Help:- Where to settle in Melbourne?

[Major Tom]

Hi all,

We are doing the thing of looking at areas where to locate in Melbourne and surrounding suburbs, and we are just going around in circles TBH!!

 

We need some help and guidance from fellow Brits.

 

Looking for areas:-

 

Ease of commute to the city.

Close to coast resort.

Good schools.

Up and coming areas considered.

Rental for the first Year or so.

Close to Airport/Rail if required.

Perhaps areas where Brits have already settled.

 

i have looked at Geelong, Frankston already, but not sure.

 

Cheers MT.

[Petals]

Imagine Greater London area that is what you are looking at. If you choose Frankston for example you will be about 100 km from the airport. If you choose to live near the airport you will not be close to the beach. Where will you be working? If you want a short commute look at the public transport site and make an area of how far you would like to travel from it and look at areas within it. The closer to the CBD you are the more expensive rentals are. A lot of older property is close to the city too and often this is not insulated as they were built before laws came in requiring it and they can be cool in winter and hot in summer. The new build houses are mostly on the fringe and therefore long commute to the city. Point Cook and the new estates in the west are popular with Brits these days because they are a bit closer to the CBD. However its very flat there sort of Lincolnshireish.

 

You could look at Mordialloc, Eltham, Belgrave all nice areas with trains and you have beach with Mordialloc and hills undulating at Eltham and hills in Belgrave.

 

Good luck

[Lavalamplulie]

Bayside - expensive but everything you've asked for.

[Ali B]

wh

Edited July 3, 2015 by Ali B

[Ali B]

Where do you live in UK?

[starlight7]

Depends how much money you have- bayside suburbs are expensive. I'd be looking Eastwards if you like good schools and a pretty environment. Also- whether it is public or private schools you have in mind. There is a belt of private schools ( the best ones) in the inner East and some good ones outer east. Good sec schools (which are state and 'free') are Mt Waverley, Glen Waverley. Ringwood SC not too bad and Blackburn too. Frankston is a bit far out as is Belgrave. I wouldn't be going up into the Dandenongs, too far and the schools not that brilliant, either.

[Major Tom]

Where do you live in UK?

 

We live in Somerset, a small hamlet just outside a Town.

[Major Tom]

Depends how much money you have- bayside suburbs are expensive. I'd be looking Eastwards if you like good schools and a pretty environment. Also- whether it is public or private schools you have in mind. There is a belt of private schools ( the best ones) in the inner East and some good ones outer east. Good sec schools (which are state and 'free') are Mt Waverley, Glen Waverley. Ringwood SC not too bad and Blackburn too. Frankston is a bit far out as is Belgrave. I wouldn't be going up into the Dandenongs, too far and the schools not that brilliant, either.

 

I've been looking at Mt Waverley, and also Geelong, which would you say is the best side (if you know what I mean)?

[Petals]

Being biased I like Mount Waverley

[Major Tom]

Being biased I like Mount Waverley

 

Hi Petals,

I've been looking at rentals around this area, and it looks close enough if you want to be in CBD also. What are the trains like from here, I read someone say about being near the Frankstone line?

 

cheers MT

[starlight7]

Maybe not Geelong though it is a pretty area. If you can afford Geelong Grammar and get onto their waiting list, fine but I wouldn't fancy your chances.

[Ali B]

We live in Somerset, a small hamlet just outside a Town.

 

Cool, without any hesitation I would recommend Berwick area. South Eastern suburbs. Old Berwick is a village with a pretty Botanical Gardens and the high street has tiny shops and cafes rather than the mega stores. When you drive through the old part of Berwick you don't feel as though you are in a massive city.

 

Surrounding Berwick are new build estates but also older property too so you have a broad pick. There are motorway links from Berwick to the City (about 30-40 mins ish depending on time of day) so you'd have all the advantages of living in metropolitan Melb but not "in your face".

 

The bay to the south is easy reach from Berwick too. And the mountains up the road to the east. Vineyards to the north of Berwick. It's VERY pretty. Secondary schools in Berwick are solid (I'm a teacher) and there are private as well as public (state).

Good luck 

Edited July 5, 2015 by Ali B

[Ali B]

PS berwick area also has a decent ex-pat Brit population for support.

Edited July 6, 2015 by Ali B

[Petkula73]

The thing to remember is looking at a map can be deceiving. Melbourne is a big metropolitan area and things that look close on paper usually aren't in reality, due to traffic. As per a comment above, think of Melbourne as being the same as Greater London. If you decide to move to the west for example, you'll need to consider the frequent traffic jams over the bridge coming in and out. Same with the Nepean Highway if you are coming up from the Bayside area. It can jam up completely in the mornings.

 

I live 15 km from the CBD in Brighton, but on a bad day it can take the best part of an hour door to door getting in to work. The train is a an option, but again although the actual train journey is just over 20 min, there's the hassle of walking to and from the station which adds on time. That's fine most of the time, but Melbourne weather can be a nightmare and you really don't want to be walking on days when it's throwing it down, or 40C+. Being Melbourne, this can be on the same day...

 

Therefore, I'd discount Geelong unless you're going to work there. Nice place and great football team, but you could spend 2 hours each way commuting. For the same reason I'd discount your other option of Frankston. Frankston itself is somewhat of a mixed bag. Some very nice parts to it, and if you venture a bit further south to Mt Martha it's exceptionally nice. There are also some extremely dodgy parts around Frankston and it's often the butt of jokes for people in Melbourne.

 

In my opinion, Bayside is the best place to live, but it's not cheap by any stretch of the imagination. A bit further down there's places like Mentone, Mordialloc and Beuamaris which are also nice and the prices start to get a bit more affordable (in relative terms, this is Melbourne and NOTHING is affordable!).

 

The best advice I could give, would be don't commit yourself to anything until you have the lie of the land. For the first 6-12 months it always makes sense to rent and have the flexibility to up sticks and move around. It's a great place though, and the "bad" parts of Melbourne would be seen as good areas in London - it's all relative.

[Ali B]

PS Ive been told Berwick area also has a decent ex-pat Brit population for support.

try this link tho the pics are a bit naff!

http://berwick.harcourts.com.au/Home/Renting/Local-Info/13035

[adaminoz]

It might be worth sharing details on your (and partner's?) age, number of kids and their ages, where you will likely work and what kind of lifestyle you have or want to have.

[adaminoz]

(And what you like to do with your evenings and weekends as well)

[Petals]

Hi Petals,

I've been looking at rentals around this area, and it looks close enough if you want to be in CBD also. What are the trains like from here, I read someone say about being near the Frankstone line?

 

cheers MT

 

Mount Waverley and Glen Waverley are not near the Frankston line. If you look at the public transport site it will show you the train lines and the suburbs along them. Frankston line runs from the city down the bay to Frankston. Sandringham line runs through Elsternwick, Brighton and down the bay to Sandringham. These are the two lines closest to the bay

 

Glen Waverley and Mount Waverley are further over to the east and closer to the Burwood Highway. The Glen Waverley line is a good line to travel though.

 

The people who migrate and have the best of it are the ones who do not need to work in the Central Business District as its very easy to commute by car around the outer suburbs etc. Hence the shorter commutes belong to the very rich who can live close to the city and the outer people who work in the area around where they live.

[KiwiKaye]

Hi Petals,

I've been looking at rentals around this area, and it looks close enough if you want to be in CBD also. What are the trains like from here, I read someone say about being near the Frankstone line?

 

cheers MT

 

We live in Mt Waverley and it's about 1/2 an hour on the train from Mt Waverley station to Flinders Street. The trains run about every 7 mins in peak hour, so pretty good by Melbourne standards.

[kaiapoilady]

Hello there

 

My son lives in Berwick and he loves it, also my best friend lives in Eltham which is lovely but the houses are more expensive to buy in Eltham, however the high school is supposed to be good. Both Berwick and Eltham have good trains into the city, and lovely places to live it's great...Good Luck

[Major Tom]

Hi Guys,

We have been looking at properties and all your recommendation (Thanks @Ali B ) and we both love Berwick area. Can anyone advise what main stream schools and colleges are like (Do you have the same type of scoring OFSTED like the UK?). We have a 14yr old that is going into Yr10 in September, so want to compare, obviously we are aware he might re-do the year again when we arrive, but that's not a problem.

 

Any info you can provide would be excellent!

 

Cheers MT

[wolvesaussie]

How much cash do you have? Mount and Glen Waverly have got crazy expensive as all the Chinese are buying it up. I used to live near Eltham, that was a great place to grow up. Now live in Geelong which I also really like. If you can get a house near the station its pretty fast getting into Melbourne and the houses are loads cheaper.

[Suzukiscottie]

http://www.myschool.edu.au/

[ElToro]

Ease of commute to the city - I'd keep an eye on the rail map and also where the motorways are. This keeps a lot of options on the table however everyone has a different view on an easy commute. A West Country person may think differently from a Londoner!

Close to coast resort. - Obviously a big factor is what kind of budget you have. The bayside stretch from Brighton down to Mount Martha is beautiful but pricey. Geelong side could be a bit cheaper.

Good schools. - There's a real culture in Melbourne of private schooling. The best non-private schools are in areas of intense demand for this very reason. Great schools are everywhere.... if you're prepared to pay.

Up and coming areas considered. - There's a lot of development out west - this gives easier access to the CBD without any of the established infrastructure. Tough one to call.

 

Close to Airport/Rail if required. - Airport is not in a great place for the majority of the Melbourne population who live east or bayside. Train links are not bad.

Perhaps areas where Brits have already settled. - we're everywhere :-) Check this link out for a perspective on the multicultural influence in each area - http://www.sbs.com.au/news/map/where-australias-immigrants-were-born-melbourne

 

 

Tough to give real advice without being clouded by individual perspective or bias but hope this helps - good luck.

[akiralx]

Therefore, I'd discount Geelong unless you're going to work there. Nice place and great football team, but you could spend 2 hours each way commuting.

 

Only if you drive - the Geelong -Southern Cross trains generally take one hour, and there are now more of them since the Regional Rail Link came in, and there are plenty of available seats on all trains. I work within walking distance of Southern Cross, but if you work anywhere in the CBD it can't be much more than 20mins away?

 

I strongly recommend Geelong West, we love it here, it is a great community - loads to do, plenty of great shops, restaurants etc and close to the coast. But house prices are rising fast here also...