Hi all!... all the way from hot Arizona!

My wife and I are a young couple who are seriously considering moving to a Brisbane suburb since my work here in the states also has an office in Brisbane.

We've always wanted to move to Australia, and about half of my family already lives in Mackay, Queensland.

About how long is the commute to Brisbane? Is it a nightmare?

Tell me about your town! It looks beautiful! It looks like a great and safe place to start a family, yes? We are looking for a area with lots of parks and a lake/stream, golf, and close proximity to the beach.

Please educate me on rent here....looks like most 3 bedroom homes are renting for about $400/week or so?

In advance, thank you all for any advice! Have a great day!

Jdekruif,
Interesting moniker, anyway it seems you have done most of the hard work yourself already. You are close to the mark with rent, North Lakes does have the amenities you are looking for all within the suburb, except for the beach. Redcliffe beach isn't far though maybe a 20 minute drive.

As for commuting to Brisbane there are trains from nearby Petrie station as well as driving. Driving can talk about 30 - 60 minutes depending on what time you leave and how far into Brisbane you need to go.

Not sure if you realise how far away Mackay is from North Lakes. If you drive sensibly it can be done with one overnight stop. If you drive like most of us you can get there driving straight through, it is about a 13 hour drive without stopping. Obviously I am not recommending anyone drive that long without resting.

Hope some of this helps, there are other discussions on this site which cover the train rides into town. I think the topic heading is Train Travel.

Have a good one.

Posted By claymore73 on 12/07/2010 1:22 PM
Jdekruif,
Interesting moniker, anyway it seems you have done most of the hard work yourself already. You are close to the mark with rent, North Lakes does have the amenities you are looking for all within the suburb, except for the beach. Redcliffe beach isn't far though maybe a 20 minute drive.

As for commuting to Brisbane there are trains from nearby Petrie station as well as driving. Driving can talk about 30 - 60 minutes depending on what time you leave and how far into Brisbane you need to go.

Not sure if you realise how far away Mackay is from North Lakes. If you drive sensibly it can be done with one overnight stop. If you drive like most of us you can get there driving straight through, it is about a 13 hour drive without stopping. Obviously I am not recommending anyone drive that long without resting.

Hope some of this helps, there are other discussions on this site which cover the train rides into town. I think the topic heading is Train Travel.

Have a good one.

I had to Google what "Moniker" meant. Just a first initial and my last name (it's Dutch).

This town sounds appealing. We like that the homes are new and modern, and we like that the town is a master planned area, but yet still has plenty of the simple, rural life things we still enjoy.

I know Mackay is far....but at least we have family in Queensland a quick flight away.

Can you tell me about these costs?:

To register and insure a vehicle - also do you offer premium octane grade fuel?

What are fuel costs currently?

Utility service, trash pickup service...?

Ok I cannot give you exact figures but I will give what I can. Fuel is priced on a cyclic rate for some reason unleaded fuel ranges at the moment from one dollar fifteen point nine cents to one dollar thirty six point nine cents per litre, premium unleaded is about four cents a litre dearer.

Registration and Insurance varies depending on the type of vehicle, how many cylinders the engine has, the best I can offer is a web address, just follow the EQuote prompts and it should give you an idea.
http://transport.qld.gov.au/Home/Registration/Motor_vehicles/Registration_fees/

Once registration is paid there is also what is called (Compulsory Third Party insurance or CTP)Basically it is a cost to insure against medical costs of other people if you injure them in a crash.

For Insurance there are a lot to choose from I suggest you use yellowpages to find local insurance companies, like the registration quotes they will have online drop down menus to use to obtain a quote depending on the vehicle.

As for electricity it is about 21.351 cents per kwh. The address for the local supplier is http://www.originenergy.com.au/962/Pricing

Water and rubbish collection are included in home owner rates, which is dependant on the size of your land, your address and a few other things unfortunately I cannot give you an idea on how much rates are as I am not a home owner. Renters will sometimes pay for excess water charges depending on the lease agreement.

Hope this helps.

Have a good one

Well seeing you come from USA you would be use to good internet. If you are expecting good internet in NorthLakes think again cause this is pairgain/rim city....

I wouldn't fault any of the good information that you have received already but I would just add some other expenses that I was unaware off when coming.. or more to the point I wasn't aware of how much higher they are here.

In general I found the cost of living in Brisbane much higher than expected when compared to America, SA or the UK.

You would struggle to go out for a single course meal at less than $30-$40 a head all in which would include say a burger and two drinks.

I think a round of golf at North Lakes is $70 if you aren't a member, no idea on how much it costs as a member.

The beaches are nice but for the real beaches you are looking at 60-90 minutes drive. Easy enough to get to but further than I thought when I looked at the map , also the water is cold. You can still swim but it isn't like Californian beaches.

Entertainment in general is pretty pricey with movie tickets starting at $9 and a take away curry setting you back between $15 and $25 if memory recalls.

Buying a house in North Lakes will generally set you back $450 000 but you may be able to find places for less if you don't mind a tiny garden.

North Lakes itself is a really nice place to live though and if you are set on Brisbane I would recommend it (apart from the disastrous Internet supply)

Posted By Lazygamer on 16/07/2010 10:39 AM
I wouldn't fault any of the good information that you have received already but I would just add some other expenses that I was unaware off when coming.. or more to the point I wasn't aware of how much higher they are here.

In general I found the cost of living in Brisbane much higher than expected when compared to America, SA or the UK.

You would struggle to go out for a single course meal at less than $30-$40 a head all in which would include say a burger and two drinks.

I think a round of golf at North Lakes is $70 if you aren't a member, no idea on how much it costs as a member.

The beaches are nice but for the real beaches you are looking at 60-90 minutes drive. Easy enough to get to but further than I thought when I looked at the map , also the water is cold. You can still swim but it isn't like Californian beaches.

Entertainment in general is pretty pricey with movie tickets starting at $9 and a take away curry setting you back between $15 and $25 if memory recalls.

Buying a house in North Lakes will generally set you back $450 000 but you may be able to find places for less if you don't mind a tiny garden.

North Lakes itself is a really nice place to live though and if you are set on Brisbane I would recommend it (apart from the disastrous Internet supply)

Interesting....thank you!

For $450,000, the houses do seem a bit small compared to the house you can buy in Arizona for comparable money. But then again, this is Arizona and it isn't exactly LA, California. You can buy a 1 bedroom condo in LA for $450,000. And Arizona has experienced one of the worst housing market collapses in US history.

We both have excellent credit, but apparently credit does not transfer internationally. We'd basically need to start over, so we'd be renting for a few years anyway.

Rent, however, does seem reasonable. Looks like most homes are renting for $370-400/week, which really is no different than in the states for most cities.

Re: eating a restaurant....two burgers and two drinks for for $30-$40...this really isn't much different also. A burger in the states costs about $10/USD and most Coke/Pepsi products/coffee/teas costs $2/USD.

So figure 2 burgers, 2 drinks, plus the cost of sales tax and then a 20% tip/gratuity and you are looking at $33 USD for a restaurant meal.

Speaking of dining out, my understanding is that tax and gratuity are included in the price in Australia? If so, has it become a server's expectation for someone to leave "extra"? Or is that only for stupid Americans? haha.

Movies in the states are about $8/USD for a nighttime cinema.

I believe the current rate is .88 USD or so equals 1.00 Australian dollar.

So comparing apples to apples then we're both about even. As long as my current salary is equal to or slighly higher in Aussie dollars, then I think we should be fine.

Thanks again for all the comments and info! We're really looking forward to our intial visit.

Perhaps I can buy you a drink at the North Lakes Tavern for your assistance.

In regards to the food I did say it will be $30-$40 a head, per person not for the both of you but I was including a beer or two in that as well and not cokes... not sure if my prices are overly high if you aren't drinking alcohol.

While the tip (gratuity) isn't actually included it is also not expected here, which I still find strange but I have been told it's like this because the server gets paid a very good minimum wage and therefore doesn't need the extra to survive as they would in other countries.

Rent I do find reasonable but I think rather budget for $420 as you will find something nice for that and you will most probably upgrade to that when you see some of the $370 houses

That's also interesting about the movies, I was under the impression you could get cheap movie tickets off peak for about $5

LOL, why North Lakes? Most modern suburbs have modern houses. Forget about proper internet in North Lakes, that is years away, may be in another live time. In this week's Rants and Raves of the Messenger (al local free weekly magazine) a complete full page was contributed to people complaining about the worst internet service in Australia (if not the world) and it is in North Lakes. Can you belief a couple was told to get a dial-up connection indefinitely, as no exchange is available and will not be soon! Just think about, the worst third world country in Africa or Asia has better internet connection than North Lakes.
Further are the houses basically on top of each other meaning you hear what your neighbour says. Trains are available from Petrie and takes off peak hour 20 minutes to get to the station by car. Then your trouble starts, you would not get parking at Petrie station and be forced to park kilometers away to walk and also face a parking fine each day for parking either in a park or on a yellow line (apart from if you are at the station before 7h00am where you may manage to get a parking 600 meter away and be parked in later when you return). The express train (strange they cal it express as it stops at stations) take you 31 minutes to the CBD and a non-express train 44 to 45 minutes.

North Lakes is fast approaching its final stage with the residential area. Rates are very high, higher than most residential areas and you will pay a special levy to the council for the apparent higher maintenance of the suburb. If I could choose I would rather look at Springfield Lakes closure to Ipswich. They will be getting a railway line much sooner. A railway line to the North Lakes area was promised almost 115 years ago....makes me wonder if better internet connection is also not going to happen in another 150 years' time! Springfield Lakes is also going to get a better town centre in future and this is the area marked as the future growth hub of Brisbane.

We have migrated to Australia 4.5 years ago from Cape Town (South Africa). We returned to SA in December last year for holiday and to be honest, food prices in Australia are high, but fairly priced once compared to food prices in South Arica or Singapore (now). We initially thought food is expensive as is cost of living, but it isn't in Australia. Tax is very high in Australia; you can earn in South Africa the same salary for the same job, if not more if the job is a professional job in SA (only true also for certain jobs). Obviously isn't it the cost of living that is higher over there, but high personal tax you pay. The higher taxes leave you with less cash that result in a feeling of a higher cost of living as you do have less money in your pocket. North Lakes is full of South Africans as the housing styles and suburb is very similar to your average residential areas in South Africa. Eating out is very similar in costs, apart from tipping being standard in South Africa with an expected 10% or more. Vehicles are cheap in Australia (SA has a 80% import tax on vehicles). You can buy a relative good vehicle in Australia and for the same amount you will be getting a far smaller car in SA. Do not expect good television for free, there are advertisements every 10 minutes that can last also 5 – 7 minutes. This is extremely frustrating. Internet in NL is pathetic and I am not even going to talk about this poor service! Overall NL is a good suburb with sufficient schools.

Hi Steve,

I would agree with pretty much everything you said here apart from the fact you said eating out is the same here as in SA.

That's just not true, I was back in SA last month and eating out is easily 50% of the price that it is here if not less.

I went out to a relatively good restaurant (not Spur ) and had a 3 course meal with 4 beers which came to $30. That's just not going to happen here.

Food prices in shops are relative and Asian cars are cheaper here by a long shot that I do agree with.

I do think North Lakes is a great place to live and I haven't seen anywhere nicer in Brisbane personally so if you are moving out here I would recommend it. But it's an hour into the city and an hour and a bit to the beaches. But that's a price I was quite happy to pay as I work in a dodgy area north of Brisbane which I wouldn't want to live in

@Jdekruif: Now that you've had the South African perspective, let me give you my opinion. North Lakes is not perfect. Not by any means.
It's main issues are:
1. Many people find it problematic getting broadband.
2. The cellphone reception is also poor.
3. It's got too many bogans (look it up).
3. It's not finished. Therefore many of the amenities that it WILL have aren't there yet.
4. There's very poor public transport in the immediate vicinity.
5. And last but not least, Steve (who posted another mega-rant in broken English above) lives here.

But most of those problems will disappear eventually. (I'm hoping that Steve goes BACK to SA; or at least to Springfield Lakes which he seems to think is better than North Lakes.)

Anyway, as far as cost is concerned, whilst you do need to consider how much things cost here, you can't compare prices with US prices unless you take into consideration what you will get paid here. Things might be more expensive here, but you may get paid more too. I'm sure you've thought of that anyway.

We chose North Lakes because:
1. We needed to live on the north side of Brisbane.
2. We found a block of land to build on that was perfect. Absolutely perfect.
3. It's close to the airport and the Sunshine Coast and has beaches nearby at Redcliffe which is just 20 minutes drive away (soon to be less with the opening of the new North-South Arterial Road from Discovery Drive to Anzac Avenue).
4. It's a new, family-friendly community with nice parks, playgrounds, dog parks and the golf club.

I presume you either have kid(s) or plan to in the near future if you are considering North Lakes. I have two kids aged 11 and 2. I envisage them growing up here in North Lakes. Learning to ride a bike, going to school, learning to drive, getting a part-time job at the shopping centre, and eventually leaving to go to college. I see North Lakes as being a place able to provide a safe, comfortable home for my family for many years to come. Broadband or no broadband.

About getting to the city. Unless your company gives you a company parking lot space, you wouldn't drive. It would cost too much in parking and gas (especially with the high-octane fuel you plan to use). The train takes a little over half an hour from Petrie station (about 20 minutes drive from my end of North Lakes). So it's about an hour to work (assuming you work in the city).

But all those little details are something that you need to experience first-hand to be able to make a decision. My advice for you is to come and rent in North Lakes for 6 months. If after that, you think that North Lakes may be a place you could see yourself relocating to permanently, you could look into buying here (or building). Otherwise, you may find another place you like (or you might pine for Arizona and go back!)

Well, that's my 2 cents.

Just came back from Cape Town for a visit, after the Soccer World cup you pay R25 to R30 for a single beer and glass of coke for the kids R20 (and it is 200ml). Went also to the Spur for a good old fashion cheese burger, excellent, plennty of chips only sat me back R65 for the burger, so just over R110 ($25) for a Spur burger and 1 Castle including the tip! Talk about dodgy places in Brisbane..LOl, there are a couple. The best today, I saw a Koala in the park in front of my home, man what a good feeling.

Posted By Sir Apropos of Nothing on 13/08/2010 11:25 PM
@Jdekruif: Now that you've had the South African perspective, let me give you my opinion. North Lakes is not perfect. Not by any means.
It's main issues are:
1. Many people find it problematic getting broadband.
2. The cellphone reception is also poor.
3. It's got too many bogans (look it up).
3. It's not finished. Therefore many of the amenities that it WILL have aren't there yet.
4. There's very poor public transport in the immediate vicinity.
5. And last but not least, Steve (who posted another mega-rant in broken English above) lives here.

But most of those problems will disappear eventually. (I'm hoping that Steve goes BACK to SA; or at least to Springfield Lakes which he seems to think is better than North Lakes.)

Anyway, as far as cost is concerned, whilst you do need to consider how much things cost here, you can't compare prices with US prices unless you take into consideration what you will get paid here. Things might be more expensive here, but you may get paid more too. I'm sure you've thought of that anyway.

We chose North Lakes because:
1. We needed to live on the north side of Brisbane.
2. We found a block of land to build on that was perfect. Absolutely perfect.
3. It's close to the airport and the Sunshine Coast and has beaches nearby at Redcliffe which is just 20 minutes drive away (soon to be less with the opening of the new North-South Arterial Road from Discovery Drive to Anzac Avenue).
4. It's a new, family-friendly community with nice parks, playgrounds, dog parks and the golf club.

I presume you either have kid(s) or plan to in the near future if you are considering North Lakes. I have two kids aged 11 and 2. I envisage them growing up here in North Lakes. Learning to ride a bike, going to school, learning to drive, getting a part-time job at the shopping centre, and eventually leaving to go to college. I see North Lakes as being a place able to provide a safe, comfortable home for my family for many years to come. Broadband or no broadband.

About getting to the city. Unless your company gives you a company parking lot space, you wouldn't drive. It would cost too much in parking and gas (especially with the high-octane fuel you plan to use). The train takes a little over half an hour from Petrie station (about 20 minutes drive from my end of North Lakes). So it's about an hour to work (assuming you work in the city).

But all those little details are something that you need to experience first-hand to be able to make a decision. My advice for you is to come and rent in North Lakes for 6 months. If after that, you think that North Lakes may be a place you could see yourself relocating to permanently, you could look into buying here (or building). Otherwise, you may find another place you like (or you might pine for Arizona and go back!)

Well, that's my 2 cents.

Shame Sir Apropos of Nothing, now I do understand your name...of Nothing. Do you want your free for sale sign for your house as well?

Just checked the spur price list (www.spur.co.za), it's R47.95 ($8) for a cheeseburger, you must have had a double with extras and it's also R9.95 for the coke not R20

But the point of this thread is whether or not North Lakes is a good place to live and I still say it's the best place to live in Brisbane and I highly recommend it, though I haven't seen any Koala's yet. Tons of Kangaroos though

That is a bargain on the website, bloody bastards made me pay more in Cape Town!

Just note, your average Ozzie isn’t complaining and naïve about foreigners like Sir Apropos of Nothing. Eventually he will also wish you would rather go back to Arizona, he actually said it already. I agree at least with Sir Apropos of Nothing that you should experience first-hand those little things, I just hope Broadband isn't the first or one of them. By the way, Springfield Lakes has okay internet connection and mobile reception, but it is far (less than 60km) from the sea!

Um, Steve, I hate to break it to you but I'm an immigrant myself.

You are right about Springfield Lakes though, good internet, public transport, and mobile reception, but it's way too far inland for my liking.