The Crow

If you haven't already, have a look at the villages around Mount Dandenong -were in The Basin which on one side joins onto Boronia/Ferntree Gully and the other side is semi-rural (where we are). Only 45 min commute - Dandenong National Park on one side and plenty of facilities on the other
If you like mountain villages - Olinda and Sassafras are beautiful (still about 1 hour - more of a drive to train station though and wider facilities).

Rachel

nickyblonde

debra

Thank you for the info on Melton. I had noticed Gisbourne and will have to look into that area further, we passed it on the way to Ballarat and that was it.

Have just seen a nice property in the Basin area, so thats another one to investigate, so many places to choose from!

As you say the feel of the place is very important and that's why i like Eltham. I also like a few of the places along the Mornington Penisular, but i think the commute from there is just a bit too much

I just need to come up with a shortlist of places to target when we land later on this year.

Nicky

nickyblonde

The Crow, sorry Rachel

Thanks for the advice, my Realestate.com e-mail alert just beat you to the Basin recommendation. I just saw a nice property that made me look into the area a bit further.

Don't know if you know the answer to this or not - but is there free parking at the train station that is nearest the Basin (Boronia i think ?). Just wondering as if we get a car we could live a bit further away, or i could cycle seeing as the weather will hopefully be better than the UK.

Also as you live in the area, what are the shools like? Not that we have children yet, forward planning.

Thanks
Nicky

WithIce

Busterboy, thanks for the info and the pictures! We're looking at a couple of further out areas as there may be IT jobs in the Monash/Whitehorse area but our first choice will probably be within 30 mins of CBD as we're use to living near a city.

Silver, thanks for the up-to-date renting info. Kew was on our list but as time was limited and we couldn't see everywhere, we chose Balwyn North as we'd heard (rightly or wrongly), that it had the better school. Out of interest how come you are moving from Hampton? And what made you choose Kew over Brighton in the end?

WithIce x

stubbieholder31

Hi again, thanks for the info. Does anyone know anything about Coburn. And is Footscray as bad as I have read on some of the pages I have googled?Hubby may be working in that area so we will need something within a 20 minute drive of Footscray idealy. We will be renting so can anyone tell me how much we are likely to be paying weekly also please.
A list of the better primary schools for these areas would be great too!

All advice greatly appreciated.Thanx

Shakmaty

Footcray has a bad rep, but is most definitely not as bad as it was 10 years ago. Saying that, apparently Williamstown used to be a pit not that long ago....just some suburbs don't shake off the stigma as easily as others.

Near Footscray....

Yarraville
Newport
Williamstown
Flemington
Ascot Vale
North Melbourne

All established suburbs.

Then there are the newer builds to the west like Point Cook, Altona Meadows, Sanctuary Lakes. Personally I don't really like these, but each to their own, and some people absolutely love them.

stubbieholder31

Hey, thanks for the info. Do you know much about Coburg? And what kind of prices I can expect to pay for a rental on a 2 bed house in some of the area's you mentioned?
Sorry to be keep asking Questions!

onepearlyb

Footscray is west of the CBD. It used to be well known for being quite shabby and run down. It's been trying to update itself but it seems to be taking a while.There are lots and lots of Asian shops there and many Asian people have settled there. It's slightly industrial also.
Housing is cheaper there and the train into the CBD is about 10-15 mins. I have a friend who lives there as it was the cheapest area he could afford to live in.
There is a new-ish estate near there ( Edgewater) near "maribinong" I think. It's got new houses and nice estates. http://www.edgewater.com.au/

I live on the "other side" - Bayside ( Hampton ) and love it down here. We rent an old 3 bed weatherboard home and have cheap rent at $1477/month. Be prepared to pay anything up to $450/week in Melbourne for a 3 bed home now.
If I can help, give me a shout!

*pearly*

Shakmaty

Coburg is in the North and the main man on the forum who lives there is ozzieeagle. He won't mind if you PM him about info in his home area, and he also has quite a lot of knowledge about the West of Melbourne where you're talking about.

In the areas it will depend from place to place.....again, it is not my area of town, but you could get in contact with Pomster who lives in Newport.

ozzieeagle works funny shifts so he may not get back in touch right away, and Pomster has a young 'un so equally may not be around for a day or 2, but try to PM them, they're both lovely people in real life and very helpful here on the forums

stubbieholder31

Thanks again for you're help, thats gr8.
I'll be in touch with them.
Cheers for now!

The Crow

Hi Nicky

There is free parking at Boronia station - not sure what time it gets full, but there is also on road parking close by.

There are plenty of primary schools to choose from in and around The Basin - some catholic too. Our oldest goes to The Basin Primary School and I think it's a great school (only 20 per class and good curriculum). I haven't properly research high schools yet, as our girls are only 4 & 5. I know Boronia Heights doesn't have a good reputation. There is one in Upwey and Bayswater - Fairhills in Wantirna looks quite nice. Some of our friends have chosen schools in Ringwood (about 15 min drive). There's also a catholic boys' school in Ferntree Gully and a catholic girls' school in Belgrave.

Hope that helps a bit.

WithIce

Just bumping this as I'm slowly collating information about these areas before we go on our reccie in March. This info is from some very helpful posters on BE, Britvics and anything else I've managed to find.

If anyone has any info about these areas to do with schools, nice take aways, children play places, housing, shops anything really - that would be great! We'll only have a couple of days so I'll want to go armed with as much info as possible.

I'll update it as I get extra info also.

For beach living:

Brighton

Eating place: lovely cafe at North Point with kids play area
Schools: Good, with Brighton Secondary being particularly popular
Shops: Church Street is the main shopping area. Nearest Malls, 15mins (Southland) and 25mins (Chadstone)
Housing: 4 bed about $1.5 million

Brighton East

Housing: 4 bed about $1.2 million
General: Some dodgy parts near train station

For central/established family area:

Hawthorn

General: near Swinburne Uni so quite bustling

Balwyn North

General: Wikipedia calls it 'North Boring'. Dry Suburb. Can be difficult without a car. Safe Area. Public transport, cafes and pubs are a little more distant apart in these areas
Travel: Can be 45 mins to Brighton Beach, CBD by Tram 50 mins, CBD by Train (from Surrey Hills Station) 25 mins
Schools: Several highly rated schools

Mckinnon

Checking out the west side:

Williamstown

Further out, bigger newer houses:

Glen Waverly

Mount Waverly

Blackburn

By the way, any cinemas in these areas?

WithIce x

deano66

We're off to do a recce in April and looking through realestate.com, there are quite a few nice places (no prices of course ) in Beaconsfield Upper. Any thoughts on that neighbourhood?

Ta
-d