non-brit-visitor

Hi

I would like to know what Taylors Hill and Hillside are like as family suburbs. Are they safe? Any crime or negative aspects from living 'near to' less desireable areas like St Albans/Sunshine? Is there a lot to do with family? How long does it REALLY take to get into the city? via public transport / via car? What about sports clubs for kids (gymnastics, dancing, horse riding) anything in the area?

There seem to be plenty of good government primary schools around, but a lack of good government secondary, or any government secondary around. Taylors Lakes seems to have a nice setup with the primary and secondary. But where do the kids from Taylors Hill primary and Parkwood Green primary go when they're done in primary?

Is there a catchment area for Taylors Lakes Primary/secondary?

Any feedback on any of those schools would also be welcome. We are undecided as we initially wanted to go to point cook, but the school situation seems to be a problem there

Thanks

Kiwikaye

Hi,

We lived in Taylors Lakes for 7 years until 2009. We bought there because OH worked at the airport so we really needed to be that side of town, and i wanted a newer hosue for once.

I would say its an ok suburb. Its not wonderful, but its not the worst. My daughter started school at Parkwood Green which is in Hillside and we were pretty happy with them. I would steer well clear of Taylors Lakes Primary, although I believe Sydenham-Hillside also rates quite well, but I don't know anyone that goes there. Mary McKillop is the Catholic school in Taylors Lakes, which is also pretty good but has fees, of course, and you will probably need to be a parishoner to get in.

The shopping centre (Watergardens) is pretty good - has 3 supermarkets (2 Safeways and a Coles), Big W, Target, a really good greengrocer and lots of other shops. Watergardens station is next to the shopping centre and is the last station on the line going into town (so at least you can get a seat in the mornings). Train trip takes about 40 mins plus driving/walking at either end.

Just a warning though, the car park is prone to break-ins, unless they've significantly upgraded the security since we were there.

Generally speaking, Taylors Lakes is kind of the "posh" end, Sydenhem/Hillside is slightly more down-market, with the exception of the Hillside 2000 subdivision which had bigger sections. Taylors Hill is newer and very nice - some good houses there. Bit further away from the station and shops though.

Not a lot in the area in way of clubs, etc. Riding you would need probably to head out towards Melton or Gisborne a bit further out, and more rural. Gymnastics, etc. - my daughter does this and most of the big gym clubs are on the east side of town. There was a thread on here a while ago about gym clubs in Melbourne - do a seach and you should find it. I do know a few kids in the area that do callisthenics/dancing so could probably find out some more info on that if you wanted me to. Let me know.

It is a very family-heavy area - quite a high southern European immigrant population, ie. Italians, Maltese, Greek, etc. As far as neighbouring suburbs go, it does suffer a little from being close to Sunshine, Deer Park and St Albans, which are all places to steer clear of.

Sorry, this is a bit long, but it is an area I know pretty well, so if you want any more info, feel free to let me know.

non-brit-visitor

Thanks Kiwikaye, that is really usefull info. It is really difficult to decide where to go when you have no idea where you're heading! When we arrive we will have a look around the areas and visit the schools before we decide where to settle, but there is none more valuable than first hand info from people who live/lived in these places. Thanks again for your input, the longer the better!

Could you tell me, why avoid Taylors Lakes Primary? They seem to score well on the NAPLAN website, as does the secondary?

Kiwikaye

I'm only going on info that was around at the time we enrolled our daughter (2008 - she started at Parkwood Green at the beginning of 2009). Also, a friend of ours send their son to Taylors Lakes Primary and I know they weren't particularly happy with it. Obviously, this is stuff you need to find out for yourself - if the principal has changed since then the school may well have improved.