STEELER - Thanks for the insight about the teenagers/ thursday nights issue - much appreciated! Really glad to see someone else that thinks North Lakes has a low crime rate.

LOOBY - Thanks for your response again. Geez if our house was already sold & we could move, I would so ask you what street you're in! That would have been great It has really helped getting personal accounts of the area, but I am trying not to let the negative experiences affect me, as altough they have been a little off-putting, when we visited the area we absolutely fell in love with it & felt it was safe (checked it out at night etc).

COPPYS - Lovely to hear another positive perspective of North Lakes! Great that you're from Sydney so you know where I'm coming from! Thanks for all the info - I really appreciate it. It helps to hear it all As of course, it is pretty nerve wrecking moving somewhere you know no one/ nothing about!

Hi Danni,
i'm sure you have a great idea how good north lakes is, just thought i would add my opinion as well!! I to have lived here for many years, at my parents house for a couple of year. Then when i was looking for a house to buy with my partner as we were expecting our 1st baby, i didn't want to buy in nth lakes, mainly due to land size, so we bought in Mango hill, as land size was a bit bigger. Mango hill is lovely, i could walk to the shops no problems at all etc.

Since then, i have bought back in north lakes, and love it! I bought in crestwood (older section) as the land size is bigger than the newer sections. Its close to walk to shops, closer to schools etc. I have never had any problems, apart from the odd car egging when living on Copeland Dr (street running along golf course)

I work up at north lakes, shop there, kids go to day care in North Lakes etc. I have many friends that live in here (most in newer sections) and have never heard of any problems. We all have younger children as well, and have all meet mainly through daycare.

My kids will defientley not be going to the public school, will hopefully be going to St Benedicts, which I have only heard great things about!! Very hard to get into though, defientley have to be Catholic, or no chance from what I hear! 150 applicant for 75 places for next year, with 25 spots going to siblings of current students!

As far as thrusday nights go , Ii quite often head up to the shops with my 2 & 4yo, we normally sit in the playground for dinner and a play. Was quite shocked couple weeks ago when there were only 2 lots of little kids playing, and approx 100 teenagers gathering with many more coming!! I could hear some young girls threatening to bash some others for something silly!! The teenagers were on the slide, and my little 1's couldn't use it, but i just went over and put them on it!! at the end of the day, there teenagers, we all were once, treat them right, and they'll be fine!!
I saw the DJ setting up, and went and asked the security what was happening. He told me all about the dancing and painting classes. He said all ages were welcome. They are trying to get the kids out of the shops, as people are afraid to go shopping with them hanging around, good idea i guess!!

So for the next hour, my 2 boys danced their little hearts out on the dance floor!! Crowds were forming, and just before the dance comp started, they introduced all the little kids, got their names and the crowd (of mostly teenagers, few parents and old people) gave them all a huge applause!! was quite funny!! they loved it!! so i think i will end up being quite a family friendly event!! (might add there was a older boy who did get punched, and the police were questioning people, i didn't see it)

The market is also nice to go to on a Sunday morning. The lake also host movies nights, and carols at xmas time!

Anyways, i would say maybe rent in here for 6months, see how you find it and go from there!!

Good luck with your new addition!!

MANAAKISMAMA - Thank you soo much for your great & informative post! Has helped Hubby & I feel so much more at ease about the move, considering how happy you are with young children! Aww.. the market, movie nights & carols have us sold LOL!
I REALLY appreciate what you have told me about the Catholic School - as that is the one that I'm already considering for my little one hehe! Wow the waiting lists are insanely long - appreciate the heads up! Loved hearing your story about your Thursday night trip - lol good on you. Sounds like your babies had fun after all
I am doing exactly what you've said... taking the risk & renting for a while & seeing how we go. By the sounds of it, I'm sure we'll love it
We maybe catch up when I get up there? Well, feel free to keep me informed on what's going on if you like... I'd love some other Mummies to interact with!
Thanks again... & take care.

Hi.
My hubby just started working at NL and from what I gather it's a pretty nice place.
I was surprised at how big it was and by all the amenties.
From my short visit there recently I thought that the people that I met seemed very friendly

We live at Bribie Island ( just bit nth of NL) and he commutes to there everyday.
We dont have any intentions of moving down though, because it's so beautiiful here.

The water, great schools and friendly locals are too good to leave.
It's super safe too. We leave our doors unlocked at night and I have no fears of letting the kids walk to their friends houses by themselves. Everyone knows everyone and look after eachother.

Hope your move to NL and new baby go well!

I want to express my opinion here, but probably don't need to for two reasons. One, I already detailed my opinion of North Lakes on a similarly themed thread started by an American who is considering moving here. The second reason is because it would be a duplicate of Looby's post above! I can pretty much say ditto to everything she said. And she doesn't live too far from me here in the Bridgehaven section of North Lakes.

It was interesting to read Slipperyfox's run-down of North Lakes. They live in one of the older sections so as stated have more teenagers than we would up here in Bridgehaven. I wonder: what will Bridgehaven be like in 10 years when all the cute little 3-9 years olds are teenagers...

I think everyone is forgetting that NL is not alone in having a small teenage problem. The other estates built in SE Qld over the last 10 years will have the same problem. All those kids who were under 5 when they first moved to these estates are now in their teens and are doing what every other teenage is doing around Australia.

People complain that teenagers are hanging out at the shopping centre on Thursday nights, well guess what it's ocurring at every other shopping centre in Australia. The local paper had an article about the programe that is run for teenagers at the shopping centre on Thrusday nights and how it has reduced teenage crime in the area by 40% and Westfields are now looking extending the programme to their other shopping centres in Australia.

I would agree that things could have been put in place sooner for the teens, but things are comming such as the roller skating ring and Westfields will have a cinema complex within the next 5 to 10 years and if Translink would provide a proper bus service then the older teens would have further options rather than hanging out in NL.

There is nowhere in the world that doesn't have teenager problems. Hopefully with new amenities things will improve though. It's often down to the teenagers being bored.

I think you pay more to back onto bushland and have no back neighboughs etc. However today, live on a side of the street that backs onto parkland and only 5 houses on this side and parks on both sides of us. Have a brand new $75,000 jeep and parked it in my driveway. Neighbour gets her lawn mower out and inches away from the vehicle and hammers it with stones and debris - yep is great to live here with shite neighbours like that. I am so sorry I rescured her dog when it escaped but then karma is a bitch and she will get her pls lol.

Wow, if I had a $75,000 car it would be in the garage. Mine's not even worth $7,500 and still keep it in the garage. You better put it in the garage Ilikanorthlakes.

BTW - what the hell does your username mean? It's interesting, that's for sure.

hahaha - I like North lakes.

I do garage it, just left it out for a bit yesterday after grocery shopping. Anyway feel much better after venting lol.

MMmmm I'd be pissed off too...

We don't garage our car, hubby is intent on turning our garage into a man den... he's told me tonight he's spying up our lounge suite to put in there and turning our spare fridge into some kind of keg thing for his home brew (he is also intent on doing)

Looby, you do realise you will probably never see him again, in the house that is. Men and their toys and their sheds (your hubby has claimed your garage as his shed). You've gotta love them don't you. If he takes the couch, go to harvey norman and replace it with a very expensive one - you deserve it!!!

Pftt yep men and their toys indeed! He already has his model aircraft hanging from ceiling and walls in the garage, and his posters, and the first thing he did we we moved in was make himself a work bench for working on his planes. He's such a kid (although, he is quite popular with the neighbourhood lads, who all like to come see what he's working on, I think he relishes their interest, seeing he has 2 girls!) The girls have also partially claimed it as a play room... there is Thomas train tracks all over the floor in there at the moment.

We moved two months ago to the 'Hilltop Green' Estate, we didn't get a choice to where we moved as hubby is an Army man. You will find houses on the edge of estates (backing onto parkland, walkways and main roads) will be broken into more than houses surrounded by houses. As there is less options on how to escape without being caught etc. We had a choice of many houses in the North Lakes area, we chose one at the back of the estate but not the edge. We have heard several break ins on streets down the road in out estate. They were all backing onto the bushland where they are still building MORE houses..
Our block is one of the bigger blocks in the area at 586sm2 and we are happy with it.

Since reading other posts about the break ins it does make me worry, though we have a dog it still is in the back of my mind. We love our local parks, all with undercover table and chairs, barbecues and playgrounds. We also have a new smaller corner shop down the road with an IGA, doctors, pharmacy, fish n chip shop, BWS, bakery and soon to be newsagency. We are always avoiding Westfield and going there especially coming up to christmas good luck finding a car park!!

We love the area, the walking tracks are amazing, and we are close enough to the city via the train. I work in Southbank full time and find the travel reasonable. We also love how close we are to Redcliffe and the lagoon that is open to the public. Great idea.

@ MrsB,

Very glad to know that you are one of the happy NL residents (like myself).

Can you please share with me how you manage to travel to Southbank within reasonable time via train ? Do you park your car at Petrie station ?

I have moved to NL for 6 months and always wanted to take some courses at the South Brisbane TAFE but was discouraged by the travelling time. Normally I could not find any parking space in Petrie or nearby stations after 7am, so I used to drive all the way on highway to the Toombul, park my car at the shopping mall, then walk to the nearby station to take a city stain but problem is that highway is always jamed in the afternoon on my way back to NL.

Regards,

David

@David

Regards to reasonable, I prefer the train than driving into the city, it takes about 50mins via the train, I do park at Petrie, but not in the train station parking. I park across the road (opposite to Anzac Ave) and cross the road. It only costs me $25 per week if I wanted to catch the new bus from North Lakes that takes you to Petrie quickly anyway. So there is that option if parking is annoying. I like to switch it up between the both, car one day and bus another, all depending on the weather, if it rains I get hubby to come and pick me up at the end of the day.

Working in the city pays more money for me so I don't mind sitting on the train for a while, read a book or ipod it up etc

@MrsB,

Thanks for sharing that. I noticed from local newspaper that trains to city will run more frequently (6 minutes instead of 15 min per train during peak hour) from Jan 2011.

Getting better to go by train now ...

David

What is also great is catching an express train to brisbane, cuts the time down by a fair bit, I would say it only takes about 35mins on a good day