Hi,

Just wondering if anyone could suggest areas to live in Melbourne?We were looking at the chelsea area but rent is looking at $450 per wk and we've decided this would probably be too much.My husband will be working in the CBD and ideally wants a commute of no more than an a hour. Any ideas where to look?we have three young children so would like to be near good schools,many thanks in advance

You will find accomodation more expensive but wait until Sydney it gets even more expensive (so I have been told).

If your husband is in Investment banking that should not be a problem plenty of $200k+ jobs in accounting (he was an accountant?).

Just flip your budget around as you will save in transport/time by being closer to CBD.

It really does depend on a lot of things, commute/budget/how far from beach etc.
Why not look at suburbs like Lynbrook, Lyndhurst, Berwick, Cranbourne. Although you would be looking at a min of an hours commute to the CBD. Other suburbs that are worth looking at are Aspendale, Mordialloc, Mentone. The further you go towards the city the more you will be paying.
Good luck.
Kate

You would be lucky to find a 3 bed house much under this level of rent within easy commute of the CBD. Unless it was a real sh1th0le.

Buzzy

All decent housing is in that price range wherever it is, Mornington Peninsula just the same price, there are lower rents but the properties are usually old and have been tenanted for a long while, need updating etc.

For every good house in the rental market there are many people looking to rent it.

There are a lot in the three hundred range but they are still there because they are not houses most families would live in and usually share houses.

Areas north east like Mitcham and North Ringwood have trains into the City and have reasonable priced houses, and Doncaster has a bus into the City but is a great location.

There are other posher suburbs round that area like Park Orchards but that would increase his commute time.

If he's planning on driving he'd have to leave very early to get to the City in an hour as though it's not a ridiculous distance the traffic's heavy along the Eastern Freeway.

http://ausway.com/home/Default.aspx?tabid=109 will give you an idea about the location.

Another suggestion: Eltham, it's very rural and friendly and also might suit but I think it's on the hour for journey time.

We love the schools in this area (public, catholic and independent) and I could help a bit more with that if you decided this might be the area for you.

On the news the other day an expert was suggesting people rent further out and save to buy in their favourite district. Great advice but moving your kids again can be traumatic once they've made their first Aussie friends.

Good luck.