Hi all
I'm a single mum if 4 kids aged between 8 and 13. I am currently studying a bachelor in sport physiology at jcu in cairns. I have made the decision to move to Brisbane in January next year and I am looking for some advice on good suburbs near university of Queensland that are child friendly and not too pricey.
Thank you al in advance ?
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1 Replies
Goodness, there is some terrible advice on the FB thread!! I hope you come back to this site and get this comment. I studied at UQ 15-20 years ago and I managed to live at home with my parents way down on Brisbane's south side, terrible commute through horrendous traffic and long distance but it was worth it for the cost savings at the time. The rent around St Lucia was very expensive for a young full time student. But that's a different situation to yours. The surrounding suburbs are all lovely, you can't go wrong in any direction within about a 10 or 15 minute drive! All beautiful, leafy, long-established suburbs. I'd be happy bringing up my children there. I've heard good things about Ironside primary school and also Fig Tree Pocket primary if you're looking for good public schools. There is no train directly into St Lucia. Toowong and Indooroopilly are probably the closest stations, and they are on the Ipswich and Springfield lines. Buses are well serviced to the campus. There is also a Citycat stop there I believe. Parking permits (paid per semester I think) are expensive, but I found them worth it in my situation as buses didn't go anywhere near my parents' house. My brother lived at Bardon for a while, and then at Taringa, then Auchenflower. Quite pricey, but worth it because they worked in the area. I often stayed with him and caught the bus to early lectures. For transport info go to the Translink website to get an idea of bus/citycat/train timetables, routes, etc. If cycling is an option you might save some money on parking! It's a fairly hilly area so might not appeal. If you need to go further out of town to find something affordable, it would probably make sense to head in a westerly direction, as the river makes travel and traffic difficult in most other directions. The Western Freeway does get very busy/blocked during peak hour, but so does every other major road in Brisbane! I live in Springfield now, and find it absolutely brilliant for a young family. Affordable and has masses of things for kids and families to do. I work in Ipswich - it's a much lower socioeconomic/socioeducational area, and prices are consequently very low in comparison. I'd avoid it. Hope I've helped xo