The_Pom_From_Aus

Ozzidoc;

castlemain is about 1 & 1/2 hours drive to the city

Ozzidoc

Thanks...I was referring (not at all clearly) to the commute from Macedon

AmandaJ

Hi

I currently live in Sunbury and work in the city. It's quite an easy commute both by train or car (compared to the UK) 30-40mins. Any journey north from here would be really easy, I would expect Castlemaine would take approx 45mins to 1hr from Sunbury.

It is correct, we moved here to have a bit of land, just under 2 acres, but we have a better social life than most of my colleagues who live in the city. All of our friends are in their 30's, some with kids some without, a mix of Brits, Aussies, Kiwis and Irish, we always have some kind of get together every weekend.

There are some good restaurants in the area and at local vineyards, as the city is only 30-40 mins by car or train, it's no problem to go there for a night out.

Sunbury & Gisborne have very much a small town type atmosphere, Sunbury is bigger (population over 35,000) with a small shopping centre, aquatic centre, 5 screen cinema. The next largest shopping centre is Watergardens, which is more than adequate as a large indoor mall and is about 15 mins by car or 10 mins on the train.

Please feel free to pm me if you want any more information on the local area, we have been here for about 2.5 years now and are thoroughly enjoying life in Oz.

Good Luck
AJ

thribble

I live and work in South Melbourne, but I spend a lot of time (more than I'd like!) driving or getting the train up and down to Bendigo for work. The trains are very good indeed (my husband works in the Rialto, and a few people there live out in Kyneton etc and get the train into Southern Cross - great for the CBD jobs). From recollection, my laptop battery usually runs out around Castlemaine, which puts it at around an hour by train from the CBD.

If you want to live in the city, it's not entirely impossible to get somewhere on that trainline and for just one of you to have the long commute, I shouldn't think.

Alternatively, find somewhere to rent in one of the town's you're thinking of, and try it out for 6 months.

However, I'd definitely recommend the train. The drive into town on a morning is shocking - I see the queues as I head the other way and it does not look like my idea of fun at all.

kflee0

Hi members,

Thank you for the input. I'm thinking of getting a place in Sunbury or Melton. But will drive up there and take a look first. I'm sure I'll miss the city life.

I almost took a job offer in Toowoomba (2 hours West of Brisbane). I stayed there for a week and decided the place was too rural/country for me. Has anyone been there and can compare the place? I hate to be shocked like that again.


Mike

AmandaJ

Hi

Melton is a cheaper area than Sunbury, but there is usually a reason for that. I'm not sure what it's like to live there, I only know of people who used to live in Melton and have moved to Sunbury to 'upgrade'.

The best thing is to go and have a look around to get a feel for the place.

Good Luck
AJ

ozzieeagle

Dont move to Melton, trust me. It's about the cheapest part of Melbourne and for damn good reason. It's overspill city with lots of teenage problems.

Woodend, Gisborne, or better still Macedon, Kyneton is a fairly good option if your going to travel in by train.

Macedon is a prime location. It's mountain country though, but one of the prettiest places over this side of town.

Actually come to think of it, check out how long the train journey is from Castlemaine, whether you can afford to travel in by train from there. Reason being it's quite a nice town, you'll be able to buy fantastic property there, and far more affordable than the other options.

BTW its pretty damn difficult to get a job in Castlemaine, you wouldn't be going to the piggery there by any chance ?

kflee0

Hi all,

No, I'm not going to the piggery in Castlemaine There's a large pump company there called Flowserve. I'm a Hydraulic/Pump Design Engineer and a lot of these jobs are based in manufacturing plants far away from the metro areas.

Unlike most people who live in the suburbs and travel to the city to work, I have to live near the city and travel out to my job. My wife does research work in biotech companies and universities so her opportunities are in the CBD area... difficult balance for us


-Mike

kflee0

Hi again,

I forgot to ask if there's an express train from Sunbury to Castlemaine. The VLine (Bendigo train) has too many stops in between.


Thanks,
Mike

Teliko21

Nope, it doesn't always stop at all the stations in between though so I guess that is a partial express

ozzieeagle

Only reason I asked, is thats where my Aussie BiL started, beleive it or not, he is the one of the foremost Pig Inseminators in Aussie. Runs a Huge station in Qland now.

rajj

Swine sorry bad joke