By now, we were starting to worry about the length of the commute from Berwick.  We loved the houses, the wee village in the middle and the surroudning facilities, but and hour on the train morning and night?  Spending that much time on the train would mean that I was out of the house from 7am to 7pm most days.  Where's the 'better lifestyle'?

 

So we started thinking on Thursday night about alternatives and decided that we had to look at the West of the city again.  We hadn't been impressed on our previous trip, but we had run out of alternatives.  The East of the city is great, but the areas we can afford are too far from the CBD, so we had to compomise on something.

 

So on Friday morning we drove to and around Cairnlea, which is a modern development in the middle of an industrial area West of the Yarra.  We liked the housing, the schools, the shops etc, but were left with a very hollow feeling.  Once you stepped out of the estate (which you would inevitably have to do), you were faced with some pretty ugly housing and clapped out bangers.

 

Our tour was cut short, because I had been asked back to the midnight and logic crowd to discuss an offer that they wanted to make me!!  They offered a good wage, decent benefits and a 2 week notice preiod, so I haggled a bit and left them thinking about how to impove their offer.  It's amazing how cocky you get when you feel like you're choosing a job, rather than fighting for one!  We went for dinner at Knox City and I was called with a better offer, which I accepted! - 10 days into the country and I've got a job!!

 

When we got home, we agreed that we would have to have another look at Caroline Springs, a new development on the very edge of the city, on the site of some old farmland that was too rocky to grow anything well.  Our first impressions of it had not been good, but we were left with little choice.