City of Bayside - Melbourne

On the 14th day of December, 1994 a new municipality was created to form the City of Bayside.

This is now comprised of the former City of Brighton, the former City of Sandringham and part of the former City of Mordialloc west of Charman Road (the Beaumaris area) and part of the City of Moorabbin between the railway and Charman Road.  
The City of Bayside is one of the most popular areas of Melbourne spanning across 17km of prime beachfront overlooking the beautiful Port Phillip Bay. The population in 2016 was 102,737.
The City of Bayside is classed as the middle suburbs of Melbourne and overall covers 37.4275sqkm and the distance to the CBD ranges from 8km to 20km.
Bayside is split in to 3 wards.

Northern Ward
Which incorporates: Brighton and Brighton East

Central Ward
Which Incorporates: Hampton, Hampton East, Highett and Cheltenham.

Southern Ward
Which incorporates: Sandringham, Black Rock and Beaumaris

The City of Bayside is primarily a residential area, which includes the suburbs of Beaumaris, Black Rock, Brighton, Brighton East, Cheltenham, Cromer, Dendy, Hampton, Hampton East, Highett, Moorabbin and Sandringham. 
As mentioned previously the City of Bayside has Port Phillip Bay forming the Western Boundary and the Nepean Highway/Frankston Railway line forming the majority of the Eastern Boundary.

One must remember that Bayside is a suburb located in the City of Knox and new arrivals often confuse the two. We have witnessed a number of new arrivals picking up their hire car and plotting the address for their short term accommodation only to realise that it is over 40 minutes away from the beachside area in which they presumed they had booked. To confuse things even more there is also a City of Bayside in Western Australia. Thankfully we haven’t been made aware of anyone arriving in the wrong state.

We have provided you with the facts and figures of the City Council of Bayside, for most that is the most boring part so let’s get down to the exciting part, life in the City of Bayside.

It has to be said that the City of Bayside is the most beautiful and idyllic area of Melbourne. If budget isn’t an issue then there would be no better area to settle.
Only 10km  from the City of Melbourne and the Frankston train line passing through it has everything you could ever dream of.
Miles and miles of unspoilt beaches with crystal blue shallow waters making it one of the safest child friendly beaches in Victoria. Take a stroll along the seafront to Dendy Street Beach located in Brighton and admire the colourful iconic bathing boxes of years gone by. How about taking it one step further and secure your own piece of history, they may not have a bedroom, kitchen or utilities but they have the most sensational views in all of Melbourne with the last one selling in December 2016 for $326,000. It is just a shame you have to share the beach with the public and tourists stopping by for that photo opportunity. In fact the Beach Boxes are probably the most photographed icon in Melbourne. Unfortunately paying well over a quarter of a million doesn’t even give you the privilege of spending a night on the beach. The council laws have placed plenty of covenants on owning such a valuable piece of history.

When we first arrived in Melbourne we secured a house swap for 8 weeks based in Beaumaris. There is no denying that the area is highly desirable, unfortunately this places the City of Bayside out of reach for many couples and families. The home we stayed in was valued at $1.8 million and that was in 2014. Out of all the City of Bayside suburbs we would say Cheltenham and Moorabbin are going to be most reasonable when it comes to purchasing property. Before we focus on what each Bayside Suburb can offer here is a quick look at the median property prices for the area based on November 2017 data.

Brighton 
Sales - 4 bed - $3,130,000
Rents – 4 bed - $1400pw

Beaumaris 
Sales – 4 bed - $1,726,250
Rents – 4 bed - $935pw

Hampton
Sales – 4 bed - $2,086,000
Rents – 4 bed - $1,095

Highett
Sales – 4 bed - $1,400,000
Rent – 4 bed - $739

Sandringham 
Sales – 4 bed - $1,800,000
Rent – 4 bed - $1,100

Cheltenham 
Sales – 4 bed - $1,165,000
Rent – 4 bed - $655

Moorabbin 
Sales – 4 bed - $1,188,000
Rent – 4 bed - $650

As these are the most popular suburbs for expats moving to the City of Bayside we will focus on these over the next few pages. If you require information on suburbs we have missed please post on www.pomsinoz.com in the Victoria section and a number of locals will be more than happy to answer any questions you have.