Ben1979

Hi all, Me & my wife + 3 year old child have recently moved to Melbourne & are renting a house in Rosanna which is a very pleasant suburb & good access to the city & my work (Campbellfield). We will hopefully be in a position to buy somewhere early next year, but house prices in this area...wow! which I know is a typical problem in most Melbourne suburbs inside the ring road anyway. I was chatting to someone at work who lives further north & she said I should have a look at Hidden Valley which is part of Wallan. I looked on realestate.com & was blown away by what you get for the money & looks liked a beautiful spot albeit a bit out from Melbourne. After further research I found Wallan has a train station which can get you to Southern Cross in 45 mins which isn't to bad considering its 30 mins from Rosanna. Its about 30 mins to my work drive so same as I do now. We are going to drive up to have look but just wondered if anyone has any experience or stories to share about this area? Thanks

Thanks for that. We have a few house viewings in the next few days so hopefully find something around this area soon! Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Hi all, we are staying in serviced apartments in Ivanhoe which seems a really nice area. We are currently looking at some properties around this area. Just wondering if anyone has experience of living in this area & what the journey to & from Campbellfield would be like? had a look in Mernda, South Morang etc but maybe a bit far out from the city. Have not checked out point cook yet or some inner west suburbs yet. What is Coburg & Pascoe Vale like as the rents seem reasonable for those areas? Thanks

Thanks all, my head is done in with 'burbs' research. The company I'm working for are putting me up for a bit so I can have a look around once I arrive. Nice to get some ideas from you all though, thanks!

Hi everyone, me my wife & our nearly 3 year old girl are moving from Sydney to Melbourne mid march due to my work requirements. I will be working in Campbellfield & was wondering if anyone could advise on best suburbs to live. We currently live in Camden area in Sydney which we like due to its semi rural kind of setting but still has good facilities & a still within decent commute to the cbd or beaches etc (depending on traffic of course). I have been doing a bit of research & so far I understand the eastern suburbs are more expensive & are considered the better suburbs to live by some of the things ive read, however I have no experience so really don't know? We will be renting at first & have a budget of $550 a week, $600 max. Most of the houses in the east seem to be very old compared to where we live now. We have looked at Point Cook which looks more like the kind of housing we have now ie new build but it seems very cheap so wondering if there is a reason why? Im not bothered about being really close to the city but still would like to be near some good amenities for my wife as she won't be working. I mentioned Point Cook to a couple of people at work & they didn't seemed to think it was a good area? although our research on it seemed to tick our boxes & it's close to the water & not too far to my work (google maps reckons 45mins max) Anyway I would like some advice from current poms living in Melbourne please ?

Hi Lisa, Yes, it would be nice to meet up so happy to organise something if you want? We are in Gregory Hills (Narellan) so maybe could meet for a coffee? We are busy next wknd but maybe after that? ? Ben

Hi all, Me & my wife have spent over 4 years in Canberra & I have recently started a new job in Prestons, Sydney so we are relocating to in early Jan. We have just secured a new house in Gregory Hills (rental). This seems a half decent area & close to my work which was important as I didn't want to contend with 1hr + travelling to work every day! We would have liked to be beachside & live the Ozzy dream, but after looking around you don't seem to get much for your money in the beach suburbs + it's now less than an hour to the beach rather than 2 as it was from Canberra so all good. Anyway just wondering if anyone lives or has any experience of living in the Camden / Narellan area & would like to meet up. We are originally from Newcastle & have a 2 year old little Ozzy girl Thanks Ben

Me, my wife & our 2 year old daughter currently live in Canberra & I have just secured a new job based in Prestons (Liverpool area) in Sydney. I start the job in 4 weeks & we are obviously going to move. We have lived here for over 4 years in Canberra & have our permanent residency. I know a little bit about Sydney but not enough to make a big decision where to live. I am aware of the traffic issues so would prefer to live somewhere which isnt going to take hours to get to work, but at the same time I want to live somewhere fairly decent i.e no major crime areas? Advice greatly appreciated!

Me & my wife have been here coming up 4 years now & have an almost 2 year old girl. Like has been said before, Canberra to you depends what you want from living, buzzing culture, nights out & sparkle it aint, but if you like the countryside, clean air, big skies & can live with a small city mentality rather than the big buzz of Sydney or Melbourne then you'll maybe enjoy it. Wouldn't want to be here if I was in my twenties at it can be a bit 'dull' but as a retired Geordie weekend party guy it suits me fine...I think I have accepted my transition into adult life & Canberra is the place to be for that! That's not to say it doesn't have a nightlife, but not the pub / nightclub lifestyle I have grown up with...all good though! & a very good place for kids to grow up. I have written about Canberra in the past on this forum to see how I felt at different stages of living here. http://www.pomsinoz.com/forum/act/155711-been-canberra-9-months-low-down.html#post1935886187

I was wondering if there are any fellow poms on here who live in Jerra or Qbn? Me & my wife have been in Canberra for 4 years now & moved to Jerra from Casey about 12 mths ago (work purposes) We have a nearly two year old girl & was wondering if there was anyone local for a meet up & maybe a beer at the Jerra tavern ?

Hi , Good luck with your move! My wife has just given birth to our child here & we have already started looking into childcare as the waiting list is massive (my wife plans to go back to work in 12 months). I cant help you on the school system / costs as we are still a few years away from looking at that! However, with regards to housing, we live north side (Casey) & Majura Park is abut 15-20 mins away from us (depending on traffic, which compared to the UK is not much). Its all new housing north side & the prices arent too bad depending on where your looking. Bonner & Forde are the newest suburbs & they're both pretty nice as is Casey where we live & Nicholls (just next to us). We like it up here in the north side, as the houses are all very new, very child friendly i.e parks, playgrounds etc & not much crime..thats not to say south side is but i'm just speaking from our experience of living north side for almost 2 years. Also if you work in Majura Park, you can leave Gungahlin (north side) on Horse Park Drive which turns into Majura Rd & hey presto your there! To be honest though Canberra is a relatively small place & doesn't suffer from major traffic issues so wherever you live you wont have too much trouble getting around. I work in Queanbeyan & it still only takes me 30 mins to get to work from Casey! Which some of my colleagues at work deem a long drive?? Anyway good luck & if you need any more help, let me know. Oh & its a good time to look at rentals as the supply is higher than the demand at the moment so rental prices north side are pretty static / lower than they were when we arrived 2 years ago Ben

Hi Callie, Jerrabomberra is probably the nicest & closest suburb for you to look at. I think the price reflects the area though so its not the cheapest, but I would certainly recommend it. I know a few people through work who live there & they all seem to like it. This is the best site to find properties in the ACT http://www.allhomes.com.au/ah/nsw/rent-residential/jerrabomberra/121450710 Good luck, Ben.