Moving to Goodna - Are we making a big mistake?

Goodna is a great place and you are doing the right thing moving here. I have never had an issue with crime in over 10 years of living here. In life I have always found that it is much better to follow my hopes and dreams rather than by unfounded fears. You would be surprised at how many millionaires and multi-millionaires live in Goodna by choice. I can recall during the GFC how many media commentators saying that our Australian banks would go bankrupt. Those that chose to make their own decisions would have nicely doubled the money they invested.

Graffiti on the internet unfortunately does exist, I notice that Streetcarp7 has only posted negative material in their two posts since just recently joining the website and has not positively reviewed any suburb. No factual information there. Dont know why the Wacol prison is mentioned as it has nothing to do with Goodna. The new Police Academy I know from government statements is in the process of being built right beside it with lots of money already spent on government building contracts.

Like Triki82 says Goodna is a great multi-cultural place, and no immigration = no Australia. There are many great schools here.

Again you are doing the right thing in following your dreams.

Some more info again on Goodna:

"Fantastic place! Great for young families and couples." Goodna is a fantastic place to live, work or invest. A rich history dating back to 1856 it is a major financial and medical hub having not only a major shopping centre but also a great local train station. It has five major banks (Commonwealth, ANZ, NAB, Suncorp and Bank of QLD), four real-estate agencies, nice selection of restaurants, a wide array of government offices/services, heaps of other services, as well as the Goodna Community Health Services Centre which services the neighbouring suburbs. A wonderful multi-cultural area, every year it runs the Goodna Jacaranda Festival when the Jacaranda trees are flowering. Many of the old established Jacaranda, Hoop Pine, Poinciana and Mango trees are in excess of 100 years old. Neighbours say hello to each other on the street and it is a warm and friendly area. Being a hub it is nicely located with additional easy access to not only the Ipswich but also Logan motorways. This together with the local train means one can access most parts of Brisbane and the Gold Coast conveniently. It has been designated by the Queensland Government in the SEQ Plan as 1) A Major Activity Centre 2) Transport Oriented Development Centre and 3) an Economic Activity Centre. Now it has been approved to build up to 12 stories over the shopping centre which ensures that ongoing quality development will happen in the area. On the other side of the train line to the north is the Brisbane river adding to the serene feel of the area. Goodna Boat Ramp is one of the only boat ramps on the Brisbane river. Not far away is the Goodna Aquatic Centre, great for swimming with the little ones! A great place especially for younger families, there are five schools and seven childcare centres with a multitude of parks and electric BBQ facilities. No problem with fast internet cable and adsl facilities which can be a problem in other estates. Also it has three different retirement villages so great also for retirees. Goodna will be the first Brisbane/Ipswich suburb to receive the NBN (National Broadband Network) providing superfast broadband internet services. Speeds are expected to be 1 gigabit per second for broadband. This is almost 1000 times faster than what many ADSL broadband Internet subscribers are actually experiencing now. So great also for any internet based business that wants to tap into international markets. Together with Gailes it is the closest suburb in Ipswich to Brisbane only 20 kilometres from the Brisbane CBD. Meaning it takes far less time to get to work if you work in Brisbane city. Certainly a suburb that should be at the top of your list. Great place with a bright future and I love living here!

I seriously just wrote the longest reply to your question ever, only to have it not 'Post', so now a little gutted! Ok I'll make it short this time!!!Basically I had the same worries as you did as our son had just turned 3 when we moved here. We live in Cunningham Rise estate of Goodna and it is awesome here. Our neighbours are wonderful and our son is always wanting to visit them. He is soon turning five and is currently in Prep at St Francis Xavier. May I add the school is great so far. There has been no crime in the last two years here in our street or in the estate as far as I know. I have been going for morning walks for the past two years on my own safe and sound around Goodna(yes outside of the estate and into the not so neat areas) with no worries at all, and its been nice to get to know the other local walkers.Its super multicultural and there are plenty of friendly ppl around. You will witness some horrid parenting and those that lack manners here in Goodna more so then in Springfield, but its not an everyday thing and it does open your eyes a bit. I grew up in Paddington and Tarragindi, so Goodna has been an experience. Not bad, just different, very different. Goodna does have normal ppl in the area despite what others will say/think. I was very naive and thought only low lifes would live here, but i was proved wrong. It was a risk worth taking making the move. My partner and I are both in corporate careers, and living here we've managed to save a lot of money and live more then comfortably. We have bought a new car and are now saving for our own home. Goodluck to you and your family

There are horrible ppl everywhere! Goodna is a nice suburb.. just choose who you "get to know" wisely.
The u.k is much worse than Goodna! That's speaking from experience.
Like anywhere.. dont walk the streets at night. Or leave anything unlocked & youll be fine.

this last comment is by a person who has an axe to grind for whatever reason,but what he says is totally untrue and Goodna has a very good hard working police presence. Maybe people like this are the ones that give areas a bad name ,and thankfully are no longer around.

all good for 10 yrs

I can understand that there is a lot of negative talk about Goodna. But having lived there and worked there at one stage I found it very pleasant. People might look unapproachable at times however are always happy to help out and chat. I have never had any difficulties there nor issues with crime. It is growing tremendously and improving constantly. You will be just fine.

If you are worried about crime, I wouldn't move to Forest Lake over Goodna. My sister has been broken into twice in 6 months at Forest Lake and her neighbour has just been broken into as well. Springfield Lakes would be my choice, it might be newer but the train is due to go out there next year and the Orion Shopping Centre has enough variety to satisfy most everyday needs. Plenty of good schools to choose from in the Springfield area too.

There are a lot of unsavoury people in Goodna, I haven't spent much time there, probably only been there for 5 minutes at a time 4 times ever but that has been enough!!! Springfield Lakes would be 1000 times better!!! I don't know much about Forest Lake but I applied for a rental there a few months back and it seemed quiet and the streets weren't lined with 90's Holdens 😉 however I have heard several times that it is bad for break ins. Someone was talking about Redbank Plaza in a previous comment, now there are a lot of seedy looking people there too! You do notice the difference between there and say Riverlink which is also in Ipswich. I like Mount Omanney Shopping Centre which isn't too far from Goodna. I would stay away from most of the suburbs around the Ipswich/Brisbane border. Flinders View is a nice area and is only about 15 minutes to Springfield (but further from Brisbane) Goodna has Westside Christian College and that is a really good school so that is a plus for you! Anyway I know this is a little old but someone else might want an answer to a similar question so I thought that I would answer 😉

P.S: You don't have to worry about the Prison in Wacol! Anyone that breaks out of there seem to end up as far away from the prison as possible. They are never found in in the neighbouring suburbs. We rarely go to Redbank Plaza because a lot of local elderly people that have lived in the area freaked me out a little about making sure I had my son in my sight AT ALL TIMEs!!!When you've been approached more then five times by different people on different days, you get a hint. He is ALWAYS next to me if we HAVE to go there, but Goodna St Ives is a great spot for necessities and we always duck down there. There's always security and the police are always about for subway or perusing the car park!

Yes you are making a mistake, there is a very high crime rate and lots of undesirable vagrants are notrious for wandering the streets. According the the local government Goodna is on the up but in reality its not. There has also been more than one insidents involving people not in the prison but in the half way houses near by. I personally wouldnt live there especailly with children. Have you looked at Forest Lake its more affordable than Springfield and not as new and yuppie.