neil&momo

Hi we live in Helensvale and love it. We have been in Oz 11 months now.
We have a 3 year old and its fantastic for him. We are 15-20mins to Main Beach and sea World, 5 mins from wet and Wild and Movie World and 10 mins from Dream world. It's brill here. You don't feel like you live on the Gold Coast! It's far away enough to get away from it all like surfers, which incidently we try to avoid unless rels come out!
The schools here are apparently very good. We have the new Westfield shopping centre which is great.
No compliants from us! We thought the sunshine coast was more for the older crowd!! But that will eventually be like GC it's growing all the time!
My advice go and stay in both places for a few weeks if you can when you get here and judge for yourselves!
Good Luck
Marie

Milo

We drove up from Sydney to the GC a couple of years ago to see my OH aunty and we stayed at mermaid waters, we visited Robina as we quite fancied that area at one point, now don't get me wrong because we thought the place was just beautifull, it had all the local amenities and wasn't too far from the beach but when we got back home felt that we had just done that, got back home, strange isn't it.

IMO the GC is just that, it's great for a holiday and to retire to but that just summed it up for us. Would have loved to have had time to go up further north but just ran out of time, maybe next time.

jad n rich

Sunshine coast and Gold coast have a similar age group break down if you are talking perm residents, of course the gold coast and its tourist attractions such as theme parks attract a huge back packer crowd which may give a different impression.

Sunshine coast has been developed by some very shrewd people, highrise has been capped where the gold coast was developed 1970's style with unlimited highrise/development. That wont happen on sunshine coast because the developers and councils, are very tightly knit, its all limits and even population caps, they wont let as much development go on. The thinking behind it seems to be if you stick a population cap or building limit on a place prices will soar by the exclusive nature of it all, probably lining the pockets of those who set the rules.

neil&momo

The thing is people forget where the boundries of the gold coast start and finish! We have NO high risers where I am at all!
Gold Coast is NOT just Surfers Paradise and thats where alot of misconceptions come from!
Gold Coast starts from South Beenleigh believe it or not!
And goes right down to the NSW boarder! We also have a beautiful hinterland that nobody ever mentions! That has some of the best walks I've ever done!
So folks please don't class the GC as Surfers Paradise it's not!!
Marie

annier

hi folks, we have lived on the gold coast for 30 years brought up 2 children here, we live in the hinterland , our children are now 34 & 35 years, we went through the terrible teens and believe me it is no different from any other part of the world when you have got teenagers, our kids have said so often thank goodness you left the uk and we were brought up here. they have said they had the best of both worlds, our daughter was a jockey and our son was a bike rider, we went through the night club scene. but both children have said what a great place to live, our son travels with work all over the world and says everytime he cant wait to get back to the gold coast, yes there are the + and minus, but the gold coast is not as black as it is painted some times, we still enjoy the way of life here.but still prefer living in the hinterland , there are so many great places to visit around here, and the weather is a bonus, so to anyone thinking of coming to the gold coast come with an open mind and be prepared to adapt, annie

Craig&Sam

Thanks to everyone for the helpful replies and feedback, and also to those who sent us a PM. Plenty of food for thought. We are 99% toward the Gold Coast probably Helensvale/Arundel/Runaway Bay area. Although the Sunshine Coast sounds appealing, we have felt at home on the Gold Coast whenever we have been there and I think that will be a great help and half the battle solved in the first few difficult months after we have arrived. So this time next year, all being well we should be there. Once again many thanks, and no doubt there will be plenty more questions to ask.

sherie_in_oz

Like you we did 2 huge trips travelling around most of OZ (nearly 40,000 km!) before deciding the GC was the best place for us. So don't get 'cold feet' by what others think, many poms are concerned by what others think and lots of people are really very happy living on the Gold coast.
We have been here nearly 9 months and absolutely love living here. We had doubts that it was all like surfers until we really got to know the area and understood the various residential areas, and this can take quite a bit of time.

Personally we love the southern GC and think the town of Robina is great for shopping. Currumbin is also a nice residential suburb but Palm Beach and Miami schools don't have the best of reputations...Palm Beach and Miami are IMO OK for a few nights reccie or if you're a surf dude and want to be right near the beach. We like the beach but prefer living a bit further back from the coastal strip so have a look another time at Mudgeeraba, Tallai and Worongary these are our favourite areas. Its probably worth a look too at Tugan, Tweed and the far north of NSW as this area is developing a lot at the moment and is a bit cheaper than other parts of the Gold coast.

We also chose the GC because theres lots for kids to do here.The sports facilities are really good and our kids are fitter than they have ever been. We have sensible kids and have never heard them mention drugs, they say theres always some bad kids in every school but they just keep in with the good crowd.
I'm not sure who you've heard say the place has a worsening reputation, but LOTS of people are moving interstate to live on the gold coast after living in other parts of Oz first. Its very popular with people from Sydney, Melbourne, and New Zealand as well as poms and many other nationalities. And everyone is very friendly because most have moved here from somewhere else.
The only negatives we've found is that it can be expensive to buy and rent a house here compared to other places in Oz and it can be difficult finding a good rental when you first come but thats because so many people want to live here. Some people also find it hard to get work here, but that depends on the kind of work you are looking for.

Anyway all the best with your dream ...we decided to live on the Gold Coast and for us its worked out really, really well!

sherie_in_oz

This is the kind of thing that puts me off posting on BEXP!!!
People who take things out of context, and put the damper on what other people say. I can't imagine why so many people from Sydney are moving to the Gold Coast if we're all frightened of living here .

We feel a lot safer here a few km back from Gold coast than I ever would in Sydney.The traffic and drivers are absolutely crazy in Sydney :scared: , surely that is a more everyday threat!

Milo

I wouldn't say that Manly was that bad to be honest, I quite like the area, but what I can agree on is the crazy driving here in Sydney, now that really does get to me . Which is why we don't live in central Sydney.

karenjc

With more people moving from within Oz to the Gold coast and 1500 people a week to Queensland it must have something. Personally love the place. Quill.

TeresaG

We are looking at moving to the Gold Coast although we aren't exactly sure where abouts yet. It won't be Surfers though. We have relatives there who love it and we really liked it when we visited. We'll go and give it a try and if it doesn't work out then we'll try somewhere else.