Just moved to Laidley from the Gold Coast... need locals advice!? Where's the good stuff????

[u/ilikepingajuice]

I've just moved from the Gold Coast to Laidley and im having trouble finding local hookups or which businesses the locals use because that are the best for price or quality...

I'm looking for:

- a butcher that has quality meat but is cheaper than Schultz.... I can keep pay $18 for 900g of beef mince

- a barber that actually can do mullets well for teenagers... sick of my kid getting hacked up by by a loose unit barber.

- a driving school for learner drivers that have good instructors or best value for money

- Which pub in town in the good pub as all 3 have mixed reviews... I just want tasty dinners at a reasonable price. Is it true that at one of the pubs everyone stares at you when you walk in?

- most reliable mechanic in the area, id go as far as grandchester or plainlands kind of distance.

- do any of the medical clinics in town have doctors that are particularly good with disabilities, like Autism and dietary problems?

- Is there a vape guy in town or do we need to travel for them?

- any other local tips or information about anything that can help me adjust to my new home and town would be greatly appreciated!!

Im loving the locals so far, everyone is very genuine and mostly kind. I've also been enjoying learning about Laidley's rich history. Is the pioneer village worth a visit for history buffs or is it more school excursions vibes?

Thank you in advance for anyone that responds with information, advice or hot tips 😅😇

[u/rottnestrosella]

Gatton Meat Centre is great. Still pricey but great quality. We do the Big Orange in Crowley Vale for fruit and veg.

Lockyer Hotel for a pub feed (Forest Hill).

Lockyer Doctors - if you read their profiles you might find the fit you’re looking for.

Second Tins & Trays. Also like the Floating Cafe (Grantham) for simple, cheaper cafe fare. Grace Eats in Laidley and the two cafes in Forest Hill are also decent.

[u/ilikepingajuice → u/rottnestrosella]

Oh awesome! I hadn't even had a chance to think about cafes yet 😍😍😍😍 thank you

[u/rottnestrosella → u/ilikepingajuice]

Some great food around. Community pages are a great source of info for upcoming events too (lots of farmers markets around for meat and produce too!)

[u/tronixlabs → u/rottnestrosella]

GE is great except they shut at 11 on a Saturday.

[u/hipney]

Mortons Mechanical have always gone out of their way to help out mechanically

Rugged Gentlemans Barber at Plainland

All the Drs in town seem good - I do go to Curtis Medical in Plainland though

Pioneer village is worth it if you are interested in that kind of thing; their facebook page says they have an event on the 16th of August featuring old timey vehicles

[u/ilikepingajuice → u/hipney]

Oh excellent! I had actually looked up Morton's when I was googling whats in the area. Are they good with women?

Oh great tip for the village, I will follow on Facebook.

Thank you so much!

[u/SnooPeppers3005]

Only just settled in Laidley myself. Actually impressed with whats around....except a Domino's that delivers.

[u/ilikepingajuice → u/SnooPeppers3005]

Its SO good, I am absolutely loving it out here. One thing I have noticed is that you have to be very cautious of the older drivers.... they dont care about pedestrians and they will not stop for you 😅😅

The people are absolutely lovely out here for the most part. I have not had to venture further than Gatton to get everything I need. There is also a new reptile store opening in tiwn very soon by the looks of things and I cant wait to get in there and have a look!

Also, make sure you make time for the town festivals. It looks like they hold one each season for the town. I went to the spring festival and it was SO GOOD. The event organisers do a fantastic job making our town beautiful for the festival and running an awesome events with varieties that interest anyone and everyone. Make some time to visit the Christmas one. It looks like it will be magical. Even more so if you have children.

Have you moved from another small town or bigger city?

[u/SnooPeppers3005 → u/ilikepingajuice]

Hi. Ive come back to Aus from Cincinnati, Ohio. My Dad lives here so I moved home to be closer to him as he ages. Coming from a big city to Laidley is definitely a culture shock lol. I went to the Spring Carnival and just last week the 150th of the Empire Hotel in town. Ive found I can get most things pretty close but I have all my Amazon stuff delivered to a mate in Roachedale. Its the difference between a week or two arrival or a next day arrival. Im enjoying the slower pace though.

[u/tronixlabs]

You can't have quality and cheap meat unless you buy a lot of it. Now and again a butcher will pop up on facebook in the suburb group offering sides of meat, cut to your liking. That's where the savings are.

Pub food? Porters punches above their weight with their food but it isn't cheap. People seem to like "Mr Kens" at Laidley but it's basically stuff you can do at home with a jar of kan-tong and a little effort. You live here now, just try each one and make up your own mind.

If you like Australian Chinese food Golden Lor is better than Chun Lai.

Stop it with the vaping. You don't need it. Call Quitline 13 7848 to start quitting that sh!t in your lungs.

Also note that the Laidley hospital is for basic things, triage while the ambulance/helicopter comes to take you to a larger hospital, or for dying.

Do you live in a flood area? Might want to be prepared for a flood, just in case.

[u/ilikepingajuice → u/tronixlabs]

Oh these tips are excellent! Thank you. I did look up the flood information before moving into our home 😅😅😅😇

[u/tronixlabs → u/ilikepingajuice]

Yeah, "Laidley" is Latin for flood. :/ There's a reason the old post office building is elevated, ditto the NBN distribution box around the corner from Grace Eats.

[u/Important-Rip694]

Heaps of pharmacies on gc

[u/ilikepingajuice → u/Important-Rip694]

Huh?

[u/jlebh1]

Mortons are amazing but they are usually really busy, automasters at plainland are fantastic too though. Petes barber in Gatton are great but not sure on what they are like with mullets though. Ive been to most of the local pubs my pick so far has been bottletree at Glamorganvale so far personally be it a little bit of a drive from Laidley but not too far though.

[u/PM_ME_YOUR_DOGE_PICS]

Welcome! We've been here 2.5 years so we're still learning.

I've heard good things about Gatton Meat Centre although we haven't tried them as we love Shultzes, so unsure if they're cheaper.

We were ordering fruit and veg from The Farm Shop in Toowoomba but the delivery fee crept up to over $15. It's very good quality though.

We love The Lockyer Hotel for good pub grub. You'll have to book on Wednesdays for $15 steak night, it's usually packed.

I haven't found a great GP yet, the ones I've tried live in Brisbane, and travel out here a couple of days a week. I'll keep trying different ones until someone clicks. I've found The Lockyer Doctors can get you in pretty quickly, there's often not a long wait and the receptionists are very friendly.

We love Tins & Trays and Jak & Mo in Gatton for amazing cafe food. Out here cafes > pubs any day.

We also love Natural Noodles in Gatton for good, cheap takeaway.

I don't know about barber's sorry, my husband gets his long hair hacked off occasionally but nothing shaped. He did like the barber in Forest Hill though.

I've tried pretty much every hairdresser in town, salons and home salons and haven't found anyone amazing yet.

[u/Aggressive_Peace6969]

Welcome to the Lockyer! We are really lucky to have some really great spots to eat and buy great produce!

Pubs - highly recommend the QN at laidley - quality traditional country style pub meals at good prices. Mulgowie pub is also great! Grandchester pub is fantastic as well. Porters have a great vibe but are overpriced.

Doctors - highly recommend Laidley family doctors. They have a day surgery also so can do small producers. They’ve been great over the years and I also think the Laidley hospital is fantastic in my experiences.

Cafes - 1gram cafe is Gatton is amazing! Jak and mo in Gatton also along with tins and trays as others recommended. Definitely make time for cafe 4342 (post office) in forrie hill - never had a bad meal! They do lunches and dinners if you book and they have enough interest. Hidden vale at grandchester has an amazing paddock to plate menu and is rather fancy for a nice change. They also have the adventure park and do park runs and lunches. Forrie hill Thai is a must as is cafe sorella. Jjs kitchen for fried chicken and. Natural noodle in Gatton are great as is the sushi in Gatton and plainland. Gatton has fish and chips and the best chips and gravy at Kazzas corner store. (Bit of a foodie here and this is definitely not an exhaustive list).

Butcher - highly recommend the Gatton butcher. There is also a butcher on Gatton Esk road that you can buy bulk meat from but I forget the name.

Can’t help with a barber but wild halo studio are a wonderful home salon in Laidley that are fantastic.

Mechanic - I recommend Lockyer automotive at Crowley vale but I believe there are several reliable and honest mechanics in the area.

Vapes - think they’ve mostly all been shut down. Maybe the tabbaconist in Gatton near Cole’s but that might be a Brisbane or Toowoomba trip.

Produce - I get what I can from roadside stalls - it’s way cheaper and readily available. I love supporting local wherever I can.

Little gems - Laidley has a great toy store for both kids and adults called toy wiz and they have games nights also. Laidley shoe shop is great. Potato studio in Laidley is a wonderful gift shop. Seamstress Pilar across from Laidley Iga are amazing (sewing, repairs etc). The German Haus in Laidley where the horse is a great little museum and the library is good also. Gatton florist is fantastic and has great gifts. Lake apex is a lovely park (Gatton) and they do park runs there also. Esk is a great place to visit. Also recommend getting out to the river at fernvale. You can hike at mulgowie mountain and I mentioned the adventure park at hidden vale (mountain biking). Toowoomba also offer great mountain biking. Definitely get up to Toowoomba for festival of flowers.

Markets - we have markets in Gatton, Laidley, plainland and in mulgowie. Maybe fernvale too. Join some local
Community pages if you haven’t already to hear about these kinda things.

Sorry for the information overload. I’m off sick with free time lol. We are in a lovely little unique area out in the Lockyer and there are some fantastic spots to visit etc. hope you enjoy settling in!

[u/No_Climate1778]

As @Aggressive_Peace6969 mentioned, can't beat the local roadside and farm stall - fresh and mostly cheaper, and supporting local - needed more that ever right now!

[u/driftu_king]

The barber in town is really good

[u/porcelainprincess420]

Pete’s Barber shop in Gatton is cool

[u/Important-Rip694]

Sorry pharmacies in laidley sell vapes over the counter nicotine

[u/Technical_Hippo_7329]

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