rekkymech

Just been looking here for a guide to what we would expect to pay after reading the thread about living costs. I am finding plenty of pleasant looking homes within 30 km of Melbourne for $400 a week or less.

I have a shot at a 457 sponsored visa for a job in Melbourne VIC 3000. And expected salary upwards of 45k, so $400 a week is sounding more than affordable.

I read a lot about prople wanting to be close to the city not wanting to comute, but a lot of these places are within 30km of where i want to be which from what i'm used to of commuting in the UK (Grantham to Loughborough 35km down bumpy back farm roads) doesn't phase me.

Question: What is the traffic like in Melbourne? Not worried about the standards of driving, the world is full of mad drivers and i decided long time ago i couldn't beat em so have joined them How long would say a commute from Boronia, or Deer park take for example

koalakim

Hi

Melbourne drivers are the maddest in the land! Believe me you soon get pretty fed up with driving in Mellie - not only the drivers but the blasted traffic lights, everywhere and if you catch one you catch them all.

Unfortunately here there are some big intersections so if you miss the lights (although most seem to drive through red ones) then you can be waiting some minutes to go, they don't seem to have intelligent lights here so you're sitting there waiting and nothing is coming through.

I used to do 3 hours a day round trip in the UK but that here would be far more tiring. Believe me only a few k's can take forever here sometimes!

Not wanting to put you off but it depends on your circumstances - is it only you or do you need to consider schools etc. Do you want night life etc as you maybe better off getting somewhere nearer the CBD. Do you want a house or happy in an apartment?

Boronia would take you along the Burwood Highway which will be busy and lots of lights, the Monash (freeway/toll road) I believe is better now since the road works finished but is still a bit like the M25. Deer Park, I can't tell you about as it is on the other side.

You could also look at the trains for commuting as parking in the city is expensive during the week.

If you don't have kids then at least if you don't like the suburb you start off in you can easily move!

Hope this helps a wee bit!

rekkymech

Thanks for the reply, dude

We have two kids aged 7 and 8 so tbh nightlife err, no sorry forgotten what thats all about. The further out the better as far as i'm concerned but need a happy medium with the commute. I used to commute on my Blade(motorbike for those not familliar) so would probably do the same once settled.

What sort of penalties or enforcement is there on driving. Is the dreaded Gatso in employment down under?

Seems like you're from Melbourne, are there any districts that we should steer clear of? Every town has its rough areas, surely thats not just a uk issue

bcworld

Melbourne driving is waaaaay more considerate & 'normal' then Brisbane!

OP...$400/week rent on $45k sounds pretty unaffordable to me...will there be more than one income earner?

koalakim

As you have kids then once they are settled it's harder to move so choose carefully in the first place!

Yes, dear old speed camera is alive and kicking and fleecing down here in Mellie! You have fixed cameras at junctions but also "they" are quite evil in speed policing here - hiding in bushes, disguised vans etc. We even saw one in Perth who was disguised as a gardener by the road side! They keep telling us it's to save us but it doesn't stop the hoons and it raises quite a nice bit of revenue for the state. Even if you go way out into the countryside where you haven't seen anyone for 2 hours they will still get you!

So most normal people drive around at the incredibly slow speed limits and then when you need a cop to catch the twat who's nearly causing an accident they are no where to be seen!

We also have booze and drug road side stops here and you can be pulled over for random breath testing.

TBH the rough areas here aren't nearly as bad as the UK. Frankston has a reputation and some of the people there are a bit weird although South Frankston is good and has a great school, Dandenong is a little similar then there are some rougher areas over in the West. Footscray also but it's probably not where you'd take a family to live anyway. Certain ethnic groups tend to live in certain suburbs - a lot of the Somalian refugees are in some of the Western burbs and then you have areas where a lot of eastern europeans have settled. Then you have Point Cook (west), Berwick, Mornington, Eltham areas etc which attracts the Brits.

We live in Mornington which we love but it's not great for a city commute although probably not so bad on a bike - it's just tedious! Berwick you'd have to use the Monash, again not so bad on a bike but you get all the big heavy trucks using it and all that comes with that! Point Cook might be okay for you as it's fairly quick into the city and on a bike you can weave your way through the traffic. Eltham would be a bit of a pain and you'd probably be better off going on the train from there. The trains aren't too bad, people moan but it's better than the UK service most of the time.

If you need more info on certain areas and no one can help here then hop onto Britvics site.

KK

p.s. Driving was okay last time we did it in Brissie!

layla950

I agree with bc world on what rental you cold afford on £45k. We are not there yet but we were looking at cheaper rentals with a joint income of quite a bit more with no kids. I would not like to pay more than 25% of our joint income on rent. Which is slightly more than our mortgage payments at the moment. The cost of living is not cheap and you want some spare cash left to enjoy it.

rekkymech

yes there would be two incomes, but 400 a week on 45 is not so disimilar to £730 a month on 24k in uk.

But i am working worst case scenarios(ensol minimum wage guidelines etc), a friend in the same trade (HGV Diesel tech) is earning in the region of 90k

layla950

That sounds a lot better,

rekkymech

thanks teach lol

herrchook

I wouldn't recommend Deer Park personally. When we first started looking over this side of Melbourne we looked at it and even the real estate agents said we wouldn't like it (we have 2 kids about the age of yours) I do know some really nice people who live there but they would seem to be the minority. We're in Caroline Springs (and love it) and using the new Deer Park bypass, it's an easy commute into the CBD. Bacchus Marsh is a bit further out from us but seems to be becoming more and more popular and has a lovely country feel to it (and also a great Irish pub). Also, if you fancy something a little more established, Sydenham and Taylors Lakes are nice with easy access to the Calder Fwy. Further out from there still is Sunbury which is a really lovely country town. We have good friends there and they just love it. It's a bit more of a commute but they reckon it's worth it.

Good luck.

NJJ

Have you never been to Adelaide??!

The Crow

Depending where you are working in the city, you could use the new Eastlink (toll road) from near Boronia - but not sure how busy it is in the rush hour. 5-10 mins out from Boronia and you could look at the foothills of the Dandenongs - beautiful countryside, lots of facilities, great for families etc, etc. Not sure there are many rental properties though. Boronia you'd want to choose your area carefully, there are some lovely streets but also some feral ones!!