other suburbs that we really liked, off the top of my head Carseldine, Ferny Grove and Sandgate all have really nice parts. One thing worth doing is searching through posts on britishexpats, lots of discussions on schools there (and there are lots more brits in Brisbane than Saffies).

Martyn

[row]

hi Smartie

I am not sure about high schools. But for your 2 year old --- see if your husband can get her name down at some pre-schools. I have had a hard time getting my son in for next year, and I believe people put the kids names down really early. I have heard that the C&K kindergartens are good. There are loads around. My son turns 4 in Feb and will only be able to go 3 days a week - if I can even find a place in that programme, otherwise it is only two days! The year after he will start prep and go five days a week.

Hope this helps!

[MannyT]

Hi Smartie

I would like to suggest is that your post should probably read "some people say......" instead of "most people say....

I think that some of the suburbs north of Brisbane are very attractive especially the newer ones like Albany Creek, Bridgeman Downs etc but I would suggest that you wait until you arrive in Oz and have had the opportunity to explore Brisbane and the surrounding suburbs before you make any "final" decisions.

We lived in the south western suburb of West Lakes(beautiful and modern) when we arrived in Brisbane/OZ.West Lakes and the surrounding suburbs of Sinnamon Park, MT Ommaney, Middle Park (slightly older- more established), Kemore etc (all about 18kms from the CBD just off the Centenary Highway) are certainly worth a visit and consideration.These south western suburbs are not as far out as Forest Lakes and Springfield lakes which are also worth a look at.

There are quite a number of primary and high schools in the area.Our friends children attended Kenmore High School and loved it. My son attended Indooroopilly High (no uniforms and seems to cater more for the foreign students) and is still alive and well and now living in OZ.

Like any where else in the world there are obviously "less fashionable"suburbs and in Brisbane they are some of the "older" suburbs that you will find located on the south,north,east and west of the CBD.

Where you intially settle will probably be where you will end up staying in the medium to long term so the decision is quite an important one.

[Smartie]

Dear Manny,

Thanks. It is a case of staying in areas that are "safe" and have

good schools etc. Old or new does not really matter as long as your quality of life improves. Here in SA everything is always about safety etc that it becomes natural to always put safety first. My hubbie is going to check our Brisbane and Perth and as you say I am sure he will get a feel for what will work for us.

[Garfield]

Smartie

Dis so snaaks, ons het weer gehoor Suid is beter as Noord. Noord is meer goedkoper want hoe meer Noord jy gaan hoe warmder word dit.

Ek weet self nie en sal jou laat weet nadat ons die LSD gedoen het Des.

Ons is mal oor Tamborine Mountain. Weet nie eers of die Noord of Suid is nie.

Groete

Garfield

[Guest colton]

Garfield,

Tamborine mountain is a beautiful place but it is on the Gold Coast. We stay just in front of the mountain and have the mountain as a backdrop from our balconies. My hubbies one cousin stays on Tamborine but the road is terrible, especially at night and if there is mist, and too far to travel if you work in Brisbane. We are planning on retiring there one day, hopefully.

[chatterbug]

Hi Smartie,

We live in North Brisbane and we really love it. I don't really want to get into the north south debate since it so subjective and dependent on your own needs.

Most areas are great and other than in SA the closer you live to the city the more expensive it gets, generally. So living in the city or with in 2/3km radius is seen as very posh and can be very expensive. If you can live within 10kms of the city and can afford it, and the house if to your liking go for it. There are good schools all over, just do your homework.

I understand you position - you want to focus on some areas for the LSD and not waste time. Without knowing your situation, and exactly what you are looking for I'll try to give you some "clusters" of suburbs which are affordable, relatively new and not so close to the city. We live 28kms from the city and I find this to be an acceptable commute so in my opinion look in the 20-35km raduis from the city and you'd get good value.

My choices (only based on what I have looked at and based on my preferences and my limited time - BTW I've been here 3,5 years and still happen into very nice suburbs that I completely missed or never really knew about - but hey you have to start somewhere!)

1. My 1st choice - OK i'm biased - it's because we live here! North Lakes/Halpine Lakes in the Mango Hill area. Directly North of the city 28kms right next to the Bruce highway - definitely a must! Good schools (public and private) - very close to the West field shopping centre in North Lakes, 10kms from nearest beach at Redcliffe and 66kms from the Sunshine coast beaches. A growing and happening master built community and a booming satelite city of the north. Type North Lakes into Google and see/read for yourself. Also check out the following suburbs which is adjacent to Mango Hill/North Lakes: Murrumba Downs, Griffin, Rothwell.

2. South East of the city in the Bayside/Redlands areas. We lived in this area after we arrived in Brissy for 2,5 years (Cleveland and Ormiston specifically). This is quite a big area but I'll give you some suburbs to start your search with. See advice in posts above to do your own research on these suburbs. Bayside Suburbs - Manly and Wynnum (a bit older and closer to the water) and Manly West, Wynnum West, Wakerley ( newer areas) then the Redlands area (A bit further from the city than the Bayside) Birkdale, Wellington Point, Ormiston, Cleveland, Thornlands. Many SA'ers live here.

3. As mentioned earlier - Forest lakes and Springfield Lakes areas - In my opinion very much like the North Lakes of the South. Also a new master build community with modern facilities, shops and schools. Quite affordable and new! Stay away from Inala, Wacol and Darra, just to the North, I'd say (don't mean to offend but these do not have a good name - and this is from what Aussies tell me)

4. North to North West of Brisbane arounf 22 - 28 kms:Warner ( Warner Lakes development is huge!), Cashmere, Joyner, Petrie, Bray Park, Lawnton. Has many new developments and some acreages in between.

5. West of the city - (I think a bit closer to the city and probably the more affluent area of the lot but worth a look, even just to drool) has very good schools eg Kenmore State High and pvt schools and is one of the SAffer enclaves in my opinion. Although closer to the city, in my opinion has more traffic challenges. Suburbs ( north of the brisbane river) - Kenmore, Brookfield, Chapel Hill, Fig tree pocket and Pullenvale further out (more small farms and acreages, but very desirable i'd say - If thats your thing!) and just south of the river Jindalee, Sinnamon Park ans West Lake (Not so familiar with the last suburbs but I believe still worthwhile to look at)

Hope it helps with your search and gives you a bit more structure to your search.

Cheers

Chatterbug

Edited August 14, 2007 by chatterbug

[Smartie]

Dear Chatterbug,

Many thanks, this is just the sort of thing that I was looking for. Brisbane has so many surburbs and at least now my hubby has something to work on when he goes over next month. Shame the poor man does not know where to start !!! The things we do for our children!!!

Thanks again much appreciated

xxx

[Pippa]

Dear Chatterbug,

I would also like to thank you ! Your post is excellent and very helpful ! I printed your post last night and compared to what is said in the Where to live Brisbane guide. Very valuable information – thank you !

Bye, Pippa! X

[Smartie]

Many thanks for this !!