becandal

Hi, My wife, 2 daughters aged 3 and 7 and myself are in the process of moving out to brisbane. We live in a Chelmsford Essex ( uk) at the moment and haven`t had any experience with break ins or burglary.

I have been reading a few posts on here and to be honest am getting slightly worried reading about all the break ins!

Are they really that common, The whole reason for moving to brisbane is to create the perfect enviroment for my family.

I understand that there is crime all over the world, but just by reading a few posts on here it seems that it is a real problem.

I would like your honest opinions please, I really do hope its not that bad!!

Thanks, Dal

Brav

Try NeverNever Land?

AndyR1976

I'm not sure that break-in are really that common (although they do happen, obviously).

You have to remember that this forum has several hundred members - if you get several hundred peoiple together in a room and say 'how many have experiences break ins?' i'm sure that at least a few will put their hands up....

Of course, if its something you are worried about you can always take precautions (alarm, deadbolts, lockable windows, security screens etc.)

In my area I don't have an alarm, no window locks, only a push button front door lock and the back door lock works only sometimes...... my neighbours don't even lock their door .....although they have nothing worth stealing.....

break-in's happen - but my experience is that its not overly common (at least anywhere I have lived)

My parents still park their car in the garage with the keys in the ignition........ (I've been telling them for years it will go missing one day...)

From my experience house break-ins aren't that common (although it might be different in Sydney or Brisbane)....the problems in my area are usually tradesmen havin their toold pinched from the back of ute's (but even then, many of the tradies use utes with no covers and thousands of dollars worth of electrical tools sitting in the open air........

The other problem we have is washing going missing. We live near the beach and a lot of tourists that 'forget' to bring a towel think the towels on our line are a good free source .... at least some of them put them back when they are finished...

Australia_bound?

Very much doubt anywhere is perfect and free of crime, even Peter Pan would have got an ASBO with some of his exploits

To OP Australia is far from perfect, lots of research is needed on where to live. Best option would be gated complex (wonder why they have them???). Aus as everywhere else has crime, personally (touch wood) have never been subject to a break in and I've lived in rough areas, but now in lovely North Yorkshire market town, if/when we get to Aus will aspire to live in place that is as nice (abet most likely better weather)
Think you need to lower your expectation as they appear to be a tad high

becandal

Thanks Andy, Thanks Aus bound.
Like i said in my post, i understand that there is crime all over the world.
Perhaps saying i want the perfect enviroment for my kids was a bit OTT.
But i read a post on here about the pros and cons of different suburbs and read several posts saying that someone was shot, someone was robbed twice in one week. I am just trying to establish whether it is as bad as it seems when reading certain replies. I assume the majority of crime happens nearer the main city as it does around London. I will just have to double up on security i suppose, and try to teach my German sheppard some guarding instincts of which he has absolutely none. Infact he nearly got beaten up by a Scottish terrier tonight!

Thanks again!!

AndyR1976

Yeah, I forgot to add - no where is perfect......

If you do ever find a town with NO crime - let us know and we'll move right on over....

Racht70

Hi there, cant help as I'm not in Oz.Just wanted to say ...Welcome to BE

PJMA

I wonder if there are crime hot spots near to where us Brits are, and if there has been any increase in the crime rate since people started moving over with stuff worth nicking. Then again, I hear most Ozzie folk don't go in for the "keeping up with the Jones's" as they generally don't give a stuff what you have (gud onya mate attitude), it can't be them doing all the thieving Maybe part of the "new British culture" everyone is moving away from has followed.

So if you are planning to live in a highly populated expat community, best beef up the old security, for those already living the dream, you may need to take the keys out of the car and start locking the back door as well as the front

jayr

I think it is wrong to assume (in Brisbane) that inner city suburbs are more crime ridden. Some of the best and most expensive suburbs are inner city - Paddingtom, Tenerife, New Farm to name a few.

Very very broadly speaking the only suburb that anyone in Brisbane would truly consider staying away from is Inala, this by most Brisbanites, would be viewed as the highest crime suburb.

I live in a 'posh' suburb and of course break ins do occur - whats the point of burgling houses in low socio-economic areas. That said, I've left doors unlocked or even open loads of times, would never have done that in the UK.

jayr

Hmmm, where I live there seems to be quite a bit of competition about plasma TVs, new decks, latest BBQs, new cars. Most of it funded off increasing house prices as people take equity. Asset rich, cash poor.

AndyR1976

From my experience, as an aussie born and bred - when I was a kid so much stuff was 'shared'.....(i'm 31 so a 'kid' was 2 decades ago). But you would often find our mower in the neighbours shed, and their boat was in our yard cause they had nowhere to put it (despite the fact that we had our own TWO boats which were kept on moorings...... my mum and dad, plus nighbours either side actually still share the same TV antenna (which is on my mum and dads house) the houses are 10 feet apart so we had to run wires under the ground etc...)

Mum and dad still have a gate between them and the neighbours and there are numerous items in 'joint' ownership - and they have keys to all the neighbours houses (30 years ago they never even locked the doors)...

This sorta thing still happens (at least for me) up until 4 years ago I had neighbours (2 young blonde girls) and we sorta shared lots of furniture etc.....I would often come home from work to find them watching my TV, and they would often come home to find me sitting on their outdoor setting (on my balcony) and having a BBQ with a friends BBQ I'd 'borrowed' a few weeks earlier.......


Once I come home to find that my mate wanted to use 'his' BBQ for a party.......but instead of taking the BBQ back to his place he had the BBQ at mine...............

We have a similar relationship with our current neighbour (who seems to live at our house despite having her own!!)

AndyR1976

Phhht....plasma TV

Who needs one when you can go next door and watch the neighbours!!

jayr

I'm sure watching the two blonde girls next door beats anything on TV