RaeJ

We recently migrated to sunny Brisbane from NZ and chose to live in Bulimba after reading a number of positive reviews and driving through the area. As new 'migrants' I thought I'd post a review to help others looking to make a similar decision.

First, the pros - at least from our perspective;
- It has a great village feel (for anyone that knows Auckland well, it's similar to Mt Eden) with a variety of places to shop, dine and have a glass of wine
- There are a lot parks around the area including a small Par 3 golf course (which is a little tired to be frank but ok)
- The cinema is really cheap both for food and tickets
- Close the ferry if you need to work in the CBD or on the ferry route - it's a great way to get to work when it's sunny!
- It's relatively quiet with regards to street noise and neighbours (see Flight path info below)
- The buses are fairly frequent and go through some of the streets to save you having to walk to the main road
- It's fairly close to the city - we drive most mornings leaving at around 7am and it takes 20 mins to get the city IF there are no roadworks or the traffic is light. This is the shortest duration from our experience
- It's near the airport and has great access to the motorways taking you to the Sunshine & Gold Coasts
- The neighbours and locals are great, we seriously haven't met one rude or miserable person yet - and we're kiwis so were expecting a little bit of cheeky!

Now the cons - at least from our perspective;
- It's directly under the flight path and near the airport. This means that planes are flying fairly low over your home so the noise is rather loud. On days that I work from home it varies from 1 an hour to every 5 minutes. It's not too peaceful sitting in your backyard after work enjoying a glass of wine with planes flying overhead. I think this is reduced if you live on the south side of Oxford St (nearer Hawthorne)
- Whilst there is a variety of restaurants in Bulimba, don't expect a high level of quality for the price. We regularly eat out at cafes and restaurants, have done for years and decided to stick to a few in Bulimba or travel into Fortitude Valley & the CBD. For service, food & value, we rate Delizioso, Paleo Café & The Jetty. This differs from the urban spoon reviews but we've eaten at all of the cafes and restaurants here (in the hope of finding a great local) and that's our view.
- Traffic into the city out of Hawthorne road is VERY slow if you travel at peak times. It took us 25 minutes one time just to get to the end of the road (approx. 2 kms). We leave at 7am most mornings to avoid traffic
- Internet speeds - unless you are near the exchange (which is on Wynnum Road), the Internet speeds here are atrocious. Not quite 3rd world or dial up but we're on VDSL & consistently get around 4-5 megabits per second.
- The size of the block/section is small (most are around 405 sqm) with the house taking up most of the space and not a lot of space between your and your neighbours so there is little private outdoor living in most of the homes here in Bulimba. It's offset somewhat by the number of parks around. If you are looking for something a bit larger or private then expect to pay a lot more.