hi all,

after our decision to settle down in brisbane.. hopefully west end area.. i would like to ask our BE members in brisbane

1) which provider has the best coverage for mobile phone connections?
2) which provider has the best coverage for landphones and reliable internet connections?

thanks in advance

1) telstra (most expensive but most reliable)
2) see whirlpool

Do you mean the suburb of "West End" or the west side of the city?

the suburb

how is vodafone coverage ?

i had dodo mobile broadband and found it fine while i was in asgrove and maroochydore even tho its was one of the cheapest goingat the time.

Doesn't have the best reputation...was talking to a stall owner at the market on the weekend and he said since his 3 service was switched to roam onto Vodafone first instead of Telstra it has been rubbish....don't have any first hand experience with that though?

Telstra gives you less data and phones calls for your money but has one of the best mobile networks in the world....I still don't get through my limits so it is great for me...depends how much you use I guess....

It is mostly an "alternative" suburb and not many immigrants choose it so just wanted to make sure you knew what it is like?

is it? what could be the reason

The reason most immigrants dont chose it is its VERY expensive!
Cosmopolian buzzing atmosphere, trendy interesting restaurants and a stones throw from the city (with excellent public transport links). A mixture of well renovated character housing or modern well appointed appartments.

- oh and the 'best' (academically speaking) public high school in the state.

Of course its expensive!

Ooops - off topic a bit.

Anyway - Its doubtful you'll need a 'premium' mobile provider if you dont venture away from the city much and in terms of landphones/internet - forget landphones, sort out your internet and use a voip provider (mynetfone, pennytel etc etc) to eliminate costs (my phone bill is $5 a month including free UK calls).

TPG currently offer unlimited ADSL for $60 ($30 + $30 linerental) - add $5 a month to Mynetfone and you're all sorted for less than your landline phone bill would be with Telstra!

I would certainly also recommend TPG for internet/homephone. I have not used their mobile service, but it is basically the optus service, just different pricing.

As for West End itself, I would agree with both dadagain and fish.01. West end is a nice place and a nice location. I don't go there as often as I'd like to. However, there are more than a few undesirable characters in this suburb, and they can be quite a nuisance to put it mildly. You would have to be very careful as to exactly where you plan to live. I.e. you wouldn't want to be living next to an overnight drop-in hostel.

As Dad Again said price is a big one. Though if renting this isn't such a difference. Another biggie would be a lot of UK immigrants, regardless of price, prefer to buy or rent new builds on outer suburban estates rather than city living. After the big new house rather than smaller character house near city amenities.

It is the area that attracts the most alternative people so along with the fun comes people with issues - drugs, homelessness etc.

Quite a bit of the housing stock is run down - I looked at lots of houses there recently as I was looking to buy and it was surprising how run down it was compared to the price - $800,000 for very run down place for example. This is in the more family end of the suburb at Hill End though. If you walk around the streets looking at the houses a lot are very unattractive/unloved as opposed to say Bardon across the river for example.

Hundreds of new apartments are planned along the river, and the road along the river is planned to be converted to walkway/bikeway only. This will change the mix in the suburb to the angst of some locals who love the alternative vibe of the place. It has some great cafes, bookshops, the great west end markets etc

It has fantastic access to the city including a second citycat terminal to be constructed near Davies Park. You can also walk/ride along the river and straight across the new Kurilpa bridge into the CBD. And you also have the great CityGlider bus service. You also have access to the new citycycle scheme so you can take a bike locally, ride it to the CBD and return it.

It is also near Southbank, GOMA, art galleries/museum, performing arts theatres etc.

A mixed bag, some fantastic things, some not so - really depends on your situation.

When we arrived I got 2$ vodaphone chip and i'm still using it - coverage is okay - you can change then at a later date.

For landline & internet we had to go with Telstra - no choice here for us - but Optus have good packages - but inital got a wireless toggle - we went with virgin for this - but vodaphone do it too.

Hope this helps.

thanks every. i'm looking to rent a 2 bedroomed unit .. can do with 1 b/r for a few weeks too.. i am not very fond of large houses .. i find it difficult to maintain i guess... just want a place with good transport, close to city , medical facilities and groceries etc.

The places very close to the city with some life, if you are looking for active streets, are West End, Paddington, New Farm/Teneriffe, Fortitude Valley, Milton/Rosalie. Kangaroo Point is full of apartments and close to the city but a bit light on shops.

A little further out and quieter but still with shops, restaurants and a couple of cafes etc there is Auchenflower, Bulimba, Toowong, Taringa, Indooroopilly, Nundah Village, Ashgrove, Albion, Wilston, Newmarket, Coorparoo etc.

Maybe you could check them out when you arrive?