LazyDays

Kenmore Hills is a wonderful mix of acreage and bushland living with easy access to the major shopping complexes. We didn't want to move into pure suburbia after some years at beautiful Upper Brookfield, so Kenmore Hills is a great compromise. We are a decent distance from our neighbours, have a ton of well-established native trees and vegetation, (mostly easy to get along with) wildlife, and room for dogs and kids to play. A 10 minute walk or 3 minute drive to Coles and Woolies, 10 minutes to Nudgee Junior and Holy Family Schools. We wanted to avoid main road noise also, and Kenmore Hills stretches right over the ridge toward Chapel Hill, so you don't have to live on the busier roads or on a 800 sq metre block in the more developed sections, unless you want to. It is almost beyond belief this is all 10 km to the centre of the CBD,

The easiest way to describe Upper Brookfield is like the Sunshine Coast Hinterland without the same remoteness.

The air is different and clean, it seems hundreds of miles from the CBD yet it is 25 mins outside peak hour (and God knows what in peak hour, but that's the same from Kenmore for everyone!) 10 mins to the major shopping centres in Kenmore, 15 mins to Indooroopilly. It is an area where your kids can play in the creeks, walk the roads safely, ride horses, get outside and do stuff other than Playstation. The local community is thriving and strong, but if you prefer privacy and seclusion they'll leave you alone too :)

If you look at an aerial map of Brisbane it is the last bastion of protected valley. There are no plans for highways, mobile phone towers, quarries, tunnels, railways and all the other 'progress' affecting most surrounding suburbs. Yet we can access all the benefits of these developments a short drive down the road. The minimum allowed block size is 25 acres now, so the 10+ acre blocks and similar are a rarity and worth holding onto. Maybe one day they'll allow a few more houses out here, but it's unlikely, and for now it is scarcity value.

Having any land here is a privilege and in a decade or two it will only be multi-millionaires who can say they have self-sufficient unspoiled acreage within 20km of the Brisbane CBD.

Perfect for families or couples seeking a real escape, but maybe still working in the city. Even better if you do a day or 2 from home as well. Only downside is limited public transport (the 435 bus leaves from Upper Brookfield School on a fairly irregular schedule and doesn't run very late)

Also painful if you forget to buy milk on the way home (we freeze a few bottles, and that works fine). If you plan ahead and shop well and use a freezer for some of the essentials, every day is like a holiday out here !

Karana Downs is 5 minutes up the road from 'prestige' Pullenvale, yet the prices are less than half for comparable acreage properties. It doesn't make sense but it's true. KD is a great peaceful acreage style area with residential and shopping centre facilities. Easy drive to Kenmore. If you want to head the Ipswich side there is Karalee and Ipswich an easy drive. Local Bowls Club and takeaways. The downside of Karana Downs is hopeless public transport because the council are useless and despite promising it at election time it has still not arrived. There is however various options to connect with Indooroopilly but if you have your own car it's 5 minutes to drive to Grandview Road at Pullenvale. Karana Downs will keep going up in my opinion - 28 km from the Brisbane CBD, river, bush, peace and quiet. It is a good spot to live.