Wynnum is the more commercial district & is where the council library, police station, courthouse, banks, shops etc are. Still a villagy feel to it with lots of individual small shops although they have just completed a small shopping mall. Havent been in it yet, so cant comment but it is only small. There are some older parts especially around Wynnum North, but even the older run down houses are being replaced with new as people flood to the area. There are some beautiful old queenslanders in the area as well so its a mix of old & new housing. Manly is more upmarket & has a *high street* with a cafe strip etc. Manly is where the boat harbour & the yacht clubs are & has alot of very high areas which make for fabulous views (& expensive real estate!). Cross section of the community would show a large amount of 40+ professionals & elderly & my guess would be a lower than average crime rate in the area.

You do get quite a few people from the rest of Brisbane down here on the weekends & the waterfront is usually busy with people picnicing & having BBQs especially in summer when they tend to come down to escape the heat. The joys of living somewhere so nice I guess . No different really (& alot less people!) than the Gold or Sunshine Coast. There are only a couple of places where there is actually sandy beach, most of it is silty mud, could be depressing if you saw it for the first time at low tide & you werent expecting it LOL. And no surf. There are 2 swimming pools, 1 council run pool (at Manly freshwater, pay to swim with a small waterslide) & a public (free) saltwater pool that they fill on the incoming tide. Have to say though, I think its more suited to the kids, I dont think Ive seen it much more than about 2 foot deep LOL. The length of the waterfront (about 3 kms) has had a small retaining wall put in & the entire length is park with playgrounds, BBQs, picnic tables & seats dotted around & walking & bike riding tracks. It is extrememly popular with joggers, walkers & families alike & very very safe. The view looks right across the water to Stradbroke & Moreton Island.