Hi - My name's Jo, we are currently waiting for our visa application to go through,
there has been a Hugh delay :frown:
We are currently looking at suburbs and want to live within easy reach of the City Centre, with good transport links, good schools, good nursery facilities, park and leisure centres. We are struggling as everywhere sounds just great. Would welcome any advice you can give me.
We will also need to find jobs as quickly as possible so again I would be most grateful of any advice given. We have 2 children an 8 year old and a 1 year old which will need to be settled into school and day care as quickly as possible.
We are really excited and scared at the same time but are looking forward to a new challenge, change of life and meeting and making new friends.:biggrin:
Look forward to hearing from you all and getting some good advice - Jo

 

Hi Jo

Welcome to Brits in Brisbane. What do you consider as easy reach for the City? For some people that means ten minutes, but for others, they are happy to be an hour away.

It is so hard choosing an area to live in. I can only tell you about my area, because I know and love it, but maybe some other people will have some other advice for you.

We live in the Brisbane Bayside area, which is south east of the city. It runs from Wynnum in the North, through Manly, Lota, Thornside, Birkdale, Wellington Point, Ormiston, Cleveland, Thornlands, Victoria Point and Redland Bay.

We have a good mix of property here and a complete range of prices too!! Anything from a small 3 bedroomed 1 bathroom place for about 350k up to the water front properties at Raby Bay which sell for several million.....and plenty in between! There are very modern housing estates, some of which are are still being built, so you can get a house and land package, or much older Queenslander style properties - the original queenslanders are so quaint and beautiful.

As well as suburban property, there are rural areas with acreage properties.....but still close to all the local amenities.

As the name suggests, the suburbs are all located next to the water. There are lots of parks and cycleways. At lots of the parks there are free BBQ facilities, which are great for a family day out.

The suburbs down as far as Cleveland are all on the train line into the city. We live at the very southern end of Thornlands and it's about an 8 minute drive to the station. However, property in Thornlands, Vicky Point and Redland bay is very slightly cheaper as a result.

School are generally good, with state, semi private (church schools generally) and private schools.

I hope that helps a bit. If you want some specific info about housing, let me know. Two good sites to look at to get an idea of what you can get for your money are domain.com.au and realestate.com.au.

Love

Rudi
x

 

Housing Info

Dear Rudi

Many thanks for your reply, really interested to read about the area your living in, I will certainly check your area out and the Webb Sites given. Are you able to offer any advice re finding work? I'm currently working as an administrator at the local authority but am a qualified beautician. My husband will be aiming to work as a painter and decorator. We are finding it difficult to find out how much we could earn due to the fact that we are still waiting for our application to go through. Are you able to recommend any job agencies at all or advice?
Thanks so much for your help.
Joanne

 

Hi Jo
Lots of familys i know who require easy access to the city settle in the western suburbs. Places such as Sinnamon Park, Jindalee,Westlakes, Springfield lakes etc,, all give great access to the centenary highway which takes you straight into the city in under 25 mins.

Its also good for work as Ipswich city is a stones throw in the opposite direction giving you more job oppurtunities than relying on just Brisbane city. The growth corridor leading down from the Ipswich region is one of few places that wasnt affected that much by the reccesion and lots of familys i know of are securing work in and around that area.

Hope this helps a little
Cal x

 

I really wish I was able to help with work stuff, but my hubby is in IT, so I don't have any contact in the areas you have mentioned. Have a look at Seek.com.au - it's a big job site. I think you would be pretty lucky to secure work before you leave the UK, but some people do, so it's worth a try.

Love

Rudi
x

 

Thanks very much Cal for the information you gave me, I'm going to have a good look into theses area's as you suggested as there may be more opportunities to secure work. We are going for our medicals next month and are praying we get some news but middle of the year, as we are hoping to be over by the end of the year at the very latest.
Jo