cost of living in Brisbane
 

Hi all,

We have been eager to read threads on the cost of living within each state and just read the one one about living in Melbourne. Well it has certainly opened our eyes - :confused:

we are still very keen and eager to pack up and ship over to Brisbane but would be interested to hear from anyone already in brissie as to their general living.

We hope to buy our own home (mortgage free) and cars (x2) My partner is a car Mechanic we have two young children (11 & &), and we will have a little cash as well.

It's good to know all the pitfalls and hearing it as it is, but it would also be gr8 to hear some postive feedback too!

Thanks :)

Re: cost of living in Brisbane
 

Do you know what part of Brisbane you may be looking at yet ?

As you are probably aware property prices vary a lot, depending on location.

I've seen some land and 4 bed house deals being advertised on TV for $199k, over in the west of Brisbane, but over on the East, Bayside, you would be looking at well over $300k for similar. (If you are looking at the bayside area, (Redlands etc) let me know, as it has its own chat forum)

If you can buy mortgage free, then it makes a massive difference, and you can live on one average income with reasonable comfort.

Re: cost of living in Brisbane
 

Re: cost of living in Brisbane
 

Thanks for the comments, we are looking to buy in the south eg- regent park, streton, parkinson etc! I am hoping to only work partime and spend some time with my children, my partner will work full time.

we are very excited but at the same time need to get our concerns answered as much as we can. We hope to be in Brisbane by March 2006.

Re: cost of living in Brisbane
 

Hi, my wife and I are moving to Brisbane in the next couple of months (house sale should be complete by early March). For the lifestyle we want to go to Bayside.

Could you let me know the forum that I could join as getting Brissy-specific info would be a huge help.

Also we have a property lined up to rent in Balmoral (where the heck is this?) It has sea views and at only $230 p/w sounds ideal.

I'm bloody excited!!!!!!!!!!!!

p.s. How easy is it to travel into brisbane CBD from the bayside areas (approx.) and is public transport any decent?

Cheers,

Rob

Re: cost of living in Brisbane
 

[QUOTEHow easy is it to travel into brisbane CBD from the bayside areas (approx.) and is public transport any decent?[/QUOTE]

VERY easy ;)

Public transport infrastructure is excellent from the Bayside.

There are bus stops and train stations dotted around for easy access and it takes approx 40 mins to get into the center of town.

Cost varies but to give you an idea hubbie pays $25 for a weekly return ticket which he can use on the bus, train or River Cat.

Some people chose to take the car half way into town, park up and catch the River Cat into the center [this is a river boat that drops off at various places in town].

In summary it is VERY easy and inexpensive to get into the center of town from the Bayside ;)

Re: cost of living in Brisbane
 

Hi Rob,

I think this is the forum ABCDiamond is referring to:

http://s6.invisionfree.com/BrisbaneB...ex.php?act=idx

Cheers

jon

Re: cost of living in Brisbane
 

Rob, not wanting to rain on your parade, but have you actually seen the place you will be renting? Balmoral is a very expensive suburbs very close to the CBD (eastern side, so on the way to bayside ;) ), no sea views, I imagine they mean river views? as its on the river. I cant imagine a house for rent with views in Balmoral for $230/week :confused: , unless of course its a unit or something. But even for a unit that seems way too cheap. :eek:

Re: cost of living in Brisbane
 

Hi Lynn,

How much money do you hope to be able to bring over? Or is that all dependent on house sale and exchange rate?
I cannot tell you much about the areas you mentioned, but www.realestate.com.au should give you an idea of what you will get for your money. I just had a quick look and there seem to be a fair few in the 250 - 300k range. Remember to add on stamp duty.

It is worth taking time to work out what things are essential and what are the nice to haves. Do you have to have 2 cars? Do they have to be new? Do they have to be large? And on the house side, do you have to be completely mortgage free? or would a small mortgage be acceptable to you. Sometimes an extra $50k can make all the difference with a house - it can be what you need to push you into a better street or better suburb or into a bigger house.

Also, it is generally easier to get a small mortgage on a house and pay cash for cars and white goods etc than to pay cash for the house and have to borrow for other things.

I cannot help with the general cost of living thing because I never do any shopping so am completely clueless as to the price of things, but my gut feeling is that my standard of living is about the same as it was in the UK (I am in the same job, with the same company).

Same as anywhere - whatever I earn seems to end up spent :D

Cheers,

DagBoy

Re: cost of living in Brisbane
 

And was that a decision made by both you and Mrs D ?:D

Re: cost of living in Brisbane
 

Hi Mrs Dag - thanks for the reply (been out to lunch!)

Thanks for the info on Balmoral (I heard it was quite exclusive). Interesting to hear no sea views however!!

The property (pretty sure it's a two bed apartment) is via a friend of a friend! Don't worry about raining on my parade, I'm not holding out any lingering hope on the property.

Still bloody excited tho'! Got a second asking price offer on my house end of last week, so it's all looking better by the day!!

Rob

Re: cost of living in Brisbane
 

Re: cost of living in Brisbane
 

No. She decided that I would be completely clueless - I reckoned it was easier to just go along with that decision. :D :rolleyes:

Re: cost of living in Brisbane
 

Hi Rob,

Yes, Balmoral is very nice, thats why I was a bit sceptical about the price! Its definitely one of the nicer parts of Brisbane. If its an apartment then its possibly OK, I guess you can only wait & see - it may turn out to be a dive or it may be fine :) . A friend is less likely to send you somewhere thats a dump than a real estate agent, which is why I asked if you had seen it or not. I guess you really just have to trust your friends judgement, even if you cant trust his description of the views out of the window ;) .

Good luck with the house sale, I know what a nightmare it can be over there :eek:

Re: cost of living in Brisbane