Brisbane: South Bank, Artificial Beach in Central Brisbane
I must admit, I love living in Brisbane.
I love Brisbane because of its parks, its blue skies and the laid back, friendly people who live here – affectionately known to both themselves and other Australians as “banana benders” or “cane toads”.
“Banana benders” came about because of the banana plantations in Queensland while, more recently, “cane toads” was coined because of the epidemic of these large, poisonous, amphibians from South America. (Brisbanites deal with these creatures in a variety of ways – smashing them with cricket bats or, more humanely, gathering them in plastic bags and freezing them painlessly to death. Rough you may say, but a pet dog can be dead within 15 to 30 minutes of eating a cane toad. )
Anyway, enough of the local colour for the moment, and back to the good things about living in Brisbane.
Brisbane is a clean, modern looking city that just makes me want to smile when I look at it – the perpetual blue skies help – everything looks better in the sunshine. The people here are truly friendly, helpful and happy. If you look at a typical high street in the UK, full of unsmiling, grim looking people and then look at similar situation in Brisbane, there is no comparison – the Brisbanites are much happier.
They have a lot to be happy about. The food on offer is fantastic. The influx of migrants from the Far East (or Asia as it’s known here) has made Brisbane a foodie’s paradise with an excellent array of foods available to eat instantly or to cook at home. On Sundays there are markets on the banks of the Brisbane River in the middle of the city with lots of stalls that I enjoy walking around.
The city is full of lovely parks. Many of them lay on free burners for you to barbecue food. In and around Glasgow facilities like this would instantly be vandalised. It’s refreshing to live in a place where people appreciate these facilities and don’t wreck them.
The beaches are clean and beautiful and, with a sub-tropical climate, are there for year-round enjoyment. The Gold Coast – with Sea World, Movie World, Dream World, and Wet & Wild – is only an hour away. Some people – not me, I dislike commuting – choose to live on the Gold Coast and commute into Brisbane to work.
Brisbane must also be one of the few cities anywhere to have a beach right in the middle of its city centre. South Bank is man-made, and sits beside the Brisbane River.
It can get crowded during the day but it’s a great spot and often has free entertainment for the kids. Very handy when you’ve got some shopping to do and, better still, no need to feel guilty about leaving older kids there on their own – the beach has lifeguards who are there from early ’til late every day.
The sub-tropical climate here is fantastic. Brisbane doesn’t have winter – just a dry, “cool” season. This season is certainly cooler than the steamy summer but the winter temperatures here are still higher than Scotland’s summer. Mind you, it has been said that summers in Scotland are as warm as everywhere else – it’s just that they’re a bit on the short side – a couple of days if you’re lucky.
As far as summer is concerned, some people complain that Brissie gets too hot and sticky but I don’t bother too much about this because:
a. I work in an air-conditioned office, drive an air-conditioned car (a must) and have air conditioning at home.
b. When the heat / humidity is worst (January – March) the sun rises very early. At weekends I’m on the beach by about 7 a.m. (it’s warm even this early) and I don’t have to worry about sunburn. By 10 a.m., I’m on my way to a nice air-conditioned shopping mall. Then back home for lunch and a shady seat on the veranda to enjoy a fruit juice and a read.
c. Back in the UK, there are a lot of days when you’re stuck inside because the weather is so bad. In Brisbane the weather is only “bad” in the summer owing to the sticky heat (and the late-afternoon downpours.) But even in this “bad” season, I can still get to the beach for some fantastic recreation and can go for early morning jogs in the sunshine through lovely parkland.
d. If you subtract the three months of sticky heat, the weather for the rest of the year is glorious.
e. I grow bananas and pineapples in my garden – I can still hardly believe this. I’m sure the novelty will wear off sometime, but it hasn’t yet.
If you don’t fancy life on the beach, there are plenty of good swimming pools – mainly outdoors and 50 m long, double the length of most of the pools in Scotland.
Another thing about Brisbane I love is that even in the depths of “winter” the sun comes up early – by 6.30 a.m. For me this is fantastic. In the Scottish winter, I used to get up in what seemed like the middle of the night, ate breakfast and then travelled to work in darkness. Here I rise early to bright daylight, have a jog (if I’m in the mood) and a leisurely breakfast then head to work in lovely sunshine – it really is sunny here almost every day in winter. The contrast with where I emigrated from is amazing.
After two years, I still sit out on my veranda and think how lucky I am to be here under Brisbane’s blue skies.
Alan MacDonald
Lived in Brisbane for 3 years before returning to the UK for various reasons. Moving to Brisbane was not easy with a young family if I’m honest. School at 6 seemed late and was an issue. Sticky summers lasted 4 or 5 months and that’s difficult when you are not used to it. The shops and products are different, the total shut down at night after 6.30 was strange and the lack of PT after this time a pain. Short days also made things restrictive, but I loved my time there. The people are great, the winters perfect, the lifestyle laid back and city stunning. I loved it and always pine to head back.
Not entirely accurate about the Cane Toads thing… I mean, you’re not wrong exactly, because the epidemic thing is true… but to call a Queenslander a cane toad is actually a State of Origin reference, because that is the mascot of the QLD team, while New South Wales has a cockroach. You will hear Qlders refer to NSWers as cockroaches, as well. It’s kind of meant to be the funny side of the rugby rivalry.
Fantastic city with friendly people and it’s just such a blessing living here as immigrant from Cape Town. I will recommend this great city to any new comer. You will agree with me!
Hi Rochelle. We are NZ citizens but SA born with two little boys and a teen. I am concerned about safety and finding friendly faces. Where are some of the affordable areas to live?
Thank you,
Bronwyn
The cheapest areas of Brisbane would have to be the suburbs in Logan council area and the islands in Redland bay council area. I’ve lived along the Redlands coast for the past few years and I don’t think it gets safer in any capital city as it is in this area. The prices are very cheap for a safe coastal area, removed from Logan and the Gold Coast which both feature every night at 6.
Let’s be honest I loved Brisbane and a lot of that was to do with the winters but the summers are horrendous! The humidity is a killer all ends up from the moment you wake up till the moment you finally fall asleep. Then you have the sun going down at 8 in the summer! 7 in the winter, can’t say I enjoyed that at all!
Exspensive ! Wow unbelievable I’d never seen inflation till I went to Brisbane. Then we have the wildlife not an issue in all honesty but if your a parent its always on the mind for the first couple of years. Overall that was the negatives but I loved it for the people, the bus ways, the city and food!
Wow seeing everyone complaining about the summers. I live further north in Airlie beach 3hrs south of Townsville. Thinking of moving to Brisbane next year, for one the summers aren’t as bad, its not as hot or humid Brisbane does not get cyclones!!
In summer the sun is up around 6am and down at 630pm shorter days than Brisbane
Brisbane is a nice Australian city, if you like warm days and going to the beach in winter, if you’d rather raining days wrapped up in blankets I suggest Melbourne, another fantastic Australian city. Massive culture and a good art and music atmosphere.
The wildlife is just apart of Australia, I hate snakes but that’s mostly because I’ve has a few close encounters while bushwalking in Tasmania.
This was such a good read..my husband and I are in the process of planning our move to Brisbane with our two children. I had been wondering would we find it too hot, even though I have lived in a Mediterranean/near Middle East country and love the heat! I am sure we will be just fine and not miss the grey skies of England..I have missed the daily sunshine ever since I returned here!
Hi Laura, did you end up moving? Your life sounds a few years ahead of our plans with two kids! We have been there before and now that we have kids living in Scotland, we are making it a mission in about 3 yrs time! Fingers crossed! Would love to connect with you.
Hi Laura,
Did you move? How did your children find it?
My husband and I are considering the move with our young children and would appreciate any advice.
Thanks
Brisbane is a young city that is still maturing and determining its identity unlike Sydney and Melbourne which are established cities. I guess in a sense it’s exciting to witness this evolution from town to cosmopolitan city, at least for me it is 🙂
The city is clean, organised, safe and has an easy going, almost lazy vibe about it. If you like the hustle and bustle of mega cities like London and New York then you may not like Brisbane much. That’s not to say Brisbane doesn’t have culture and nightlife, its just not “in your face” and you have to go searching for it. It can be difficult to find somewhere to eat after 9pm, even on weekends.
Weather wise the summers are hot and humid. It’s highly recommended, almost a necessity that you find a house to live in that has air conditioning and I wouldn’t shy away from cranking it all throughout the summer, day and night. This is probably the difference between tolerating and hating the summers and will impact on your overall impression of Brisbane.
Every city has its shortcomings, and for Brisbane it lacks the X factor and beauty of somewhere like Sydney with its pristine harbour and leafy inner city suburbs. We have a river that snakes through and around the city but which is OK but a bit muddy, there’s a lot of high rise development going on, some with less than desirable aesthetics, and these tend dominate the streetscape and crowd out the glorious heritage buildings that are littered through the CBD.
Overall Brisbane is a great city and would appeal most likely to people 30+ and young families looking for a balance between variety, outdoor spaces, easy commuting, proximity to beaches, glorious weather most of the year and easy going living.
Hope this helps
Great read . I’m extremely happy to be moving over 25th May from England. I’m praying myself and my partner can find the jobs and settle !! We’re determined to work harder than ever to earn the right to stay .. we’ll see !
Hi, Im 16. My Dad is Australian and we live here in the United States. This summer we visited family in Australia. We went to Toowoomba, Brisbane and The Gold Coast. The entire time I was there i just wanted to come back home to Michigan and eat “American food” -which isn’t much different from Aussie food- but when i finally made it back home i realized how beautiful Australia actually was. For the past 5 months i have been longing for Australia. I went to Bundaberg and saw the cane fields. We have a friend who is a farmer in Bundaberg and has a ton of land. I remember waking up in the morning to the sunshine coming through my window, and walking outside to sit on the porch. The breeze was beautiful and the sky was vivid. Now of course this is during the winter months. After going to Bundy we visited the Gold Coast, and don’t get me started with that. It was probable the most beautiful place i have EVER seen. It looked like, and felt like Heaven. Now as i said earlier, this is during winter so i can’t really say much about summer. After going to the Gold Coast we went back to Toowoomba, which is where my nana is living, to make a quick pit stop. Finally we wrapped up our journey in Brisbane. We were in Brisbane for about 3 days. The first day was just driving and getting situated in the Hotel, but the second day was were all of the fun was. We spent nearly the entire day walking around Brisbane; Going to a bunch of shops and restaurants. We wrapped up the day with a meal at a restaurant called Jo Jo’s. The food was amazing and we got a seat on the balcony so we could see the street. Over all i miss Australia soon much. It is a beautiful country and who knows, maybe i will be back there soon 🙂
Brisbane is the best city and place I have ever been to on planet earth! My son was born there and I am looking forward to moving back there. It’s like heaven.
Hello Alan.
It was refreshing to read such a lovely post about the goodness of Brisbane, but like Andrew says, there is a downside too.
I am a rarety: Queensland born and bred. I live in Brisbane and up o n the Sunshine Coast. I travel a lot, but Brissie is where I choose to live.
A note to Andrew above. Pensioners eating pet food is the dumbest thing I have ever heard! Not sure if you e seen the price of potatoes, dried pasta or bread but I think you’ll be surprised to realise it’s cheaper then pet food…. Maybe the ones eating in this manner enjoy the taste?
I am a born and bred Brissite (4th generation Australian)that loves Brissy. This is why I say “NO” to daylight saving. The humidity does not cool down until late during summer. Older people don’t get enough sleep as it is. Price of electricity is skyrocketing. Good for you that you have an air conditioned office that you can sit in all day. With pensoners getting very little money to live on, some of them resorting to eat pet food. Bottom line is they can’t afford to have air conditioning going all day long and most have trouble sleeping at night.
Queensland has also the highest skin cancer rate in the world, not just Australia. Vote NO to daylight saving!
I love it and I would love to move there as well hope I will be as lucky as you are and move there as soon as possible this weather in UK is so depressing even for kids. Always rain and cold.