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As with anywhere it takes a while to familiarize oneself with the feel of a city and the character of potential suburbs in which to live. In deciding whether we ideally wanted to be by the water, city or have a home with acreage led to a few months contemplating and weighing the pros and cons. Given that work will take us to the city center we looked at the infrastructure of the train lines, bus routes and highways into the CBD(Central Business District), then possible future schools for our son, and then the edited list of ‘must haves’ nearby. Visiting one or two friends with acreage put a halt to our countryside ranch idea. Lovely and quiet, an amazing amount of land and personal space or privacy but too much lawn mowing for us! That plus being timid of snakes and spiders we decided it wasn’t going to be our lifestyle dream but still a great option nonetheless. City living is still possible in Brisbane. Many city-side suburbs are within walking and cycling distance of the CBD. There is also a full range of house and unit sizes and it is possible for a family who wants a home with a yard and pool, but with less travel time to work to find property. We decided that in the future we wanted to be able to sail on the weekends, therefore, we’ve opted to buy a place 40 minutes from the CBD on the coast. One or two coastal suburbs, Manly (south) and Shorncliff (north) have a name for being fashionable and established with house prices starting at 600 000$AU with anything overlooking the water starting from 1$ Million AU. Other suburbs are still up and coming and yet to peak. With a large number of retired residents in the northeastern suburbs we elected for a property in an area which is changing. New families are slowly moving in and the area is still affordable and likely to increase in value as time goes on. Close to shops, train line, bus route, schools, medical centers and with a good established community spirit, we found our own renovator's delight! Building a new home is very popular here. Large blocks of land, subdivided into plots starting at 400m2 are being released by the government and private sellers on a regular basis. Dotted in amongst existing suburbs and in well placed locations prices generally start at around 250 000$AU. Alternatively there are new suburbs and housing estates being planned and built in mass. These houses range in style, generally are brick and can be viewed prior to buying at display homes and village sites. In suburbs such as Springfield lakes, North Lakes and Forest Lakes, a little way out of the city but still within the 25-30km radius. House and land packages for a four bedroom brick house, modern kitchen, two bathrooms, open plan living area and with a double garage, sitting on 400m2 of land start from 160 000$AU and go up to 500 000$AU. Generally each village has a price range for the houses of that suburb which dictates the buyers. Choosing to
build independently on a lot gives more freedom in house style. A Queenlander,
wooden in construction is very typical for this state (hence the name-see
photo). It is also possible of course to self-build a brick home. Both
house types require, like any building work, a great deal of liaison with
architects, draftsmen, engineers, the local council and builders. It’s
typical at the moment for builders to be quoting for jobs 12 months in
advance. Plus it’s good to get more than one quote, costing and reference
(3 is recommended).
Having one or two friends who have taken the plunge and bought land in an established suburb, it does seem possible to manage and co-ordinate. Designing a home which fits in with building regulations and then having all plans passed by the local council takes 6 months. Like building, renovating is a long process with any extensions and structural changes needing to be approved in advance by the local council. Tradesmen do have mixed reputations so asking neighbors and quotes for each job is a must….as is the flexibility with starting dates for jobs. Not all workmen show up or complete a job within the time frame promised! To appreciate the outside living lifestyle its worth having a large deck or shaded entertainment area. As to the advantages of brick verses wooden houses it does come down to a matter of taste and ability/desire to maintain. It is possible to have 600m2 of land but the standard is 400m2. Housing and pest inspectors prior to purchase advise on termites (this problem does exist here), age of the property and condition. Very few Brisbane houses have insulation, more common are air conditioners which are convertible in winter to heating. Asbestos is being removed from property and schools at the moment with a big awareness campaign. Meanwhile, in our renovation haven we have a kitchen, new windows, some serious internal painting to do. Needless to say there’s enough activities to occupy us for the next two years! Having been inspired by the immigrants and travel of the first Australians I’ve written a series entitled ‘Sunflowers in the Desert’ which can be read on www.keepitcoming.net or my web page CreativeArts on http://members.optus.com.au/~jeanjacquet/ The following are the previous articles Sarah wrote for the magazine:
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Immigrating
To Australia - 
