buzzy--bee

On 9/15/2017 at 19:39, jaykay89 said:

Secondly in terms of places to rent, I am hoping to find somewhere within a 45minute commuting distance of the CBD, where I will be working and ideally somewhere reasonably close to the coast. I have looked at the St. Kilda area and heard mixed reviews. We would be looking for a modern furnished two bedroom apartment to start with. Can anyone give any insight on areas that might fit this criteria?

Try Prahran, South Yarra, Hawthorn, WIndsor, Richmond, Brunswick.  If you want to be by the beach, all the bayside suburbs from Brighton South are very nice.

Hi Unzippy, most people who stay in our furnished apartment stay for 4 weeks, and pretty much always find a rental within this time.  We have had people who have booked for 2 weeks and then been forced to take a long-term rental that wasn't ideal as it was the only one available at short notice.

Good luck and feel free to ping me if you need somewhere to stay.

BB

There is also the Big4 at Frankston

On 7/19/2017 at 19:22, starlight7 said:

It is something the government needs to deal with.  You only have to look at the increased number of beggars round the CBD of Melbourne to realise that things are crook . Overseas non- residents are part of the problem and so is negative gearing but the government hasn't got the will or fortitude to do anything at all.  It will only get worse.

Negative gearing keeps rents down as effectively the government subsidises the rent.  If negative gearing was removed rents would need to go up by 10 - 20% to cover the shortfall. 

On 7/5/2017 at 06:06, Australia123go said:

Hello all, 

i have submitted my application for a 189 Skills Visa just over a week ago. I know that realistically it could take 3-4 months for approval however I am keen to get searching for accommodation in Mel for when I arrive. I will be shipping a part container and have been told that could take up to 10-12 weeks so I probably need a short term let for 2 months while I wait for it to arrive. Where do I start? Serviced apt in the city are 200-250 a day and I can't afford this so what did you all do for accommodation when you all moved out to Australia initially? Did you book in advance or wait for your grant or different? I'm conscious that with summer arriving around the time I hope to get there everything will be booked up -  any tips or advice is appreciated- thanks 

We may be able to help with accommodation depending on your dates.  I'll send you a PM.

8 hours ago, sunshinedawn said:

Thanks for the information, but it will not be big enough for us (we are a family of 3) and it's too far from husband's office he's based in the CBD.

 

Hi Dawn, we can accommodate 3 although really only if the 3rd one is a baby or toddler!

As far as being too far from the CBD, hundreds of people commute from where we are every day.  Not sure how long a commute you are looking for, we are about 45 mins.  Many people commute for well over an hour each way.

7 minutes ago, The Pom Queen said:

I can verify @buzzy--bee is genuine, when we owned a relocation company in Melbourne we used his property on numerous occasions.

Thank you - glad to be of service!

Hi, well we're not a company as such, just a "mum and dad" operation, but if you PM me your email address I would be happy to email you details.  Over the last 7 years we have helped people from all over the world start their new lives in Melbourne.

On 6/30/2017 at 02:31, sunshinedawn said:

 

My OH has had his contract of employment sent to him and it says that they will pay for 3 months accommodation but we have to find it. Ideally we want furnished as we can't send anything out if we don't have an address to forward it to. Can anyone advise what's the best way to go around this.

 

 

 

 

Hi, some accommodation providers (such as ourselves) will offer use of their address as an Australian postal address, even before you arrive.

On 6/13/2017 at 02:20, unzippy said:

We both work in IT in London earning about £85k jointly and hope to get similar roles in Melb.   We enjoy the multiculturalism of our suburb, we have awesome turkish/indian/vietnamese/japanese/chinese food shop and restaurants.

 

I also came from London working in IT.  There's a lot of suburbs that would fit your bill.  Coburg I reckon would be somewhere to consider for instance.

St Kilda is very edgy, bit like Notting Hill, mix of wealth and grunge.  South Yarra and Prahran might too.

7 hours ago, NickyNook said:

Melbourne is on an equivalent latitude to Lisbon and Athens in the Northern Hemisphere.

Would you describe Lisbon and Athens as having similar weather to London? 

 

I regularly compare Melbourne's weather to the Mediterranean.  @Fosh  - in my garden I grow olives, lemons, limes, oranges, grapes and mandarins very successfully.  My wife planted some plants with massive leaves (cant remember what they are called) that cannot tolerate frost, they have prospered so that in 5 years since planting they are really too big.  With very hot summers and hot autumns, where sometimes it doesn't rain at all for weeks on end, the fruit trees that are traditionally Mediterranean thrive, although you do need to keep them well watered!  Winter is cooler, even then many days can be sunny in the high teens and it never gets "hats and gloves" cold.  Please don't be put off by comments about the weather, you'll be fine here!

Hi Fosh, we moved from London to Melbourne 10 years ago.  I work in IT.

We also shortlisted Brisbane and Melbourne and did reccies to both, but Melbourne won by miles.  Some of the reasons -

- The weather.  I like the seasons and I don't like humidity.  Melbourne is like UK weather + 10 degrees.  We dont get snow or frost in winter, we do get a summer that lasts several months.  Spring and Autumn have a lot of very pleasant days too, often into the high 20s / 30s.
- The beaches.  In Brisbane it is hard to live within walking distance of a nice beach and an easy commute of the CBD.  Brisbane's best beaches are the Gold and Sunshine Coasts which are too far for an easy commute.  In Melbourne we can walk to a stunning beach and we are well under 1 hour commute from work.
- The work opportunities.  Far far more numerous in the corporate world in Melbourne.  And without income, it doesn't matter how good the weather is, you will only be able to stay until your savings run out.
- The city.  Melbourne is lovely to live in, beautiful parks, wide tree lined streets, trams, pavement cafes.

No regrets 10 years in.

If you are working in Moorabbin depending on your budget you might consider Cheltenham, Highett, Mentone, Parkdale, Mordialloc, Keysborough.

All a short commute with schools, shops etc. Some better than others, closer to the beach and the city the better.

There is a lot of Frankston. It has various areas such as Frankston North, Frankston South, Frankston Heights etc etc. Some parts are better than others. Frankston South is largely massive family houses on 2/3 acre blocks, some with clifftop sea views. Frankston North is not like that at all! So pick your bit of Frankston and you'll be OK.

Hello! Thinking about moving to Victoria, deciding where to live is no mean feat, there's so many areas that its frazzling my brain!

 

Criteria would be around $400 pw. Not a million miles from Melbourne or the beach and not too quiet (there's 3 of us age range from 27 to 47 so would want a bit of nightlife

 

Can anyone help please.

A reasonable 3-bed house in Frankston can be had for 400pw. Also Carrum Downs (further from the beach)

I offered the asking price in quite a competitive area. The agent called and said I was the successful applicant but then went on to say the wanted additional $ per week! I managed to negotiate halfway, I wasn't happy but just wanted to settle so could not be bothered looking anymore.

This is probably not legal.

As a landlord, I allow cats in my properties. But my agents do not advertise this for some reason. So best to ask.

If you can pay 6 months rent in advance then you will be ahead of almost every other applicant.

Elizabeth Murdoch is supposed to be OK if you can get your kids into the special clever kids program (I'm not sure exactly what it is called but you get the gist). If your kid isn't in this then I don't think Elizabeth Murdoch is very good.

Mentone down to Seaford would fit the bill. More house for your money the further you move out. Your budget would get you a 3 bed townhouse with not much garden in Parkdale or a 3 bed old wooden house with a bigger garden.

I have several friends who have bought houses in Langwarrin mainly because of the value for money factor. They love it.

Indeed. I have a huge circle of English friends who live in Langwarrin and enjoy their lives there.

If I had your budget I would definitely buy there.

BB

Hi Louise, you will definitely get into your local public (state) school as they are obliged to take you if you live in zone (and not all schools are zoned). In the Peninsula areas you are looking in there are some good schools - Frankston High (public) has a good reputation although a very small zone. Derinya is a very good primary school.

Mount Martha and Mount Eliza are nice, Sandhurst you may find yourselves very isolated as it is essentially a housing estate with few facilities and you would have to get in a car for everything.

BB

Winter is freezing - I was going to work in thick winter coats and felt very much like I was back at home, perhaps not as cold as our winters but definately as grey and I'd say day time temperaures averaged about 6-10 when we were there.

This is not our experience of winter in Melbourne.

BB

Can you recommend which area is nice in Frankston? or is it just a big avoid area?;-)

Frankston South is the best bit, the nearer you get to Mount Eliza (border with Humphries road) the better. Frankston heights is OK, the area between Cranbourne Road and the High School is OK, the area around Kars Street is OK. Frankston North is probably best avoided, Karingal is probably too, although it is coming up. Centre of Frankston is mainly commercial, not many people live there.

HTH

BB

Thank you.

 

I like the idea of living near the beach but of course my husbands job would come first so the commute couldn't be too far for him.

 

I heard Frankston was a little scary at night, very rough, is that not the case now? It looks a beautiful place.

There is a lot of Frankston - many different parts of it, some better than others. The beach is lovely there, as are most of the beaches between there and the city for various reasons.

One of the reasons we chose Melbourne was so we could live within walking distance of a beautiful beach, while being within commuting distance of a major city.

BB

I reckon the suburb that is going to benefit most from this link as far as commutability goes is Langwarrin.

BB