Hi there,

We are thinking about relocating to Point Cook. Can anyone give us a few ideas to what it is like generally to live around this area and where there are good kindergartens/ primary schools, good shopping etc. Any areas to avoid?
What is the commute to Melbourne like from here.

Cheers

J

I like it, it's quite a family orientated suburbs, loads of young families around and plenty of playgrounds etc.

Totally new houses, some hate them, others like them. Very flat - good for walking, cycling and having flat sections. Again some hate that and like hills.

I think the shopping exceeds basic needs, the new town centre has a very good set of shops and is expanding this November. So there is a Coles, Target, butchers, bakers, deli, organic food shop, postoffice, banks, gym, fruit and veg shop, chemist, medical centre etc.

Across in Hoppers Crossing there is a huge range of stores that you can just about buy anything, particularly for them home. Werribbee Plaza is about 5-10 minutes drive and is OK and it has been approved for a $500 million upgrade. Otherwise Highpoint is 20 minutes away.

Commuting to the city ranges from 20-50 minutes depending on traffic. At weekends it's closer to the 20 minutes and we spend a lot of time in St Kilda or Prahran every weekend so easily accessible.

It's certainly the best of the new build suburbs and I thin prices reflect this. Seems to be quite a positive suburb with a bit of community feel and the whole area seems to be future orientated, as opposed to a few established suburbs which feel a bit dead, largely due to aging population or where there aren't many kids.

I enjoy the easy access to the south coast, Bellarine peninsula, You Yangs, Geelong etc

Kindergartens seem to be quite good, our son goes to the one in the brand new community education center in the town centre - seem to have good teachers, resources etc.

For schools Seabrook Primary and the Point Cook Primary on the RAAF base seem to be highly recommended. Carranballac seems to have a bad reputation as reallly just a child minding place and they are struggling to cope apparently. Then there are a couple of Catholic schools that are supposed to be good too.

For secondary school I think they are pretty new schools, i wouldn't be sending my kids there at all from what I've seen of the students that go there.Seem to spend more time hanging around the shopping centre and smoking than anything else, but that might be my snobbery.

No real areas to avoid, just stay on the Point Cook side of the freeway as on the other side it becomes a bit boganish, but certainly not dangerous.

Thanks very much SR71 - that is really helpful info.
Point Cook sounds lovely.

J

I think it depends what sort of lifestyle you like. We have friends in Point Cook who were lured there by the cheap property prices and they can't wait for their rental agreement to end. It's very quiet and they spend their social life over in St Kilda, Port Melbourne, Prahran etc so they really regret not paying that bit extra to stay where they like. It does seem a bit soulless but then again alot of new estates are aren't they.

Problem is that I'm torn between those two things. I do like the peace and quiet, the relaxed lifestyle, but I also like the things available in suburbs like Prahran. To have anything close to the sizes of house in those inner suburbs you need to be a millionaire. And renovated places that aren't flats/apartments are going to be double what a 3-4 bedroom home in Point Cook costs. I also think it is much better suburb for kids. If you are just a couple then Point Cook is definitely not the place to live.

we are temporarily living near Point Cook, and I am glad it is only temporary!

I find PC rather souless, and the commute in rush hour can vary between fine and wrist-cuttingly slow. Yesterday Mr P took 50 minutes to get from one junction up from PC to base of Westgate Bridge- should be 10 mins.

I cannot wait to move back to Newport which - to my mind - is much more vibrant and lively and a proper suburb. My daughter and I used to like wandering around Newport Lakes park on our doorstep.
But hey- horses for courses and all that jazz....

I sometimes just get off at Williamstown Rd or Millers Rd, in fact it actually seems to be quicker that way anyway.

Actually the commute from the West is actually not bad, if you really want commuting hell then come in from other areas - i.e Dandenong Rd, Nepean Highway, SE freeway etc. the Westgate is actually not that bad compared to Punt Rd, Kingsway etc

I am in Sanctuary Lakes and enjoy living here. We have a son who is 7 and has settled in well at school.
But, I have noticed that everyone assumes you will be travelling into Melbourne to work, and that you will take the car also.
There is a good!! rail network that can take 25-60 mins to get to town, and from what I found, people park at Laverton to save on the extra zone(about 3 dollars a day).
Just now I work at Highpoint and it can take me anywhere between 20 mins to 40 to get there. All depends on starting times.
If you like the hustle and bustle then PC is not for you.
We are all here for the laid back way of life....
Maggi

I wouldn't live there...

That pretty much goes for all of suburbia in Australia...

Just out of interest, where would the people that don't like Point Cook live if they were looking at the <$500K house market and need 3/4 bedrooms.

Caroline Springs

or Mornington

So basically another 'Point Cook' like area with new homes or a town that is 70km away and not really commutable (although I'm sure some do)

My point is that for the price it's a good area - anything in a similar price will have similar drawbacks whether it's distance, newness or lack of character. (Not that I think it has drawbacks). If you can afford to live in a nice leafy suburb then fine, we'd all like a big 5 bedroom house in Camberwell, Kooyong, Kew etc but the reality is these days that even professionals on good incomes can only afford to buy decent family homes on the fringes.

Hi we agree with all thats been said about PC. having lived here for a number of months, no night life, pubs etc the freeways a nightmare in rush hour and the area is soulless! but nice for families, retired people etc we are a fairly young couple and enjoy socializing hence we will be putting our 40 sq triple garage home in a nice part of pc up for sale by christmas and moving back to the uk after that thank god

But I've got to ask why on earth you would move to Point Cook as a young couple - I just find that staggering if you like socialising. I mean even without doing any detailed research doesn't the fact it's 25km from the city centre suggest it's not going to be the centre of action?

Surely such a poor choice of suburb has entirely coloured your entire experience in Australia and if you'd perhaps stayed in the inner suburbs for a while you'd have had a much better time.