West End, Australia
Bronze
Member since
2022| Exchange dates | Duration |
|---|---|
| June 24, 2024 - September 03, 2024 | 3 weeks |
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We hope to base ourselves somewhere in Europe/UK to visit our London based daughter and family during the northern hemisphere 2024 summer and preferably somewhere near a beach for 2 weeks or so for the UK mid July/late August period |
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An inner city apartment just minutes from Brisbane CBD
Our unit is on the 10th floor of the View tower of Gardens Riverside in West End and in our view the best apartment in the entire complex. Its 100m2 balcony wrapping around 2 sides overlooks the Brisbane River and is perfect for entertaining or just enjoying the view over to the iconic Regatta Hotel and Mount Coot-tha. Equally it is great for our young grandchildren at the times when they aren't using the fantastic downstairs pool and exceptionally well maintained landscaped gardens area.
Apart from its great bus and ferry public transport options, it an easy bike ride (or 30minute walk) to the Southbank precinct which is Brisbane's premier cultural, entertainment and casual dining venues that suit our year round mild sub-tropical climate. You know the story "the weather is beautiful one day and perfect the next".
Our Family
- 2 Adults
- 2 Children
- 1 Exchanges made
Occupation
- Recently retired civil engineer and major infrastructure program manager (Mike) plus retired family company director and former school teacher (Tracey)
Our Home
- House Type: Flat
- Environment: In the city
- Bedrooms: 3
- Bathrooms: 2
- Sleeping Capacity: 4
- Living Area: 110 m2
- Total Area: 210 m2
In my house
- Pets - Not allowed
- Small children - Allowed
Exchange Types
- Long-term exchange wanted
- Non-simultaneous exchange
- Home exchange
Indoor
- Free internet access
- Air conditioning
- Toys and games
- Washing machine
- Dishwasher
- Clothes dryer
- Television
Outdoor
- Garden
- Terrace or deck
- Balcony
- Park / playground
- BBQ
- Private swimming pool
- Bicycles: 2
Facilities
- Non-smoking house
- Lift/Elevator
Our Destination Wish List
- Open to any destination
- United States
- New Zealand
- North Africa
- Eastern Europe
- Western Europe
- United Kingdom
Spoken Languages
- English
Our Neighbourhood
Nearest Airport: Brisbane - 16 kms
West End is an older inner city suburb which is progressively becoming one of Brisbane premier residential areas. Because it is on a peninsula upstream of the CBD with minimal through traffic, it retains its mixture of old and new housing styles of which our multi-storey complex is its most modern form. With this transition also comes the satisfaction of all the needs of a modern city i.e. restaurants, coffee shops, great public transport (including a river ferry) to the CBD, riverside cycle and walkways plus relaxing parkland areas.
As already mentioned, our apartment is within 15 mins car, bicycle or bus ride (or about 30 to 35 minutes walk) to the Brisbane CBD with all the attributes of a State capital but still compact city including the Southbank precinct which is our premier cultural, entertainment and casual dining venues that suit our year round mild sub-tropical climate. With this climate comes a multitude of international sporting venues (Suncorp Stadium (rugby league, football and union), The Gabba Cricket Ground and the Queensland Tennis Centre all within a short radius of our home.
Further afield, it is only an hour or so's drive to either the Gold Coast (to the south) and the Sunshine Coast (to the north) with their spectacular beaches and other tourist attractions. Venturing westwards (and upwards) a weekend away up at Queensland's best winery region at Stanthorpe is a must do either during the chilly winter months (it very occasionally "snows") or in summer.
Occupation
- Recently retired civil engineer and major infrastructure program manager (Mike) plus retired family company director and former school teacher (Tracey)
Children
- Girl - Age: 36
- Boy - Age: 38
Pets
- We do not have pets.
About Our Family
Tracey and I (Mike) are now active early 60's "grey nomads" (as we call travelling retirees in Australia). We currently live in West End, Brisbane (the capital of Queensland) where one of greatest joys was having fun with our daughter's family and their 2 sons (2 and 4 year olds). In late 2022 though, they have been transferred to the UK so that we aren't tied to Brisbane as much and which gives us the opportunity to again "see the world".
Down at the Gold Coast though, our son's family with our other grandchildren (boy (almost 10), girl (6) and new-born boy (16 January 2023) are the anchors which keep us tied to South East Queensland (apart from its fantastic year-long weather, recreational activities and being the best place in the world....just ask anyone who has made the effort to get here!!!).
Lifestyle
When at home in Brisbane or at the Gold Coast, our lifestyle is a similar mixture of active (e.g. golf, street and bushwalking, occasional gym sessions tennis plus short caravanning trips in South East Queensland) together with spectator options including sports (AFL, cricket, rugby league and union plus cinema, theatre and musicals.
We have previously travelled to many regions of the world for short holidays when we were working "full time". We prefer a mixture of active holidays (e.g. we've climbed Mt Kilimanjaro, skied in Japan and North America plus cycled in Vietnam) combined with some R&R afterwards like a cruise on the Nile, an African safari or a week at a beach resort in Thailand. Now that the world has "reopened" and we have more time we would like to stay overseas for longer durations.
Additionally and the major reason while we are looking at home exchanges now is that our daughter and son-in-law plus our 2 youngest grandsons were transferred in late 2022 to the UK (near London). Therefore we are initially targeting there and the rest of Europe so that we keep in close and regular contact with them. We are particularly hopeful we get to Wimbledon plus some London theatre events during any UK visits in 2024. On the active side, skiing plus walking anywhere in Europe are also on our agenda intermingled with seeing all the tourist sites the region has to offer.
