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Suburbs to Live in Melbourne

Suburbs to Live in Melbourne

Old May 19th 2013, 9:02 am
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Default Re: Suburbs to Live in Melbourne

The gentrification of Footscray has been incredible over the last few years (and previous to that, I'm sure). Footscray itself has changed a lot but so have Middle and West Footscray, with funky shops and even wine bars. Footscray itself is definitely starting to get into breakfast culture and for dinner there's any number of amazing Asian restaurants along with the Station Hotel which does a lovely steak.

We nearly bought in West Footscray years ago but were too nervous to do so. I wish we had! The West will always have a bad rep with people who've never been or last visited 10 years ago. The Outer West doesn't do it for me as I don't like new build estates but large parts of the Inner West are lovely. There are still some places I wouldn't live but that goes for every other direction as well (Northern, South Eastern Melbourne etc).

The last place we lived in Melbourne was West Melbourne which comes very far down that list, not sure why. I absolutely loved living there, Errol St was 5 mins walk away, as was Vic Market, quick stroll to the CBD and to Southern Cross or Flagstaff stations. There are some lovely warehouse conversions around.
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Old May 19th 2013, 9:04 am
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Default Re: Suburbs to Live in Melbourne

Originally Posted by papilon
Haha nice bit of spruiking for living out in the bland West.
You can point people to better quality housing and lower costs, but if they are the type that will be swayed by fashion and bullsh*t then they will buy something at twice the price and half the size, half the quality, that's falling down and leaks like a sieve for the joy have having a cafe on the corner.

Despite the fact that you need a car for living in any Australian city, and that no place has an enjoyable commute into the Melbourne CBD during rush hour.

I've lived in the middle of a city. I know the advantages and the disadvantages. I weigh the options in light of that knowledge.

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Old May 19th 2013, 10:06 am
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Default Re: Suburbs to Live in Melbourne

Each to their own and all that. People with a decent budget as I said can buy a period home and spend on doing it up so it isn't as you have described and they get something with character. There's a lot more to being closer to the CBD than just having a cafe on the corner as you put it.

Search the internet or talk to a few people for horror stories on the problems people may experience in a newly built (i.e. put up in a hurry with shortcuts being taken) house in an estate and you'll realise there are pro's and cons for everything.
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Old May 19th 2013, 10:15 am
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Default Re: Suburbs to Live in Melbourne

Originally Posted by Almo
The gentrification of Footscray has been incredible over the last few years (and previous to that, I'm sure). Footscray itself has changed a lot but so have Middle and West Footscray, with funky shops and even wine bars. Footscray itself is definitely starting to get into breakfast culture and for dinner there's any number of amazing Asian restaurants along with the Station Hotel which does a lovely steak.

We nearly bought in West Footscray years ago but were too nervous to do so. I wish we had! The West will always have a bad rep with people who've never been or last visited 10 years ago. The Outer West doesn't do it for me as I don't like new build estates but large parts of the Inner West are lovely. There are still some places I wouldn't live but that goes for every other direction as well (Northern, South Eastern Melbourne etc).

The last place we lived in Melbourne was West Melbourne which comes very far down that list, not sure why. I absolutely loved living there, Errol St was 5 mins walk away, as was Vic Market, quick stroll to the CBD and to Southern Cross or Flagstaff stations. There are some lovely warehouse conversions around.
Yep, agreed on all that. We went to the Heart/Victory match at Etihad and a friend had a friend who lived in the conversion of the old Sands Macdougall print works a few hundred yards from Etihad so we arranged to park the car there and walk a few mins to the match - I was pleasantly surprised at the quality of the accommodation.

Seddon is next to Middle Footscray and changing out of all recognition. The strip in Charles Street has some great cafes and bakeries. I can recommend the Sourdough Kitchen and Seddon's Deadly Sins (love the name). Station Hotel is excellent for a meal and so is the Mona Castle Hotel in Austin Street.

I've been a stigmatised Western Suburbs boy all my life and agree with the point about the pronouncements of those who've rarely crossed the WGB!
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Old May 19th 2013, 1:59 pm
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Default Re: Suburbs to Live in Melbourne

Portsea 3944, VIC should be good, it is the second highest income postcode in Australia with an average income of $180,000 for its 280 working residents.

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Old May 19th 2013, 2:09 pm
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Default Re: Suburbs to Live in Melbourne

Hi

Thanks again for all the comments. Lots of advice/information to go through.

In the UK we have a fairly low mortgage. Only 14% of our pay goes towards this. It seems we will almost certainly have to triple the % of our take home pay towards a rental/mortgage fee in Melbourne.

Thanks again
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Old May 19th 2013, 4:27 pm
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Default Re: Suburbs to Live in Melbourne

Originally Posted by MrsA
Hi

Thanks again for all the comments. Lots of advice/information to go through.

In the UK we have a fairly low mortgage. Only 14% of our pay goes towards this. It seems we will almost certainly have to triple the % of our take home pay towards a rental/mortgage fee in Melbourne.

Thanks again
MrsA
Depends where you live. Like for like eg: woodford in london v doncaster here in melb would be similar...as would a lot of places. Where do u live now?
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Old May 20th 2013, 5:52 am
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Default Re: Suburbs to Live in Melbourne

Have you considered the CBD? I notice you mentioned you don't have kids. I've been in the CBD with my partner for some time now and we enjoy it. If you work in the CBD (like most) you'd have likely a 5-10 minute walk to work. Trips to the airport are easy (we are actually across from southern cross station so get off the bus from the airport and home in 5 minutes) and weekend car rentals are cheap and easy if you want to venture out - suburban trains are a few dollars all day on the weekends so you can explore cheaply. The CBD also has the benefit (along with Docklands) of being essentially overbuilt - there are tons of vacant apartments and the builds are very new - 2008 onwards are pretty common often with high floor options, good views, and 'new' everything along with gyms and parking. Depending on your career don't forget 5 days of the week you are tied up with work anyway - the CBD would allow you to have basically no wasted commute time potentially and you can then use the weekends to explore while figuring out a burb you really like over the following months.
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Old May 20th 2013, 6:12 am
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Default Re: Suburbs to Live in Melbourne

Originally Posted by GarryP
You can point people to better quality housing and lower costs, but if they are the type that will be swayed by fashion and cafes sh*t then they will buy something at twice the price and half the size, half thn e quality, that's falling down and leaks like a sieve for the joy have having a cafe on the corner.

Despite the fact that you need a car for living in any Australian city, and that no place has an enjoyable commute into the Melbourne CBD during rush hour.

I've lived in the middle of a city. I know the advantages and the disadvantages. I weigh the options in light of that knowledge.

Better quality housing??? I work in the construction industry and I can assure you the quality of the older houses is far superior than the vast majority of new builds going up in the suburbs. With a bit of retro fitted insulation and other work they are lovely to live in. Mine is double brick with high ceilings, don't need aircon in the summer. Its nearly 100 years old and with some love and care will last another 100 years.

I choose to live as close to the cbd as I can afford without taking on to much debt. Choose to live in a smaller house with a smallish garden. But have a tram stop just 2 mins away
Can walk to 2 train stations under 10 mins. Can walk to 4 supermarkets within 10 mins. Walk to bank, post office, 2 shopping strips, lots of those cafes you love to hate. Wife commutes into cbd and it's safe for her to walk home at night. You could certainly live here without a car if you worked in the cbd or local.
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Old May 20th 2013, 6:52 am
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Default Re: Suburbs to Live in Melbourne

Personally I use those quite a few of those cafes at least 3 times a fortnight, and generally walk to one with the wife for breakfast. I would definitely miss them if I moved.

Half your luck Paps.... re where you live

1 station for me.... 4 tram lines within walking distance though.... although one is at least 20 mins away, closest being 250 meters.. 1 Mega park...Goes from the City to Craigeburn and beyond from Coburg Lake. 3 Supermarkets and a NQR plus a Dimmeys, then Sydney Rd starts with it's 4 Kilometer strip. 2 not so good pubs on my doorstep and 2 really good ones about 1K away and at least 50 eating places Cafes/Bars within 2ks.

I could walk to the city.... but it would take at least 80 mins... Brunswick rd, and Sydney rd, less than 45 mins though.

Last edited by ozzieeagle; May 20th 2013 at 7:00 am.
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Old May 21st 2013, 12:18 pm
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Default Re: Suburbs to Live in Melbourne

All good advice, my friend x
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Old May 22nd 2013, 1:20 am
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Default Re: Suburbs to Live in Melbourne

Originally Posted by GarryP
You can point people to better quality housing and lower costs, but if they are the type that will be swayed by fashion and bullsh*t then they will buy something at twice the price and half the size, half the quality, that's falling down and leaks like a sieve for the joy have having a cafe on the corner.
I sort of disagree - it's not just fashion - it's wanting to live somewhere that goes well beyond all that. And some of these old places are absolutely fine.

Originally Posted by OzTennis
Each to their own and all that. People with a decent budget as I said can buy a period home and spend on doing it up so it isn't as you have described and they get something with character. There's a lot more to being closer to the CBD than just having a cafe on the corner as you put it.
The cafe is nice. Besides, what's the point in living in a place where there is 'nothing'.
If it wasn't for choosing semi-rural and a community, I would want to live in the inner East, -inner West if money was a factor.
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Old May 23rd 2013, 10:11 am
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Default Re: Suburbs to Live in Melbourne

Originally Posted by BadgeIsBack
I sort of disagree - it's not just fashion - it's wanting to live somewhere that goes well beyond all that. And some of these old places are absolutely fine.



The cafe is nice. Besides, what's the point in living in a place where there is 'nothing'.
If it wasn't for choosing semi-rural and a community, I would want to live in the inner East, -inner West if money was a factor.
Inner/closer in and community aren't mutually exclusive of course.
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Old May 24th 2013, 1:49 am
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Default Re: Suburbs to Live in Melbourne

I live in Berwick and its definitely one of the better outer suburbs with some nice cafes n restaurants...feel safe here and its fairly quiet away from the main drags.Having said that we adore popping into melb cbd for a nite out or a days look-see so the master plan is to sell up in a few yrs and rent close to the city somewhere near a tramline.... Well thats the plan anyway ;-)

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Old May 24th 2013, 4:17 am
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Default Re: Suburbs to Live in Melbourne

Originally Posted by OzTennis
Inner/closer in and community aren't mutually exclusive of course.
Agreed - in fact inner in, the culture and proximity of cafe's and various scenes creates that community - even if neighbours don't know all their neighbours...they create links between like-minded people..
(even in a rural setting people won't know everyone near them).

Originally Posted by stuckinblighty
I live in Berwick and its definitely one of the better outer suburbs with some nice cafes n restaurants...feel safe here and its fairly quiet away from the main drags.Having said that we adore popping into melb cbd for a nite out or a days look-see so the master plan is to sell up in a few yrs and rent close to the city somewhere near a tramline.... Well thats the plan anyway ;-)
Again, yes, Berwick outperforms say Narre Warren, Hallem, Hampton Park, Berwick South etc due to the fact it is established, has a cafe culture (even if you can't compare to the inner burbs!) and is seen as the place to be. But move down towards Clyde or even Cranbourne N and increasingly it might be a bit isolated.

Narre Warren has loads of junk food places and Fountain Gate which is increasingly making the suburb a dormitory town. I know people who remember it when it was all trees....and cows!
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