Another 'where to live' question!

[mxh]

After a few living on the north shore of Sydney, my wife has been offered a work promotion which would mean moving to Brisbane. The job will be in Milton, so I'm looking for ideas as to an area to live that would suit us.

We like the North Shore of Sydney for it's proximity to the bush for walks, biking etc, and we're only 15 minutes from the beach, although we don't go that often. No kids, so schools aren't an issue. However, we do find the North Shore a bit toooo sleepy sometimes, so would be nice to live somewhere a little livelier.

We've visited Brisbane a few times to have a rough idea of what it's like - but not really at 'suburb' level. I was looking at the Toowong / Auchenflower area - not too far from Milton, and with public transport options. And not too far from the outskirts in the other direction. Bit of a trek to the beach - but that's not a major concern. 

Anyone have any experience of these areas and what they're like to live in? Not really concerned about rental budget at the moment - we're just trying to narrow down somewhere that would suit us. Any other suggestions for areas within, say, 5k of Milton? And anywhere to avoid?

[calNgary]

Any suburb in the city is a trek to the beach unfortunately, although you do have 'Streets Beach' at South bank for a quick fix..

Areas you could look at that seem to be nice places are Chapel Hill , Indooroopilly, The Gap and if looking further up the river my choice would be around Bulimba. You could use the river ferry's to commute if you didn't want to drive into the center and there are masses of cycle paths along the river from the city. I don't think there are any real no go areas but of course everyone's taste is different.

 Cal x

 

[mxh]

11 hours ago, calNgary said:

Areas you could look at that seem to be nice places are Chapel Hill , Indooroopilly, The Gap and if looking further up the river my choice would be around Bulimba

My concern would be that they're very suburban - maybe a bit too far away from any life (resturaunts, pubs etc) - although I could be wrong as I've only really got Google Maps to go on at the moment. Obviously we'll go up at some point to have a drive around and see what these areas are like, but am hoping to narrow it down to some that seem to fit the bill, at least on paper.

[rammygirl]

That’s Australia for you.  Small towns/villages with restaurants, shops etc are not that common here. Even many of the suburbs lack a proper hub or Main Street.

We are lucky here in the Adelaide hills, a few good townships with some real life in them and surrounded by countryside. Also some smaller ones are starting to get more trendy cafes, pubs etc.

We might be a tad further from the beach but I prefer to walk to shops and restaurants and drive to the beach anyway.

I really liked Brissy on our visit recently but would prefer to live in the suburbs south of the river that are becoming trendy.  You can walk to the river front and ferries too if you don’t mind half an hour walk, plenty of people cycle too.  There are some good restaurants and bars there too.

[Johndoe]

I'm not really sure what you're asking? Suburb to me means "outer city" yet you've quoted areas that you've looked at which are inner city? Is your work on the northside or southside?

You mention Milton and a place that I really enjoy visiting is directly on the opposite side of the river, West End. As for beaches, Most tend to think of surf beaches but if you just like to laze on the sand in safety, with a clean beach and somewhere to swim, anywhere on the northside past Woody point is fine and more wholesome (IMHO) than Blackpool or Brighton.

Southside there's Wellington point, but either way, if you want surf it's never more than 90 minutes away and emphasis should really be on work and not whether you have a surfer's lifestyle on your doorstep..........unless of course you're a pro surfer.

Brisbane has ample bikeways through roads and parklands and anywhere in the city puts you in easy (biking) touch of Mt Coot-Tha and beyond. Feel free to ask anything more specific and I will help all I can.........google maps is ok but it doesn't help with traffic etc

Edited June 20, 2018 by Johndoe

[mxh]

8 hours ago, Johndoe said:

I'm not really sure what you're asking? Suburb to me means "outer city" yet you've quoted areas that you've looked at which are inner city? Is your work on the northside or southside?

As stated, the job is in Milton

Currently , I've only got Google Maps to go on, and to me, the areas I listed look like they're right on the edge of the bush. However, if in reality they're 'inner city', and are populated by high rises etc, then maybe they're not for us. But that's the sort of info that I'm after.

Not really worried about access to the beaches - the bush is more important. But I'm trying to get that balance of city and non-city living right. We don't want to live in a suburb full of high rises, shopping malls and constant traffic, but we would like a bit of 'life'in the way of restaurants, pubs etc.

And the traffic is also a good point. I picked the suburbs that I listed as they seem to have good public transport options into Milton - however, if we went further out then it might be a drive? If so, how is traffic into that area early in the morning - probably a 7 to 7:30 start.

[DT55]

4 hours ago, mxh said:

As stated, the job is in Milton

Currently , I've only got Google Maps to go on, and to me, the areas I listed look like they're right on the edge of the bush. However, if in reality they're 'inner city', and are populated by high rises etc, then maybe they're not for us. But that's the sort of info that I'm after.

Not really worried about access to the beaches - the bush is more important. But I'm trying to get that balance of city and non-city living right. We don't want to live in a suburb full of high rises, shopping malls and constant traffic, but we would like a bit of 'life'in the way of restaurants, pubs etc.

And the traffic is also a good point. I picked the suburbs that I listed as they seem to have good public transport options into Milton - however, if we went further out then it might be a drive? If so, how is traffic into that area early in the morning - probably a 7 to 7:30 start.

I'd look at Rosalie and Paddington. Good places to go out, nice areas,  and close to Milton. Expensive but maybe you won't notice coming from Sydney