Moving to Nthside Brisbane?? about areas

[leebow]

Hi girls, In the past 48 hours I have searched for info on moving to Brisbane and most of the posts are older. I have been checking out realestate.com.au but would very much rather opinions and thoughts of people who live there.

DH will be working at Toowong, and due to long hours he will be working, does not want a huge commute, I'm thinking 1/2 hour at most. I like the look of the northside so far, but never having been to Brisbane I'm not sure if I'm on the right track!

The areas we like so far are around Everton, Keperra, Arana Hills, Michelton, Chermside, Kedron and Stafford.

I'd love to know as much about them as possible pleae regards to primary schools, parks, child and family friendliness and atmosphere basically. Our kids love getting out and about riding their bikes and for walks.

DH and I would both have cars so whether there is a train or transport doesn't really matter.

Whatever you can tell me would be wonderful, as we have no friends or family in or around brisbane to let us in on the truth, lol.

So please tell me it all, the good the bad and the ugly, lol.

Thank you so much if you made it this far too :)

Cheers

Leanne.

[MsMummy]

if your partner is working in toowong, have you thought about north-west - taringa, indooroopilly, chapel hill, fig tree poxket, kenmore,, brookfield, paddington, red hill, bardon?

I am slightly biased, as I love the west, but thought i'd mention it in case you hadn't thought of it, if you're not local.

I can't help you with the other areas, sorry. Good luck.

[Ruthie12]

Hi :) I used to live in mitchelton and loved it. Just far enough out but easy to get everywhere. Only problem is that the drive through to toowong can get a bit nightmarish at peak hour...I remember a usual 20 min trip would take an hour+ sometimes. there's a train station at Mitchelton and one at Toowong so that could be easier?. I now live in Oxley and really like the area and it's pretty easy to get everywhere but I've never had to drive Toowong way during work hours so not sure how long it would take. Indooroopilly, Taringa etc and the other places suggested would be good. Lots of uni students around there because of UQ, but close to everything you need. You've got lots of choices!...sorry don't know if I've been helpful:)

[leebow]

Thanks girls, I had looked at the western side, but comparative rents there seem to be a bit higher. My sister almost moved to Brisbane several years ago and identified Kenmore as where they would like to live, so the West obviously has a lot going for it!

The traffic is the unknown quantity I guess, not having lived there before, so I appreciate your advice on that one!

Are there any suburbs that you would advise against? I don't mind hearing the warts and all story :goodvibes:.

Any info you have on government schools vs non-government would be great too. My kids currently attend a great gov't school, although it is a small country school, so while I know the school sizes will be bigger, I'm keen to find one that's not massive. How do school/class sizes compare between gov't & non-gov't?

Thanks in advance for any help you can give me!

Cheers
Leanne.

[MsMummy]

Unfortunately, it is a bit expensive housing wise.

We're in kenmore which is about 12k west, and you get better value in type of house going 12k north.

Toowong has great public transport (many bus routes, train, ferry), so if you lived somewhere like mitcheton, he could easily catch the train to work and avoid the traffic.

Good luck. There are loads of great suburbs in Brisbane, and none of the ones you listed aren't known to be dodgy (as far as I know).

Hopefully a nothsider turns up with some wisdom.

[mum2hayley]

All the suburbs you have listed are great, grew up around the area and still have grandparents and family in the area. Lots of great parks and areas for the kids to play. In relation to the commute you would be looking at a good 1/2-3/4 hour drive to Toowong in peak hour due to the traffic. I actually live further out (Eatons Hill) and work at Taringa (next surburb over from Toowong) and on a good day it will take me an 3/4 hour but on average it takes me an hour (if I don't factor in dropping kids off). Of the suburbs you have picked Everton, Stafford and Mitchelton would probably be the best for the drive. Chermside is great (has the great big Shopping Centre) however is very busy and traffic around the area can be a nightmare. Kedron although abit closer in from Chermside has the same problems especially as at the moment they are working on the roads around the area for the airport link tunnel. Can't help about the schools sorry. Hope this helps.

[fichicken]

we live in mcdowall 12 ks north of the city, Its a lovely area and has a local primary school as well