stuckinblighty

hi looking at areas around ferntree gully.like the look of the areas and read good reports. advice needed on suburbs to look at and avoid, have two kids (9 and 7 ) schooling advice in areas as well please.
budget is approx $350,000.
work is of course a major issuse in our great plans,
i plan to work as a holistic therapist self employed and lee is a production engineer on the food/drink circuit, what is the employment situation and demand like?also communiting time

sorry to ask so many questions in one go, but lee does not let me on b/e very often

Kapri

Hi Lee's OH

The people you need to speak to are Bordy and The crow.
They both live in the area.
If you contact Bordy he has a very good PDF file on Melbourne's suburbs.

We are looking at that area too. Either there or Mornington peninsula.

stuckinblighty

hi ya, spooky but they are the two areas that we are looking at
liz

The Crow

Hi there
We live in The Basin - for more info on our area, please see my very long update in the Update Section!
There are some really nice parts to Ferntree Gully (where Bordy lives for example), some are not so appealing. Even a small suburb like The Basin has its share of more 'scruffy' streets. Upper Ferntree Gully is also nice, though there are some steep plots of land - like many in The Basin! I've had some hairy driveway experiences when dropping off my daughters school friends
Further east from UFG you have Upwey, Tecoma and then Belgrave. All on the train line if that is important. You can still get some well priced homes here, but prices are rising.
For me the advantage of the suburbs I've mentioned is that you have easy access to facilities without having to drive down the Ranges - which although is a pretty drive, it's not so good in bad weather. There are some really pretty villages in the Ranges, for example Olinda and Sassafras - but a little to far away from the hub bub for me!
Belgrave is slightly hippy and has the odd feral inhabitants (one local here, calls anywhere east of Belgrave 'Deliverance Country'! I don't think it's quite that bad!!)
There are heaps of primary schools around Ferntree Gully, The Basin & Boronia.
Close the the hills would be an ideal location for your business.
Not sure about your OH, but there is a lot of industry in Scoresby, Wantirna, Bayswater. Those areas are about 10-15 mins from us in The Basin.

Here's two good priced houses
http://www.realestate.com.au/cgi-bin...&tm=1187346731
http://www.realestate.com.au/cgi-bin...&tm=1187346731


Hope this helps a bit, but let me know if you need any other info etc!

Rachel

BadgeIsBack

There are also foothills further south of the Dandenongs which are nice, desirable, but not really commutable apart from Upper Beaconsfield which is.

Some of the foothills in the E are considered a bit feral. I think, agreeing with the Crow that Belgrave in the SW is more hippy than feral.

stuckinblighty

great thanks for all the info.........its nice when someone lives in the area and can give some good advice........have been looking at real estate in ferntree gully and even though i am a city girl the idea of moving to somewhere where the views and areas are pretty is appealing, but still close to the action if you want it...........

stuckinblighty

what upwey, monbulk and telcoma like.....houses look nice...area?

The Crow

Upwey and Tecoma seem nice (just make sure you're not too close to the train line!!) and they, again, are not too far a drive from FTG and other facilities. Monbulk is more into the hills, so you have a longer drive for a range of facilities. Monbulk does have a decent town/village centre with banks and a Safeway. There is also a secondary school there. But you are a little more remote there, which may or may not be an issue for you.

furkew

I know its not a new thread, but I thought I would answer anyway

We have been here just over 2 months now, and have stayed in Kallista (between Belgrave & Monbulk) we are at present in Belgrave, and move in 3 weeks to Monbulk.

Belgrave is a nice town, although pretty hilly. There is a pretty big hippy community, and you often see the "wizard" walking down the high street.
Upwey is more towards the city just before you reach Ferntree gully. It is a reasonable size village/town with some good & bad areas I am told. Plenty of schools, and one of the best High schools in the area for boys is just down the road in Ferntree (St. Josephs)

We are moving to Monbulk because of the large Dutch community there (my wife is Dutch) and that is where I am working, but there is also quite a big Italian community locally, and I have also met quite a few brits there.

There are 3 decent primary schools, and you also have Monbulk High school just outside the town centre, but buses pick up and drop of from all the local schools as far as Lilydale high.

Personally I prefer Monbulk because its peaceful, most shops close at 5pm, not open Sundays etc. It still has the village feel to it.

Property is probably more expensive than Upwey, FTG or Tecoma, at the moment, because it seems to be very populour to live there at the moment, but you will find most plots are 2000m+ and it is flatter than Upwey & Ferntree in general.

If you need more info, just PM me, and i'll try to help.