Best places to live in Brisbane
 

Hi, We are moving to Brisbane from regional QLD and we're trying to decide the best area to live. My husbands job will be based in the toowong area or fortitude (TBC) so we're thinking perhaps the north side may be best to live? we dont want to be too far into the cbd as I would like to be able to take bub and dog for walks around parklands etc! We'd also prefer newer estates than perhaps an old property.

Any recommendations on nice suburbs for families or even popular expat commmunities? Thanks:)

Re: Best places to live in Brisbane
 

Where I live then. Western suburbs like Jindalee, Kenmore, Sinnamon park, Mt. Ommaney etc...

Toowong is close with good links especially when the new tunnel opens in a year.

North is good too, but could be a commuting issue to Toowong during rush hour.

Re: Best places to live in Brisbane
 

We lived in Toowong for 18 months and then moved a bit further out as Toowong was a bit too busy and houses too close together for us. We moved further west to Pullenvale and love it out here but also love each of the suburbs Alfresco recommended. I wouldn't want to live North and commute into Toowong.

Re: Best places to live in Brisbane
 

For far away cheaper new build areas you could also check out Springfield which now has a train direct to toowong and fortitude valley or north at Narangba which also has train access to both. Essentially look at the Springfield or Ipswich/Caboolture train lines and follow them out to the point new build suburbs start. Driving is a different question so this only relates to train access.

http://mobile.jp.translink.com.au/tr...ringfield-line

http://mobile.jp.translink.com.au/tr...-rosewood-line

Re: Best places to live in Brisbane
 

Yep, a bit further out is my preference. Pullenvale is nice too.

Re: Best places to live in Brisbane
 

Probably no surprise that it would be Toowong or closer for me....was there today and it is so well connected and urban and has built character and history and is also quiet, green, hilly and gorgeous in parts with the downside that it is costly to get a generous family home. No good for the OP of course as after new builds.


Apologies to the OP if off topic but I took a random shot of this Toowong beauty I passed this afternoon:

http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3800/1...a045db36_b.jpg
Untitled by fish.2, on Flickr

http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2888/1...74187bba_b.jpg
Untitled by fish.2, on Flickr

Has some lovely pockets...

Re: Best places to live in Brisbane
 

Toowong is definitely lovely but you need serious amounts of money to get anything with a decent garden. We had a very healthy budget and we still would have had a postage stamp garden or a seriously sloping one. Our neighbours paid $2.1m for their place in Toowong and the house is 1/3 of the size of what I would have expected for that money.

If that's the house I think it is (Warrawee House on Miskin) it's worth over $5m.

Re: Best places to live in Brisbane
 

duplicate...

Re: Best places to live in Brisbane
 

Yes, everyone has different ideas on what is enough garden (I personally prefer a small garden and live near parks as big gardens have stolen enough of my life), but at least $800 would be needed to get a 4 bed family house with a garden in Toowong I would think (Edit: example). Agree, you could spend many millions depending how fancy or large you wished to go.

Understand you were using it's price to explain how expensive the area can be though for me showing that Miskin St house was more about showing the beauty you can enjoy in your day to day life in Toowong rather than as a house to buy. It is so nice to walk around these types of suburbs and enjoy all the beauty of the old gardens, character homes, schools, churches etc and think about all the lives of the people who have passed through them. I lose most of that feeling when moving to the newer suburbs but I might just be weird. :)

Many of the newer suburbs are lovely in their own way as well, especially the slightly older, newer suburbs you guys have mentioned...well worth the OP checking them out.

Re: Best places to live in Brisbane
 

I do love Toowong and if I could have afforded what I wanted, then I would have stayed. That house you showed is one of my favourites and I would move onto Miskin St in a heartbeat to have that house. But you are right that everyone wants different things in their home.

Re: Best places to live in Brisbane
 

:goodpost:

if i had the money id probably go pulenvale brookfield....... just lovely

Re: Best places to live in Brisbane
 

I used to work in Toowong (office has now moved to Milton) and commuted in from Wavell Heights. It's an easy car commute at the times I prefer (get there by 7-7:30am, leave at 4pm) but can get fairly slow at more traditional peak hours. Rail commute isn't bad.

Road commute from the west can be horrendous: traffic reports are often referring to long tailbacks from the Toowong roundabout.

Re: Best places to live in Brisbane
 

My husband worked in Toowong when we first arrived from the UK. We lived in chapel hill on the indooroopilly side and he found it a dream commuting to work from there. Even if you were working at the valley you could get a train from indooroopilly to avoid the parking issues when you get to work from Chapel Hill. In fact we only had one car for a while as I could easily drop my husband on a morning.

In Chapel Hill I managed to get a swimming pool in the rental accommodation for a reasonable amount of money and the school there is one of the best state primaries around if you have kids. One of my two children is still there.

As the others say coming in from the North with the traffic could be a challenge. Although I still do remember thinking when I arrived that the traffic here is not like it was back in the UK even at peak times.

Hope this helps

Re: Best places to live in Brisbane
 

Thank you everyone for your replies. We had a couple of days down there looking at areas and getting a rental sorted until we're familiar with the city. It was a bit of a nightmare but we're all sorted! We chose a house at the gap, second in line was one at sinnamon park but we seen some lovely areas! Hopefully it won't be too difficult to get to work at toowong!

Re: Best places to live in Brisbane
 

Ferny hills, Samford. Nice easy drive into Toowong. more affordable, and probs closer to what you are used to.

Re: Best places to live in Brisbane
 

Awesome. The Gap is lovely. :thumbup:

Re: Best places to live in Brisbane
 

Been looking around all month and we've eventually decided to rent in Chapel Hill. Lovely area with decent schools not too far away and only a short trip to the city....without feeling too close to it! If we like the area, we may look to buy in the general area in twelve months time.:)

Re: Best places to live in Brisbane
 

And once the tunnel is complete next year, travelling into the city "should" be a lot quicker and less painful. :fingerscrossed:

:)

Re: Best places to live in Brisbane
 

Not weird at all. In my road there are houses over 100 years old or as near as dammit and others exuding character with laid out gardens and with near-Mansion porportions. You go in to some and the interiors are vivid reflections of a life well led....CUT THAT'S ENOUGH (Ed.)

Re: Best places to live in Brisbane
 

I posted this elsewhere but it might be handy for the OP if they still trying to decide.
http://crimemap.info/

Re: Best places to live in Brisbane
 

Well I can tell you where not to live and that would be most of Logan. Only stay on the right side of the motorway if you need too!! I'm speaking of personal experience:-)

Re: Best places to live in Brisbane
 

LOL so you have single handedly obliterated every suburb west of the Highway.

Rite !

Re: Best places to live in Brisbane
 

Well yes!! Only when it comes to Logan though and I did say "most", so woodridge, Logan central, Kingston for example! There are some pretty places further west once you get out the burbs though

Re: Best places to live in Brisbane
 

:fingerscrossed:

Re: Best places to live in Brisbane
 

And yes your safe out where you are (Wellington point), too far for the Logan bogans

Re: Best places to live in Brisbane
 

Timbersback, I looked at Wellington Point. Nice area but just a touch too far out for us. How do you find it?

Re: Best places to live in Brisbane
 

Couldnt live anywhere else other than Tenerife, New Farm, Newstead and possibly Paddington.

Find the outer suburbs utterly depressing.

Re: Best places to live in Brisbane
 

Would you consider Chapel Hill or Kenmore as an 'outer suburb'?

Re: Best places to live in Brisbane
 

Never made it there so cant comment.

All I know is that anytime I went North up the M1, or west or anywhere that took me into 'suburbia' I felt like my soul had died inside. Was there for best part of 6 years and even some of the better burbs like Chelmer, Indroopilly just left me a bit :blink:

Re: Best places to live in Brisbane
 

I use a GPS mainly. But nowadays I turn left at Thorneside and follow my nose.

Too far out for what?

Re: Best places to live in Brisbane
 

I think you need to check some geography, Logan Village is gorgeous. Logan Council is massive so its quite amiss to dump everything Loganified into the too risky basket.

Incidentally I have lived north south east and west in Brissy, and initially bought in North Maclean.

Re: Best places to live in Brisbane
 

The daughter's daily trek to Uni. That's it really!

Re: Best places to live in Brisbane
 

My son is at St Lucia, takes him just under an hour by train. He watches a film on his Ipad lol

Re: Best places to live in Brisbane
 

We're looking at renting for a year before purchasing a place but we do like the southwestern suburbs of the city. Then again, we liked Manly and WP too.:confused:

Re: Best places to live in Brisbane
 

I am real estate agent in Wynnum / Manly feel free to touch base when you buy, my wife is a REA in Birkdale / Wellypoint so we can help you out lol... if you move over this way :)

Re: Best places to live in Brisbane
 

Thanks very much for the offer. I'll keep it in mind for when we start getting serious about buying.

Re: Best places to live in Brisbane
 

I personally feel Chapel Hill is far more connected to Brisbane and the attractions of the inner city than the redlands is. Depends on what you are looking for really and everyone wants different things...