roobush

Hello

We are a family of three who are moving over to Melbourne in April.

We want to get away from the long commute to work and want a better quality of life, ie: time to spend with our little son!

Can anyone please recommend some good family friendly areas to live with a not too bad commute to get to the CBD?

We're looking at renting initially and then buying once the exchange rate if it ever does goes up!

Areas with good schools, parks, public transport, shops are on our wish list...

Many thanks in advance
Roobush

elice_in_oz

I'll be the first to ask... How much rent are you prepared to pay? House or flat? How big? Garden essential?
Once we have more info, we can help


PS. A 25 min commute by tram is very different to a 25 min commute by train which is again different to a 25 min commute by bus The distances to the CBD will vary quite a bit with each mode of transport.

Hebe

and a ball park on how much you will being able to spend on purchasing. As many have found it is very different being able to afford to rent in an area to buying. You don't want to settle the children into a school etc and then find you can't afford to buy there - best avoided if possible.

elice_in_oz

That was going to be my next question

roobush

Hi Hebe

That's actually our quandry, do we live somewhere for a year or two in an area which we couldn't actually ever afford to buy in and enjoy that area or be more realistic and practical about where we could eventually afford to buy?

Our son is only four so we've got a couple of years yet till he starts big school, moving him in the next year or so wouldn't be too traumatic for him I reckon.

I find the prices of houses in Melbourne shocking to be honest, and a recent programme called "wanted down under" which was filmed in Melbourne brought it home how expensive it really is.

We don't have a house to sell so will be relying on savings to start with, except the exchange rate is so bad we won't make much on our money which is a tad depressing...

We still want to come over though, shame everything seems to be against us at the moment!

roobush

ooops, forgot to include my reply to the poster who asked some essential questions!

We're looking at paying anywhere between 300 and 500 a week for a 2 - 3 bedroom apartment or house. Garden not essential but good public transport links are, as I can't yet drive.

Hope this is helps with narrowing areas down, look forward to your replies!

best wishes
roobush

elice_in_oz

We did just that and rented in St Kilda for 3 years (when childless - would not really recommend with kids), then moved around Camberwell and Hawthorn for another 4 years while I was popping the kids out knowing all the time we could NEVER afford to buy there

Then again, we wanted a 3-bed house with a garden (not a pocket sized one either) for our 2 very active monkeys and Hawthorn does not have a lot in terms of largeish gardens unless you have at least $3 million in the bank

We bought in Montmorency, near Eltham, a year ago, and we love it. We knew little about the area but we did our research and liked what we saw over the 9 months we spent looking. And we found the right house for us at the right price for us. But, we are now over 40 minutes from the CBD by train, in zone 2.

Hence my question about how much rent you want to pay and how you want to commute.
As a comparison, in Hawthorn we rented a 3-bed unit (not detached) with a tiny bricked courtyard, 6 km from the CBD. Great location but house was made of cardboard and scorching hot in summer and cold in winter. When we left it was put on the market for $480/week, about $50 more than what we were paying at the time!
Here, I've been looking at rentals for a friend and you can get a detached house with 3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, a large garden among the gum trees and still within walking distance to train station for $450/week.

Hebe

I just did a search in the Cheltenham and surround area for a 2 bedroom place between 300 and $500 and link below

http://www.domain.com.au/Search/rent...plmap=0&page=2

Have a browse through