ready09

Fortitude Valley is a razor edge kind of place. Insanely, almost migraine-inducingly cool, it has a seedy heart to it at times. By day, hip designers sell overpriced products to EMO's and grown ups who should know better. Excellent restaurants vie for attention amongst organic beauty outlets and dingy cafes. By night, a rock scene comes alive and the streets swell with the youth and the youthful of the brissy music scene. Staples of the Valley include Fatboys/Riks cafe and the Empire Hotel. Just make sure that if you're picking a fight with a trannie named Marcia, because she cut in front of you at the taxi line, that she's shorter than you. Or you can run faster than shim. (The names of the innocent have been changed, or completely fabricated to give you an idea of what the Valley can be like at night.)

Spring Hill is one of my favourite suburbs in Brisneyland. It's sandwiched (in a good way) between the city and Fortitude Valley and kind of personifies what's great about both of them. It has the high class feel and socio-economic demographic of owner residents, while maintaining it's hip street cred with gay and lesbian bars, excellent restaurants, funky shops and the cutest little workers cottages. Raised higher than the CBD (Thus the HILL part of the name) it is often cooler than the city and gets some great views. There are some fantastic hotels in the area for example, The Watermark, if you're planning on visiting. House prices are astronomical, as you'd well expect, but your return is pretty much guaranteed. An excellent suburb, in the heart of things, but still with heart.

Toowong seems to be right in the the thick of things, but manages to retain it's charm and individual flair. Chock a block full of students from St Lucia, it's buzzing with energy and fun. There are some awesome restaurants- i.e Sushi, Italian, etc. The shopping is great with almost all of the retail outlets you could ask for. The main drag past the suburb, Coronation Dve, is a little bustley for me, but further west in the burbs are some cute character houses that ares till quite affordable. The pubs in the area are famous with Brisbane Uni students and the night life is sensational. Transport is great, with ferries, buses and close proximity to the CBD. I thoroughly recommend the suburb for anybody, from student to young families.

Well, Gympie is a smallish town about 45 minutes north of Brisbane on the M1. Agriculture is the mainstay of the township with hardware and agricultural retail outlets the most common shops in town. A little known fact about Gympie, is that after a national radio show called 'Hamish and Andy' complained that there were no more revolving KFC buckets left in Australia, the Gympie franchise wired there's to rotate once again. Fascinating. The locals are friendly and the proximity to the Sunshine Coast and Brisbane is a major bonus to living here. Property prices are low and acreage lots are available. This is a nice place to visit, but there's a definite lack of infrastructure for my liking.

Straddie, as it's known by most Queenslanders, is the closest thing you can get to perfection. It's quiet, has a great pub, plenty of camping locations, miles of white sandy beaches with nobody on them and has excellent fishing. The fresh water lagoon is a must for families, with some beautiful places to picnic. The ferry crosses over the water most days and can carry your car, but 4wds are recommended. If you want a little luxury, try one of the newer resort type accommodations, but most visitors are happy to rough it in peace. The locals are incredibly friendly and there are grocery shops and the like for convenience. House prices are still quite respectable, just as long as you are okay with the relative isolation. In saying that, I've known people who commute from Straddie to Brisbane everyday...

When I was a girl my parents would pack up the car and we'd drive the six hours south from Gladstone to holiday in Bribie Island. At the time I cursed my dads' reluctance to try anywhere else and his sentimentalism over this place that he holidayed at when he was a boy. Now that I have small people of my own, I get the reason we went there. It was affordable, close to brissy and the sunshine coast and it was safe. None of these things have changed in the past 30 odd years. Pumicestone Passage is still a beaut place for little ones to splash around in, the carnival still cruises into town in the summer holidays, affordable rental can still be found and with new and better classes of highways, Brisbane and the Sunshine Coast are even more accessible. It's a great QLD holiday spot.

Redcliffe was once very separated from Brisbane. It was a holiday destination, a weekend shack spot. The real estate boom in the early 90's saw unprecedented development and growth in the area. Old shacks were knocked down and renovators made a killing. With commute distances becoming greater, Redcliffe is now an acceptable distance if you work in Brisbane. Beachfront addresses are quite prestigious and property on the peninsula is fairly expensive on the whole, but renting is a great option here. There are some great restaurants including fish n chippers. The locals are a great mix of retirees and young families and they are friendly for the most part. Looks like this small town grew up.

Sanctuary Cove just screams "I hate myself but want you all to think I'm better than I actually am!"
It's full of expensive houses, locked gates, private marina berths and middle aged dudes with 'little man' syndrome.One can drive ones golf buggy from home, then to the course then to the club. Then hopefully one will drunkenly careen into the man made pond full of unhappy looking ducks. There are all the conveniences of the rich- grocery stores, cinemas and clothing shops you have to re-mortgage the house to enter. In all seriousness, it is the perfect setting for some kind of horror story about perfect women belonging to middle age misogynists. Oh wait... that's already been done. Welcome to Stepford Sanctuary...

Coolie manages to escape without much of the seediness that so sadly afflicts nearby Surfers Paradise. The beaches ares stunning with white sand and great swells and the locals aren't quite so aggro about their breaks. There is significantly less violence on the streets of Coolangatta, although some youth travel up from the Tweed occasionally to pick a barney or two. Street brawling is rare here though. It encapsulates the feel of Hawaii with an air of laid back relaxation, but there is still plenty of nightlife activities, bars, clubs, restaurants and the like. Accommodation can be found on the reasonable side as long as you don't want to be beachfront. Coolangatta has some lovely little parks for little ones to play about in and I recommend it thoroughly as a holiday destination.

Montville, although rather touristy at times, is one of the loveliest places in Queensland. With the beautiful vistas of lush green paddocks and the deep blue of the Pacific ocean on the horizon, it's my idea of heaven. This is compounded by the multitude of confectionery shops that sell fudge and candies and ice creams. It has some spectacular accommodation options, great restaurants and the friendliest locals I've ever met. There are some tacky elements to the township like faux Irish shops where you can buy a tea towel with your family crest on it. But the natural beauty of spots like Kondalilla Falls and the bush that surrounds it eclipses all those tacky moments. There's also a vibrant artistic community up there with plenty of galleries holding the works of local painters, sculptors and weavers.

The heading of the column may suggest that I'm not a fan of cows and grass or even tourists and therefore I am not a fan of Maleny. But that couldn't be further from the truth. I love it up there. The crisp cool air is always a heavenly reprise from the QLD heat and organic cafes, restaurants and farm gate producers keep the good vibes flowing. Macadamia nuts are one of my favourite local triumphs and you can generally buy them in bags from honesty boxes on the side of the road. In winter streaky wisps of smoke escape from chimneys and the hotels and bed and breakfasts here take good care of the tourists. The rolling green fields and far off views of the Sunshine Coast are incredibly romantic and the nearby Lake Baroon offers sailing and kayaking opportunities.

Albany Creek is in the northern suburbs of Brisbane and is a convenient and economical suburb choice for anybody working in the area or the city. The public transport system is good with regular buses that are usually on time. There are some great restaurants and cafe, several grocery centre and some nice little specialty shops for the housewives that are prolific in the area. With relatively new housing developments, it's become a good place for young families to settle down. There are some really nice parks about and the aquatics centre. The local schools are adequate and there is a generally friendly vibe in the suburb. At times the teenage element of the suburb can seem disturbing, but all in all they are actually harmless. It's close enough to the city and yet close also to Redcliffe and the bay.

Life in St Lucia is surprisingly quiet and reflective when you consider the amount of activity and buzz surrounding the suburb. The colleges at U.Q mean that the suburb is always teeming with young people and the energy that goes hand in hand with the youth. I was once one of those youth and thoroughly loved living there. The house blocks seem quite generous, the older brick style houses sit on pretty, winding roads and cafes and restaurants all compete for the patronage of bludging students. The transport from the uni itself is also top notch, with ferries and buses available most of the day and night. The village itself offers grocery stores and some great entertainment venues.

I personally find Bulimba an oasis in the city. It has old trees that line the streets, cinemas, restaurants, up market shopping opportunities and a relaxed vibe that just whispers "Sit down, order a coffee and read the paper." The beautiful Riverbend Bookstore on the main street sells some exquisite books and regularly hold book launches and poetry readings by Brissy poets. The real estate in the area is incredibly expensive, but the return will always be guaranteed, as people will always want to live here. It's quick commute into the city by bus or ferry and the locals seem to be young, hip and best of all friendly. The local schools are also top notch.

In the majority of Queensland, Logan is rather affectionately know as Bogan. I think you may be able to guess why... It has limited employment potential, high unemployment figures, high drug and alcohol abuse numbers and a staggering amount of domestic violence related crimes. The schools do an admirable job of trying to improve the morale of kids attending, but it really is like pushing poo uphill.
(I've taught in the district). The house prices are still relatively low for obvious reasons, and rent is affordable. There is the Logan Hyperdome for retail relief with a large choice of shops. It's about 20 minutes drive to the CBD and transport is available.

Just because a developer creates a suburb and puts a fence and gates up on it, it doesn't mean that A) it's a nice place to live or B) The people you live next to will be friendly. Hope Island is one such development on the northern side of the Gold Coast. With streets lined with houses that all look the same and intercoms at the fences, it kind of has the appeal that Auschwitz would have. I know I'm being very tongue in cheek, but I just don't get the attraction to places like this. Is it the one-up- manship of being able to say "Oh I live in Hope Island", even though you're incredibly unhappy living there. With bugger all conveniences around and a swamp like feel to the place, I'm stumped as to why it's a prestigious place to be at all. You can keep it.

Highgate Hill is a glorious place in the inner suburbs of Brisbane. A hop, skip and a jump to both the city and Southbank, it's full of great restaurants, cafes and colourful denizens. The area has a lovely mix of yuppies, hippies and students as it's only a ferry ride to St Lucia and the University of Queensland. The houses have a older charm to them and buying can be pricey, but to rent it's not too bad price wise. The views of the city at night are really pretty and it's a convenient spot to almost anywhere in Brisbane. West End is also right next door with its plethora of boutique fashion and lifestyle shops.

Tree change anybody? Located in the Hinterland about 20 minutes from the beach is the sleepy little rural township of Wongawallan. It's lacking in amenities such as shops, but it makes up for it in peace and serenity. The beauty of the area is at times breath taking and there are little vineyards dotted around the place. A quick drive gets you up Tamborine Mountain in order to do some retail therapy or eat out, and the beach is so close it really is the best of both worlds. The locals are friendly and the climate relatively mild for QLD. House prices are pretty good with lots of acreage properties coming in under 700,000.

Graceville has the charm of Brisbane past with wide streets, shady trees and gorgeous renovated houses that scream old money. The larger than average backyard is perfect for young families and for older ones, it's only a hop skip and jump to the University of Queensland in St Lucia. Just over the Indooroopily Bridge, the likewise named shopping district has all the mod cons and boutique shops needed. There are some excellent restaurants in the area, as well as cinemas, and recreational opportunities. The community spirit seems high and the prevailing socio-economic demographic is one of either up and comers or the retired ones of yesteryear.

The Nundah of my childhood was a sleepy, peaceful outer Brisbane suburb thats best asset was the train line straight to the city. In recent years the yuppies have spread from inner suburbs to what used to be classed as outer ones like Nundah. The prewar fibros are increasingly being replaced with faux Queenslanders and spruced up workers cottages. It is incredibly convenient though for commuting to the city and the proximity to Toombal shopping centre makes it a drawcard for many young families. There are some nice little cafes and restaurants too.