Nix and Mike

Our family has decided that Perth is the place to move to. And I have done alot of interenet research and kind of decided that the Duncraig area is a good place for us. Primarily becuase it is close to town (not alot of travel to work), has good schools, and we could probably just afford a sort of decent home....
Duncraig and surroundings....

HOWEVER, life is never static and we are now seriouslyt considering Brisbane. But I know NOTHING about Brisbane as I have spent the last year familiarising myself with Perth !
And I am one of those people that believes "knowledge is power", and in order for me to make this decision, I need to familiarise myself with Brisbane over the course of the next few weeks...and that means starting to look at areas and schools and house prices etc.

I was hoping that someone on this board who knows both locations could give me a list of suburbs to start looking at......

Anyone?

THANKS!
Nix

GinaUK

Is this a wind-up??? If you like Duncraig in Perth move to Duncraig in Perth. Why would you want to move to the "Brisbane equivalent"?

Gina

Mikeyc

Maybe have a look at Mount Gravatt.

Good luck

Mikey

asprilla

Hi..sorry I can't help, as I know nothing about Duncraig.

But do you mind if I ask, why did you decide to change from Duncraig to Brisbane?

cheers

Nix and Mike

It's complicated - as these moves always are. And I know that at the end of the day, attitude is actually what makes the difference. But at this point in time, we still have the choice, so I am trying to find out as much as I can about Brisbane so that I can make an educated decision. The isolation of Perth does not bother me, and it has a really good family life. But I need to think too about our future and we will be happy when our child has left home.
More people on this board seem to be moving to Perth, but maybe that is what I have been "tuned into" too.
So....ater one year of research on Perth, I am trying to play "catch up" with Brisbane and see if our little family (husband 56, me 40 and daughter 5) will fit in.

That's not much of an answer I know....

Nix

Kim67

Hi Nix and Mike

I'm currently living in the Perth suburb of Como. I grew up in WA but have lived in Brisbane for 10 years up until January this year. We lived in the Brisbane suburb of Coorparoo. I've got three small children. Although Perth is a great place, Brisbane has a better climate and more opportunities and things to do if you have a young family (in my opinion anyway). We're leaving Perth in a month to live in Dubai, but will probably return to Brisbane when we come back to Australia in a couple of years.

I can't really think of an equivalent place in Brisbane to Duncraig. I think anywhere within 6km of the city in both Perth and Brisbane would be good places to live and have good schools etc for your child.

Kim

Nix and Mike

Kim - thanks for your reply !!!! I know it is a sample of ONE, but I really do think that talking to people who have experienced both helps....

Thanks for taking the time to post....

Cheers
nix

mutleymj

Hi Nix

This probably wont help, but have you actually been to Duncraig? Or is all your research based on the web?

I havent been to either places so cant comment on either, but is it really the end of the world if you get there and decide to move?

we met a couple of Aussie's earlier this year and they really changed our view, I was swamped down with research and to say I was paniced about it all and if I made the wrong choice is an understatment. They had a good point in saying that so many people make it a HUGE life changing decision. Thats a huge pressure to place on all your web research when you could well get there and find the kids hate the schools, its nothing like you thought and that you dont like your chosen area at all.

Why not just see how you get on, treat it like a long working holiday, if you dont like it when you get there, either look at another area, or come home. If you get on well and settle in, stay. It doesnt have to be the end of the world, unless you make it that way.

Thats exactly what we have decided to do, were not selling our UK home (which helps in this climate) and are starting out on the Gold Coast Queensland (renting)... we dont know if that where we will end up stopping but will give it 6 months and if we dont like it, who cares, we will just move. We hope to find work once we are there and take holidays to other area's to check them out in the flesh so to speak. I dont know how young or old your children are, ours are only young, so not a big deal as far as education is concerned, but surely even with older children, its nothing more than a big adventure and the travel would teach them far more and broaden thier horizons to the geography of the world and introduce them to more people, its charecter building.

Go where the work is and settle where you decide you want to live. For us the change in attitude has taken the pressure away. As a whole family we are looking forward to the move again, which had become such a daunting process... now we cant wait for what might lie ahead

Hanna x

Nix and Mike

Hanna - you make a good point, and in fact I am not a risk averse person, and have always been open to new opprtunities. In fact, this is not the first inter-continental move I have made.....but the first one I made without a child, and I think that is what is making me so much more conservative. I so much want to be able to give her stability, and I do not want to move her between schools too much if I can help it. She is not the kind of child that makes friends easily, and she will already be changing continents, changing her language of education (English is her home language, but not the language she is schooled in), and changing her friends.
So I think I am trying to answer ALL the questions up front, which as you say, is immense pressure, and also impossible.
I have never been to either Perth or Brisbane, and we will be moving to one or the other without having seen them. Ideally, I would like to pick a suburb and rent there for 6 months before buying.....and hopfully have made the right choice and buy in the same suburb...and therefore not move my child.
But realistically, I know this is almost impossible. We have no idea what work we will be doing when we get there....and this too with inflence our area of choice.
So.....point taken .... thanks for pointing out the obvious - but it is often in a process like this that we get bogged down with the details and forget the obvious !
Thank goodness we have his board !!

Cheers
nix

mutleymj

Hi Nix

Im assuming, your not going to move straight into a 6 month rental and will start with a holiday unit for a few weeks while looking for a rental? This being the case, do you really need to decide on the exact suburb before you get there? Research away, as far as Perth is concerned, it sounds like you have narrowed your choice straight away, which is great, but do some basic research on brisbane and surrounding to narrow the field and then visit each when you arrive.

If you could afford a few weeks in brisbane and Perth before you settled, it would allow you to do your recky once your there and make your decision between the two or three or four choices you have narrowed it down to. I know its an expense, but if you want to make a pretty solid base to start off with, this could be invaluable if you could stretch to it. You could treat it as a holiday before settling. It would also give you an idea on the reality of the local work needs, allow you to visit the schools on your list with your little person and allow them to get involved in the choices your making.

I say all this in the ideal world of course and have no idea on your circumstances. Its just such a big decision to make and one that gets even harder with the weight of the world on your shoulders. I dont know your child specifically, but at the same time, never under estimate little people and especially the bigger ones. They are remarkably resilient creatures ;-p. Surely the more relaxed you are about a move, the more relaxed they will be and giving them a choice in where they want to go to school and getting them involved in the decision making process can only be a benefit.

I know very little about Brisbane itself, but were looking at the gold coast, which is just below. The reason being is in talking to a gentleman that lives there. He described to us our dream. He lives in a house in paradise point, with a pool and a boat moared off the Jetty at the bottom of his garden. He is a plasterer, like my partner and works hard Monday to Friday, but comes home and take the boat out fishing with his wife and kids on the weekends. Its a tourist area, but you only need drive for 5 miles off the coast itself and your into open country, where most of the houses have land. Even closer in, the houses are well designed, attractive buildings which are rarely overlooked and a good 50% plus have pools. We are not tied to going to paradise point, infact we will just get a unit for a few weeks and drive around. There is plenty to do with children, with wet n wild world, warner brothers movie world, sea world and dream world all close by, thats not mentioning the local national parks, forests, rivers and lakes etc. We have spoken to people who have been there and the weather is right up our street. For us the move is all about quality of life, so its an ideal starting point.

What exactly do you want to get from your move? If you can narrow your search based on what you want out of your move and those areas that best cator for your needs and work it out from there. Most area's will have the basics that you need, a selection of schools, shops, jobs etc. If you would manage it, a visit to your short list would help you find where you feel most comfortable

Hanna x

mutleymj

Nix

This could be something your already well aware of, but I have only just found it and finding it usefull. When you run a search on areas using http://www.realestate.com.au click on a house you like in an area you want to find more about. They have promo video's about the area below the house. There are very hyped as obviously trying to promote but they do seem to pin point the pro's and cons of an area pretty well

mutleymj

http://www.realestate.com.au/cgi-bin...alityDirectory