ASTROGAZ

Thinking of Mount Martha, Melbourne early next winter, anyone living there?
any sort of gen would be appreciated, schools etc, standard of living..
Cheers, oh and whats the light pollution like cos ill need a BIG observatory in the rear garden sod a pool!

Buzzy--Bee

Hi there, do you mean next Melbourne winter, or next UK winter, if Melbourne winter we'll be joining you hopefully in the Mornington Peninsula area too.

Mybe introduce yourself on the British people in Victoria forum, this is at -

http://s7.invisionfree.com/BritVics/index.php?act=idx.

As far as stars go, I did ask this question before, here's the thread -

http://britishexpats.com/forum/showthread.php?t=337855

Maybe I could bring some beers round and have a look through your scope when we're both living there!

Cheers

Buzzy

jond

Hi

Can't help you with the schools very much as we don't have kids. But they area itself is very nice, we have only lived here since early April so unfortunately its been a bit hard what with the weather, early nights and work etc to explore much of the place. Its got a great beach and Mornington is only 5-10 minutes away and this has everything you need.

I don't know much about light pollution but I do know that when I take the dog for a walk at night its bloody dark and I need a torch to see where I am going and the stars look awesome.

If you need any info let us know.

John

khoardiroy

not my kind of girl

Secretsquirral

Hi,
We lived in Mt Martha for 8 months in 2003 - it is a beautiful area, lots of bush around there, and the beach is lovely but gets absolutely chocker in the summer. Standard of living is very good there, housing was pretty expensive there when we were there so probably still pretty pricey. There are a number of shops along the esplanade, there was a very good restaurant, some cafes, hairdressers, a small supermarket etc. As previous poster said, Mornington is a very short drive with a much bigger shopping centre and much busier, and Mt Eliza is further on which is a lovely village but a bit snooty, we felt. More expats seem to head for there, but we much prefered Mt Martha. Mt Eliza apparently has a very good school there which is maybe why many choose it, but we didnt have our kids whilst we were there, and we are on the Gold Coast now, so cant help much there.
Only thing we found when we were there (might have changed in 3 years) was that many of the houses there were holiday homes so it could be deathly quiet in the Winter.

JoolsieE

Hi there
We're from Scotland and have lived on the Mornington Peninsula for 8 months. We actually live in Mount Eliza - which is about 15mins along the coast from Mount Martha.
At first we were undecided between Mount Martha and Mt Eliza as they are not unlike each other. However if you look on the map you'll see that Mount Eliza doesn't have the Nepean Highway running through it - and that was the deciding factor for us as the Peninsula gets chock-a-block in the summer. It means that Mt Eliza and it's beaches stay nice and quiet and misses out on all the tourists - which is great 'cause we spent virtually every day of the summer at the beach.
We looked at Mount Martha Primary and also Kunyung Primary and out of the 2 we got a nicer feel for Kunyung. Chek out their website kunyungprimary.com.au It's a fabulous school, I have to say!
The only downside about Mount Eliza is that the houses are slightly more expensive than Mt Martha.
Either way, I reckon you'll do alright in Mount Martha, Mornington or Mount Eliza. The lifestyle here is wonderful and you're certain to love it!

ASTROGAZ

Buzzy , sorry for the confusion, its oz winter / june07 a friend of mine lives closer to the city and he recommended this area, we are def going cant waste an opportunity like this, and yes you are more than welcome to have a look through the scope, im heavily involved in astronomy in th UK, allthough not my proffession so its a huge factor for me, the night sky is an awesome experience with just a bit of understanding of whats up there makes it seem more fascinating...waffling sorry.. stay in touch..we are not geeks so dont worry,

Teliko21

I love astronomy too! I'm looking forwards to the day when our house is built out in Riddells Creek as that is where my telescope lives already

ASTROGAZ

Wow is there an astronomical society there or does everyone just do there own thing?

Teliko21

There is a society but I have never been along, they all seem too old for me from the pics

http://www.asv.org.au/ (Astronomical Society of Victoria) is probably the major one.

ASTROGAZ

see what you mean!!! im sure thet know there stuff and would be a good source of help and info..I think?

Teliko21

Yeah, you are probably right, I just can't bring myself to do it

What kind of telescope do you have?

ASTROGAZ

My Kids will be 12 and 14 next year so too old for primary are there secondary schools in the area which are equally as good?

ASTROGAZ

I have a 10" LX 200 classic and a 66mm triple apo william optics ,I use this scope for astro photography allthough its got an awesome field of view for wide field observing its a cracker, but for deep sky with a beer its my 10" it never misses and i couldnt be parted from it , wife and kids before my scope
What do you use?

Teliko21

I just have a Nexstar 4GT but 1 day I have big plans (so I had better get a well paying job )