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Forest Lake
3.8(50 reviews)

Forest Lake, QLD 4078

3.8(50 reviews)

Suburb within the Brisbane local government area, part of the Brisbane Region in Queensland. Ranked 235th best suburb by locals.

Great for

  • Schools
  • Parks and recreation
  • Gym and fitness
  • Childcare
  • Neighbourly spirit

Not great for

  • No ratings yet

Who lives here?

  • Families With Kids
  • Professionals
  • Retirees
  • Singles
  • Students

Reviews of Forest Lake, QLD

Editors Choice

"Best Suburb in Brisbane!"

We have lived in Forest Lake for 5 years now and we adore it! We were inner city Dinks when we moved here almost 6 years ago, and had only lived in West End Wooloongabba and East Brisbane. Needless to say it was a change of pace! The first few nights we were shocked at how early everyone seemed to go to bed! We joked it was "lights out at 9:30 in Forest Lake!". It's very safe, very quiet, leafy, clean and so very very pretty! I love that you can drive anywhere in Forest Lake and it is manicured, green, and well maintained. There are no 'dodgy' areas, no seedy parts, no inner city crime / drug houses, no prostitutes on the corner, and no dilapidated old falling apart houses 4 doors down (thank you Delfin! ;) A LOT of familes live here, and since moving here, I guess we caught the bug, as we now have two beautiful little girls who attend the local playgroups and child focused activities that Forest Lake has to offer. The thing I love most about Forest Lake is the community spirit. It's really unlike anywhere else in Brisbane, Sydney OR Melbourne (and I've lived in all 3). It's really rare to have the kind of friendliness that occurs in Forest Lake. It's very community oriented, and everyone is really 'on the same page' in terms of acceptance and support. The general 'vibe' to the place is very relaxed and not fake and 'posey' like a lot of the inner city suburbs can be. People here aren't boring. Everyone has their story. There are heaps of people here like us, former hipsters, now in their late 20's or early / mid 30s with toddlers / young children who are still fun and go to festivals / out in the city on occasion, but most of the time, just chill out with other families and our children in the F'lake (as the local teens call it). It's a really cool, laidback but friendly place to live. Travel to work in the city is a breeze, you can take your pick of three highways. I get to South Brisbane in about 30mins in peak hour. It's a 45 min drive to the Gold Coast (we surf at the Seaway Spit and Burleigh) What I love most about Forest Lake though is how beautiful it is. You really won't find a prettier more well manicured and maintained suburb in Brisbane.

Great for

  • So pretty!
  • Lots of trees, parks, bike tracks and places to eat
  • Excellent transport services - bus and train
  • Handy to all major shopping centres

Who lives here?

  • Families with kids
  • Country Lovers
  • Beach Lovers
2
ShonaGlenWatson
ShonaGlenWatson

I have lived in Forest Lake 7 years. The local public school is not good. Prior my child had attended one in Mt Gravatt that had fantastic standards and he loved it. Crime has become an issue, my neighbours house suffered a break n enter. Another neighbour caught a window smasher. Later my car was broken into during a crime raid from from another suburb. 14 cars in all. I found various identifications in my yard. A great cost to me to change locks, replace sat.nav and phones etc. Last week an Iraq man tried to pick me up off the street, (I am 53 yrs of age walking to the shop) So not something to be expected - he pretended he knew me however it was pretty fast when I realised I did not. Drugs are in the schools. I used to be very anxious if my teenager was out late, walking w friends home. Very anxious. Now I am concerned about day walking. Lovely leafy suburb - I would say day living is good or if you work elsewhere and only return here for a few hours as mostly I have for 7 years. Stick to your yard. close friends and don't be out on the street. This street is wider than usual - gorgeous. Whilst being home now fulltime I observe a lot of 1-3am cars entering this cul-de-sac and driving out very quickly. I'm thinking of installing cameras.

PaulT1

I've been here 10 years and have never heard of these things. You are truly unfortunate, I am so sorry for your difficulties. I am sure that every suburb has issues with low life's coming into their area from time to time I am sure that it is a rare occurrence. You do seem to have an over reaction and anxiety issue going on. This probably isn't the place for you to vent. Peace!

StephJ

I must agree with the first comment, it is going down hill. There seems to be a lot more rubbish about . There are drug dealer's hanging around behind the main shopping centre. I also have relatives living on forest lake too, they have had their home broken into and so have a couple of my neighbours

MelindaW

Yes going down hill rated 2 nd for most breakins in houses.....had house for over 10 years ....love Forest Lake but now very nervous ,just was broken into during the day.....tried forcing front door then jumped fence forced laundry door cutting metal security door and forcing door open....got our cars keys ...etc....open garage remote and stole both our cars.....my sons car has been recoverd and 3 young guys arrested but haven't got my car back yet ....or my sons yet .....still waiting to be return.....criminals from Logan......they also attempted to house breakin another house with our cars but got disturbed and took off in both cars ......haven't said where or who has my car .....so I feel it's time to move to a safer suburb now..

MelissaH3

I have lived in Forest Lake for 8 years and love it. We have never been broken into ( but we do have a security system). The parks and lakes are beautiful and my children go to the local private school. Prior to living here we were in a terrace house in inner city Surry Hills in Sydney where we were broken into and drugs were everywhere! Our house in Forest Lake is on a 950m square block which is plenty of space for the pool and yard. I have lived Brisbane, Sydney and Melbourne (in Mosman, Surry Hills, Toorak, Kensington, Annerley, Forestdale) and Forest Lake is my choice for great family living.

LaurenHulseL

If you are looking for a reliable agency in the Forest Lake and surrounding suburbs area, please contact your local Professionals at Your Choice Realty. We pride ourselves in offering the very best service to all of our potential and existing clientele.

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www.yourchoicerealty.com.au

diamondr

I've been living in Forest Lake for 14 years. Every time I sell a house here and look at trying to find something else more suitable in another suburb, I just can't seem to find another suburb that can compare, so I keep on coming back to Forest Lake. I am now in my 4th house since 2002 and I am still loving Forest Lake. Ideally I would love to live closer to the City, but unfortunately I cannot afford it and I'm not willing to live in an old shoe box, just to be close to the city. I love the open space, numerous parks, walk ways all linking up, beautiful lake, many restaurants/take away places, community entertainment over Summer holidays, friendly community and much much more. The friendly community spirit is outstanding; no matter what your age group is. It is just absolutely stunning that it doesn't matter where you are in Forest Lake, that there is an abundance of mature trees and wild animal life all around. The whole suburb looks so beautifully green and lush after a little bit of rain. Spring and Summer time the side walks all over the suburb are filled with the beautiful sight of mauve/purple petals from the multitude of Jacaranda trees which are found in almost every street of the suburb. Housing is very affordable with a variety of different styles to choose from in the various estates of Forest Lake. Everything is conveniently close by and within either walking, driving or public transport (bus and train). If we want to have an all night out in the City or Fortitude Valley for entertainment, it is reasonably cheap to take an Uber in and out without breaking the bank. I do have to admit that the crime rate has increased a little bit since I first moved here 14 years ago and my current house was broken into once, but I think that most established suburbs all over the world have their fair share of crime. I do believe that it doesn't matter where you live in the world today, that you have to remain vigilant and take precautions regarding your safety, whether at home or on the streets. Besides that one small negative point, I cannot complain about this suburb at all. I love living in Forest Lake!

Xaveston .
Xaveston .

Unless you are my relatives who go to sleep at midnight haha!
Sorry I had to, my relatives live in Forest Lake, anytime I am sleeping over, everyone goes to asleep by 11pm or midnight. The street they live on is fairly quiet and peaceful, they don't seem to have that much problems, so I am guessing it depends where they live (But could people learn to freaking drive slowly? Just going to say, their dog got run over a few months back.. It's a quiet street, and somehow someone managed to run him over enough to kill him. What if my cousin had been on the street? Or my grandmother? Any of my relatives, that ticks me a little, I have seen how narrow Forest Lake streets are and windy they are, there's no reason to be going fast. I may have not lived there, but I have slept at their house enough, and even for a few weeks before, to know what it is like on that street).

S Waston
S Waston

Lived here for over 2 years, don't like this place. The first weeek we moved in, a bird robed bread from the outdoor table, it happens all of suddent when I went back indoor to bring something else, realized this area has lots of animals. When you thought a place you can call a home, and animals around you thought they own these places as well. Very scary. After a few months, found mice/rats entered into house, grabbed fruit and broken rice bags, and later frogs/toads hide somewhere surprising you, making the backyard very messy, and they sung at night after rain, latter might find gecko and lizard around the yard and entered into power boxes besides, very annoying. Never seens such things before in other areas that we lived. Finally, done all the possible work to prevent invade from animals, but there might be still some left, very dangeous. some people like to pull over around drive way and say hello to you, I don't mind friendly neighbours, but those spent more than hours talking to you without even making appointment then knock you door when you might be just in the middle of something, very annoying too.

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Looking for a home in Forest Lake?

"Most affordable suburb - bang for your buck."

If you're looking for a place to call home, there's no better value than Forest Lake. Other areas that gets hyped by media/articles near inner city suburbs are all wooden houses with wooden poles running along the streets that makes the entire area looks like post world war era. Forest lake is considered a newer "development" area although built in 1995, hence you don't see any electricity wooden poles making the entire suburb look leafy, clean and well organised.

Who lives here?

  • Professionals
  • Singles
  • Families with kids
0
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"Great suburb but prices are quickly rising"

I have lived here for about a decade and have noticed that there is a huge change in the suburb profile as investors cash in on the incredible returns and home owners are moving in. It is a very established suburb with the best walking parks and forests I have had the pleasure of experiencing in suburbia.

Who lives here?

  • Professionals
  • Families with kids
2
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"Beautiful suburb in brisbane"

I've been living here for the last couple of years. If you love nature and peaceful living, it is the best suburb.
Loving it.

Who lives here?

  • Families with kids
0
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"Forest Lake - Really lovely to live here"

I sell properties in Forest Lake and the surrounding areas, I also teach yoga in our Forest Lake community each Wed at the Lake and I have lived here for 8 years now. Both my children attend Grand Avenue State School and can walk to school from our property. This is the type of convenience safety and community I want to live in and have my children grow up in. Also like to mention this area is so multi-cultural that my son and daughter have friends from every corner of the world!!!

Who lives here?

  • Families with kids
0
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Find real estate agents in Forest Lake

"Lots of Green Space Close to the Outdoors and City"

Nice Quiet suburb that is conveniently located between the city and Ipswich. Close to many outdoor recreational areas with lots of green space, parks, and shady trees. If you like quiet green suburbs without city noise, have a look here.

Who lives here?

  • Professionals
  • Singles
  • Families with kids
1
Jessicca Gerretzen real estate agent
Jessicca Gerretzen

I agree! I love our suburb and how secluded we are from the rest of our neighbouring suburbs.

Thushara Surajith
Thushara Surajith

One of the best and beautiful suburb in Brisbane

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"Love it here!"

Green and leafy, everybody is friendly and we feel very safe here , never seen crime. Love our coffees at the lake and walks around it , great for kids and great place to buy and have a manageable mortgage, love our street and neighbours. Recommend this little gem before it gets more pricey down the track

Who lives here?

  • Families with kids
1
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"Great Family Friendly Suburb"

Forest Lake is a great place for kids with all the parks and families of all ages in the area. The neighbors on my street are all well educated, friendly professional types, and maintain their properties immaculately unlike other suburbs in Brisbane. Lots of community events like BBQs and kids parties as well which is fun for the family. Many of my family members are cops and they say the southwest of Brisbane has dramatically improved over the last year as patrols have increased and more first time home buyers are moving in. Also, it's great that we are not in any flight path nor in the flood zones like some suburbs closer to the CBD.

Who lives here?

  • Professionals
  • Singles
  • Families with kids
2
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"A beautiful suburb with a bright future"

I purchased in this suburb in late 2019. I was a bit worried at first, being 30 minuets with no traffic from the CBD and not in one of the so called "blue chip suburbs" that are shilled so much by "property experts". The truth is, this suburb is great for young families that want to own their own property and have great outdoor recreation activities around and plenty of schools to choose from. One key challenge that is actively being worked on by the Brisbane city council includes cleaning the lake which has already started taking place. Also, due to increasing property prices and rents, Forest Lake and surrounding suburbs like Inala, are attracting more higher income residents and pushing out the less desirables into places like Logan and Ipswich further out. I'm just glad I purchased in 2019 because 4 bedroom houses have gone up over 100k since Covid started and I don't see the price growth slowing anytime soon.

Who lives here?

  • Professionals
  • Families with kids
0
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"Great for those who like nature and tranquility"

I put my money down on this suburb and I don't regret buying at Forest Lake. The natural beauty of the suburb enhances the natural tranquil and peaceful atmosphere. The community cooperate with each other to keep the noise levels at a minimum. The rainbow rorikeets dominate the sky and the trees but who can blame them as its exactly why the name Forest Lake was made. Electrical wiring is underground, not hung on the streets. The greatest feature Forest Lake has is an artificial lake which is the centrepiece of its attraction. How many suburbs do you know have a Lake in the heart of the suburb? It is a superb suburb, especially to bring up children as there are lots of schools; fields to play in; a community swimming pool; a dog park; buses to the city; lots of space to run, walk and jump; a safe place to cycle; lots of takeaway venues; good oxygen from the trees; an overall relaxing and non-stress environment. It may not be relatively close to the city as New Farm but it doesn't have the traffic!

Who lives here?

  • Professionals
  • Singles
  • Families with kids
0
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