seanpears99

Hi all

GF has been offered a job in Robina and I will probably end up working in Brisbane CBD.

I have looked at so many ill-equipped maps I am going blind.

We need to find somewhere which is equidistant for commuting to both Robina and Brisbane and somewhere preferably toward the coast.

We have looked at Hope Island, Coomera and Upper, Paradise Point, Jacobs Well and some look nice although I have no idea how long the commute it to either Robina or Brisbane.

Does anyone have any experience of living and commuting from any of these places. We are initially looking to rent a house between about 500 and 650 dollars per week and dont really want to live in a gated community.

Any advice would be appreciated.

Regards

Sean

sassie

Hi, we live at Jacobs Ridge, not far from Jacobs Well, and are roughly about 1/2 way betwee Robina and Brisbane CBD. By train, about 45min to an hour into Brisbane CBD and probably about 45 minutes down to Robina. Alternatively, its about a 30-40 minute drive to Robina (longer during rush hour) and about 40 minutes to Brisbane (a lot longer during rush hour)

sa2uk2oz

Hi
we live in Robina, i am on the road and travel btw Northern NSW and Brisbane's northern suburbs. Husband works in Southport.
Perhaps its better to live closer to one then at least one of you gets to get home early? You should get a reasonable rental for $550 a week around Robina..
You could consider areas around Helensvale, Pac Pines which are about 20 mins closer to Brisbane. The gold coast is a lovely place to live.. Good luck

it's a bonus to have jobs to come to!!

spartacus

Try www.whereis.com works out journey times / distances and also shows train stations. Use in conjunction with www.qr.com.au to work out train times and length of journey. There'll be something similar for buses on th eBrisbane City Council website I'd think.

Pollyana

http://www.transinfo.qld.gov.au/ will give you timetables and bus/train travel times.

Annie.R

This is such a hard one. By the way maps.google.com.au I find to be more accurate on travel times than whereis.com.au which is odd!

The good thing about Robina is that it is on the train line, so if using the train is an option this is great.

I'd want to be close to the Motorway if you want to drive to Brisbane every day, or to Robina for that matter, which places you generally away from the water.

I think the advice to be closer to one of the works makes sense, and from the train point of view, you have more chance of a seat in the mornings, if you get on in Robina as it is the start of the service.

For what its worth, when we first arrived we opted for near the motorway, and ended up not enjoying where we lived. We have now moved down to the broadwater and LOVE our lifestyle more. I am lucky I work from home, but my husband does the commute thing. So perhaps think about what you are coming here for and that might help more with the decision.
Good luck,

seanpears99

Thanks for all of the replies people.

I guess life is full of sacrifices and I did hear that the Robina to Brisbane CBD train is quite a long trip so dont really want to go to a new adventure with a longer commute than the hour one I have already.

I had always wanted to live in robina until I was told that the commute to CBD was quite long (hence since then my gf has been offered a position there)

It is difficult without being there and I intend to spend the first couple of weeks finding the ideal place with the ideal commute although know certain sacrifices will have to be made.

Whenever you look at traffic and commute times they are never as clear as they are in reality so a few trips a different times of the day will help I think.

Does anyone have any opinions on the areas in which we are looking to stay?

Many thanks all

Sean and Rach

Annie.R

Hope Island is a nice area and lots of new places and some waterfront properties. There are villas, gated communities and some apartments too. If you liked the idea of Robina, then I think Hope Island would suit you also. Paradise Point is also a great area but has more established housing and will add to both your commutes as right on the broadwater. For modern housing you can look at Ephraim Island which is just off Paradise Point.

Coomera has some good areas and some very average areas. Personally, I like some areas of Coomera Waters, but again it is about 10mins just to get to the motorway. Mostly modern houses and some with waterfront.

It really won't matter too much where you base yourself when you first arrive as long as you hire a car and drive around.

The train commute is around 1 hour from Helensvale Station, so a bit longer from Robina (I think maybe 10 mins), but if you work right in the CBD the train is very convenient and cheaper than just the parking costs! It can be a drag to do this.

The drive isn't too bad as the road is good, it will just depend where you work in Brissie.

Hope this helps!

seanpears99

Annie you are a star, just checked the web site at the bottom of your sig, some great advice.

I thin kfor now we will look at the Paradise Point end, but as you found following your move, somewhere will find us hopefully when we are there (if that makes sense)

Sean

Annie.R

Aw, you made me blush!

Just trying to help out! And I am passionate about the Gold Coast!

It is really hard to get any idea until you are here - but the worst thing you can do is come here for lifestyle and then end up in a worse situation due to commuting or choosing the wrong place to live.

One of the good things about here is that it is pretty easy to rent while you get settled.

I won't say this is a great website, but it is one I check out for rentals, it gives you some of the managed properties that you won't find in the real estate rentals rolls is http://www.seqrents.com.au (seq stand for South East Queensland so it covers Gold Coast and Brisbane). Otherwise when you drive around you will see A Frame boards outside some gated properties that indicate if they have rentals or even places to buy. It is a useful website if you are interested in those kinds of places to rent.

Right, off for a coffee with a friend by the broadwater! Hard life!