BZB

Hi guys, family of 5 + dog currently living in Auckland NZ, but thinking of cashing in on the property boom and relocating to Queensland.

We are fortunate enough to have around 1m equity from the sale of our house, and I would probably be able to get work in Brisbane or GC for 100-120k.

Not too familiar with suburbs/areas commutable from Brisbane or GC, so looking for advise on any good family areas with great schools (primary and secondary), where I can get a decent 4-bedder on at least 600m2 land (with a pool ideally) for around $1.25mil.

We shall be doing our own research, but any recommendations would be invaluable. If you could include why you believe those areas would suit, would be even more helpful.

Finally, wife is worried about snakes & spiders, what can I say to appease her? How have those with pre-conditioned fear deal with them whilst living there? Her biggest fear is for the kids getting bitten in the house/garden/park.


Cheers

jad n rich

You should get 2 houses for that in hundreds of decent suburbs gold coast bris or sunshine coast. Climate sub tropical of course odd snake. Lived acerage only once had one in house because someone left screens open. No earthquakes though. Plenty of threads on suburbs you will have a lot of choice with healthy budget.

Dorothy

What visa do you intend on coming on?

BZB

Thanks, i will certainly be looking through the old threads. Please post specific links if they may be of real value.

Over here there is a 'Where to Live in Auckland' which give fantastic break downs of each suburb etc... Does anything like that exist over there?

BZB

Hi Dorothy, we all have kiwi passports

Dorothy

Just so long as you realise that you are only ever going to be temporaryresidents

BZB

Of course, but I suspect we would apply under the Skilled Migrant system for visas then citizenship (further down the line) if we liked it and decided to stay.

Would you be able to recommend any suburbs?

Many thanks

jad n rich

Not sure, but you will really be talking a lot of choice. Do you want rainforest, beach, hinterland, acerage, new estate, inner city ( that could still leave substantial change from your budget ) private schools, particular sports facilities etc etc.

As for snakes spiders, its honestly quite rare to hear people being bitten. Main thing we heard was small dogs occasionally being eaten by a carpet snake. Obviously left outside unsupervised for that to happen, and if in suburbia you will probably never see any.

We have acerage and large carpet snakes are common, they are territorial and eat the eggs of brown and black snakes. just yesterday one about 8 foot long was crashing about in a bunch of large pots under the house. Does not worry us one bit, lessens the chance of nasty snakes. Beautiful placid creatures. Obviously thats extreme acerage, and if you were snake phobic you probably would not buy that type of thing. Stick to a more developed area, install fly screens, use them. Spiders could be dealt with an annual pest spray. I really would not worry about it.

Nice time to buy in QLD, so much development planned and sydney and melb prices have to push people out.

Just make sure you can handle long summers ( 8 months ) of warm, hot and sometimes Jan feb dec humid weather.

Heat tolerance anywhere in OZ now would be my main concern, first day of heat in melb, only 30 gets way hotter here than that, and already I am counting days to overseas bolt hole.

Just to explain, we live between qld ( for business mainly ) and kept acreage retreat, and melbourne, kids uni, but wont be long term, fun for a while, and few months overseas, lived SE qld for over a decade. Hence posts on both places.

BZB

Thanks, ideally close to the sea, more for the breeze than the views.

A community that is a mixture of old and new, not into 'solely' new estates at all.

Ideally renovated old, or sophisticated new contemporary.

The thing I love about Auckland is leaving the french doors open for 6-8 months of year. Is that not possible with all the bugs and snakes out to get you over there?

Narrowing down the search is definitely a '1st world problem', but one that should hoefully be enjoyable.

Cheers

jad n rich

So you would want the bay side brisbane suburbs, or gold coast or sunshine coast.

Neighbours in QLD never had a fly screen installed. Big fancy house indoor outdoor living all flowing on. Personal preference I guess.

If you dont like bugs then probably not a great idea anywhere in OZ.

astera

If you can work in the Gold Coast then GC all the way. A lot of people are usually stuck with work in Brisbane but choose to live on the GC, even with the commute (not something I'd do as I dislike driving for prolonged periods of time).

For family life you're really hitting bullseye here. You have the best climate in Australia there, great schools, lots of interesting housing options, tons of stuff to do for kids, etc. There are absolute bucket loads of attractions for children and young adults, not to mention half-a-dozen theme parks where instead of the $90 one-off fee you can get a $99 annual pass for unlimited visits: Movie World, Dreamworld, Wet & Wild, Whitewater World, SeaWorld, etc.

With three kids I'm assuming there's a mix of boys & girls (75% chance), so a great choice would be to put them in St Hilda's (girls) and The Southport School (boys), which is what a lot of families do in such cases (they will also give you a discount for the third child). Both schools are among the best you will find, with a solid academic record and impressive campuses, located just minutes from each other.

As to where to live I think Main Beach is an ideal spot, but you'd have to decide on a house with no water access or a condo. But it's ideally located just across the Broadwater. Plus you have the beach on your doorstep, and SeaWorld like 2 minutes away by car.

For houses you might also want to look at other areas, such as towards the Runaway Bay area north of the schools, especially if you're looking for a house with water access so that you can have your own little boat or jet-ski. Chevron Island is another choice, where properties with water access are quite nice but those without rather average.

Another area that is worth looking at is just south of The Southport School, like Yacht St. and that area. That puts you close to everything as well, though you're probably looking at houses without water access in those areas in that budget. Also look at the closed estate (The Boulevard, Southport) just to the left of that, where there are beautiful houses at reasonable prices, albeit the water access is just for show as you can't sail out from there.

Of course there are plenty of other nice areas on the GC, like Broadbeach for instance, but the commute to school wouldn't be as easy. Same with Burleigh Heads or Mount Tamborine, nice places (and quite different too) but not so easy if you choose the schools mentioned as the drive would be too much. If getting into those schools proves difficult then a backup plan might be Emmanuel College and then living somewhere close: The Boulevard, Carrara, an enclave with a Mediterranean design, pleasant and all, but you are kind of stuck there and need to drive for everything.

As for snakes and spiders, I haven't encountered any at home. Not a single spider ever, which might sound strange but it was a nice condo and not a house. Saw a snake crossing the road once in Mount Tamborine (saw a koala in the wild there as well), but that's it.

BZB

Excellent, thanks!

We love the indoor/outdoor flow in Auckland. I see so many good examples of the same in Oz, but have always wondered about flies etc...

All great info, thanks heaps!

BZB

Really valuable information, so much to go research, thanks so much.

FYI, 3 boys. No rest for the wicked!

moneypenny20

I wouldn't worry about housing until you have a job. There's no point in finding a house you love down on the GC and then the only job you get offered is North Brisbane for example. Just know that if you want water close by and a four bed with pool you'll have no shortage of properties to chose from in SEQLD in your price range. Obviously there is no real beaches with sea breezes in Brisbane, closest you'll get would be Bayside to the south or Redcliffe to the north. Even then they're not Sunshine or Gold Coast level beaches (if you're looking for surfing etc).

As for schools, horses for courses really. Not aware of a bad primary school on the GC, they are all of a pretty good standard. High schools are also pretty good, one or two I wouldn't be keen to send my kids to but there's nothing inherently wrong with them and there are many people who like them. I'd avoid TSS and St Hilda's like the plague personally so each to their own. I've always refused to suggest a school because I don't know other people's children, what they've come from, what they expect, level of intelligence etc etc. Only you can know and even the best school may not be the best place for YOUR child.

Spiders and snakes... We are on acreage and have seen a few snakes but only two have been close to the house, they were both pythons and relatively harmless (but then we love them). If you're looking at beachside/canal/river side you're unlikely to come across any in or around the house. Spiders, well we have both inside and outside the house sprayed once a year and it keeps them away. Both I and my daughter are completely phobic about them and if we cope, anyone can. Tell your wife not to worry about them (easier said than done) but at least we're warmer and don't have earthquakes. Utopia doesn't exist .

BZB

Great advise, thanks!

Totally get what you say about schools, mine each have different qualities & needs and one school does not fit all. Good to hear the overall standard is high, as we are very happy with what we receive here at the moment and that is a big issue for us.

Snakes & spiders info is exactly how I was hoping someone would answer, thanks.

From my initial searches, GC definitely seems to be winning so far.

Thanks guys