Guest JacquiG Posted September 8, 2011 Share Posted September 8, 2011 Hi there, I would really appreciate any advice from people about the reality of commuting. My husband has a job in Fortitude Valley and we have always liked to live next to the sea. (Not so worried about waves etc). I think Manly would be nice but we want to know what the reality of living there is with the commute to work. Particularly when our kids are school aged this will become more difficult. I will get a job at one of the major hospitals eventually, but I will need to be flexible about which hospital I work at to some extent so this may limit me. If we live in Manly I would consider Logan or the PA but I am not sure what the travel to those hospitals would be like. My preference would be manly to live but we are not keen on spending masses of time in the traffic anxious about picking up kids etc. Just wondering if anybody knows exactly how bad it really is. Otherwise would we be better off living in Ascot and just visiting the sea in the weekend? Sorry about the rambling, I know it is personal to some extent but any advice would be appreciated. I am not sure if we can trust the real estate agents opinions. Thank you in advance for any advice you can offer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rudi Posted September 8, 2011 Share Posted September 8, 2011 Try contacting Myrtle - she lives in Manly and her husband commutes into the city. There are so many people that do!! We live a little further south, but still on the Bayside. My husband commutes in by car each day and it takes him around 45 minutes at peak hour. I don't know much about Ascot as a suburb I am afraid, but hopefully someone might have some good advice for you. Love Rudi x Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Happyone Posted September 8, 2011 Share Posted September 8, 2011 The commute from Manly would be OK, it's not that far. Manly has a nice broadwater/kiddies wading pool. But...If you have children, go for Ascot, simply because it is one of the most sought after state schools and you have to live in the catchment to go there. I personally have met lots of people with young kids who live in the catchment just for that reason. The school catchment is mentioned in real estate ads all the time. Ascot itself is one of the most affluent suburbs in Brisbane, it's super close to the city and has lovely cafes etc. so you'd have no problems living there. I would live there too if I could afford it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest JacquiG Posted September 9, 2011 Share Posted September 9, 2011 Thanks Rudi for your response. I have read lots of your posts and they are always really helpful....and quite persuasive towards bayside living! I have heard that Happyone that Ascot has a good school, which is the main reason we were looking there. We went there recently to look at the area and went to sit in a cafe (not on racecourse road but close to the ascot childcare centre) and it just seemed so expensive and OTT I wasn't really sure if it was 'us'. That is why we were thinking back to manly again because I will miss not living near the sea that is for sure....but if the commute is horrenemo that would reduce our quality of life more than the sea would increase it. Rambling again! They are tough decisions. The schooling really is extremely important to us (I posted one about public vs private in the school thread at the same time as I am worried we need to go private to ensure a good education). We have the contract in hand now and we are on the move in about two weeks! Lots of packing to do. Thanks again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Rachyj Posted September 16, 2011 Share Posted September 16, 2011 Hi Jacqui Not sure if you have already made your decision, but thought I would tell you of my experiences! We now live in Manly and my hubby works in the Gabba-it takes around 30mins to drive here in rush hour, so for the Valley, I would say an extra 15mins-totalling around 45mins in total. When we first arrived we lived in Bulimba and although we loved it, we felt it wasnt quite right for our 2 young children (walking down Oxford street through the cafes is not cool with a toddler and screaming baby!). The other main place we liked was Manly, but my hubby was a bit put off due to the commuting times-he had been quite spolit with Bulimba. Anyway, in the end we decided to go for it, and it was the best move we have made so far-we love living near the sea and we love our weekends strolling down to the markets and grabbing a coffee. We feel there is a very family friendly feel to the area, and I have heard really good reports and feedback from the Manly State School-which my son will start in Jan 2013.... If you have any questions, give me a shout Rach x Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fashionably Late Posted September 16, 2011 Share Posted September 16, 2011 We did the commute in from Bayside for nearly two months and it made us miserable. It went against everything we wanted when we changed our lives to move here. We now have very short commutes to work and save the trips to the coast for our weekends when we can properly enjoy it. But for us the quality family time was just too important to continue that commute on a daily basis. I know people who have done the commute from Bayside in the times Rudi mentions but we never managed it in less than 60 minutes to the CBD. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest JacquiG Posted September 16, 2011 Share Posted September 16, 2011 Hi JacquiNot sure if you have already made your decision, but thought I would tell you of my experiences! We now live in Manly and my hubby works in the Gabba-it takes around 30mins to drive here in rush hour, so for the Valley, I would say an extra 15mins-totalling around 45mins in total. When we first arrived we lived in Bulimba and although we loved it, we felt it wasnt quite right for our 2 young children (walking down Oxford street through the cafes is not cool with a toddler and screaming baby!). The other main place we liked was Manly, but my hubby was a bit put off due to the commuting times-he had been quite spolit with Bulimba. Anyway, in the end we decided to go for it, and it was the best move we have made so far-we love living near the sea and we love our weekends strolling down to the markets and grabbing a coffee. We feel there is a very family friendly feel to the area, and I have heard really good reports and feedback from the Manly State School-which my son will start in Jan 2013.... If you have any questions, give me a shout Rach x Thanks very much for your reply Rachel, we are definitely in the midst of tossing them up and need to make a decision asap. I think our kids are the same age as yours. My daughter will start school Jan 2013 also. 45 minutes driving to the valley...seems ok to me but my husband hates commuting. His main worry is when the kids start school and if I am back at work part time how will we manage pick-ups/drop offs etc. I am pleased you are really enjoying it and I think that your post means we will get to start off in manly in a couple of weeks at least to test out the commute! Thanks! Maybe we will see you there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest JacquiG Posted September 16, 2011 Share Posted September 16, 2011 We did the commute in from Bayside for nearly two months and it made us miserable. It went against everything we wanted when we changed our lives to move here. We now have very short commutes to work and save the trips to the coast for our weekends when we can properly enjoy it. But for us the quality family time was just too important to continue that commute on a daily basis. I know people who have done the commute from Bayside in the times Rudi mentions but we never managed it in less than 60 minutes to the CBD. Thanks for the reality check....when you say you never managed less than 60 minutes....whereabouts in bayside was that from and where in the CBD were you going to..and was this driving or by train? We are looking at travelling from manly to fortitude valley, probably by train. Eventually I will be travelling from manly to one of the hospitals, probably the mater...thanks very much for your post, I appreciate it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rudi Posted September 17, 2011 Share Posted September 17, 2011 Thanks for the reality check....when you say you never managed less than 60 minutes....whereabouts in bayside was that from and where in the CBD were you going to..and was this driving or by train? We are looking at travelling from manly to fortitude valley, probably by train. Eventually I will be travelling from manly to one of the hospitals, probably the mater...thanks very much for your post, I appreciate it. Hi Jacqui We live in Thornlands and my hubby works just near Eagle Street Pier, so only just over the river and off at the first exit. I think Fashionably Late's hubby was coming in from Redland Bay which is about 8 minutes to my house and then if he's working further into the city, it would add time at the other end as well. Love Rudi x Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lynnes Posted September 22, 2011 Share Posted September 22, 2011 HI, we live in Wynnum which is just next to manly and I work at the Mater, the drive in takes me around 20mins off peak (6.30am) its only really bust after 8am for the rush hour then it can take an hour. getting to the valley will add another 15mins or so. I cant be sure as i dont go there very often. There is a good train service from Manly/Wynnum or so i'm told.. again i have not used it so cant comment honestly on that one. We love living by the bay and for us the drive time is worth it but we dont have school age kids to worry about. good luck with your decision. It might be worth you doing the drive in at the time you would be doing it for work to get a feel of it, could you rent holiday place for a few days and check it out.... cheaper than making the move and regretting it, just make sure you do it in term time as this too makes a difference to commute time and parking issues. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fish.01 Posted September 22, 2011 Share Posted September 22, 2011 I think you husband has hit the nail on the head with childcare/school pickups etc making it so much easier if at least 1 parent works near home. Was one of the things that pushed us to move closer to the cbd. To add to the choices Wilston has good schools and fantastic access to Fortitude Valley for him and Royal Brisbane, Prince Charles for you. Indooroopilly has good schools and great access to FV or him and Wesley, RBH, Toowong Private for you. Bardon/Ashgrove has great schools (eg Rainworth) and easy drive access to FV and access to Wesley, RBH, Toowong Private for you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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