chmaiden

Hi all
just waiting for the medicals and then the visa to come through hopefully - looking to be over there around October/November time. Having a look on the net at houses and wondering what good areas around Melbourne are - have seen some really nice houses in Eltham and Templestowe that we like that look of but no idea what the areas are like -is there anywhere that give sa rundown of these burbs? primary schools, shops, transport links etc? Anyone got any opinions of these areas? Will probably be working in the CBD somewhere so transport links etc?
tia
chris

chessp

Hi there,

We currently live in BoxHill as we rented for the first year with a view to buying once we got to know the area. Similarly to you we (the wife and I) both work in the CBD and BoxHill was certainly handy for this. Going to Templestowe there is no train station locally so you will need to go to BoxHill which I believe is probably the closest and likewise has the most frequent amount of trains due to it being on the convergance of 3 lines.

Eltham on the other hand is where we have bought (actually Eltham NOrth). This is quite a nice country town and has its own train station. Agreeably it may not be as frequent as where we are but as we drive in it really does not make that much of a difference - $11/day parking to £18 for a train ticket for both myself and the wife. Furthermore Eltham is closer to the country and most important of all the wineries!

If you need any help let me know.

chmaiden

thanks for that - sounds great - how long does it take to get into town from there?

sg1964

We live in Eltham, train takes about 50 minutes into Flinders, and cost less than $10 for a day ticket.


Simon

Womat

Hi Chris, hopefully these links will be of help to you.

Map of Melbourne's regions:-
http://www.liveinvictoria.vic.gov.au...1&contentId=-1

Melbourne Council Links (for suburb profiles etc):-
http://www.liveinvictoria.vic.gov.au...1&contentId=-1

Melbourne Public Transport Links:-
http://www.metlinkmelbourne.com.au/
http://www.connexmelbourne.com.au/

Melbourne City Guide:-
http://www.thatsmelbourne.com.au/inf...op=259&pg=3059

BritVics Site:-
http://s7.invisionfree.com/BritVics/...php?act=SC&c=1

chmaiden

thats great - thanks for that - also good to get personal opinions of places re schools and stuff - got 2 little rugrats - 1 going to nursery soon

Poppett44

Eltham and Templestowe are actually very different considering how close they are to each other!
Eltham has a real country feel to it whereas Templestowe has a more "manicured" feel to it,,if you know what I mean!

chmaiden

the houses do look lovely in both places - is there anywhere else that I shoul d be looking in that direction thats a bit closer commute (I'm trying to get away from the London commute and grime!) thats going to give me similar house prices?
tia

sg1964

If you look at the Connex Train Listing for the Hurstbridge Line, that will give you the suburbs from Hurstbridge onto Eltham and then into the City.

Simon

Sianystar

Hi! We're hopefully heading to Melbourne b the end of the year. Is there anywere you would really avoid, obvously all cities have their dodgy areas!

flip

Both areas are nice, Templestowe is very established, built on hills so most houses aren't on the same level with their neighbours which gives a greater feeling of space. While there isn't a train into the City there's a great shopping precinct in the centre with buses running very frequently into the City which take less than an hour and drop you off right on Collins Stree or other useful spots in the CBD. There's a separate village centre with a squash and swimming club (swimming classes for kids not a leisure pool), lots of cafes, small supermarket, hardware store, restaurants, post office, etc. It's a quicker drive into the City than Eltham and both are fairly accessible for the airport (about half an hour I think). The pre-school and primary schools are supposed to be excellent and there are small parks and ovals (footy pitches) all over.

Eltham is more rural, has a town feel (which seems unusual out here), has the trains into the City, has a private school as well as public schools, has a larger supermarket, a huge bottle shop (liquor store), larger parks and is more spread out. You can get to it two ways - through Templestowe and into the City or through the longest most winding most irritating road into the lovely hippy village of Warrandyte.

Eltham has plenty of clubs like gymnastics, soccer, etc and is home to a MacDonalds, KFC, etc. I was there early on Saturday morning and quite a few people were out walking or jogging - it seems to have a very relaxed and pleasant mood.

marmite9702

Hi,
Just saw your thread. I have lived in the Templestowe area since we came 8 years ago so know quite a bit about it. There are a few good primary schools , one of which my daughter went to and which has a great principal. There are two huge parks and plenty of small ones. Access to four or five shopping centres, good libraries and a leisure centre with indoor and outdoor pools. ( Not the same one mentioned previously.) Transport to the city is best by bus or car and there is a bus which goes along the freeway. The surrounding suburbs of Doncaster & Doncaster East have a very similar feel and you can't tell really where one ends and another starts. The whole area feels very spacious and not at all busy in most bits. The two high schools close by both have good reputations too. There are also, close by, several community houses where you can do evening classes and things.
Eltham is nice too but is more 'bush' surroundings. The train station is a plus. It also has a leisure centre, a shopping centre and usual facilities but I don't know so much about it. You might get more house for your money there though. You could also look at East Doncaster as it really isn't that different from Templestowe, they sort of blend into each other. I don't know about Eltham but there are no areas to be avoided in Templestowe.
Anything else you want to know, just ask!

flip

Just checking. Where's Templestowe's leisure centre? Didn't know we had a good one so close.

marmite9702

Doncaster Aquarena on Williamsons Rd. I meant to say that it was close by rather than in Templestowe.

DianneH68

We are currently renting in Eaglemont which is on the Eltham/Hurstbridge line and have visited pretty much every suburb on the line while exploring.
I don't think you can go far wrong with anywhere on that line.
Ivanhoe/Eaglemont are lovely places and about 20-30 mins on the train into the CBD. Expensive areas to buy though.
So for cheaper options look at the next few stops along that line going out of town.
Heidelberg (which is still zone one), then Rosanna, Macleod, Watsonia, Greensborough.
We would like to buy within the year and are probably looking towards Macleod. You can get a biggish house for around $350,000.
There's not a lot in Macleod itself but it's very close to Ivanhoe/Heidelberg etc so not far from a bit more civilisation!
Greensborough is a big town (by Aussie standards!) with a big shopping centre, restaurants etc and the local council has just agreed to go ahead with a multi million dollar revamp of the town so I expect buying there now would be a pretty good investment.
I think it may just that bit too far out of the city for us though, as is Eltham.
Depends what you want though - we have no kids and like bars, restaurants, gigs, sport etc and I work in the city so don't like to be too far from all the action.
I would happily live in any of the suburbs along that train line and, if you rent somehwre along that line when you get here, I'm sure you'll very quickly find the suburb that suits you.
Good luck