happy chappy

Just got back from our rekkie trip to OZ and loved it. We flew (just the two of us, kids with the Grandparents) with Singapore Airlines and I would highly recommend them as the service was excellent. We stopped at Singapore for 3hrs and while not very long gave us enough time to have a coffee and play with the free internet access. The Airport is very clean and my wife had a foot massage for £10 so it beats Heathrow.

We landed at Brisbane feeling OK and 25 Degrees and were picked up by a friend we were staying with. The following day we decided to take a trip into Brisbane via the city cat, which is a Catamaran which goes down the Brisbane River getting you from one end of the City to the other and it’s a very relaxing way to travel. For $5 each you get a ticket you can use all day and you can also use it to travel on the city bus as well which is very good value.
We found Brisbane to be a very pleasant City with the botanical gardens very peaceful and the Southbank with it’s artificial beach something out of the ordinary. Later in the week we took a drive through the Western suburbs, Westlake etc and thought it was a nice area with some very good value housing.

We spent the next day on the Sunshine Coast after travelling from Brisbane up to Caloundra. We found the driving pretty stress free and people seem to stick to the speed limit which on the Motorway was 110kph . We didn’t spend long in Caloundra but it seemed pretty nice with loads of shops and good beaches. There are loads of new estates being built so again a good choice of housing around $350 to $450,000.

We carried on up to Mooloolaba and Buderim to have a good look around as that is the area we fancied living, through research and hearing good things on BE, and we weren’t disappointed. The whole area seemed to have everything, there is a fantastic beach at Mooloolaba with a great beachside area, including shops Cafes and free barbecues. Everything is very clean and tidy, even the loos were well looked after. The whole area is very well catered for as there are numerous shopping facilities including some large retail outlets and the new shopping centre at Maroochydore called Sunshine Plaza. Here is a link to a list of outlets available http://www.sunshineplaza.com/llretai...w&count=999999

We had a look at the Mountain Creek and Buderim area for housing and thought the whole area was pretty good although if there are rough parts I would like to know as I didn’t see any. The price for a good 4 bedroom detached with own pool was around $420 to $500k with the houses backing onto lakes a little higher. Prices of houses seem to be stable at the moment as they have had a slight drop from their peak about a year or so ago. We then took a drive up to Buderim Town, which is a more hilly area above Mountain Creek. A lot of people like this area as it’s very Green and a bit cooler than the coast as it catches the breezes better. We thought Buderim had lots of character and if you like exercise biking up the hills would keep you fit and it’s still only 10 minutes from the beach.

We spent the next couple of days on the Gold Coast with some friends and visited surfers paradise. If you like hustle and bustle then this is the place for you as there is loads to do. The beach is massive and goes on for miles and there are loads of cycle paths, walkways, Cafes and parks. We went up the Q1 building which is the highest residential tower in the world which stands in Surfers Paradise and the view from the top is amazing, you can see for miles on end on a clear day. The price of property seems to be slightly higher than on the Sunshine Coast but that is probably because of the fact there is probably more work available.

We only had 10 days in total due to work etc so there was loads of stuff we wanted to go and see but didn’t have time but we got a feel for the place and decided for us the Sunshine Coast had all the things we wanted. From talking to people there I got the feeling that there was plenty of work as the area had lots of growth and it is still possible to commute to Brisbane if I had to.

Overall we were pleased with what we saw and would be happy to bring the kids up on the sunshine coast as it offers everything we were looking for and is still near enough to the city if you wanted the buzz of city life.


Cheers
Dave

Wendy

Nice post. I am glad you had a good trip.


All the best for the future

>Trigger<

Great post Dave..nice to hear some good news instead of other peoples whinging and moaning

K sent

oliverandlisa

sounds like a great time was had by all. Thanks for taking the time to write this ,

Lisa.xx

mark 'n' joe

Great post with some good info. Thanks for taking the time to write.

Joex

Jonahs_mummy

Lovely post.

Claire
x

kulu

Excellent post, just the kind of one I would have liked to read before we came out. As a happy Sunshine Coast resident I agree with your choice! What line of work are you in?

Lou

Juliecabs

Hiya Dave,
Glad you had a great time.
Thanks for letting us know how you got on.
Great pics BTW
Julie. x

mand8002

Glad you enjoyed your trip. 10 days isn't a long time to try and get to see everything you want to see so you did well. Good luck for the future.

Dreamaway 10

Hi there sounds as though you had a good time.We were the same when we came out last August we only had 10 days and it's just not long enough.Still we realsed that we could make a go of it and are moving out within the next 5 weeks or so.When do you plan to go for good?

happy chappy

Hi Lou i am a Fitter by trade but will anything if I can't find work when we get there. We decided that the sunshine coast is the area we want to live so I am not going to follow the job just the lifestyle. There is loads of growth on the Sunshine coast so I am hoping it won't take too long to get work.

Dave

happy chappy

We would like to go as soon as we have the visa and the house is sold, so before the end of the year, but the sooner the better as far as I am concerned.

Are you on the sunshine coast?

Dreamaway 10

Not yet but hoping to be in the next 5 weeks or so staying near Noosa.

happy chappy

Noosa is a lovely area, lots of posh shops etc and a nice beach. Have a nice time.

Dreamaway 10

We stayed there last time at Culgoa point really nice and quiet .Thanks Happy Chappy