mancfamily

The Mancfamily are looking to Move to Melbourne in the summer.

But were still abit unsure where to live

Caroline Springs was our original choice , but were still open minded

We wont to live no more than an hours drive / train journey to the CBD, we did wont to live near to a beach. But the prices of a lot of these areas rules them out.


initally we will be renting and wont to send around $3500-450 per week


I do apprecaite that this question has been asked before but does anyone have suggestions out there ?

Melbourne

Hi There

My sisters live near Point Cook - in a place called Sanctuary Lakes - one of them is renting there at the moment for AUD 320.00 a week (unfurnished) - a three bed house with plenty of space.

There are so many lovely places to live in Melbourne - Williamstown is really lovely - with a beach - but can be quite expensive.

Yarraville is a lovely area - with a really nice village feel to it - however, again this can be quite expensive. Mooney Ponds is a bit further out than Yarraville - but again is a beautiful area.

One of my sisters rented in Caroline Springs before moving to Sanctuary Lakes and I think on balance I would prefer the latter of the two.

Have a look at Point Cook, Sanctuary Lakes, Inis Fail. I personally wouldn't be as keen on Altona Meadows (also in the Point Cook area).

Have a look at www.pointcookrealestate.com.au

Melbourne

Kapri

How about Mornington peninsula. There are a lot of us headed there.

Jacqueline10

Hi Manc Family,

Further on than caroline springs is Melton, have a look around there, from what i remember the house prices are more reasonable. Kurunjang also, then a bit further on is Bacchus Marsh, an area ive always quite liked and around the bay but still in melbourne is a place called Werribee, its actually not that far from the bay but the bit i went to was quite muddy but quite pretty but there were places to sit down and look at view, park for the kids, from what i remember.

ive been loads of times to visit family and back off over there tomorrow!! ..

do you look at the newspaper 'the age' online it has a good housing section . domain,, can lead onto more info..sorry if you have i only pop on and off here.

just a quick reply,,from one family of mancs to another

Jacqueline

Geelong Gent

Seaford

50 mins to CBD by train

on the beach

<$250 per week rentals (3 beds on 800 sqm blocks)

Jasonmb

Yes Please
The pictures are beautiful, think we will be having a look when we arrive in March

znaylor1974

Seaford has a great beach. but that train journey is a nightmare - incredibly busy to the point that it's free to travel on the train if you arrive at your destination before 7am....

no fun standing up all the way....

Jasonmb

It does look great, but the journey has got to be better than going on the 6.10 train as hubby is at the moment and coming home after 5 on a train so crowded it must be illegal and having to pay for the privilege of doing so - he is used to standing for over 40 minutes on crowded train. No difference really apart from the scenery, slight difference between Leeds and Melbourne.

Tracy

Weirdstone

There is a lot more to Melbourne than the cold, clinical housing estates of the outer suburbs.
Take a look at some of the established 'burbs...like Caulfield, Elsternwick (where we are) Fitzroy, Williamstown, Mornington (if you don't mind the long drive) etc.

One thing I would suggest, is that you don't jump the gun, and buy straight off - and possibly end up somewhere you don't like. Rent for a year ...have a good look round, get the feel of the very diverse suburbs here - and then possibly buy.

We've been here 3 years now ...and know the city pretty well...so if you want some info...give me a shout

@boy

I believe they are moving with the intention of buying, and with a budget of approx 400k (as of Dec 2007)
I may be wrong here, but I don't believe they want to rent in an area that they will find completely unaffordable to buy in.

Is that the case Mancfamily ?

The Crow

Yes - plus the country town of Berwick (which is popular with many Expats) and the established villages around the beautiful Dandenong Ranges - if you don't mind being further from the beach. Though with the East Link opening soon, we should be able to hit the beach in not much over 30 mins

Weirdstone

I was just giving a friendly warning ...don't buy for the sake of buying, if the area you end up in doesn't live up to expectations .. living here is a hell of a lot different than a visit....and why spend all this time and effort getting here, only to be dissatified with where you live?
What I am really trying to say is...be open-minded when you first get here.
This of course is just based on 3 years of experience

Weirdstone

Absolutely Rachel ....it's going to make such a difference, and it sure is lovely up there.

@boy

Agreed Wierdstone. Although they have indicated in their posting from December that they definately intend to buy, it is only when you are living here that you can get a genuine understanding of the city and the various areas and what they have to offer.

We rented for 2 years in Kew (from when we moved here in '02) and spent a lot of time researching various locations and suburbubs before buying in Rosanna in '05.

To highlight the point being made : You will easily rent in any given location for approximately similar cost, but depending on your budget, some of those locations will be completely out as an option when buying, so do not get trapped in a mindset of 'this is the suburb where we are going to live' based purely on internet research and possibly one very brief visit.

Weirdstone

Fair enough ... I hadn't read the December post.
I was just giving my experience...we are still renting in Elsternwick - love it here, and just waiting for the house prices to stabilise...then we may, or may not buy here - for us, location is more important than a mortgage