Gold Coast House

[DanielG]

Hi All,

This is more of PPOR question (but I want to turn it into an IP in two years or so), so I want to know about buying in a suburb not too far from the gold coast.
I want a lifestyle change from the rat race here in Sydney which I have come to loathe with a passion, and the sunny disposition of the Gold Coast really appeals to me.

If I move to Qld ill have to work in Brisbane, can I commute from CG to Brisbane? Ive seen on google that the distance is 75 km and estimates travel of 1 hr and 12 min (i assume they are not factoring traffic in that figure). Is there a fast train to brisbane?

I will travel there in a month to scope things out, but would love to hear people's thoughts on my plans, and whether a house with 3 bedrooms is a sound investment in that area.

Thanks all!

 

[boomtown]

I have a girlfriend on the Gold Coast (Carrara area) and work in the Brisbane CBD.

Driving


If I leave at 6:45 am I will normally be in the Brisbane CBD for 8 am ish. It is currently possible to get early bird parking for $15 - $25 per day at 8 am. Even $10 per day. Leaving at 730am gets me in a couple minutes before 9 am and it can be a bit of a panic finding a early bird car space. If you get it wrong it will cost you $45 to park that day.

If its raining you have to leave early. If Brisbane picks back up again you will find that parking becomes prohibitively expensive - its only a recent thing that it so cheap.

Train

The train sucks. It takes about an 65 minutes from the CBD and is relatively stress free but can be hard to get a seat. The side to side rocking drives me crazy but it is possible to read a book.


Basically - it is possible to commute each day and there are plenty of people that do it - but it is not something you want to do by choice. I strongly recommend either working on the GC or living in Brisbane.

 

[troyhunt]

Hi Daniel, I've considered exactly your position many times in the past but always come back to the fact that a lifestyle move cannot result in 2 hours plus in the car each day! Personally, it's either find suitable work on the GC or stick with Sydney (25 min commute from a great location).

 

[im sparticus]

I am currently commuting from burleigh heads to brisbane airport and its usually around 1-1.5 hrs depending on traffic but to be honest most of the trip is spent on the last 25km or so. the way i see it if your more than 25km from town/the gateway you may aswell be 100 if you know what i mean. I probably would have given up by now accept i have started car pooling.

 

[thewahaman]

I spent four years (around about 2003-2006) commuting from GC to Bris and back every day for uni and then work. I live in Parkwood, 10 minute drive to Helensvale station. Roughly hour trip on the train from there into the city on the express train. Reverse then repeat.

I didn't mind it - most of the time I'd chuck on the headphones, pull out a book to try to read and end up falling asleep (apologies to everyone whose shoulder I may have accidentally fallen asleep on). Though I now work on the coast and enjoy reclaiming that extra 2 hours of life each day (usually sleeping in bed as opposed to on the train).

Don't know how packed the trains get these days, but the "Bombay Express" used to get pretty crowded during peak hour - as a student I usually just settled for a spot on the floor. The express trains came every half hour, so I used to intentionally hang back at uni/work a little later to avoid the rush.

Guess it just comes down to your personal preference. Some people love it, some hate it.

 

[ems]

I commuted from the GC to Brisbane for 3 years. I didn't mind it at all although I managed to get a seat everyday.

I'm pretty sure they have express trains going from the GC to Brisbane every 15 minutes now in rush hour.

Give me that commute over the London bus/underground of which I'm doing now anyday.

 

[jaycee]

wow, the $14.50 /day I've been spending on parking seems like a pittance in comparison, and that aint a cheap spot in Perth either, I'm to lazy to walk much further (or get up earlier after spending all night online....)

 

[fernfurn]

We shifted up to the GC from Melb for a year 10mths ago. Loved it so much we decided within 6 weeks to stay here. Hubby consults so can be anywhere from GC to Brisbane. Admittedly he drives there outside rush hour, so I would take notice of other peoples times. It would depend on the job you got, could you work from home even one day. If you got a job Sth outskirts of Bris it would be better. Just love the lifestyle, weekends are fantastic, always something to do, and the weather is fantastic, yes a bit of humidity, but not those killer hot blow torch days of summer in Melb

 

[troyhunt]

We just always seem to have more consistent weather there. Sitting outside the other day and we were talking about bushfires and 40+ degrees in VIC and floods in FNQ but had nice 30 degree temps and just right amount of rain on the GC. Particularly going into autumn it will be cold mornings and evenings down south while we can still enjoy the outdoors for more of the days on the coast.

 

[Edmond Dantes]

I commuted for about 1 year. I used to live in nerang and was working in the CBD.

Always caught the "bombay express" train. If you're catching the trains from the first few stations then you would easily find a sit. After Logan you can forget about it (it could be worst now).

I got tired, was spending a little over two hours commuting and got home really tired. I now live in brisbane.

I've always thought the brisbane - GC corridor is a good long term investment.

cheers

 

[pennyk]

what about considering the lower Sunshine Coast, where there are good train services (i'm told!). You could drive to Caboolture or Burpengary, and go into the city by train from there.
As long as you don't have to drive down Bruce Hwy to city.
I think Brisbane traffic is worse than Sydney. I live in Sydney, but my Brisbane colleague is always caught in traffic jams.
Pen