NHNH2016

Hey guys,

I have trip to Melbourne planned and researching which suburbs I should take a look at should we both decide to make the move. Our plan should we make a permanent move would be to rent for the first 6 months and then start looking to buy a place.

We are homely people who like space, peace and quiet and prefer to be just on the peripheral of the city. Anywhere with a relative safe environment (we are not naïve to realise you can't escape crime), quiet neighbourhood so we can sleep and aren't listening to cars, aircraft etc.

The research has led me to 3 maybe 4 suburbs to visit during my trip which are;

1, Sandrigham
2, Williamstown
3, St Kilda East
4, Glen Iris

Does anyone know anything about these areas? Positive or negative any information would be useful.

Cheers
NH

jad n rich

My son lived in a pretty leafy bit of st kilda east. Lively not quiet, nor low crime. Lots of young 20 renters, great for nightlife close by.
I dont know your budget but all of the suburbs you mention are million plus house price. Sandringham for eg more mid million plus. Rental leases are nearly always 12 months. Can usually be broken for a fee around 4% of annual rent plus cost of finding new tenant and letting fee. But House huntihg here takes time. Go to a few auctions on the saturday thats how most stuff is sold.

NHNH2016

Thanks for the info. The report I found seems to say St Kilda East is better than St Kilda and West but I guess it must be for specific streets.

Good info on lease periods. We aren't sure on our budget for rental or buying yet as it would depending on joint incomes so couldn't set one to buy yet. We are currently working on Rental budget of around $2k-$3k per month as that's what the equivalent is in London/Kent in U.K.

The idea would be visit a few auctions/open house viewings whilst in Melbourne.

xizzles

$2k - $3K a month would comfortably get your foot in the rental market in a suburb like North Melbourne. I can't comment on the other places you've mentioned, but that's the monthly rental our property in North Melbourne is fetching.

Just thought the above would give you a real life perspective on the ground at the moment. In fact, the tenancy was just renewed a week ago, and the agent suggested we increased the rental to $2,500 per month which I baulked at (these are long term tenants, well into their 3rd year of stay, and ideal ones at that), so in the end, the new rental was set at $2,400 per month. I've not revised the rent since 2012, so apparently, I'm a pretty generous landlord, so the agent tells me

Good luck with the house hunting!

Kiwikaye

These are all really nice suburbs, and pretty safe. As you say, you can never guarantee anywhere, but these would be better than most. The "dodgiest" of these would probably be St Kilda East, but I would still be perfectly happy walking around there and living there.

If you are looking to buy, however you are going to find that they are all VERY expensive. If you can afford $1 million+ then you will likely find something. Glen Iris and Sandringham will be the most expensive, but there probably isn't much between any of them. The advantage is that they are all fairly close to the city (comparatively speaking) and have access to good schools (again Glen Iris and Sandringham particularly).

Williamstown is lovely, but its main disadvantage is that it is on a branch line of the train service, and there is primarily one road in and one road out, so if there's an accident then you can be held up for a long time in peak hour.

GarryP

OK, there are two questions here really - where to rent, and where to buy. In theory having the two close to each other is a bonus from an upheaval PoV.


Firstly, I'd say you should be looking to rent for 12 months, since that's generally the term. Also takes the pressure off. Don't tell the agent you are only looking for short term though, they want long term and hassle free.


Second, it really matters what you mean by periphery. Some would consider where the city turns into countryside to be the periphery - others where the trams end. In general the closer to the city, the more expensive, and the smaller the properties/more cramped the surrounds. For a recce I's say you need to see a wide range of suburbs. What you see from online will be different from on the ground.

Given your requirements, I would also be checking out further afield, where your money can buy more house, and where the environment is likely to be quieter. It does depend on what you want, quirk vs modern, etc.

I'd also be considering building a house, rather than buying, as an option - which would define areas as well. Estates along the new Regional Rail Link train line would be worth looking at, since they will have good commute into town. I'd also say you should look at Point Cook, etc. for a comparison point to your list. To that I would add somewhere in the hills.

What and where you can afford is something of a driver (Melbourne is most definitely in bubble territory), and as such I'd be inclined to include suburbs where building is going on for your list as well.

bcworld

I live in St Kilda East...it's certainly not 'just on the peripheral of the city'. I would also say it is for the most part pretty low crime...it's far removed from the epicentre of St Kilda and a totally different kettle of fish. It's not the best place to look for 'space' though - a lot of the houses are on 200 square metres or less. And yes, it's expensive...massively more so over the last 2-3 years.

Buzzy--Bee

I would also consider Hampton, Brighton and Elwood as well.

Everyone's definition of things is different, you mention "space" but also the periphery of the city, perhaps we could offer more help if we understood how far you would consider being from the city centre and what space you are really looking for.

NHNH2016

I would be happy to travel 30mins by car. If public transport is like London (cramped like sardines and no AC) then I rather not use it.

When I mean space, I have car parking, a garden where the two of us and our dog could relax with privacy.

OzTennis

I'm from and we have property in Williamstown (but live in Scotland and visit for 3 months at a time). I'd recommend it but appreciate the concerns some have of traffic gridlock at times going to the CBD. However, that is usually the lemmings who try to go via Westgate Bridge. There's two alternatives which never or very rarely takes in excess of 30 minutes - train from Newport, Williamstown Nth, Williamstown Beach depending which is closest - and by car via Douglas Pde/Francis St/Footscray Rd (Dynon Rd also).

All my life I've appreciated being on a branch line, on a peninsula surrounded by sea on 3 sides and on a no through road as an advantage rather than a problem!

The most expensive suburb west of the WGB but not c.f. most of the other burbs mentioned east of the WGB.

NHNH2016

Sorry I can't follow the acronyms in your last sentence... The most expensive suburb west of the WGB but not c.f. most of the other burbs mentioned east of the WGB

bcworld

West Gate Bridge.

OzTennis

Sorry, Williamstown in the west 'compared with' eastern suburbs (eg, ie, cf, etc being abbreviations of Latin words used in English). I'll post you some of my pictures soon to give you a flavour.

OzTennis

The view of the city from Brighton (which most Melburnians flock to):



The view from Williamstown, closer in and on other side of bay (Queen Mary 2 and something Princess docked at Station Pier):



A view good enough to paint!

jad n rich

Bloody hell, half a hour drive in peak time you would need to live very close in.

Had to drop my car for service into a Essendon ( inner suburb ) yesterday. Needed it there by 7.30 am, knew this was going to be hellish.

No accidents or roadworks on route, but it took an hour to drive what would be around 15 minutes if you tried it at say 10 pm. Had high hopes for the return at 1.30 pm but the trams had other ideas about that. Wedged between a tram and concrete mixer with parked cars as always partly blocking the left hand lane. Absolute nightmare.

Coming in on the major freeways into Melbourne anywhere near peak, say from 6am, is usually an absolute horror story. Saturday peak just seems to go all day. Weekdays I wont drive unless absolute necessary from 6 to about 10 and from about 2 till gone 6.30 at least.

I dont like trains much either, but in peak if there is one, it will more than likely be a better alternative.

Parking unless provided with an employer would be fun, one obstacle with the trains is the carparks are packed full usually by 6am. Pushbike to train seems to work best, but melbourne weather can be a bit aggressive ( usually wind related ) in winter or the worst days in summer. Some stations have security cages for bike.