Shakmaty

West is underrated, and again there is good and bad. New builds like point cook/sanctuary lakes are not to everyone's tastes but some people love them. Some area are best avoided like some parts of Laverton, and there are some very desirable areas like Williamstown. Near Willy there are some more affordable areas like Newport, Altona, Yarraville etc, which are pretty good. But again, they won't be to everyone's tastes.

There is some industrial build up in the West, but this seems to be played up although there is similar industrial build up in the east....it's just more compacted around the west. Well worth checking out for affordability.

Geelong Gent

Hoonsville Thursday/Friday/Saturday/Sunday

Chapel drags anyone???

Pommy Dan

since the 40 km/h limit was introduced in the Chapel sT area many less hoons and many more policemen.

3141 is a lovely place to live, tree lined streets, great entertainment and close to the city and the sea.

for a less expensive option i can also recommend to the OP Prahran and Windsor... Bit 'grungy', but in a good way...

Colin lay

Hi..
We moved over from perth to melbourne 12 months ago...Best move we ever made! We lived in a small 2 bed rental in Northcote for 8 months. Small house which is now asking $380 pw. Northcote has a pretty good music scene and is bordering fitzroy and brunswick which both have great nightlife..We just moved 2 suburbs out to Preston and love it..We are 10 mins on the tram to northcote, 25 mins to the city and a $12 cab ride to brunswick. We bought our own place, but rental is a bit cheaper here too. I hope you're looking forward to it.. no regrets here..colin

Caroline G

Mt.Eliza, Frankston South, Mt.Martha and Mornington spring to mind but it depends on how close you want/need to be to the city. Lots of couples move down to the Mornington Peninsula after starting a family for the 'family lifestyle' - bigger blocks and to be close to the beaches. There are plenty of families and family activities in the areas mentioned above but it really depends on what you're looking for in an area.

blackbag

I was wondering if anyone can tell what Epping is like?

steve_kelly_and_boys

hi we are looking at these areas to live when we finally get over there we have 3 kids 7 , 4 and 2 all boys . in your opinion which of these are best for schools as we want to get it right and not have to move the boys from school to many times .have looked up houses and know we will be alright there but am worried with the schools . do you know if there are reports on the schools similiar to our ofsted ones
best k

Petals

In my life here I have lived in Elwood which is not far from the city close to the Beach and St Kilda and I loved it we could walk to Ackland Street which was a lot nicer and more ethnic in those days. Its not so nice now.

Caulfield South liked that too, very close to Glenferrie Road and very nice area to live in once again not too far from the beach.

Edithvale by this time my oh was working down that area of Melbourne so we moved South and lived there for 11 years, quite a way out of the city but close to the beach, my friend lives right on the beach there and its one of the few places you can buy property which abuts the beach hence they have a gate to the beach from their property.

Now we live in Somerville which is on a hill between the two bays on the Mornington Peninsula and very easy access to freeways and has a train and all the facilities we need and we live on a acreage block and have done for 20 years.

Lots of nice apartments in the city centre and East Melbourne is great.

South Yarra, Ascot Vale like that too its a nice suburb and close to the city.

Moonee Ponds, Essendon, Kensington all good places.

The closer in the more money.

UK-2-OZ

Berwick is really nice and parts of Narre Warren South and North. Lyndhurst and Lynbrook are becoming desirable places to live the problem is that it has pushed rentals up between $400 - $800 a week. The neighbours house went up a few weeks ago at $800 a week and it was rented within 7 days. In Lynbrook there is a waiting list of people wanting rentals and trying to get their children in to the local school.
I love Mornington, and love Mt Eliza. I think Rosebud is a long way out especially if you need to commute to the CBD, a gorgeous place though.

melbournegirl

Secret Squirrel - there are many options that -people have described here but I would suggest Port Melbourne. It is only 5 kilometres from the city, you can get the light rail into the CBD or even walk. It is right on the beach - not the most beautiful beach around but very pleasant. There are bike paths and walking paths for many, many kilometres. It is close to St. Kilda where there are many cafes, music venues, nightlife etc. Not sure how much rental is though. Bay Street is the main shopping street there which has cafes, shops, pubs etc. There are many pubs in the area if you miss that sort of thing. There are well known music venues such as the Espie in St. Kilda within stumbling distance.

Here are some images of Port Melbourne:

http://au.images.search.yahoo.com/se...t=1&b=19&ni=18

Melbourne has a lot more going on than Perth and you cannot be bored.

flip

Used to live in Whitworth - Lobden Cres - ever heard of it?

Sorry I digress - we live in the North Eastern Suburbs in Donvale and are within 15 mins of Templestowe, Mitcham, Box Hill, Ringwood, Warrandyte, Croydon, Lillydale, Nunawading, Heathmont, Bayswater, Chirnside Park, Doncaster, Knox, Glen Waverley - takes us 20 mins to get to the City out of rush hour, 20 mins to the wine region, 35 mins to Frankston and the coast and a bit less to the mountains and tourist villages like Sassafrass. All these places might mean nothing to you as they're not the City/Coast/Mountain/Airport destinations most people choose but they all have good shopping, schools, great people and pretty much anything else you might want at a fraction of the price of some of those other suburbs. Most also have trains into the City.

Out of the City suburbs usually shut down early eg. in tourist village Warrandyte they clear your plates and tables away by about 9pm which can be a little frustrating but there are dozens of coffee shops and play areas open all day long so it's more family orientated.

Many schools in the area are excellent whether they be private, government or religious schools - we're down to a shortlist of 7 for High schools as even as our local public schools have advanced classes which is great for kids who might otherwise get bored and/or mess around. We can't fault our primary school which is second to none for pastoral care and great academically though we didn't like another one locally after discovering they didn't give a stuff about bullying or academic work - great if you were a sportsman, popular and a local.

It's just worth investigating schools (in person if possible) before putting your name down. There are a number of guides to high schools giving exam scores, subject ranges, languages, no. heading to university, etc. but I can't find anything at primary school level so it's a case of checking out the vic.edu site for schools in areas you're considering then doing the groundwork.

If anyone's interested in any of the suburbs I mentioned just ask away.

All the best with your search of the hundreds of fabulous places to live in Melbourne.