Tweenies

Hi,
We have 3 children (13, 11 & 8). Our oldest goes to Helensvale High School and loves the school, last year his report home was great, but to be honest he has never had a bad school report.

I wouldn't have wanted him to go to Upper Coomera State College due to some stories we have heard but again we have friends who are perfectly happy with the school.
We have friends who have children in Helensvale Primary who are also happy.


Our daughters go to the new Coomera Rivers State school (Opened last year) and i would definitely recommend it, again both of them brought home great reports, the Prinicpal is lovely as are the teachers. My youngest daughters best friend was at one of the private schools in Upper Coomera and she said she is so glad that she pulled her out and sent her to Coomera Rivers instead!

Good luck with whatever you decide to do!

itxrd

hey guys. thanks for your comments. reason for gc is just that we love the beach and its close by from helensvale. theme parks etc are close too for the kids. and its a nice area with reasonable priced houses.

now for the commute which is the only negative. with the kids and work we are always pretty tired. our commute to work odd as it sounds is the only time we can relax. at the moment its 40 mins on a bus. our thinking was that 60 mins on train isn't much worse and we can relax, read, do some work for our sideline on the laptop. this is kind of why driving is a no-no.

we really like the look of helensvale but after your comments have looked at where else we could go. saw shorncliffe but don't know much about it. only 30 mins on train. that means we'd be back to see kids by 6 ;-(
can you guys recommend any other good burbs on a train line that are busy suburbs and on way to beaches? we looked at wynnum which was nice but Mrs thought was bit rough

The Cumbrian

I currently work as a teacher in Yatala at a good private school called Rivermount College, which stands 20 mins north of Helensvale. My 2 children attend and seem to be getting on great. Compared to schools in England I have taught in, it is paradise! I have also heard that Ormeau is an upcoming place to live which again is very near to Helensvale so it may be worth checking it out.
Good luck.

itxrd

thanks cumbrian. yeah we checked out ormeau while over there. weren't any houses near the station and its a very remote quiet place. good idea though so thanks for the suggestion

coldbeer

I once got the train from Ormeu, lots who got on there brought their own stools & sat in the isles quite a few just sat on the floor. No chance of a seat whatsoever

From what I can see the schools may be good but basically you're back in the Hills District, bottom line is if there where any perfect compromises we'd all be doing it.

If your serious you need to take a trip up here & see where you like best.

itxrd

yeah you're right. we stayed a week 2 weeks ago and liked helensvale. until you started to put me off ha ha. I think we ll come again and try the train but it looks the best bet. thanks for all the info. really appreciate it!!

coldbeer

Didn't mean to put you off, just wanted you to know what the commute's really like (I'm off to do it now!).

Good luck & feel free to drop me a line if you settle here.

sassie

"Back in the Hills" district - a very one sided point of view. I think its personal preference to be honest. 40 minutes from Brisbane, 20 minutes from the Gold Coast, 3 schools, a train station and with everything else we need right on our door step puts us exactly where we want to be. And I would expect that once Ormeau Town Centre is built, which includes another train station, it will become a very popular place to live.

coldbeer

Fair enough, its my view and no-one else's, there's nothing wrong with the Hills either, I've lived there but its not to everyone's tastes, especially the OP's.

flodsfive

Hi itxrd,
Just another point of view on the commute. My oh, does it every day and is very happy. Gets on at Coomera. Either 6:55 or 7:10, doesn't get a seat usually but prefers a good place to lean. Gets on at Central coming home and always sits, which to be fair is when you need it after a day at work. Yes it's a busy but you can use the time to unwind. I see a few people walking to the train station from a new development, near the Coomera Rivers new state school. I think it's called big sky?. There is also a new high school being built near to the area. I thought the info might help to confuse you even more.

moneypenny20

Very remote?

itxrd

okay nice one. that's good to hear. coomera is just 6 mins closer so that's promising for helensvale. wouldn't kill me standing one way either but its easy to talk ;-). thanks!
on another note train fare is dear. $20 a day. anyone know why they got rid of the monthly/annual passes? gits

moneypenny20

You get a Go Card.

goldchoccycoin

Please make sure you 'practice' the commute before committing to it. Standing up is one thing, standing up with no personal space and some sweaty bloke's armpit in your face for an hour is another.

I know you said that the commute is wind-down time for you but not if it's jostling all the way surely? Not being able to sit and read/work would for me it would be a royal pain in the butt!

Hope it works out for you!

coldbeer

And with a Go Card its about $20 p.d. ($19 now) think.

And yes "very remote" compared to Bris or GC, I wasn't suggesting it was Alice Springs!