Vicky88

For all who are familiar with Bribie Island could you please advise if the Island is good for cyling. My husband is a devoted cyclist so have safe cycle paths is a must for us.

Also for those who do know the area would you live there?? If so why, if not why not.

Thanks.

Florida_03

Bribie Island is flat so no hill-work. There are cycle paths on the waterfront on the passage or as known locally "the calm side". There is also a cycle path from "the calm side" (Bongaree) to "the surf side" (Woorim: no surf but as Bribie is shielded by Moreton Isalnd).

Lived there for three years, If I wasn't going to the USA, or was staying and did not have to work in Brisbane, I would live there again. Commuting from Bribie to Brisbane is only for the diehards.

There are three distinct groups on Bribie. The retirees living a basic life out of necessity or desire, the snobs at Pacific Harbour and the unemployed who like the lifestyle and the fact that there are bugger all jobs on the island.

Vicky88

Ok thanks for that info. Not sure where we would fit in as we are not retirees, not dole bludgers nor are we the type to hang out with the snobs at the yacht club.

Without being too nosey what does one do with themselves on Bribie? Looking at various website etc. looks like lots of lovely beaches to walk on. Also have read mention of outdoor cafes etc. How would you rate the restaurants - we are more into good food in a casual atmosphere ala shorts and runners, not interested in having to get done up to the 9's to eat.

Whereabouts on the island would you suggest living. My initial reaction looking at a map was Woorim but would be interested in your views.

Florida_03

Bribie has a couple of restaurants but is more an evening at the Bowls Club, RSL or pub kind of place. It is certainly not like the Sunshine or Gold Coasts. It is a relaxing unpretentious sort of place that for many years was seen as not a particularly desirable place. The Pacific Harbour enclave is world apart from the rest of Bribie Island and is exclusive in price and attitude.

I personally like getting out in a boat and doing some fishing in the passage and would look for a modest house around Bongaree close to schools. It takes only minutes to get from the calm side to Woorim. There is a push to make the calm side foreshore more upmarket and you would need to see what the Caboolture Council has in mind. I think this will remove the casual character and will make it more like the Coasts.

Vicky88

We don't have kids so only need to worry about our own needs. Hmm not sure if we are ready to take up lawn bowls just yet. BTW how do you think it compares to Noosa? I know real estate prices on more favourable on Bribie.

dotty

I'm doing my little saturday real estate hunting and Bribie Island Pacific harbour blocks just released seem to be in the $700,000 plus bracket!! Seems incredible, just to be on a bit of canal. :scared:

Florida_03

Noosa and Bribie are so different you would need to see for yourself. Good luck.

Kiwipaul

Nice for a day out every now and then for me, but couldn't live their as too far from Brisbane (or everything else). Their are a hell of a lot of houses you could buy for far less than $700,000 on the island.
Agree with Florida_03 commute to Brisbane got to be 1 hour min in rush hour, maybe 2. Estate agents advertise it as being within commuting distance of northern suburbs of Brisbane, so even they daren't say it's within commuting distance of CBD.

Ceri

Depends where you will be working for the travelling time from Bribie. Early morning hour traffic takes me about 20 to 25 minutes to get to The Gateway Bridge in the mornings (Brisbane bridge) from Redcliffe peninsula (longer coming back). To get to Bribie from Redcliffe takes me around about 20 minutes (non rush hour.. I've never done it in peak time) .... so probably you're looking at 45 minutes.. maybe a bit longer to reach the gateway bridge during peak driving times.

I personally think that they are ruining a lot of the Island with the new developments. The canal homes are selling for big bucks. They've blocked off a lot of the water access for the public. i.e the houses gardens run right down to the concrete retaining walls where once people could walk and fish etc.. They've made little concrete paths in places .. a bit like some sort of show gardens... stiff and formal. "The trendies are moving in" .


Bribie is also a bit of a holiday island.. they have a few camp sites, and it tends to get a wee bit busy during holiday season.

For anyone who does want a canal home , absolutely water front home, forget Bribie, the land is selling for high 700 hundreds thou, almost 800 thou, just for a plot of land and that's a "from" (starting) price, which means that those plots are probably the other side of the street from the water.

For anyone who wants a canal home ... try Scarbourgh. I think that they are some of the cheapest canal homes in Brisbane. well, I haven't seen anywhere else in the Brisbane region where you can get a canal home for the sorts of prices which they sell for.. but they are fast rising too. Even the area in the Redcliffe region homes on the water/overlooking the water have reached an all time high... there have been a couple which have sold for a million ).
You will be able to pick up a home in Scarbourgh (house and land) for around the same price as the canal land in Bribie. I haven't checked the prices recently/in the past few weeks, but the homes on the canal (absolute canal front) at Scarbourgh have been selling (starting at) for around $895 k in the past year (which is next to Redcliffe).

For Bribie... it depends what work you do... Bribie has banks (ok if your a bank worker), a small town with the usual stuff... supermarkets etc. Four wheel drive beach and tracks. If you like surfing forget Bribie... it's too protected/calm for any decent surf. It's great for fishing and boating, 4 wheel driving (easy beach driving) ,walking , swimming etc etc.


I was looking to buy at Bribie a few years back, when I looked ,you could buy a brick home (non sea front street... but "walkable" to the sea ) starting from $150 thou. ... really cheap. The only thing which stopped us was the travelling time to our work place, it would have put an extra 20, maybe 25 minutes on our journey each way. which day in day out we decided it wasn't worth it... travelling times is an important factor to us. Had our work place been further up the coast... yes we would have bought there.

so.... in answer to your original questions about Bribie:

Yes.. The island is good for cycling
would I live there? no ... too far to travel to work and back for me personally. Yes if my work was closer to Bribie.

Cheers

Ceri

P.S
Pic of the (4 wheel driving allowed beach) near welsby lagoon (Bribie island)... I've a few pics of Bribie, but they're on my "home" computer. This is the only one I've got here with me. Anyway... here's your typical Bribie beach.

Vicky88

Just want to say thanks for the input from everyone. It has been very useful to get such balanced and logical input from all who replied.

Commute to Brisbane won't be an issue as my husband will be commuting to Europe for work, so as long as the airport is reasonably accessible that is what counts.

One thing that always puzzles me is why people like living on canals? I think if you want water the ocean is the way to go becuase at least ocean water has a personality rather than just laying there like a stagnant pond.

Kiwipaul

Canals here are NOTHING like canals in the UK, I lived near one Grand Union in Leics.
The people who buy these houses want somewhere to park their boat, which quite often costs more then the house and land package combined.

So instead of going for an afternoon drive they nip down the end of their garden too their own private pontoon, cast off and motor out to bay for a bit of relaxation and posing.

dotty

Puzzle solved, living on the ocean would cost millions! The canals are popular for those who cant afford the beach (most I guess). 2 years or so ago those canal blocks were under $200,000, lots of popularity with the retired age group, put money in a house so they can still claim a pension. Now they have really gone up, looking at 600,000 upwards in QLD.

I could not stand to live on one tho. Its mainly old people retired bored out of their brains, moaning about the lawn, noise whatever, protecting their precious house that cost them every penny they had. Scary.

Ceri

canals here are sea water. Take bribie, an island yes, surrounded by sea water - they carve out inlets into the land, dredge out the "streams" ... hence making it into a wide "canal" boat passage, houses are placed on these waterways. Most have pontoons like has been mentioned with a boat at the end of their garden. But anyway it's sea water here and no "Locks" and such like the canal system in Britain.

Check out Bribie if travelling does not come into it for you... personally I think it is a nice place. The island is self contained, banks , shops etc.. so you need not travel off the island for things like that. I don't know personally what it is like to live there (living and visiting/day tripping are two different things... even though I regularly go there it's not the same thing as living there), but I'd personally live there if travelling times didn't come into it.


cheers