GME

Hi there,

We are planning to move to Mornington / Mt Eliza and would like to hear from anyone that's made a similar move. We are interested in finding out about pre-school / schools, best catchment areas and standard of living.

Thanks,

GME

koalakim

Hi

I live in Mt Martha which is the next suburb down from Mornington.

It's a lovely area, good beaches, countryside, nice towns and a good standard of living.

Expect to pay $400+ a week for a 3 bed home but maybe even nearer $500 for a decent rental.

Mt Eliza is the most expensive out of the 3 suburbs but where I am you can buy a relatively new family home for $500-600k. Depends on your budget but there are some gorgeous houses if you have more!

Can't help with schools as haven't got kids.

Downside is if you have to commute. The roads in Mellie are choca-blocka so if you are driving to the city you'd have to leave very early. There is a bus to Frankston Station and the trains are pretty regular or you'll have to drive and park but again the car park is usually full by 7am. It will be a long day but worth it when you get home and at weekends. I used to live in Brighton in the UK and have a 3 hour a day round trip but we always felt it was worth it.

I would direct you to the Britvics forum where you'd get more detailed advice about schools but it's gone very quiet and I think someone didn't renew the domain name as it's down. You could try Poms In Oz as I know a lot of people on there live around this area.

Hope this helps, if you like the sea then it's one of the most affordable areas to live by the coast. Bayside used to be quite good value but has gone up a lot in recent years but you could still look at Parkdale, then from Aspindale down to Frankston but there aren't so many shops, cafes etc down that strip but it's a little nearer to the city.

If you are commuting then I wouldn't go further down the Peninsula as it's extra travel miles/time if you are having to do a round trip each day.

Good luck!

sr71

So did I, but overall Southern Rail provided an excellent service and the fast train to London was actually very good for having 'alone' time to read, get a bit of extra work done etc. The Melbourne trains aren't as good.

koalakim

I used to have to drive which was fine until they started work on the Coulsdon By-Pass and then it became a nightmare! They finished it just as I was leaving work to emigrate...

Melbourne trains are very crowded and tight, expect to have a stranger sitting on your lap!

faf

Hi there

You can also subscribe to another site called Life in Vic.

Sara

GME

Thanks for your replies and thankfully will only have to drive as far as Dandenong so won't have to tackle the city commute every day.. How long would this trip normally take?

koalakim

Normally Dandenong would be about 40 mins and a bit extra in rush hour. You can now go on the new Peninsula Link and then Eastlink which is a toll road (so about 30 mins) but is probably worth the cost rather than having to come off at Frankston and then the ordinary road which in true Melbourne style has a hundred traffic lights on it!

RedDragon2008

Just to add in case confusion the first part "Peninsula Link" is free, its only when joining the east link that it becomes a toll road.

Watch out for the speed camera's (that's where they recoup the cost)