Can anybody offer advice on decent suburbs in Melbourne for a family of four (two children 3 and under) that are commutable to Camberwell? I'm searching on www.realestate.com.au and would appreciate some help to narrow my search for when I pop over to look around soon.

Thanks.

Hi, good luck with the search. If you can give some idea of budget, that would help. The Camberwell area is quite expensive but is a lovely area. We live in Mount Waverley which is a bit further out than Camberwell, but cheaper. Schools are good around here and you can get an older 3-4 bedroom property for around $450 a week up to new townhouse style properties for around $600-700 per week. By car we would be about 20 minutes from Camberwell - maybe 30 at peak hour. Pretty much anywhere around Camberwell will be family-friendly - maybe try looking at Hawthorn, Surrey Hills, Kew (not so good for public transport though), Malvern. If you want to be near the beach and have the budget try Black Rock, Beaumaris (bit further away).

If you want any more info about areas, feel free to ask.

ETA: www.domain.com.au is another site - most of the properties will be repeated, but some will differ.

Along with above how about Glen Iris, Ashburton, Ashwood.

Ashburton has a good pool off high street.

All these are within 10 mins of Camberwell, towards South East. You could also look north into Kew, Balwyn north, box hill.

Alot depends on budget and individual rentals being available when you are looking.

You do have a good range of areas around to choose from.

Hi, most SE suburbs would be commutable in an hour to Camberwell - what kind of house do you have in mind and what budget would help narrow it down.

BB

Thanks for the recommendations. I'm looking for a 3/4 bedroom house in the region of $500-600pw but am prepared to pay more for the right area and property. I envisage being there for the first year before finding a suitable purchase in the right area. Thanks again.

Hi Matthew

I saw your post and just had to respond. We live in a little suburb called The Basin which is at the foot of the Dangenong Ranges. It's very green and leafy and has great views to the mountain and the city. I feel our little place gets over looked for the larger suburbs with the new build houses on. The chance of a new build has also appealed to me , but hey that's a different story.

My 4 year daughter started school today at the local school, and although we had all the normal feelings, I am so happy that she is going this school, it just feels right and it plays a big part in our community.

Whilst my partner and I enjoyed a rare leisurely breakfast we were approached by several locals who stopped to ask how she got on with her first day. This made me feel proud to be part of a this caring community.

We have one of the best parks around, a post office, butcher, baker, grocer, fish and chips and a bottle shop. Two pubs, two hairdressers and a Thai restaurant. And very important a CFA station who do great work throughout the year.

We hold a 3 day Music Festival and a Carols by Candlelight concert annually which the local schools and kinder take part in.

I'm sure there are many of these little places around, I just wanted to tell you about ours.

Good luck

Sara, Nick and Charlotte