KiwiKaye

Arrived the first time in July 1996, left in 2009, came back in 2012 and still here. Loving it.

If you are coming over with children, it's unlikely you will be living in the CBD anyway, as the only housing is apartments, mostly inhabited by singles and students. Where you should look will depend very much on where you will be working, and your budget for rent/buying.

Hi, There aren't very many schools actually in Melbourne CBD. If you check www.myschool.edu.au and enter the postcode 3000 into the search section on the right-hand side, it doesn't generate any public schools - only private, and not many of them. There will be more choices in suburbs immediately surrounding the CBD. If you can share more about where you are looking, and whether primary or secondary it will help.

Well, it doesn't sound like you are worried about schools, so that makes it a bit easier. Williamstown is a lovely place to live, but expensive to buy in. Commute if you are working in Port Melbourne should be ok, but bear in mind that if you are driving the West Gate Bridge can be a nightmare in peak hours. There is a train from Williamstown to the city and then a tram to port Melbourne, but depending on where you need to get to, that total trip could take up to an hour. As for other things, once you get here you will need to organise Medicare, tax file no., and bank accounts. The bank accounts you may be able to do from the uk, but the others I believe you actually need to be here for. Williamstown does have lovely Cafes near the waterfront, and some beautiful walks. Are you looking to buy eventually or just rent? If looking to buy, your potential budget will dictate where you should look. You will need probably at least $1 million in Williamstown, but some surrounding areas could be slightly lower price wise, eg. Newport, Altona, Yarraville. I like the beaches on the other side of the bay, and it is where we live, but the commute to work would be much worse.

Hi, Welcome. We've been living in Melbourne for almost 6 years this time around. Happy to help. Whereabouts in Melbourne are you heading to, and what visa? A bit more information will help people to help you. ?

Hi. We live in Frankston. Have been here for abut 18 months now, and lived in Mt Waverley before that. We really like Frankston, and there is heaps of stuff to do for kids, but you are right that it is better to steer clear of Frankston North. It is getting better, but not there yet. Mt Waverley was brilliant, too, but the schools are more academically minded, and very results-focussed. The main reason we mioved was because of the house prices. TBH you will struggle now I think to find a rental for $400 a week, but I have let looked for a ile, so there my be some out there. Based on what you've written, I would look at the areas in the Dandenong's (NOT Dandenong the suburb), such as Tecoma, Belgrave, etc. We considered that area before settling on Frankston to buy in and a friend lived in the area for a while and really loved it.

As kevsan said, it depends on your definition of good. We're a bit further down the road in Frankston, which I love. The one main thing I would watch out for in Carrum/Patterson Lakes is the smell of the sewerage works near the Eastlink freeway. It would pay to check the proximity of any property to this site, and perhaps visit a few times at different times of the day/week to check it out. Its not a problem all of the time by any means, but when it smells, it really smells. I drive to Carrum station every day to get the train to work, and some nights coming home I have to turn the air con off to avoid the smell coming into the car. Otherwise there's an ok shopping centre on Thompsons Road, and many more shopping options in Frankston which is about 10-15 mins down the road.

If you like the multi-cultural aspects, then Footscray would be fine. I would also look at Coburg which is an inner-north suburb of Melbourne - Sydney Road has a great range of food shops, restaurants, etc. from all parts of the world. Much will depend on your budget, which you won't really know until you find work. The closer you are to the city in Melbourne the more expensive it is, especially if you want to buy. Check out www.realestate.com.au and www.domain.com.au for rental and sale prices. Most of the houses for sale in the inner areas go to Auction, so the guide price means very little. You can check out past sold prices on both these websites though.

Libby, It does depend on your budget, but when we moved to Frankston in late 2015, we had the same issue. We ended up buying in Frankston Heights, which is still in zone, albeit a little further away from the school. It is still close enough that the kids can walk to/from school (about 30 mins), and the prices are still a bit lower than Frankston South.

I don't have any particular experience on either school, only anecdotal, but one of my daughters friends moved from EMC due to issues in the school. She's is now at Frankston and doing well. I have heard that both Mt Eliza and Mornington are ok.

Hi. I would love to meet up some time. We are up the road in Frankston, with kids aged almost 9 and 13. We are at work during the week, but around most weekends. Hope you're enjoying the area.

I agree that it hasn't been long enough to make a concrete decision. We've lived in Aus for a while, but we moved suburbs last year at the end of school, as we had bought a house. It meant both kids had to change schools - one to a new primary school, and one starting year 7. It was particularly hard on the then 12yo, as it meant that she wasn't starting hs with any of the friends she had from primary. But that's the way it had to be. I'm going to stick my neck out slightly and say that, whilst we all want the best for our kids, and we spent a lot of time finding an area where we could afford to buy, but also had a good high school, at the end of the day the decision was ours. If you tell kids that you will uproot your whole life just because they are a little unsettled or unhappy, then, particularly at this age, this is what they will choose to do. Sometimes it is actually easier on them if they realise that this is life, and they need to make it work. Giving them too many options can be counter-productive some times. Of course, I am not talking about major issues such as bullying, or where children are clinically depressed, and need medical assistance, and in those circumstances different solutions need to be found. But if its just a settling issue, then definitely give it more time. I agree with the earlier responses that it is a difficult time with end of school year and holidays, etc. Hopefully once he returns to school for the new year it will improve. Don't shoot me, but I wonder if he is picking up on your disappointment at ending up in a different city/state than you had hoped? Whatever you decide I hope it works out for all of you.

Hi, congrats on the move. We lived in Mt Waverley for about 3 years when we first came back to Melbourne. It's a lovely suburb with really good schools. You will likely get a rental of about $500-600 per week. HOWEVER, when it comes to buying you will struggle to for more than 2 bedrooms on your budget. The prices there are high, as they are for most of the suburbs around there. Have a look on realestate.com.au and domain.com.au for sold prices (not listed prices) and that will give you some idea. We moved out of the area because we wanted to buy and couldn't afford that much. From what I've read the prices have come back slightly from the massive highs in the last year or two, but a 3 bed townhouse with very little land is still going to set you back close to a million, and a detached house much more. If you can give us an idea of what the of propert you are looking for, perhaps we can suggest some other areas. All kl the best.

Thanks for the reply Snifter. I'll recommend that.

Thanks again Marisa. He would be working for an Australian company, so AU$ salary. This is not an inter-company transfer from his UK role.