Hi There

We are moving to Melbourne (if we get accepted) from Portsmouth. Our worries are endless but our loose plan is to move to Dandenong - the Yarra Valley. We love the countryside in England and this looks like a lovely place to live (although we have never been there!) Can anyone give us any advice? We run a catering business here, weddings etc, and hope we can do that over there but will we be too out of things all the way out the valley?

Any help/advice most appreciated
Chaley Scott

Are you getting mixed up between The Dandenongs and Dandenong?

The Dandenongs are the forest range in South East Suburbs and takes in places like Monbulk, Sassafras, Olinda etc etc.
The Suburb of Dandenong itself I would give a miss, not really one of the more desirable places to live.

Its The Dandenongs we are keen on.

Lots of people get married in The Dandenongs. There are lots of reception places where you get married in the gardens and then go inside for the meal. (I've been to may marriages up there at different places and I've had 2 marriages myself up there )

Great place to get married if it's a nice day. If it's raining, it really puts a dampener on things.

The Yarra Valley/Dandenongs is a huge tourist attraction so I would say that it is a pretty good business venture if you can find the right place.

I live at the bottom of The Dandenongs (North Croydon) and I absolutely love living in this part of Melbourne.

Regards

Stary clear of the Yarra river, its smells, in fact people get sick by swimming in it, BIG hoohar in the papers over here about it, Think of the Thames about 30 years ago.............................

FremantleRaider
(living in Melbourne)

Thanks for the advice. Do you happen to know if the reception places you are talking about have their own caterers or can an outside caterer be used? Also do australians tend to use caterers in their own homes for parties etc?

Can you tell me why you like living in North Croydon. We are a bit worried about weather there as we have heard it is lovely for 6 months of the year and a bit shitty the rest - what do you think? We aren't people who crave sunshine - a bit is nice as long as it isn't over 30 - but i do hate endless rainy days and frost which is one of the reasons for escaping the gloom of england.

All the parties we have been to have been bring a plate affairs, so not sure, not one has had catering people do it for them. Guess it depends on the type of people you want to get as your customers.

jenny

All of the places that I've either been married in, or attended have had kitchens, so it's always been inhouse. Even if people have been married in gardens, they've always gone back to some kind of restaurant/reception center for the food. Not heard of anyone using external caterers.

Haven't really heard of people using caterers for parties either, but saying that you'll probably find if you live in the more expensive areas of Melbourne i.e. South Yarra, Toorak, these people would probably be the ones to use external catering for their parties.

As Jenny said, most people just bring a plate to a party.

Here are a few reception places in The Dandenongs

http://www.kenloch.com.au/

http://www.cuckoorestaurant.com.au/

http://www.nathaniaspringsreceptions.com/

http://www.coonarasprings.com.au/

Good question about why I like living in North Croydon. Not really sure to tell you the truth. It's quiet, close to all amenities, but far enough out of town to not be classed as suburban sprawl. There are lots of trees, we have a great view of The Dandenongs at our doorstep and it's less than a 15 minute drive to the top.

The weather can vary so much here. Today it was 35 degrees at 4pm, but by 6pm it had dropped to 20 degrees due to a cool change that had come through (with rain).

I've not seen any frost this last year. It was a cold winter (which is very unusual), but still had beautifuly sunny days. We did have alot of rain also this winter, but it was sorely needed due to the drought over the last 5 years. We are still on water restrictions here, which are not likely to be lifted in the next couple of years.

The weather in Melbourne is definitely not the same as the UK. It's not dull and dark all winter, and you can still do plenty of things outdoors. Our weather forecasts on the news are usually 7 day ones, so it's easy to make plans for the weekends (although they are not always accurate, but that's because of the Great Australian Bight, finnicky thing that it is ).

Hope this is of some help to you.

Regards

Hi there

I know some people a bit nearer the City of Melb that have a catering business - they supply a whole week's worth of pre-cooked ready meals for busy overworked professionals to heat up in their microwaves! The menu changes each week, they deliver too, and seem to be doing OK with this concept (many of us miss the decent M&S ready meals - the ones here are not in the same league!). They recently won a small business award, so the concept must be catching on.... just a thought anyway...

HTH & good luck with the move.

Cheers,
Anya.

The Dandenongs are one of my favorite places to go, we live on the opposite side to Jaykay, and like she says theres heaps of places to have weddings/ social functions. Theres a massive hotel/ wedding place for sale in Sassafras at the moment actually!

The weather in Melbourne varies massivly. Winter is like our autum, same temps, darker nights, spring is like South England spring, hot and cool days. The lead up to summer is gradual and the "cool change" comes around far less often and rains far less (no where near enough) once the summer arrives. It has been scorching for the last 3 weeks, my FIL has had a ball, but i have to say that as soon as the cool change began today, around 3.30 it was heaven I love the heat, but to work in it can be horrible

Hi Hevs mate, haven't seen you around for ages. How's tricks?

Great mate! Learnt a new one today!! How to take the end off ones little finger with a new fangled kitchen gadget, it made me very sick

Been to Marysville, Sydney and Echuca over the holidays, so if anyone needs info on these area ask away

3 really good websites to explore:

http://www.dandenong-ranges.net.au/nfindex.htm
http://www.yarrarangestourism.com/
http://www.yarra-ranges.net.au

And:
http://www.bluedandenongs.com.au/
http://www.yarrarangestourism.com
http://www.australianexplorer.com/dandenongs.htm
http://www1.visitvictoria.com/displayObject.cfm/ ObjectID.00025455-FC9F-1ECA-A18380C476A900AA/vvt.vhtml

Someone was asking about catering business in Mornington Peninsula(r) in another thread??

The Dandenongs, the Yarra Valley, the Yarra Ranges and Mornington Peninsula are all areas that Melburnians escape to at weekends, on holidays etc and they have to eat so with 3 and half million people nearby I would have thought you can't go wrong. There's lots of competition from wineries and restaurants etc but still room for more businesses. Surely some establishments could be looking for outside caterers also?

OzTennis

P.S. the Yarra River is somewhat different upstream to what it is through the middle of the CBD but that was probably just a sandgroper trolling!