Carly

The great thing about Thornlands is that there is no train line here and only a couple of bus lines. Because of this there's hardly any crime in the area. When we first moved here, we thought it was boring as neighbouring Cleveland and Victoria Point had all the amenities and shops, but now we relish the fact that you can leave your car in your drive and if you accidentally leave a window down or a door unlocked, nothing will be stolen.

The local state school is a mess (as in not cleaned properly) and you would be better off moving your children to either a local private or another good state school in the area like Birkdale South Primary. Many times there have been drug utensils found in the Thornlands school playground. There is not much nightlife in Thornlands, you have to go into Cleveland, Wellington Point, or Victoria Point for that.

Recently there has been another primary school built that looks better. I think it's called Bayview.

You do have the choice of where you want to go to shop and it's quiet. The cons of quietness are nosy neighbours. Really nosy neighbours. That can become either a pro or con depending on if the neighbours cross the line and become a nuisance as mine have ie: looking over the fence at my children, listening to our conversations, bullying etc. A good solid fence would work wonders.

You still get a lovely seabreeze here, but since we've been looking for houses, we've noticed that most of the older properties in Thornlands have some termite damage. The house we're renting has it on the ensuite. Houses we've looked at in the fences all crumbled out, termite traps in the ground etc. Other suburbs don't seem to have that, so I'd say keep a good eye out for termites and replace fencing with steel.

The local shops are good, reasonably priced, there is a DVD shop, IGA, chicken & chip shop, bottle shop, hairdresser, vet, newsagent, real estate office. A quick trip to Victoria Point (5 mins) will have you at the cinemas, seaside, huge warehouses, shopping centres and you can catch a water taxi from Victoria Point to Coochiemudlo Island where you can have a great swim and picnic on the beach so Thornlands is a good place for boaties. The infrastructure concerning traffic lights is lacking and it always takes a while to get out of Thornlands if you go around the back of it. With the building of new estates, they have built lights so it is slowly getting better. There is a local BP fuel station and a medical facility, including pharmacy and dentist, so you don't have to drive all over the place to treat yourself or your children. Also, Redlands Hospital is extremely close to Thornlands and I've been thankful for that in times of crisis. If you work at a hospital, or have small children/planning to have children this might come in handy.

There is a local pool in Cleveland (one suburb over-- 5 mins) which is reasonably priced if you don't like the beach or have a pool at home. Also, there are heaps of sports you can play. Netball fields at Thornlands, Sports at Victoria Point and Cleveland plus gyms in both suburbs.

Out of all the suburbs, if I had to go by feel, enjoyment and convenience, I would pick Victoria Point (which is right next to Thornlands). It's closer to the bay, better breezes, more shops and convenience, better public transport station at the shops (although no train), better parks and hardly any crime. Victoria Point, Thornlands, and Cleveland are relatively cheap suburbs to buy in.

The traffic on weekends is pretty much non-existant. If you want social activity you definitely have to go looking for it, although there is a YMCA at Victoria Point. I never hear dogs barking at night, however many times stray dogs have broken through our fence to get in -- termites damaging fences again.

I've lived in Alexandra Hills, Capalaba, Wellington Point, now in Thornlands and I feel that Thornlands comes just under Victoria Point in likeability. If you were to live here, you might be bored initially, but come to slowly realise that your children are safe from crime, it's not that far to cinemas and shops and is in the middle of suburbs with major shops and transport (trainline in Cleveland with supermarket parking). Parking is never a problem in the Redlands area, except for the Redlands Hospital which desperately needs more parking.

I hope this has helped someone.