Living in Brisbane?

lippy11

Hey!

Heading into our final 4 weeks of regional work so we've started to think about where we're going to head next..
We spent 11 days in Sydney when we arrived here and then travelled up here to QLD to start our work so we only spent a few days in Brisbane and we didn't get to see much of the city.
So basically we were always going to head back to Sydney or Brisbane. I'd love to head back to Sydney but I've been checking rent prices today and it seems so expensive to live there, Brisbane seems a lot more affordable.
Can anyone fill me in on Brisbane? Anything to know about the place, is it a nice city etc.
Im finding it hard to shift myself from Sydney... Maybe it's just that we didnt see much of Brisbane so I cant even compare it to Sydney!

So if anyone living in Brisbane has any info for me it would be much appreciated

zweton

Would be interested in this too...

Noo

What info would you like to know? I A lot of backpackers don't really like it, i can see why but don't let that put you off, i guess its more of a livable city rather than touristy if ya get me. Everyone i know who lives here loves it, me included. It really is a great place to live rather than just pass through.

Its got all the things a big city has except smaller and easier to navigate around, plus its got amazing weather. What more could ya want!

zweton

Noo wrote: »

What info would you like to know? I A lot of backpackers don't really like it, i can see why but don't let that put you off, i guess its more of a livable city rather than touristy if ya get me. Everyone i know who lives here loves it, me included. It really is a great place to live rather than just pass through.

Its got all the things a big city has except smaller and easier to navigate around, plus its got amazing weather. What more could ya want!

Thinking of heading up there first week of July,what does the weather usually be like around then? Any sun during July or mainly crap?

lippy11

Thanks Noo!
We'd be probably arriving there first/second week of July too.
I just know so little about Brisbane, lifestyle, social life, transport, work etc. What would be the best areas/suburbs to live in? Somewhere not right slap bang in the CBD but maybe 20-30mins outside of the centre. My BF is a carpenter and at home I was an accounts assistant so I'll probably be looking for some kind of office orientated work which I think means I'll be looking for work in the CBD so where ever we live I'll need access to the train.
I suppose google will be my friend now and I may get searching But it's always good to hear of individuals experiences in places!

We're not here for the backpackers lifestyle, we took a 4 week holiday when we got here so we both want to establish some kind of new life for ourselves here now and see how things go

Oh and is the summer months really the wet season in Brisbane?! As in loads of rain in Dec/Jan??

Noo

I havent been here long enough to experience a full year cycle of weather but yes the summer months really are the wet season, but its nice to know it'll never be unbearably hot for too long as there's always rain due at some stage. Can be very humid and sticky though. Winter weather like now (and july, someone asked) is really nice. Clear blue skies, day time temp rarely dropping below 21C, night temperatures usually drop into single figures.
Overall its a nice compromise from the heat up north and the sometimes irishy weather down south.

As for where to live yes google is your best friend. If you're looking for 20-30mins outside the city then youve give yourself a very wide search area. For example i've driven from the CBD to Brendale in rush hour friday traffic (bumper to bumper stuff) and it took an hour, at a regular offpeak time it takes 30/35mins.

As for living near the train, dont limit yourself to finding somewhere just there. The bus service in brisbane is excellent, the times you see on the timetable are what you get, to the minute! They have their own transit network with underground tunnels in the city to beat the traffic.

I live 3km from the CBD, 3 bed apartment $400 a week.

Hells Belle

We've been here 2 months so like Noo I can't comment on the Summer weather, it was freezing last night though - got down to 6 deg here, had to get the heater out. Still 20 ish during the day so no complaints here!

We are living out in the western suburbs (Bellbowrie), huuge 4 bed house for $400 per week but we are 20 mins from the cbd providing the traffic is light - double that for rush hour. It is the sticks tbf - someone lost their cow the other day, they are offering a reward.....lol....We have children so its a great for them, the people are really friendly and the school is great. Few snakes about though, there was one on the path outside the house last week, dunno where he went :eek:

OH is a carpenter and he works out this way so he doesn't have a commute thank god. We did a lot of househunting in the west and south - south Brisbane is a teeny bit rough imo, but we liked Milton, Indooropilly and Toowong (central and west) but they were a bit too urban for us. They are all on a train line, 5/10 mins to the cbd. Kenmore and Chapel Hill are quite nice too and rent is much more reasonable but I don't think they have a train.

Beware though that rentals have nothing in them, we had to buy a fridge, lawnmower and washing machine - if you get a house share you might get around that.

As someone said the public transport is great, even out as far as we are but we couldn't do without a car. Brisbane is just massive and with so many things close by car you'd miss out on heaps without one. We have been on trips to the Sunshine & Gold Coasts, Glass House Mountains and Moreton Bay and I wouldn't fancy doing any of them on public transport. Even carrying the shopping home on the train is a pain (I did it a few times between Milton and Toowong and would not recommend it). Just something to consider.

Brisbane is great though, we love it here so far. :cool:

lippy11

Thank you Hells Belle and Noo! Always good to get other peoples outlook on things..

We're in central QLD at the mo, 12 hours from Brisbane and it's starting to get so cold in the mornings but warms up come 10am.

Brisbane rentals are so much cheaper than Sydney, so expensive to rent there. We're saving quite a lot of money here working on the farm so that's to go towards furniture etc if needed.. It probably will be needed!

My OH bought a small van here when we arrive but I kind of wanted to stick to the public transport route here when we move closer to the city purely because I didn't want to have another overhead and the hassle of traffic and parking. Judging from yourselves and what I've read Brissy seems to have a pretty good transport service so I shouldn't have to worry about that.

Thanks again for your info, I'm going to check out some of those suburbs ye mentioned.

Hopefully work is plentiful in Brisbane. OH is a carpenter and I think the fact that we're both on a WHV might just hinder out job search ! We'll have to wait and see!

zweton

Can anyone recommend some nice suburbs with good access to the city that is not far. One that has a train station i guess for easy access to the city. We are heading up there 22nd June and will be looking for a decent houseshare.

TirEoghain

I'm living in Toowong, and used to live in Auchenflower. Both are nice suburbs with easy access to the city, as are Milton, Taringa, Indooroopilly. They are all on the train line with easy 15 min frequency trains off peak and weekends.

I might be a bit biased though, as that's the area I'm living in, I'm sure there are plenty of nice areas on the South and North sides too.

Actualyl, how many rooms are you looking for? I know someone in Annerly who had a spare room. Could check and see if they still have it.

zweton

Do they all have train stations with easy access to the city?

TirEoghain

All those suburbs I mentioned have train stations, and are fairly short train journeys into the city.