I’m getting to that point in my twenties where it’s time to start thinking about where I want to live. A lot of my friends have been in the workforce a little longer than I have, taking out mortgages to buy homes or in the process of doing so. And I’ve noticed that they all have homes in the Logan area.

I was a little tentative making that decision for myself. I grew up on Brisbane’s southside my entire life, and there had always been a bit of a stigma around Logan and stereotypes about how dangerous it is. The reality is that today, many young couples and families are moving out to Logan suburbs because it’s simply much, much cheaper. And because of this influx, the area is a lot safer now than I thought it was.

I’ve spent a fair amount of time looking into the more popular suburbs as I think about buying my first home.  Here’s an honest insight into what I found.

Browns Plains

Browns Plains is awesome for public transport. It’s one bus from Grand Plaza Shopping Centre to the CBD – which is super convenient for commutes and social events. And if you’re not bussing, Browns Plains is well connected to the Gateway and Logan Motorways.

While many of the facilities in the area have been brought up to date, the houses are older. I’ve always loved the charm of more traditional “homey” homes, so the lack of modernity is actually a plus for me.

Generally, Browns Plains is affordable but it’s a noisy area (this honestly doesn’t bother me, as I’ve lived next to a motorway my whole life). With lots of traffic and complaints about hooning, you might need to invest in some good noise-cancelling headphones on top of the home.

Logan Central

Logan Central is, well, central, which means that it is a busier area with the Council Administration Centre. Unfortunately, like the Brisbane CBD, this area has a stigma of crime – but it is one of those things, like any other area, where there are a couple “bad pockets” that don’t represent the rest of the area. Logan Central has started making headway on improving on their image.

Logan Central has everything you need and is definitely a more affordable option with lots of fellow first home buyers. It’s one of those places that is still majority separate homes for people who want that.

Beenleigh

Beenleigh is probably one of the nicer and cleaner suburbs, albeit having a location further from Brisbane than the other suburbs. It’s much better for people who want to be closer to the Gold Coast for that cheeky weekend beach trip.

Beenleigh neighbourhoods are basically being rebuilt, with old homes being replaced by more modern ones. While that is very appealing, there has been a lot of noise in the news and on socials about poor workmanship in new homes and I just need to make sure the builders have done everything up to code.

Slacks Creek

Slacks Creek is a small suburb with lots of history. It’s definitely quieter and representative of the improvement in Logan. Slacks Creek has developed a lot over the years and more families have moved in. That means it’s not as affordable as the other Logan Suburbs but it might be worth the peace of mind.

Lots of renovation goes on around there and it has IKEA, which it is a plus for when you’re furnishing your home.

At the end of the day, my research has solidified that the best thing to do is to inspect. That means two things. One, get a professional and reliable property inspector familiar with Slacks Creek that knows better than you when it comes to house structures. And two, look around the area yourself and ask some friends. It’s not enough to like to house, you have like the neighbourhood too!