kancell

hi,

im currently evaluating the pro's and con's of various regions in australia, with a view to emigrating in the coming couple years. im a building services M&E design engineer so ideally looking for a booming constrcution industry.

ive been looking north queensland - not enough work in my field

adelaide - distinct possibilty, but again not a huge amount of work and wages not quite as good as other regions..... obviously this has to offset against cost of living though and seemingly more relaxed way of life compared to bustling city.

the area that keeps coming to the fore is brisbane, and surrounding goldcoast and sunshine coast. im looking to view property prices and rental costs for similar areas in each region. im looking for a nice coastal suburb to brisbane, with a relaxed way of life. have no kids but girlfriend is primary teacher so looking for plenty of schools/work for her. ideally 35 mins max drive, or with excellent public transport with similar commuting time. beach is high on the priority list, so 10-15 mins drive would be nice. a similar distance from shops, doctor, entertainment would also be great. value for money housing with large garden and/or pool would also be nice. max rent hopefully $400 a week for 3 bedroom, and in an ideal world be a lovely queenslander!!!!!!

any suggestions on suburbs to study would be appreciated.

Sue from Manchester

Sounds like it would have to be Wynnum/Manly/Lota etc as far south as Cleveland to get the coastal and still be on the railway line. However no big beaches here and no waves. You would have to go down to the Gold Coast or up to Sunshine Coast to get really nice beaches. Victoria Point and Wellington Point are very pretty though but not much good if you're a surfer. Cleveland is booming now with lots of Brits there and is the last stop on the railway line. It would take almost an hour by train from there into the city centre.

MD09

Wow, you don't want much do you.

If you find the place that ticks those boxes please let us know.

More realistically, you will probably get 1/4 of what you want.

kancell

thats why its called research.... ive listed what i want, and am now researching what i can actually get and what is feasible, what i will have to compromise on etc. from there i can compare it to other areas for the amount of boxes it ticks!

i had already been looking at wynnum and manly, which look nice, but how far is the nearest beaches from here? im not a surfer, just looking for nice beach to relax on.

themerlin

What about Redcliffe ?

fox's2oz

Maybe have a look at the sunshine coast , we live in Caloundra. Lots of lovely beaches and plenty of building going on .(Builders just about to start on our house)House prices still reasonable-ish and rental is around $350 pw for a 4 bed about 5 min drive from beach.Plenty of shops,doctors,schools etc,and Brisie is about 1hr 30 drive.Hope you find what your looking for...we have

kancell

a relation of my girlfriends owns a property in mooloolaba, so this had been a consideration. the sunshine coast, and caloundra look very nice indeed. I believe company GHD have an office in sunshine coast, but im not sure of their extents of their work and whether they cater for building services engineering in that office. i will do more research into sunshine coast as it sounds ideal.

kancell

it appears GHD have office in birtinya! this is interesting as in theory this location would then give a very central location on the sunshine coast with places like caloundra, mooloolaba, maroochydore very close by. What are the outer extents of the sunshine coast that i could drive to/from within 30 mins? also which are the larger settlements with shops, docs, schools etc? have any teachers on here had any good/bad experience getting jobs in or around sunshine coast? is there any particularly good value for money housing areas close to the beach?

fox's2oz

Everywhere on the Sunshine coast is within an half hour or so drive,so there is plenty to choose from.House prices vary quite a bit especially as you head towards Noosa and if you want to live on the sea/water front are very expensive.More resonable housing available and plenty of shops , schools ,docs etc in all the main areas.

MD09

Ok no worries. You actually listed what you "need" (See subject line).

I was just pointing out that all those needs won't be met.

Sunshine Coast, as pointed out already, is a beautiful spot and worth looking at.

Finding decent work there would be your biggest challenge. There is plenty of hospitality work for your wife though. Getting a teaching position in the south east of Qld is as rare as hens teeth.

kancell

ok, we'll call it a draw

there appears to be plenty of schools on sunshine coast, but have folk on here had problems getting a teaching job up there? or by saying SE QLD did you mean gold coast way? no matter where we have looked in oz, teaching jobs seem very rare and full of red tape. she wouldnt mind doing relief work for a good while until hopefully she has enough oz experience to be considered for a full time post. i heard theres plenty of relief work on offer though?! could you possibly elaborate on your comments a bit more? thanks