Sunshine Coast.. (and how to get into University??)

[Billabong]

Hi folks, we’re a family of seven hoping to move to Oz next year.

We lived in Perth many years ago but my wife has her heart set on the Sunshine Coast where she visited a couple of years ago with a friend.

We need somewhere with a hospital for work and info on schools/uni, 3 kids in primary, 1 in high school and a sixteen-year-old who will need to do the equivalent of 'A' levels??

Would dearly appreciate your views on where to live!! :? , I thought Buderim looked ok and affordable although my uncle (lives in Perth) tells me it's a retirement town?

Cheers

[ABCDiamond]

I cant help with personal knowledge, but the following may give an idea.


Some demographics of the general area are at:
http://www.homepriceguide.com.au/sna...&cb=1205160227

From that info it seems pretty popular with Brits, when compared to QLD as a whole.


and then a bit more specific to just Buderim:
http://reareports.realestate.com.au/...derim&inpcode=
shows 55% of the area are couples with children. But the predominant age group in Buderim is 40 - 49 years.
Compared to Brisbane where the predominant age group is 20 - 29 years, and only 15% are couples with children.

Local council website is: http://www.maroochy.qld.gov.au/

http://www.buderimvillage.com.au/

[Billabong]

Many thanks for your reply and the links - all now bookmarked.
Looks like we'd fall into the 'predominant' age group in Buderim - maybe that's a bad thing!.. anyway doesn't seem to be a retirement haven - and the second highest age range is under nineteen.
All good stuff which'll help us to make a choice. Cheers for that.

Would love to hear from anyone who knows Buderim and round and about and/or - Mountain Creek High School/Buderim Mountain State School - Nambour Hospital/Caloundra Hospital and study options for a sixteen-yrs-old with who wants to get to university in 2008/9?

Cheers

[Emma & Rob]

Hi there

we too have plans to get ourselves to the sunshine coast - can't decide at the moment whether to opt for the sea in Alexandra Headlands etc or the greener pastures of Buderim. The area is wonderful! I spent a year up in Port Douglas fnq post uni and during travels touched on the sunshine coast - I loved it so much, have dragged my other half back there 3 times since. We have friends who live in Alex Heads - they have 3 children aged 13, 17 and 19 - they all went to Flanders or Flinders? school which is in Buderim I think - the eldest is now at Brisbane uni. Can't provide much info on the hospital front - but our friends are medics so if you let me know the kind of info you are looking for - I can certainly see if they can shed some more light for you. Happy planning.... :D

[Billabong]

Thanks for your recommendation Emma,.. I’ve visited PtDoug/Cairns - and Brisbane briefly – not the SCoast but my wife like you thought it was wonderful.
I’ve now got the website for ‘Matthew Flinders School’. It turns out to be a private school so have emailed them for fees.
Other sites/research highlight Mountain Creek High as a good school.
My wife’s a nurse – Nambour seems to be the main gen.hospital in the area – she’s got the web profile and they provide services in her expertise (Oncology& Gynaecology/Neurology/Intensive Care).. she’s just wondering on Nambours reputation & comparisons to the larger Brisbane hospitals, how it compares to Caloundra and local info like facilities/conditions & access from Buderim/AlexHeads.
My daughter leaves school next year – year 11 – She should have 9 GCE's & was planning to take five A levels at college. I think Australia schools finish yr 12? and she’s confused on her options. Do you know how she can get the necessary for uni entry?
(Her four brothers can take their chances!!) Any advice greatly appreciated

[Emma & Rob]

Hi again

I have pasted below the reply from our contacts after their initial thoughts - hope the pointers help:

Emma
I will give it some thought and reply through your email and you could copy and paste.
There is a university of the sunshine coast USC, maybe they should email
that uni, and of course more uni's in Brisbane, but it might be a good
starting point to be close to family. The Nambour Hospital is well
respected, it is growing and stretched etc, with plans of a new Hospital to
be built in the near future. There are four private hospitals between
Caloundra and Noosa all good hosptials. We have excellent specialist
support. Sunshine Coast is rapidly growing.
Schools, lots to choose from, heaps of private schools and plenty of public schools , in the case of public schools you generally need to live in the 'catchment area' to attend that particular school. some people will rent in the catchment area just to get there children into a school and then if they move the children can still attend. I think I would interview the schools, look at subject choices etc, they can vary between schools.
thats just a few ideas.

Emma

[chello]

Check out the Buderim web site, it uses google maps to locate schools etc. and is a better representation of the true Buderim Community.