cadman

Thanks for the replies so far.

I'll look into some of those areas and post a more expansive reply to some of the points raised later or when I'm back at work on Monday. (can't do it now cos it's the weekend! )

lynnlovessun

no not confused 'informed'

cadman

I'm looking for a 4 bed house, pool, garage/workshop, up to 1 acre plot within 1 hour by car during rushhour of the CBD.

We will have approx. A$300k from our house sale and would like mortgage free living.

Now, I'm pretty sure I can get those things outside of Perth but also pretty sure I can't get them outside of Brisbane.

Pleeeeaaaasssseeee prove me wrong!
We had pretty much decided we wanted to live in QLD but if we can't get mortgage free then we'll go to Perth.

My wife is a mental health nurse so she may be working in a hospital or may be working in an institution - wether they are situated away from the population or in the community in order to be near to available staff I don't know.

I am a civil/structural cad drafter - I would think the larger firms would be in the CBD but ther may be firms outside that like there are here taking advantage of business parks (?) or lower rates or to be more accessible for staff? The jobs ads I'm sure just say "Brisbane" or even just QLD.

We've never been to either QLD or Perth I might add. We won't be able to afford to go to both for a reccie before we come either due to large debts which we are trying to clear so that we get the most cash from our house. (bearing in mind there are 5 of us - that's an expensive trip)
We did visit my cousin in MB to validate our visas and yes, on reflection we should have done 1 week in Perth and 1 week in Bris but felt we should should visit my cous cos she is finding it hard in OZ even after 5 years and they are sponsoring us so without them we may not have got in.

Anyway, thanks for all the suggestions for areas, now that I have provided a bit more info maybe y'all can gimme some more / narrow the possibilities.

Cheers,

Andy
Cadman.

MrsDagboy

Sorry cadman, I personally dont think you have a hope in hell in Brisbane, but hey, someone will try to prove me wrong Im sure .

MrsDagboy

Grrrr stupid forum software playing silly buggers & wouldnt take this to the top

JackTheLad

Mrs D, you are really trying to pick a fight aren't you?! Yes, someone will try to prove you wrong.... But not moi!

Cadman, you're talking about $300k in 3 years' time? Assuming property prices rise at the rate of inflation, a house worth $300k in 2007 is probably worth $250k (a conservative guess). For $250k you can't get more than a 2 or 3 bedroom town house on a small block of land (400-600) sq meters, with no pool, within an hour's drive of the Brisbane CBD. And the area wherever you may be able to find such property won't be the place you'll want to raise your 3 young children.

We're living in Ormiston, 50 minutes on the train from the CBD. In rush hour traffic, the drive is an hour or more. This is almost as far as you can live on the Bayside (southeast) of Brisbane and still on the train line. There is no property whatsoever in the area, or in fact anywhere within an hour drive from Brisbane, that would meet your specifications.

I've read a few of your other posts, what's your obsession of wanting to be mortgage free? Isn't it better to live in a nicer area with a small mortgage than in a dump mortgage free? Have you considered renting for a couple of years, save some more money and then get a mortgage? That way you'll have better choice and flexibility.

Hope this helps, but it's probably not what you want to hear.

Best of luck whatever you decide.

Cheers,
Mrs JTL

philj6969

I have managed to buy a four bed house on 1 acre one hours drive from Brisbane. I'm in Woodford, west of the Glasshouse Mountains. Its 11 miles to the Bruce Highway and 40 minutes to the beach. No other houses in site and only ten minutes to the nearest town & shops & school.

Phil

ps I got change from $300k.

Grayling

Phil

That is interesting.

I assume you are a bit inland.

It seems all over Australia that houses tend to be cheaper inland. For some reason most migrants want to live on the coast and that is obviously more expensive.
I also agree a mortgage in the right area is better than no mortgage in a bad one. Mortgages are not usually a big percentage of your outgoings. I suspect that being 'mortgage free' has more of a psychological significance than a practical one. If you can afford a mortgage why not have one?
I had one for 25 years with no problems.

Good luck

G

scottyboy

Ahhhhh, Sheffield.
Don't you just love the place.

Scotty.

cadman

I agree G that it's better to have a mortgage in a good area rather than no mortgage in a bad one.
However, I wouldn't say that a mortgage is a small percentage of my income. I would say the £600 a month I pay is a fairly substantial lump of cash and that if I didn't have to pay it I might be able to afford a flaming pension!
I want to be able to afford to holiday and explore australia, NZ, Fiji, Thailand etc. when I'm living there not just go to work to pay the bills and that's it.
I want to go staff instead of contract which although more lucrative doesn't include paid holidays.
I don't WANT to work in the CBD, I'm just saying if I have to can I live in the sticks and still get there within an hour.
I don't want to live in a dodgy suburb in the city just so I don't have a mortgage and as houses as you rightly comment are cheaper the further out you go it might suit. I would rather my kids lived in a small village/town away from the city but as someone will no doubt mention, they will grow up bored of country living, buy a V8 and turn into joy riding hoons and kill themselves while hooning around the countryside drunk driving!

It all a bit hard this isn't it!

There have been a few comments on cheaper rural places to live inland within budget but my only concern is that these people my say they are within 1 hr of the CBD but do they actually do the journey themselves every day in rush hour?

Andy.

Grayling

Andy
My son used to live in Brisbane and commute out of the city to work at one of the RAAF bases. He had no problems but my experience of the traffic in Brisbane would not make me too optimistic about doing it the other way
Unfortunately you will not know until you try and that is the dilemna of trying to organise things from the UK.
Also take a good look at the mental health services (isn't your wife a nurse) as they are a bit different to services in the UK

Good luck

G

cadman

I/we have had that sort of comment before. Do you mean that these people are still in asylums / institutions / loony bins / prisons or what? are these located away from everyone else in the middle of no-where?
Any knowledge of this would be good.
My wife has worked in "secure units" here where people try and kill each other / the staff etc.! :scared:

Andy

Grayling

Many of the sevices are located in the city such as at the Royal Brisbane.
There are several different services.
Her experience may stand her in good stead

G

cadman

Right, that's it! Can I change the title of this thread to "nice suburbs around brisbane CBD" ?

JackTheLad

One hour drive from Brisbane - what is it in rush hour?

Woodford is inland, 62km northwest of the city in a straight line. We're (Ormiston, near Cleveland) 23 km and it still takes us an average of 40 minutes when there's no traffic to get to the CBD.

Mrs JTL