Jamie hall Posted October 13, 2012 Share Posted October 13, 2012 Hi, we move over at the beginning of Jan and fortunately my company will provide an apartment near the docklands for the first month. Unfortunately they haven't yet given any advice on where to go after the first month! I'm struggling to get a clear picture on areas to live with good primary schools and good access to trains that could get me to docklands within a 45 minute commute. We are a family of 4 with 5 and 7 year olds. Not too worried about being on top of the beach but would need parks, shops etc. budget would be 500-600 pw. Cheers! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Petals Posted October 13, 2012 Share Posted October 13, 2012 My friend's daughter works in Docklands and she lives in North Melbourne and walks to work, there is a bike path that heads down that way. Try to get on a train line as trams tend to take longer as they get stuck in the traffic. You could look at Flemington, Kensington, Pascoe Vale, although peak you would be pushing it for 45 minutes. Just getting off the train and walking to docklands time it. The suburbs around the city are mainly warehouse, apartment accommodation and with three younger ones you probably want a house. Ascotvale is ok as well and has a lot of nice old houses. Look at Port Melbourne, Albert Park, South Melbourne as you can get on the St Kilda line light rail into the city. These are lovely areas as you have access to the park, golf course, beach, lovely coffee shops etc. Wide streets which are lovely. Taking it further out you could look at Moonee Ponds which is a nice area and pricey. Have a look at the http://ptv.vic.gov.au/ site which gives all the train lines etc and the suburbs around them. Realestate.com.au and Domain.com.au are the places to look for property. Look for property with good insulation if possible, some of the older houses do not have much and they can be very cold in winter and hot in summer. There are agents around who for a fee will find suitable accommodation to suit you with type of schools you want etc. Good luck Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
matjones Posted October 14, 2012 Share Posted October 14, 2012 we have been living in North Melbourne for the past 10 months and really love it here. As petals said, it is mostly warehouse conversions and apartments in this area. We have a good size 3 bedroom townhouse for around $670/week, but have seen them below $600 too. It is ridiculously close to the CBD (only 5-7 min tram ride. 15/20min walk), and great bike path access. I frequently hop on the bike trail down to the docklands. Getting to docklands on train/tram might be a bit more of a hassle. There is a train station here, which is 1 stop (3 min) from Southern Cross, but you will have to check the schedule as some trains will bypass southern cross to hop on the city loop depending on the time of day. We don't have kids, so I wouldn't be able to advise on best schools in the area, but we do have the north Melbourne swimming pool here along with a little park across the street. Also, if you ever plan on getting a dog, there is a great fenced in dog park here too. I like to think of North & West Melbourne as the hidden gems of the inner city, but might not be best for family if you require things like a backyard for the kids to play in. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jamie hall Posted October 16, 2012 Author Share Posted October 16, 2012 Thanks, looks like we will find somewhere on the Frankston line. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TeeTMI Posted October 17, 2012 Share Posted October 17, 2012 I would suggest checking which public transport runs close to your work. Coming from the South (which you would on the Frankston line) you would need to change at Flinders Street. We live a short 15 minute commute to Flinders Street by train from the CBD (about 10kms from the CBD we are pretty close). However it can easily take another 15+ minutes to get to Southern Cross (which I think is where you would go for Docklands), you usually have to change trains as well. Last week at peak times I was stuck in a train between Southern Cross and Flinders for over 10 minutes waiting for a space to clear at the platform. I would even suggest maybe consider trying to add on another 4 weeks to the apartment you will start off at to enable you to look around a bit more at the suburbs to find an area you like. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jamie hall Posted November 14, 2012 Author Share Posted November 14, 2012 Thanks all, only 6 weeks to go and things progressing well. I really like the look of Mornington/Mount Eliza/Mount Martha - realistically using public transport it looks like a 1 1/2 hour commute to southern cross station which, if it looks as lovely in real life as it does in the photos we may end up there. (i do 1 1/2 hour commute into London from Essex at the moment so travel time not really an issue. However, other areas are still catching my eye - Point Cook (new big cheap housing), Berwick/Endeavour Hills/Oakleigh/Glen Waverly (seem to have everything except beach) Mordialloc, Aspendale, Bon beach (all for proximity to beach) Primary Schools will drive our final location and during the first few weeks of January we will be off checking out these areas. Will update the forum on our findings! :0) My company has given me the option of where we would like to live for the first couple of months (paid for by them) to get us settled and ready to find our own place to rent. Seeing as our areas are pretty varied has anyone got any suggestions on a central-ish area near public transport links to get out and about to view properties? thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
akiralx Posted November 14, 2012 Share Posted November 14, 2012 Thanks all, only 6 weeks to go and things progressing well. I really like the look of Mornington/Mount Eliza/Mount Martha - realistically using public transport it looks like a 1 1/2 hour commute to southern cross station which, if it looks as lovely in real life as it does in the photos we may end up there. (i do 1 1/2 hour commute into London from Essex at the moment so travel time not really an issue. If that commute is no problem then consider Geelong - much cheaper housing and a lovely community, plus gateway to the Great Ocean Road etc. We live in a great period house with a large garden. 1 hour direct to Southern Cross on V/Line. $59.90 per week (cheaper monthly tickets of course) - not sure what Zone 2 Metro trains are now but not much less. I can understand a new arrival wanting to live in Melbourne for a while but consider it for later. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jamie hall Posted November 16, 2012 Author Share Posted November 16, 2012 Akiralx, Thanks - we havent even looked that way - not sure why but people have been turning thier nose up any time we mentioned looking west of the bay and said just look North & South East of the docklands. Is this just a snobbish approach? Is there a south v west rivalry? personally i dont care - i'm from Essex and we have no airs and graces!!! Geelong is now on my 'hunt' list! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
matjones Posted November 16, 2012 Share Posted November 16, 2012 Hrmm.. found this interesting interactive map that might be of some use http://www.theage.com.au/national/greater-melbourne/our-liveable-city/map Issues people usually mention about the west (in particular Werribee area) that may affect your decision: - slightly higher crime rate - lack of public transport - lack of services/shops etc - properties built on or near old industrial sites, sewage works, refineries, marshland. - crappy internet - too many poms - too many bogans - too much traffic (getting out of the suburb to freeway, and on west gate bridge getting into city) Melbourne was first developed to the east of the CBD, so most of the population live out that way. Neighborhood are already well established, with good shops,services,restaurants, etc. Out west a lot of it is new development, and unless you have a car you are pretty much stuck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sally04 Posted November 17, 2012 Share Posted November 17, 2012 I would suggest checking which public transport runs close to your work. Coming from the South (which you would on the Frankston line) you would need to change at Flinders Street. We live a short 15 minute commute to Flinders Street by train from the CBD (about 10kms from the CBD we are pretty close). However it can easily take another 15+ minutes to get to Southern Cross (which I think is where you would go for Docklands), you usually have to change trains as well. Last week at peak times I was stuck in a train between Southern Cross and Flinders for over 10 minutes waiting for a space to clear at the platform. I would even suggest maybe consider trying to add on another 4 weeks to the apartment you will start off at to enable you to look around a bit more at the suburbs to find an area you like. Some trains on the frankston line go through the loop rather than going direct to Flinders. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sally04 Posted November 17, 2012 Share Posted November 17, 2012 Thanks all, only 6 weeks to go and things progressing well. I really like the look of Mornington/Mount Eliza/Mount Martha - realistically using public transport it looks like a 1 1/2 hour commute to southern cross station which, if it looks as lovely in real life as it does in the photos we may end up there. (i do 1 1/2 hour commute into London from Essex at the moment so travel time not really an issue. However, other areas are still catching my eye - Point Cook (new big cheap housing), Berwick/Endeavour Hills/Oakleigh/Glen Waverly (seem to have everything except beach) Mordialloc, Aspendale, Bon beach (all for proximity to beach) Primary Schools will drive our final location and during the first few weeks of January we will be off checking out these areas. Will update the forum on our findings! :0) My company has given me the option of where we would like to live for the first couple of months (paid for by them) to get us settled and ready to find our own place to rent. Seeing as our areas are pretty varied has anyone got any suggestions on a central-ish area near public transport links to get out and about to view properties? thanks Port Melbourne would be a good base. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Melb3000 Posted November 17, 2012 Share Posted November 17, 2012 As far as the west goes the best suburbs are Ascot Vale, Moonee Ponds and Essendon to the north and Williamstown to Yarraville in the south. Some of the suburbs surrounding Footscray are slowly undergoing gentrification as well and nowhere near as bad as they used to be. Maribyrnong to Avondale Heights have some reasonable areas as well. The rest of the western suburbs are pretty dire though, although trying not to generalise with that statement. In my opinion, Williamstown followed by the Essendon/Moonee Ponds area are probably the nicest areas in general to west of the city. Of course house prices and rental are more expensive in these areas though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TeeTMI Posted November 18, 2012 Share Posted November 18, 2012 The following web site, the Melbourne journey planner, can be very useful in assisting with journeys using public transport http://jp.ptv.vic.gov.au/ptv/XSLT_TRIP_REQUEST2?language=en Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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