Hi all,
I'm currently in Brisbane right now, I've come over unexpectedly as my mother was very ill unexpectedly and has consequently passed away since my arrival. I'm here for another 4 weeks before returning to Blighty to finish off the big move.
I took a drive around The Gap today, up to mount Coot-tha and Mount Gravatt look out. Drove past BBC... And generally tried to avoid the toll roads.
I really liked The Gap, it's very leafy but only took me 10-15 mins to drive from the city, mind you... No cars on road as public holiday.
I'm staying in Mount Gravatt which I also really like. Nice brick houses with medium size gardens, and a good choice of shopping centres.
Last week I went to the Westfield in Garden City, huge place!! The Carindale one is bigger and again a short drive from Mount Gravatt. I would consider living here but looking at Brisbane Boys School is in the wrong area.
Right, back to my pet export form... Dang it!

BBC is a short walk from Toowong or Taringa train stations and is also on the Great Circle Line Bus route (598/599). Are you working there or just sending your son/s? If it's just the kids then Mt Gravatt might work fine (they can catch the bus). Otherwise consider the Ipswich Line and all it's stations (Milton, Auchenflower, Toowong, Taringa, Indooroopilly, Chelmer, Graceville, Sherwood, Corinda and Oxley - wouldn't go further west than that personally). Heaps of kids catch public transport to school everyday.

Alternatively - depending on your work - have a look out Kenmore and Chapel Hill way - lovely area.

Best of luck.

Thank you Goldchoccycoin!
If I were to drive my son to school, are there any traffic hot spots to avoid in the suburbs you mentioned?

Hi,

I personally would drive as a last resort - unless there are good reasons (disability, major bullying or similar) as the traffic in the BBC area is some of the worst in Brisbane. Toowong is a bottleneck for everyone heading into the city from the whole of the Western suburbs as it leads to Coronation Drive and Milton Road - the two major arterials into the city.

If you want to drive then probably consider living in Toowong, Indooroopilly or Taringa - as this way it's a short commute which doesn't involve Moggill Road or the Indooroopilly bridge which can be a nightmare.

Seriously consider public transport - BBC is very well served - and a lot (hundreds) of schoolkids use the train/bus to get to school. It is a great social opportunity and lets them get to know kids in their home suburb too.

Also, BBC provide a number of chartered buses to transport their students from all over Brisbane (Brisbane Boys College - Footer Pages - Getting here and Brisbane Boys College - Events - BBC Buses) which may be a great idea if you choose a suburb that has complicated transport links (although one would hope a smart lad attending BBC could cope with a transfer or two!).

Obviously if it is on your way to work or your son has early morning sport training or similar then a drop off will work the best.

Best of luck!

Goldchoccycoin, yes have checked out school buses and the links are good.
Thank you for your valuable insight!

Our three kids have all gone to Mount Gravatt High school and we have been very happy with it. We live in Carindale and rather like it here.

BBC is right on Moggill Rd. This is a slow dual carriage B type road that is a main artery into Brisbane so travelling down it will take more than 20mins unless you live in Taringa or Toowong itself.

However, the nearby northern suburbs of Bardon, Auchenflower and north Taringa can give easy back street access to the school. Coming from the south just sticks you right onto Moggill Rd with few back road as the train track dissects south from north.

Being as I serviced pools in that area I can say that Auchenflower and Bardon are very nice areas. Taringa is a bit hit and miss but I serviced lots of rented houses lived in by bogans and the nicer houses were much more few and far between.

Anything like Indooropilly, Chapel Hill or Kenmore will easily be half an hour or more IIRC.

Denzil73

Thank you for that information. My son will more than likely get the school bus but knowing what it's like when they run late and I will need to take him. The more information I have the better prepared I am. Back roads are a necessity!

Belle

Much of Indooroopilly would be fine as you don't need to use Moggill Rd.

Yea, I suppose you could head thru the Taringa back roads. I still wouldn't say south of the train line is much good just due to the small number of underpasses and traffic lights.

Yeah could be a problem but I think its ok. Used to walk that way every day for a few years and the little railway overpass was never very bad. Only local traffic.