Mt Claremont: longing for community feel draws family to suburb

“My husband Jamie lived here when he was younger and was always interested in coming back to the area,” she said.

“The school was a big drawcard too.

“Our daughters go to John XXIII; that will take them from primary school through to high school, and they can walk to school from our house, which will be great when they start doing afterschool activities like netball.”

The Paolucci family have found the sense of community they were looking for.

“On Saturday mornings we will walk or scooter to the farmers’ market at Mt Claremont Primary School,” Mrs Paolucci said.

“We love that you can buy fresh food and veggies, and you can get a coffee and breakfast, and our girls often get something from the bakery.

“There are always plenty of children there, and a playground too.”

As an extra bonus, Mr Paolucci’s parents live just up the street from the family.

Being close to Challenge Stadium was also a benefit of living in Mt Claremont.

“The girls do gymnastics on Sunday mornings, and also go swimming there,” Mrs Paolucci said.

“There is always something going on, such as concerts or the recent cheerleading finals.”

They intend to stay in the area for many years and bought their home with the intention of demolishing it and building their ideal family home but decided to carry out an extensive renovation instead.

“After some thought we realised we could make the home work for us,” Mrs Paolucci said.

“We now have a wonderful open-plan home that suits our lifestyle.” n