dmagk

G'day Mates !

we're heading out to Melbourne in March for a reckie before deciding whether to make the move there. We have 3 children aged 16, 12 and 4 and are looking for a leafy or coastal suburb with good schools up to 45 mins from the city centre. If you have any suggestions as to where to start looking please let us know ...
Thanks

geordie mandy

Welcome to BE
There are plenty of suburbs in Melbourne it just depends on the price range of house you are looking for.
Have you looked on www.realestate.com . The mornington peninsular is quite popular and having visited the area briefly it is lovely close to the beach, and to countryside and not far from the CBD
Mandy

dmagk

Thanks Mandy. Have been doing some more digging and Frankston South looks good. I understand its about 45km away from the centre of Melbourne. Does anyone know how long it would take to commute from there ? Is there a fast train or does it stop at all the suburbs on the way in ?

Thanks

Paul and Chloe

Hi..

We are moving to Melbourne from Perth in April and are looking at the Bayside area (Hampton, Sandringham, Black Rock etc) I believe that depending on proximity to railway station and distance to office at other end these suburbs would be about 45 minutes door to door from CBD.

Friends of ours live in Hampton and the area seems to tick all the points you are looking for.

Cheers

Paul

Al H

Bayside is very nice, but pretty pricey so great if you can afford it. The next suburbs inland (Highett, Bentleigh, Cheltenham etc) are generally pretty resonable family type places and still close to the beach. We are renting in Cheltenham and it is only 2 miles to the nearest beach and the train is 30-40 mins to the CBD.

thebears

Malvern, 3144
15 mins from CBD
Central for very good schools
Leafy victorian homes


Others try Surrey Hills, Canterbury, Hawthorn, Kew, Elsternwick, Glen Iris, Toorak, Armadale etc etc

haggis supper

For leafy suburbs, close to the beach and within a 30 minute drive of the CBD you should consider the following. I'll start with the closest one to the CBD and work my way out, and these are all in Bayside (south east)...

Brighton - can be very pricey but very nice and somewhat exclusive.
Hampton - great shops, bars and restaurants
Sandringham - similar to Hampton but slightly smaller

All the above are on a good train line to the CBD. It'll take about 25 minutes from Sandringham.

Black Rock - very nice area, nice parade of shops, cafes and restaurants but can be pricey
Beaumaris - as Black Rock. We live here, and we love it. No train line.
Parkdale, Mentone and Mordialloc - Getting a little further away (probably a 40-45 minute drive to the CBD) but still nice and significantly cheaper than Black Rock and Beaumaris.

I think Parkdale, Mentone and Mordialloc are served by a train line (possibly Cheltenham Station).

If you don't need to be within about a km or so of the beach then prices start to drop and you'll find some very nice properties and still just a 3 min drive to a beach.

I think the train from Frankston takes just over an hour to the CBD. I believe there are a couple of faster trains but these only save about 10 minutes or so. Driving from the Frankston area would take about the same time - but can get very very busy if you leave after 7.20am.

We've lived in Beaumaris for 18 months and it's perfect for us. We have a 4 year old son and 6 year old daughter. Schools and kindergartens are excellent. My colleague moved over at the same time as me and he is in Black Rock and also loves it. He has an 18 year old son, 17 year old daughter, 15 year old daughter and a 12 year old son. Great location as it's close to the CBD (we drive), good schools, beach is nearby, some good golf courses and parks and the shops are terrific.

Feel free to drop me a PM if you want anymore info. Happy to help.

Good luck.
Col

seanandmaria

Some trains run express stopping at only a few stations, http://www.metlinkmelbourne.com.au/timetables will give you a good idea
Good luck

Smartinis

Hi,

We live in Mornington and its beautiful here, small town on the coast 10 minutes from Frankston. Hubby commutes to city each day bit of a drag, an hour by train but worth it to live here. We have 3 boys, eldest is 19 and at Uni up in Townsville but the other 2 are 17 and 13 and go to The Peninsula School in Mount Eliza, excellent school and they love it and are doing really well but be warned its pricey!!! Frankston High School is a state school and supposed to be very good, we looked at it and liked it but you have to live in the catchment area and that would have been difficult especially as we didn't want to live in most of Frankston, South Frankston is ok though. Some of the other state schools we were warned off of though. Hence the private fees.

Hope this helps.