ianp

Hi,

I am wondering if any Sunshine Coast residents could give us a few pointers,

We are arriving in Brisbane on Sept 14th and plan to spend a couple of weeks in Noosa as a holiday.

After that we are going to look for a town to settle in. We have 3 children aged 15,13 and 10 so good schools are important, Workwise we only need to have broadband access ,so we wont need to comute to Brisbane.

I know this is a " how long is a piece of string question" but we really would appreciate feedback from people who live on the Sunshine coast, as places take on a whole different perspective when your living there ...

We will also like to meet up with other members for a drink, I will even get the first round in !!

cheers
Ian & Kath

roiboit

I would love to see some comments too! We are headed there early 2005.

My husband lived a couple of months in Noosa quite a few years ago and for him it is really the "ideal" (maybe not for finding work though). But over the last few years prices have just skyrocketed so we are checking out the surrounding areas. He is holding out for Tewantin as it is only a couple KM from Noosa and the coast but much more reasonable (and less touristy) - they also seem to have a pretty good school (although as our children are younger I haven't checked the high school). May be a bit "quiet" for some ....

There are also a couple of posters (Carianne+Tinaj ?) that seem to love the Caloundra/Maroochydore area....

I suppose it all depends what you are looking for : calm, action for the teenagers, beach, nature ....???

in any case, good luck!
roiboit

dobbo

I have cousins living in Noosa who moved there when they were 10 12 15 unless the kids are into surfing there isnt much else for teenagers to do .They soon got bored and went travelling. Now they are adults the youngest is surfing on the world circuit the other one lives in Brisbane for the nightlife and the eldest is working and living in Noosa saving money to go back to London .

Juliet

Corkhead

Hi There

I spent a lot of time on the sunshine coast in 1999/2000 on a WHV and stayed just outside of Noosa at Perigian (a very small quite place, with quite a few rips on the beach) We spent most of our time surfing in Noosa, but found Noosa to be a little bit snobby (just my opinion).

We then went back to study in 2002 and again stayed on the sunshine coast, but this time in Currimundi, on the outskirts of Caloundra. Currimundi was great but had quite a high majority of retired people there (but the school had a very good rep). Our Australian friends live in Caloundra and they all have children who seem to be doing well at school. Caloundra is also commutable distance from Brissie for jobs. Caloundra is also surrounded by lots of lovely beaches suitable for every type of person. It also has a ok sized town.

We are hoping to go back to the Sunshine Coast in Jan 05 or April 05 on a student visa, this time we are going to live in Mooloolaba which is about 20 minutes drive from Caloundra, and has a lot more night life gong on there, most of the night clubs on the sunshine coast are there.

Marochydore is kind of the centre of the sunshine coast with a couple of large shopping centres. But I personally wouldn't want to live there.

Basically what I am saying is that anywhere on the Sunshine Coast is a lovely place to live with great beaches and great people, but employment isn't great, but once you get to know people job offers usually come about.

Hope my waffle gives you a little more info on the Sunshine Coast.
Kerry

ianp

Hi and Thanks for all the replys,

It has confirmed our thoughts, We would like to live somewhere fairly quiet.

But I don't think teenagers would appreciate a slow pace of life.

One of the main reasons for us emmigrating now was the age of our eldest son,
we felt if we left it much later he wouldn't want to leave the UK.
So we dont want to move 12,000 miles for him to think we are living in a retirement village and want to go home.

Ian & Kath

jad n rich

Hi I,ve explained a few times the teenage years, I dont think anyone could say they dont have a social life they do. I wont deny jobs/uni prospects are much tougher for kids in most of australia than the UK but I would not say they dont have a social life.

Part time job is standard at 15, (cheap labour) means all will walk into a casual job cant say I ever met one who didnt have a PT job by 16. Driving in qld is 16 half lessons/learners 17 is car, hands up who does not have one I have seen the poorest of poor familes get their hands on anything and do it up, they have to no car no life really. Every weekend there are huge parties, kids have their own money through the jobs so thursday night you will be trampled on by teen people at the mall. Movies and computer arcades have all all nighters for them. By 18 the booze buses are coming round to pick them up to get them into clubs and pubs plus UNI nights which is again specially for them. I dont think my son has been home one night since he was 15, I am serious no exaggeration. Of course sport facilities are quite good if they want indoor cricket, footy, basketball etc.

My son is returning to the UK, but its not because there is no social life here. There is a big retirement population on the sunny coast but there would be just as many young families. High schools usually have between 1000 and 2000 kids so theres no lack of youngsters too.

My son would never have settled in Australia, hes 19 tomorrow, been selling units between 1 million and 3 million on comission for the last 6 months, has designed his own range of clothing that looks set to take off big time, he's never going to be laid back enough for australia thats all.

biggy

We live in Yeppoon which is 1 hrs flight north of Brissy, prolly too far away for you. It has its quiet spots but s few mins away and u r in the town and there seems to be plenty to do for the young ones. My kids are only 8 & 9 and love doing all the beach things, and being able to be out on bikes and skate boards etc............at the weekends u see huge groups of teenagers on the beach playing volly ball and just chilling out and having a laugh. Its so different here that it is hard to compare with the UK. The schools here also have goos reputations....the State High School seems to be very good and there are also plenty of private schools which are not that pricey, it is also easier to get ur kids into schools up here, I have heard you can have a long wait the closer u r to Brissy, but dunno if that is true. If up this way isnt too far away then let me know and I can find some websites etc for the schools around here for you to have a look at.

Hope you find what you are looking for.....we love it here and are well chilled out!!!!!!

tinaj

Hi Ianp,

We currently live in Caloundra quite near the Currimundi area. It is quieter and less hectic down this end and that is why we chose it. Moololaba does have a lot more going on at night than Caloundra, which is dead after about 6pm!! It is busier at night in Caloundra in the Summer though. The downside of Mooloolaba and Maroochydore for us was that there is a lot less space, lots more cars and houses etc, just what we wanted to escape from!

Mooloolaba is only a 10 min drive from where we live so it is no big deal to visit there for the evening or to go shopping also there is a huge Cinema complex there.

We came from Outer London and the facilities here are better than what we had there! Within a 10 min drive we have: 10 screen cinema and a smaller one ( in Caloundra), Lazer Quest, Bowling alley, Roller Drome, New huge indoor Basketball / sports stadium - all in Caloundra. 3 Olympic sized pool complexes ( Caloundra, Kawana, Mooloolaba) water slides, about 4 skate parks plus numerous kids playgrounds. Dancing studios, a big athletics complex at the Sun Coast Uni., football fields, basketball outdoor courts and loads of beaches.

There are lots of things to do here for the kids, but you will find that you have to ferry them around everywhere so it is worth finding a central place to settle.

My kids did not do a lot of activites in England and now they go Roller blading, Karate, swimming, surfing frequently. Also buy them a trampoline and stick it in the garden, it keeps them occupied for hours!

Personally I would not go to Noosa as it is a bit far from Brisbane and is also more touristy and a bit aloof for my liking. We travel into Brisbane every few weeks and it is only a 40 - 50 min trip from here.

Carrianne

Hi,

I feel at home here having been here nearly six months, it has so much to do I have even gone to the roller rink again

It is laid back and for us we are just 5 mins to at leat three beaches one a good surf beach.

The kids swap their playstations for surfboards and boogie boards.

It is laid back but not has laid back as say Rocky.


I will be organising another meet soon and hopefully i wil be well for this one so i can have a few


If you want to PM me I will answer any questions you may have

C x

tinaj

Ian I meant to say the 2 schools around here with the best reputation are Mountain Creek State High school in Mountain Creek and Talara Primary College in Currimundi, they both have zones that you have to live in to get into the school.

ianp

Thanks for the great response,

My son has taken to the idea of diving at 16 1/2 !!!

I am currently trying to book a short term holiday apartment or house,
only to find out its half term when we arrive. We were due out at the end
of July but had the usual house sale hassles which has delayed us.

I think we wiil spend a couple of weeks in either Noosa or Coolum then have
a look round closer to Brisbane.

Colundra sounds nice ,we will probably stay there while on our travels.

Can any one reccomend a hotel near Brisbane airport ? as our flight
arrives at 8pm we wont be wanting to travel very far .


we hope to meet you all at the next meetup.

Ian

alison_g

Hi
You sound like just the person I need to speak to for some HELP on Dancing schools etc on the Sunny coast, we are moving in October and having previously had many visits there decided we would like to settle in the area.
However, I have a 13 yr old daughter whose life is dancing! she dances to quite a high level here in various styles, ballet, tap, jazz, street etc and has told us that she will NOT move unless I can find dance classes. I have searched and searched on the net and then I saw your message! and you mention Dance Studios which made my ears prick up. I wonder if you have any other info that I can pass onto my daughter to reassure her that these classes do exist.

Many thanks,
a worried Mum - Alison

tinaj

There are at least 5 dance companies around here so don't panic!! There are ballet,tap, funk, street dance lessons etc etc. I could give you a list but none of them have websites so it is not really worthwhile.

Look up yellowpages.com.au and go to Sunshine Coast districts you should be able to get the full list there.

Classes cost around $8 a go so it is reasonable as well.