Renting In Melbourne

[Kelbo]

Me and my wife and son are moving to Melbourne in 6 weeks time. I'm being sponsored by a company on a 457 visa who are providing accommodation for the first 4 weeks. As soon as we arrive we are going to look for a house to rent. I quite like the look of Point Cook, Williamstown, Altona and also Geelong. I'm working in Melbourne CBD so not sure if Geelong to far out.

Can anyone tell me if these suburbs are suitable for a young family? Do all rentals come unfurnised? We were hoping for a furnished house, is this unlikely? Thanks for any advice you have.

[Ali,Gail & Ellie]

We're planning to move to Melbourne in early '09 (which seems some way off at the moment....) but made the trip in November predominantly to get our visas stamped and get a better feel for the place....

We only spent a few days in Melbourne (checked out Sydney and Adelaide) so don't take what I say as gospel but I would suggest that Geelong would be a long commute every day - though I guess it depends what you are used to. We liked the look of the south eastern suburbs. They do seem to be more expensive but the transport links seem to be better to the city...

Not really in a postion to answer your other questions I'm afraid so probably haven't been much use...! All the best anyway when the move comes round..

[Life on easy street]

I have driven to Geelong on the way to the great coast road
It would certainly be a long commute.

It would be the last few miles into the city in the morning that would be the
Biggest delay.
and dont forget the cost of the toll road!

So unless you work flexy time look at some ware closer to the CBD.

There is a train service to melbourn from Geelong but not sure how good it is.

[SabineSch]

Hi,

we want to move to melbourne as well, but we still have a long way to go! Just finished the skills assessment and want to send it next week.

There are plenty of great suburbs to take a look at close to the city. Have a look at www.whereis.com.au for a map..
Here’s some suburbs that I can think of at the moment
Elwood
St Kilda
Albert Park
Carlton
Prahran
Fitzroy
Collingwood (can have some rough parts but trendy in others)
Brunswick
Richmond
Hawthorn

I know a family that lives in Greensborough which is about 20 kms from the city and is mainly a family type suburb. Loads of pensioners and children!

It must be a great feeling to know that the dream finally came true! I cant wait to have that feeling! :)

Sabine

[AJB]

Dear Kelbo

We have a fully furnished 3 bedroom rental house which would suit your short term needs while you look for something more permanent. The house is located in McCrae on the Mornington Peninsula. It is still one hour from Melb. but a great family location and only 800 metres from Mccrae beach.

If interested send me your email address and I can send you photos of the house, tariif and a brief description of the area. Also send me the dates you would like to rent to see if the dates match up. March is fairly free at the moment.

Regards

Andrew

[T and family]

hi we are the rigby family with kids 5 and 8 we took head to melbourne on a 457 on the 14th marchfor 4 weeks serviced and then rental in point cook !! we are hoping to buy there around xmas.. its and huge family area the estates are being build with young families in mind and its around a 40 min commute to the cbd for hubby by train or 1hr good going by car
we have looked at schools and there are 5 in the 10 minute drive belt ... in oz there are no catchment areas so you just pick the school you want ... u are like us will be paying for your schooling fees...
we wish you luck and may see you on route... can i ask who you are going out to work with we are fujitsui... wish you luck Tracey and Family

[T and family]

ps all rentals are unfurnished they come under serviced rentals ie apartments point cook does have serviced houses at sancturay lakes at around $250 per night.. if you want more info i can let you know...
we are going to have to extend our serviced rental by 2 plus weeks till the container arrives before we get into a house...
ig et the feeling we are both on the same journey??

[dannyboy]

Kelbo,

We currently rent in Hampton which is around 20 - 30 mins drive from the CBD. I would suggest looking around the south eastern suburbs, it's near the beach, good schools etc. The train lines also run along the bay, so I would look at the connex train map and as a guide for you, Hampton takes around 30 mins... Geelong is a long drive and it's over the Westgate bridge and is a pain during rush hour, although Williamstown is nice but it has no beaches..... (more rocks than sand).

Have a look at these suburbs on realestate.com.au at rentals
Gardenvale
Hampton
Brighton
Mordialic
Cheltenham
Highett
Richmond (not so near to the beach)

Rentals are generally not furnished but certain agents do deal with furnished places, so it's work looking at realestate.com.au to check. Most do reply to emails and they are better than the UK (in my view)

Hope this helps....

Dan

[T and family]

we have looked that side and keep coming back to point cook

[Kathy&Niall]

Hi, Sandringham is lovely, community feel, lovely beach and has a direct train to the CBD which takes 20 mins tops. Along that stretch of coastline is lovely so Hampton, Brighton (although pricey), Beaumaris, Elwood etc would all be good for you. We are moving out there in April on a employee visa too. Good luck
Kathy & Niall