ferdi

We are moving to Brisbane in July and would like to know what Samford is like, as we come from the country side we prefer semi rural, but also like to be within easy commuting distance to the city.

Many thanks

Ferdi

JaneandJim

Send DMF a PM. She lives there. Its in a valley so it gets very very hot in summer. Also the primary school is enormous because all the kids from the surrounding areas go there.

Jane

kt.2006

Hi we are living there at the moment. The centre of the village is very attractive with a large amount of shops and facilities. There is even a fitness centre, bank, travel agent, estate agents and various takeaways. It is a very nice place and the nearest to a UK village that we have seen. There is a school here but I believe it has about 1200 children there!

Houses are quite expensive as it is considered to be a very desirable place to live. Years ago it was considered to be an alternative and a bit of a 'green' place to live. Nowadays I would say that it is a commuter area as there is a constant stream of traffic travelling at peak rush hour times. A lot of the houses are on acreage and there are some fantastic looking houses here.

Samford is about 8km west of Ferny Grove where there is a train station with a large free car park. However there is a very limited bus service to get there and so you will definitely need a car or two. We lived in a similar place in the UK so I don't know why we have decided not to stay, but I have found the journey through the 8km forest to get anywhere really annoying after a while.

There is lots for the children to do such as football, swimming, scouts, etc. If you have children they will probably love it here. A lot of children seem to own horses. However teenagers might feel really trapped here once they want to start going to different places on their own.

There is a fantastic pub hotel in the centre of the village which does half price pizza on a Tuesday night and a very good 3 course carvery on a Thursday night. We often go there rather than cook as it is excellent value and very popular with families.

We did think about buying acreage when we first came here. I'm glad we didn't as it requires a lot of maintenance and mowing in the summer. I also saw a snake within a week of arriving which made my mind up. We found the heat really tiring in the summer and I have heard that Samford can be a few degrees hotter than the coast because it does not get the sea breezes and it is in a valley.

On a minus point I would say that there is a lot of speeding traffic which goes through the village and up into the mountains. We live on the main road and there have been two accidents outside our door in the 3 months that we have been here (so definitely don't live on the main road). We live in a wooden house and can't sleep due to the road noise from 6.00 am.

If you do a search then you might come across a lot of information on Samford from someone who settled here a few years' ago. He gave a very detailed and informative report on the area (not like me!)

Hope this helps.

Pollyana

I work with DMF but she rarely posts now. I will send her a link to this thread though.

They have a fantastic house, done lots of work on it and more still to do. Its on acreage, loads of room for the kids, who seem really happy there.
The drive to work is a drawback I think, but she obviously feels its worth it, and it certainly is a beautiful place to live!

The Samford pub is great - had a good night out there a few months back, very busy, friendly, the sort of pub atmosphere I remember from UK village pubs and I hope we get to go there again soon.
It does get hot over there, but you weigh up the pros and cons, and being that close to such beautiful scenery is worth a few cons I reckon.
I seem to remember they have seen a couple of snakes, but thats part of rural living again.

I'll ask her to come out from behind her desk and post something

ferdi

Thanks for all the comments on Samford, its been very helpfull, any more comments are welcome

Regards

Ferdi

Pollyana

If you do a search on Samford, or on posts by DMF you might pick up a bit more

JaneandJim

Say Hi from me. She used to be quite friendly with Paddad (Diane) so could you please let her know that Di is heading back to the UK. That makes 2 out of 4 of us who visited. Lets hope her house isn't cursed! :scared:

Jane

killamarsh

[QUOTE=Pollyana]I work with DMF but she rarely posts now. I will send her a link to this thread though.

Does Samford still have the grass skiing and the tabobon ride? I can remember as a kid going down the metal tabogon(sorry if I haven't spelt it correctly). and was scared for my life.

It is so lovely there

dmf

Hi,

Well we aren't going anywhere - certainly not back to the UK! I did notice Diane was leaving but then they were always unsure of their decision. They've given it a fair go and decided it's not for them - at least they've tried and will have no 'what ifs' later on.

Not heard of the toboggan ..... if anyone wants any other info on Samford then ask away....

Cheers, Dawn

cadman

We thought about Samford village but was told that it was a 2 hour commute to the CBD at rush hour. Can anyone confirm this?

andy

Pollyana

Sounds a bit OTT but I'll check it with Dawn. She and I work about 6-7 kms north from the CBD, and I think (from memory) it takes her about 45 mins....(you watch, now she'll laugh her socks off at my poor memory & come up with something quite different! )

Pollyana

There was some sniggering when I asked her, but mainly as we tried to work out a route that would take two hours to the CBD........via the Gold Coast maybe?
Apparently it takes Mr DMF about 45 minutes to cross the city, in the rush hour - he works right out near the airport.

cadman

cool. thanks poll. means it could be back on our list then (if we end up in bris rather than current fave cairns). so spring hill would be same or less? (where all the civ. eng. companies are I believe)

Andy