Knightm

So finally we have decided we are going to make the move to Melbourne but which suburb?

As a family of 4 ,including a 10 year old and a 14 month old baby, where should we be looking at?

The ideal place would be family friendly, reasonably priced properties (though of course we'll be renting at first potentially we would like to buy within a year or 2), taking around 30mins to 45 mins to get to CBD by public transport (especially St Kilda street), child care facilities, good primary and secondary schools (we can opt for a catholic school), sports especially swimming pool facilities + parks.

I am pretty sure that such threads have been around for a long time and might even have created a suburb war but we need HELP. .

Mummy3

Beach, mountain views or cityscape?

Knightm

Not so much of a priority but with everything else being equal would go with 1. beach 2. mountainview 3. cityscape.
Crucially is the balance between the time commuting to work and back vs the cost of living. So yes I prefer a bigger block and a bit out but as always how far away we should go to look at reasonable priced properties.

Mummy3

we had same dilemma and spent first 4 weeks at beachside, but the rentals were expenisive and to buy, forget it! Yes it got cheaper as you went out but that added to commute time. So spent 4 weeks driving around Melbourne and settled in the east, great commute for OH and regular trains. Area is very pretty and view of Mt Dandenong round every corner!
I had never heard of this area before we arrived as hadnt noticed it on the map! Allow yourself time to find an area, we were blindsided by the rentals we had seen from the UK being awful or gone when we got here!

stuartsummers1980

The Sandringham line is quite nice (so places like Sandy itself, Hampton), but can be a bit pricey. If you go on the Frankston line it does become a bit more affordable with the likes of Highett, Cheltenhham etc. Close to the beach but not on it.

If you want to pretty much be on the beach itself, then Mordialloc, Aspendale. Probably draw a line at Aspendale as that's pretty much 45 minutes to the CBD (although 1 hour on a bad day), plus you don't want to get any closer to Frankston than that!!!

By the way unless you were referring to something centred around work, I wouldn't use St Kilda as my pinpoint. If you're like me, someone who was captivated by St Kilda as a backpacker in 2005, then the reality of it as someone living in Melbourne permanently is, it's got quite a lot of rough sorts kicking around. Don't want to put a downer on it completely as it has some nice areas, but just thought you might want to reassess the importance of St Kilda in your decision making.

stuartsummers1980

By the way, just re-read your post, if by St Kilda street you meant St Kilda Road, then all of the places I mentioned are still good, but to drive. The train doesn't service St Kilda Road, only the tram.

Knightm

St Kilda Rd is purely for work. Yep meant Rd not street.

derab

I can recommend Mount Waverley / Glen Waverley, the rents for a 3 bedroom older place average around the $400-$450 a week and you get a good size garden.
The Glen Waverley line services this area and terminates here so you dont have to fight with the people living a long way out, and is approx 30 Minutes Station to station to Flinders Street which is at the city end of St Kilda Rd. So you can grab a tram the opposite way to the usual commuters when you arrive in town.
We are about 20 minutes by car from St Kilda for the weekends and about 40 minutes from the Dandenong hills in the other direction, with being close to the freeway for escapes down to Mornington peninsula.
A local Restaurant actually advertises that it is 20 Minutes from almost anywhere in Melbourne and that its in the Centre of Melbourne (that's a bit of a stretch really as the geographical centre of Melbourne is probably a Mile further in )

derab

Sorry, Forgot to say about expected purchase price in 2 years, The Average price here for the older 3 bedroom place on 700 Sq Metres of land is about $750,000 ish...
the local Secondary schools have some of the best exam results for state schools too.

Canaussie

It really does depend on the price range, you can go west if you're after something cheap and affordable or outer south east. If you want a beach though you're gonna be paying ALOT!

Buzzy--Bee

What is your property budget in AU$?

BB

Knightm

Around 500K

bcworld

If it was me I'd probably head to the leafy north:

http://www.realestate.com.au/buy/pro...095%3b+/list-1

Eltham to Flinders St is about 40-45 mins...there might be slightly closer stations / suburbs in the similar price bracket.

Your journey to the further parts of the business bit of St Kilda Rd will more than likely end up being an hour ish though.

Buzzy--Bee

methinks your budget is not big enough to match your requirements.

You will need to compromise on buying, probably by being prepared to do a longer commute.

BB

Kiwikaye

Unfortunately, I agree. We live in Mt Waverley and love it, but we have pretty much no hope of being able to buy here (keep buying those lotto tickets ). There are suburbs in Melbourne where you can buy a house for that money, but you will have to compromise between having an older do-er upper in a slightly dodgy area, or a newer property with a longer commute.

Having said that, a lot can happen in a couple of years, and at least renting in the meantime will give you a chance to look around the city and see what you like. My advice is don't get your heart set on a particular area before you get here.

Eltham is lovely, but its a long way from St Kilda Road and your commute will likely be around an hour at least, depending on whereabouts in St Kilda Road you are.

Feel free to ask if you want to know about particular suburbs though.