Hi
We are planning to go to Melbourne too, but have no visa as yet. Our son goes to Uni this Sep and is going to come out after he's finished so similar situation to you. We hope to be able to move out end of this year, early next year depending on when we get visa and sell house, etc. Where do you live in UK? We are in Kent. There's me (46) hubby (45), Sophy (21) and Harry (18).
Lesley
Hi we are up in North Wales. Have you been to Melbourne before?
Sometimes I am not sure if these forums are a good idea having read the thread that has been started by the chap who had just arrived in Melbourne and hasn't had a good first impression!!! Just takes the edge of the excitment and makes things that bit more stressful!!!
This is my first post. Permanent residency visas came through on 28th Dec, just accepted an offer on the house and hoping to move over to Melbourne at the end of the UK school year. Me (40), hubby Craig (44), Alice (7) Angus (3)... and Ashley (20) who is going to carry on at uni in Liverpool and commute!!!! Sob sob.....
Anyway, we have narrowed our search of where to stay to Eltham... never been so all our research has been via the internet... any opinions on the area, what are the house prices like at the moment, what can we expect to pay for a rental, how long does it take to get to the coast.
Alice will have finished Yr 2 over here in the UK - what year will she join in Oz and can anyone recommend any schools in or around Eltham?
Craig is a bricklayer... any brickies living in or around Eltham that could give us some info on work availability?
So many questions, sorry but have really enjoyed reading some of the posts on this site, some great stories and tips... it's just really addictive and I've got nothing done this afternoon at all........
Thanks alot and keeping my fingers crossed there is someone in Eltham that reads this
Morag
Hi Morag,
We have just returned from a 'recce' trip to Melbourne. We too had narrowed our search down to the Eltham area. We weren't disappointed. The Yarra Valley area is beautiful.
Eltham is a very nice area, very 'suburb like' and in the country. Lots of trees and greenery. We visited the schools whilst there and were impressed. Housing looks good, not necessarily cheap, but we will be renting for a while anyhow.
I will be going out on 457 visa with the company I currently work for (moving to there Melbourne office) and my wife Helen, daughter Chloe (10) and son Shaun (8) will be joining me. We should be out there for the end of June.
We can't wait.
I will get back to you in a few days with some links and other info if you want.
We have just returned from a 'recce' trip to Melbourne. We too had narrowed our search down to the Eltham area. We weren't disappointed. The Yarra Valley area is beautiful.
Eltham is a very nice area, very 'suburb like' and in the country. Lots of trees and greenery. We visited the schools whilst there and were impressed. Housing looks good, not necessarily cheap, but we will be renting for a while anyhow.
I will be going out on 457 visa with the company I currently work for (moving to there Melbourne office) and my wife Helen, daughter Chloe (10) and son Shaun (8) will be joining me. We should be out there for the end of June.
We can't wait.
I will get back to you in a few days with some links and other info if you want.
Regards,
Pete
Hi Pete
Great to hear you liked Eltham and you were impressed by the schools - were the schools you looked at state schools? Would welcome any links or info that you picked up. Was there many rental properties in that area?
Good luck with your move and thanks again for the feedback.
Hi there guys! What part of North Wales you from? Hubby and I are from Prestatyn and are heading to Melbourne June/July ish if house sale goes through. Hubby is a builder as well.
We are in St Asaph! Have you got work to go to out there? We have read mixed reports about the availability of work for brickies - but you've just got to get out there and see for yourself.
Hope your house sale goes through okay - we are in that process too and just keeping our fingers crossed that nothing goes wrong! All very stressful but hopefully it will be worth it. We haven't got our rose tinted glasses on though - we know that it is going to be hard work and the grass is not always greener on the other side and all that but it's got to be whole lot better than this country!
Hi Morag St Asaph hey, small world aint it!! Hubby and I have been out to Melbourne a couple of times and just fell in love with it. Have heard Eltham is nice, we looked at Narre Warren and Berwick areas which are very nice and only about 45 mins to city. There is work out there, its just one of those things, once there you will be sorted. When are you hoping to be out there by? Our house sale has fallen through twice so fingers crossed it will be third time lucky! Its horrible just waiting though. If all goes through plan to go around july'ish.
Hi, I live in the Eastern Suburbs, in the Park Orchards area. Eltham is not too far from here, about 20min drive. Its a nice family orientated area, I know a few families who live there and they would recommend it. As for affordability of homes, well that depends on how much you have to spend! The real estate web site is the place to look.
How far is it to the beach? Depends which beach you want to go to. St Kilda in the city would probably take about 40mins or so, Mornington on the Penninsula would probably take 1 1/2hours ish, but when they open the Eastern Freeway (should be July ) it will reduce this time down.
State schools are good in the area. Greensborough is close to Eltham and this is also another good family area. Anywhere in the Eastern suburbs is family orientated.
Not sure about bricklaying, my husband is a carpenter and our friend is a brickie and neither of them have had a problem getting work so it shouldn't be too much of a problem. It is important to know though that he may need to register as a builder and that this is quite involved and has meant that my husband who has been a chippie for over 20 yrs has had to go back to college. He will then have to be assessed by the govt. to see if he can build. This only applies if you want to set up your own business and I think if he wants to do jobs for more than $12,000. Not sure about that last bit though. If you want more info on this let me know and I will try and give you a bit more detail in depth.
Hi, I live in the Eastern Suburbs, in the Park Orchards area. Eltham is not too far from here, about 20min drive. Its a nice family orientated area, I know a few families who live there and they would recommend it. As for affordability of homes, well that depends on how much you have to spend! The real estate web site is the place to look.
How far is it to the beach? Depends which beach you want to go to. St Kilda in the city would probably take about 40mins or so, Mornington on the Penninsula would probably take 1 1/2hours ish, but when they open the Eastern Freeway (should be July ) it will reduce this time down.
State schools are good in the area. Greensborough is close to Eltham and this is also another good family area. Anywhere in the Eastern suburbs is family orientated.
Not sure about bricklaying, my husband is a carpenter and our friend is a brickie and neither of them have had a problem getting work so it shouldn't be too much of a problem. It is important to know though that he may need to register as a builder and that this is quite involved and has meant that my husband who has been a chippie for over 20 yrs has had to go back to college. He will then have to be assessed by the govt. to see if he can build. This only applies if you want to set up your own business and I think if he wants to do jobs for more than $12,000. Not sure about that last bit though. If you want more info on this let me know and I will try and give you a bit more detail in depth.
Thanks for this - will have a look at the other places you mentioned. Good to know about the new Eastern Freeway. Would be interested to know about the need for registration as we haven't looked into that much yet - although I have read that there are different types of 'cards'. Craig has had his skills assessed as part of the Visa but no doubt there are still more hoops that need to be jumped through when we are there. Is there any chance your friend could give us an idea of the rates for brickies at the moment.
Hi Morag St Asaph hey, small world aint it!! Hubby and I have been out to Melbourne a couple of times and just fell in love with it. Have heard Eltham is nice, we looked at Narre Warren and Berwick areas which are very nice and only about 45 mins to city. There is work out there, its just one of those things, once there you will be sorted. When are you hoping to be out there by? Our house sale has fallen through twice so fingers crossed it will be third time lucky! Its horrible just waiting though. If all goes through plan to go around july'ish.
Take it easy
Sarah
Hi Sarah I think there is quite a few people around here who are taking the plunge and there will probably be a few more after the programme that was on TV last night about Peterborough!!
I have never been to Oz, Craig has been twice and loved it so it's good to hear that you fell in love with Melbourne. It does sound great but it is like anywhere else I'm sure - good bits and bad bits, just hopefully more good than bad! We are hoping to go out at when Alice our 7 year old finishes school in July. We have registered with a house sitting site to see if we can get a house sit for someone for a couple of months - save some money and got somewhere to go to straight away. If not we have found some properities through this website down on the Mornington Pennisula which look fine for a short term rent. Just keen to get something sorted for at least the first 6 weeks before we go - particulary with kids in tow!
Our house sale is going through at the moment but we are trying to find our deeds which seem to have been lost by our mortgage lender!!! The lady who is buying our house is 92 can you believe so it is a bit nerve wracking at the moment. Hope your house goes through for you.
Hi Morag, I stumbled across your post and I may be of some assistance. I have lived in Eltham, Victoria most of my life. I am 50 and married with two kids: one who attends Eltham high school (public) and the other is in primary school.
Real estate affordability is relative, it is probably a bit more expensive than surrounding suburbs, but it is considered more desirable, this site gives a median value for the area.
Housing affordability in Australia is ridiculous and out of proportion to income, since 1988 wages have increased by 120% and housing by 400%, for the first time in Australian history the current generation of young people can no longer expect to own their own home (a fact). Two hundred and fifty mortgages are foreclosed every month in Victoria and that statistic is based on interest rate rises implemented in 2007 (and it is tipped to get worse). Provincial Victoria is far more affordable but does not have all that the big cities have to offer. This is a link to the local newspaper and you can find links off the site to local papers from other areas.
With regards to finding work as a bricklayer: I don't think there would be any problem finding work, as far as I know bricklayers are always in demand and paid quite well (but not a lot of building activity in Eltham itself). This is the public employment agency and there are a lot of other private ones.
As a footnote: Eltham is credited with starting the mud brick revolution in Australia and there are many interesting buildings made from them in the area. This is a link to the local shire council.
It is a nice place to live and raise a family, it is very green and there are lots of sporting clubs and parks. It is about forty minutes by car to a beech. With regards to public transport: the train to and from the city of Melbourne arrives a few times every hour and there are buses which go in most other directions. You will probably need a car, particularly if you have kids, because everything is rather spread out and a lot of Eltham is quite hilly. The last time I bought petrol it was about $1.40(au) per liter, I use LPG which is about .65 per liter.
As a by-product of tree conservation, there is a rich tapestry of birds and wildlife, which in the past has attracted some artistic characters to the area and inspired their work, it has also influenced a lot of building design.
Shopping facilities are adequate, there are two supermarkets and various other shops, although Eltham is not a major shopping center, the nearest would be Greensborough two stations away by train, or ten minutes by car, this is a link to a website run by the Eltham traders.
I am involved with the local cricket club and if you want to have a look at my neglected site eltham.com › there are some sports photos.
Anyway if you need any specific info, or photos let me know.
Cheers.
