Moving to Brisbane from Perth - best suburbs?

[The Chaser]

Hi everyone

We are looking at moving to Brisbane in the next few months. We will be in Brisbane for a couple of days later this week and wanted to take a drive around and check out some possible suburbs to rent or buy in.

At this stage we don't know where work will be located and so want to consider all areas. I.e. north, south, east, west. Hubby is in construction so his work can be all over anyway. We are after a suburb to suit kids aged from late primary school to junior high school with a predominantly professional family demographic. We would like to be near to good Catholic primary schools and high schools (to suit boys).

House wise we are after a youngish or renovated 4x2x2 plus study preferably with a reasonable backyard. We prefer not to have to renovate this one. If we bought we would be looking at $600k-$850k. Any suggestions for suburbs to look at would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

Angela

 

[wylie]

Do a search on real estate.com.au for Coorparoo, Camp Hill, Greenslopes. We are in Coorparoo and you could get a good house as described for that price. Two houses that I know very well have sold recently after sufferering price falls. One last sold for over $800K before GFC and sold again last year for $680K. Another last had a contract that fell over pre GFC at $820K and just sold for $700K.

You could pick up a nice house for a good price. I imagine it is the same in other areas if you look hard.

 

[Angel]

Hi Chaser

On the inner north I can suggest popular Catholic schools at Ashgrove/The Gap (Marist Bros) and Enoggera (Mt Maria). Pre GFC these were very popular suburbs and (what I call) expensive suburbs but the prices would have dropped significantly since. My favourite investment suburb is Everton Park immediately north of Enoggera and Mt Maria junior/middle school college is on the Enoggera/EP border for your convenience.

For newish 4/2/2 homes in these areas you would go to the outer part of The Gap and Mitchelton, unless you find new infill properties. They wont likely have large backyards, though. Mt Maria senior secondary college is at Mitchelton.

For your budget you will get gorgeous newish 4 and 5 bedroom homes on large blocks of land at Albany Creek and McDowall.

Happy shopping

 

[RPI]

Villanova in Coorparoo is a good Catholic Boys school. Lauries at South Brisbane is also good.

Bulimba, Balmoral, Norman Park are good family areas. Bulimba has good City Cat ferries to the city a great cinema and restaurant strip, soccer club for the boys. Road access to the city is a bit painful. Norman Park is close to there but has a train station.

Good luck

 

[INVSTOR]

Lakewood Estate, Parkinson has executive homes, kid friendly streets where kids still play outdoors. It's further from city but the payoff is a more relaxed lifestyle. Kids usually attend St Stephens, then St Thomas More College. Peter Elmore is an excellent principal and it's a nice, small school. Eg - principal shouted my daughter and friends an ice block for appreciation of good work. If child is finding difficulty in a subject they try to solve it.
Next favorite suburb is Mansfield. Close proximity to everything. Has buses to a lot of surrounding schools. Although I know some people prefer the local state high school as it has a great reputation. There are some newer estates in Mansfield and is a mix of all ages.

 

[willair]

Hi everyone

We are looking at moving to Brisbane in the next few months. We will be in Brisbane for a couple of days later this week and wanted to take a drive around and check out some possible suburbs to rent or buy in.

At this stage we don't know where work will be located and so want to consider all areas. I.e. north, south, east, west. Hubby is in construction so his work can be all over anyway. We are after a suburb to suit kids aged from late primary school to junior high school with a predominantly professional family demographic. We would like to be near to good Catholic primary schools and high schools (to suit boys).

House wise we are after a youngish or renovated 4x2x2 plus study preferably with a reasonable backyard. We prefer not to have to renovate this one. If we bought we would be looking at $600k-$850k. Any suggestions for suburbs to look at would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

Angela

Also have a look around the river hill side of Annerley,Dutton Park,Tarragindi,both of those are central to several Catholic private schools,well worth a drive around..imho..

 

[INVSTOR]

Agree that Tarragindi/Nathan/coorparoo are nice if you can find something suitable in your price range.

 

[Tim86]

Lakewood Estate, Parkinson has executive homes, kid friendly streets where kids still play outdoors. It's further from city but the payoff is a more relaxed lifestyle. Kids usually attend St Stephens, then St Thomas More College. Peter Elmore is an excellent principal and it's a nice, small school. Eg - principal shouted my daughter and friends an ice block for appreciation of good work. If child is finding difficulty in a subject they try to solve it.
Next favorite suburb is Mansfield. Close proximity to everything. Has buses to a lot of surrounding schools. Although I know some people prefer the local state high school as it has a great reputation. There are some newer estates in Mansfield and is a mix of all ages.

Cracks me up that Mansfield state high has a such a good rep.

When I went there my teachers consisted of (1) a History teacher going through a divorce who used to just coast through lessons and then give us the answers to all the exam questions before the exam so that we could actually pass (2) A creationist science teacher who told us all the stuff she had to teach us about evolution and the age of the earth was wrong (3) A legal studies teacher who spent the first 30 mins of the lesson talking to all the girls about the latest episode of big brother (4) A hippy english teacher that spent lessons telling us stories about her friends trying to sell human poo as fertilizer (5) Another science teacher that lost it one day at me and ended up being put on long service leave.

....Ahhh memories.

Anyway back to the OP, with that sort of budget you can pretty much buy into any suburb in brisbane. But I'm not too sure which are the best ones for kids and being close to private schools.

 

[INVSTOR]

Cracks me up that Mansfield state high has a such a good rep.

When I went there my teachers consisted of (1) a History teacher going through a divorce who used to just coast through lessons and then give us the answers to all the exam questions before the exam so that we could actually pass (2) A creationist science teacher who told us all the stuff she had to teach us about evolution and the age of the earth was wrong (3) A legal studies teacher who spent the first 30 mins of the lesson talking to all the girls about the latest episode of big brother (4) A hippy english teacher that spent lessons telling us stories about her friends trying to sell human poo as fertilizer (5) Another science teacher that lost it one day at me and ended up being put on long service leave.

....Ahhh memories.

Anyway back to the OP, with that sort of budget you can pretty much buy into any suburb in brisbane. But I'm not too sure which are the best ones for kids and being close to private schools.

My old school too! My friend who is a strict catholic, professional, highly paid sends his kids there over continuing to go private. I'm not up-to-date with it though. (maybe science facilities) Ultimately the choice comes down to what the school offers and how your child excels. I would have graduated 1990 but left and did Tafe. More info here http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mansfield_State_High_School

 

[vbplease]

I'd throw in St Joseph's (catholic boy's school) at Spring Hill.. has a tendancy to have the highest % of OP 1-5. Nearby suburbs Windsor/Wilston/Grange would be worth checking out on that budget.

Mansfield State High??? I had friends from there and played inter-school sports comps against them all the time.. about as far from Catholic as they come

 

[INVSTOR]

Ha-ha Vbplease. Maybe it hasn't changed.

 

[Nth Brisbanite]

I'd throw in St Joseph's (catholic boy's school) at Spring Hill.. has a tendancy to have the highest % of OP 1-5. Nearby suburbs Windsor/Wilston/Grange would be worth checking out on that budget.

Mansfield State High??? I had friends from there and played inter-school sports comps against them all the time.. about as far from Catholic as they come

Would agree about St Joseph's (also known as Terrace). it's got a good reputation. Newmarket & Wooloowin are other great suburbs but starting to get pricey.

 

[Rixter]

If you want relaxing bay side lifestyle check out Manly & Wynnum.

 

[ricflair]

If you want relaxing bay side lifestyle check out Manly & Wynnum.

Yeah Wynnum is the go, very much like living amonst a bunch of Jerry Springer contestants/guests. Manly is nice, IONA school might suit your needs.
Morningside would get you a nice house for your budget on the south, not sure about school's near there.
Hendra on the North would be the go for your budget if you want some capital growth.

Wooooooooo I'M RIC FLAIR

 

[Dazz]

Wynnum is like living amonst a bunch of Jerry Springer contestants/guests.

Always good to start the morning with a laugh.

 

[Rixter]

Yeah Wynnum is the go, very much like living amonst a bunch of Jerry Springer contestants/guests.

Thats Wynnum North - dont touch that..like you say, reminds me of a scene from Deliverence with the sound of banjo's

Wynnum through to Manly is nice and far from it.

 

[LOAN]

no one mention western suburub? toowong auchenflower kenmore...etc

 

[rkordic]

Consider Carindale: near a bus station, parklands, nice houses in your price range , AND it is close to Mansfield State High! It is outside the catchment area; however, Mansfield SHS attracts a high percentage of the best students from that area.
The students from that school are impeccably dressed, behave in class, are polite and motivated. T
The previous principal ran a tight ship, but the present principal seems to want to take it up one more notch. Families living in nearby suburbs choose to send their kids to Mansfield, because of what it can deliver! Other schools in the region suffer as a result. They have a waiting list, but if you enroll in time , you are accepted.
Mansfield Primary School is even harder to get into; if you live outside the catchment area, you have to camp outside the school, when enrollments start.
What makes me such an expert? I have worked in these schools.
You can check schools' results on the My School website. The results don't tell the whole story, but they give you a good indication about a school's calibre.

RK

 

[The Chaser]

Hi everyone

Thank you for all the great replies! We are now in Brisbane and intend spending a couple of days getting a feel for the various areas and see how we go.

I can't get over how many trees there are in and around Brisbane! I'm also surprised at just how much more spread out it all seems compared to my many Qld holidays over the years having lived most of my life in NSW. Technically I think somewhere like Mackay is probably a better match for us, but on a professional and extended family level being in a capital city wins out.

Since my OP we have revised our house budget down, so this may impact our decision somewhat. We are looking at between $550k-$700k.

Thanks again for the replies. Any further feedback would be gratefully received.

Thanks
Angela

 

[RPI]

They have just announced today that Coorparoo Secondary College is to become the junior campus of Brisbane State High School.

A GPS school playing sport against the top private schools. Outstanding discipline and academic results. Selective school for those not in catchment, but accepts those in catchment.