Young family finds perfect match in Highfields

For the Mullins family, life could not get much better, now they live in Highfields. Christiane and Brendan have been living in their newly built home with their two children, Eden (4) and Noah (8) since April.

The family previously lived in Kearneys Spring, but felt that suburb was not quite for them, so decided to have a look around.

There were many things which made Highfields a desirable location for them, like the space offered by the suburb.

“We wanted to find a modern home on a larger block, something which is few and far between in Toowoomba,” Christiane said.

The couple looked at established homes in the area, but decided to build their family home instead.

“We always wanted to build and to have something that felt like ours from the beginning; ultimately it seemed comparable in price to build,” she added.

The whole building process took just over a year to complete, from the planning stage to the day they moved in, giving the family plenty of time to familiarise themselves with their new neighbourhood.

“The Highfields area offered the facilities and infrastructure that our bigger suburban areas like Westbrook didn’t offer — everything feels ‘just around the corner’ in Highfields and it’s a quieter area.”

The family has always preferred the local Highfields swimming pool to Toowoomba’s swimming pools and made the trip regularly, even before living in Highfields.

“The new park at the sports fields and Peacehaven Park are great draws for our kids,” Christiane said.

She believes the parks are generally well–kept and looked after, which makes going to the park a breeze.

“It’s easy to find a good little park to run out the extra energy,” she explained.

The family tried many of the local eateries and have found many favourites.

“We’ve always loved Chocolate Cottage and want to try Sugar Maples, because we hear good things,” she said.

The peaceful atmosphere in Highfields has also been a noticeable difference in the everyday lives of the Mullins family.

“The community vibe is much more prominent than in our previous suburb; we’ve met most of our neighbours and the kids can ride up and down the street without concern,” Christiane said.

“The street and the area are full of young families like us and, in that way, it’s a pretty relaxed, child–friendly environment.”

From their new home, Christiane and Brendan face a 20 to 25–minute commute into the Toowoomba CBD every morning, which takes some getting used to.

“The commute is not great, but is certainly still better than a metro level commute,” Christiane said, adding that their travel time has been doubled since exchanging Kearneys Spring for Highfields.

But, despite the increased travel time, Highfields is just a couple of kilometres out of town and it’s a doable trip.

“Highfields is close enough that a couple of trips a day, or going in for the kids’ sports on the weekend, doesn’t feel onerous.”

Christiane said they’re now looking forward to completing their landscaping and back yard as soon as the weather warms up enough.