samanthaabutler

Hi all,

My partner and I are in the early stages of getting a permanent residence visa sorted We really like QLD & Brisbane so hoping to settle near there. Preferring country to city life I've been trying to research some nice semi-rural locations within an hour (or so) drive from Brisbane but not finding it that easy and seem to have an ever growing list of places to look into so hoping someone may be able to help!

Ideal criteria:
- within an hour (or so) from Brisbane
- within 20/30 minutes drive of a town with decent shops, entertainment & restaurants
- within 20/30 minutes drive from good schools (no kids yet but hopefully soon)
- within 20/30 minutes drive of a golf course
- within an hour and a half drive from the beach

We will rent for a year or so after arriving so we can ensure we've found the perfect area for us.

Thank you!

Samantha

carcajou

Toowoomba. It's a big town by Australian standards (100,000 people) but not by European standards.

Pollyana

When you say within an hour or so of Brisbane, do you mean the CBD? Southside/northside? Brisbane is huge if you include all the suburbs. Also if you are working in the CBD driving and parking is a nightmare, so I would advise looking at public transport links too.

samanthaabutler

Thanks carcajou, I'll have a look at Toowoomba and locations between there and Brisbane. Size wise that's fine with us, we currently live in a very small town/large village with approx 5000 people and about 15/20 mins drive from Cheltenham which has about 120,000 people and suits us fine! Just want to be a commutable distance from Brisbane for work.

Pollyana, CBD ideally. My OH is a project manager and the positions seem to be scattered around a bit across Brisbane so I guess it's hard to say without him having anything yet but probably best to aim for CBD to be on the safe side! Ah ok - I will have a look into transport links in that case. Thank you.

Has anyone been to/lived in Ipswich or is there anywhere that might suit between Brisbane and South of Sunshine Coast?

garyp

Samford Valley (Samford Village) seemed semi rural and quite nice when I visited. Train station (Ferry Grove) I think and a 18 hole golf course in area.Think it's bout 30-40 mins drive to Brisbane CBD. Could have lived there but probably out of my price range. Work colleague pointed me there to take a look when I felt I was living in a busy suburb compared to where I lived in the UK.Its hard to find the right place first time because OZ is huge and spread out to just drive around. I liked Bribie Island on the coast as well.

garyp

Only been to Ipswich with work and wasn't my cup of tea and seemed run down in places on the drive there but plenty of rural areas around.Did find most people that way quite friendly in my experience.

moneypenny20

Travel times from sites like Google Maps are generally a bit optimistic especially when travelling at 'rush' hour. Like anywhere, a journey Google Maps says will take 30 minutes can easily double during rush hour. Good luck with it all.

samanthaabutler

Thank you all for the replies! They've been ever so helpful. After researching and scrolling through many, many, other threads on here location-wise I'm leaning towards the Caboolture area for the transport links and position between Sunshine Coast & Brisbane. Although I have read that Caboolture itself isn't great so may be better off looking at the surrounding rural areas or Burpengary? Also, North Lakes isn't far from there - what is that like for shopping, dining etc?

Samford Valley looks lovely and not bad for the commute but seems a bit far from shops/restaurants & a golf course. Will definitely check it out when we get to Oz though.

Thank you again

The S's

Hi Samantha

How many acres are you looking for? I live in Pullenvale which is only 20 minutes from the CBD and has lots of facilities close by at Kenmore and Indooroopily. We are on 2.5 acres but there are blocks of 10 plus acres but it gets quite pricey. In the neighbouring suburb of brookfield they have large blocks too but also gets big$$$$$$$.
It really is the best of both worlds.
Some huge blocks further west in places like Minden and Lowood. Gets a bit banjo country though. I lived in an Ipswich acreage suburb for 10 years but the feral nature of portions of the locals gets you down in the end. It is not known as 2 headed country for nothing...

purplebeans

I would have suggested Samford too. I have visited friends there who love it. They say it has a really nice family/community feel to it. Their children went to a fantastic nursery/day care centre in Samford - really wonderful environment for small children (compared with the nursery my child attended in London - very urban!!). The other area that may fit some of your criteria - Shorncliffe/Sandgate - good transport into the city, good for access to Sunshine Coast, near golf courses (although not sure about schools but I am sure there are options).