furkew

about 18 months ago, everybody was forecasting house prices to drop massively, and the economy to be in a very sad state of affairs, but after a slight drop in prices, they have firmed back up again to the same or above. admittedly the economy is not in great shape, but where Australian retailers suffered with strong overseas currencies causing a lot of Australians to shop online from overseas companies, that has changed with currencies getting stronger, and retailers having to work on lower margins to compete. There are so many determining factors in Australia that can affect the economy, everything is possible, but Its a lot of "ifs" and "buts" as well.

Probably too short notice as you guys are arriving quite soon, but we bought from a car dealer before arrival a second hand car (2 years old) and they delivered it to us at the airport on arrival. I researched prices for the car on the second hand market, haggled online and got (what I felt) a good deal and paid firstly a deposit and then the final sum just before departing. I was RACV checked by the dealer as well. Insurance organized online. It saved us car hire for at least 1 week maybe even 2 and we didn't waste days traveling all over looking at cars with bored kids in the back of the car. Totally agree about sat nav. Don't buy oz maps on your present unit, it's cheaper to just buy a new unit over here.

Studying don't worry, my wife is Dutch and after living over here for 6 years she still makes mistakes in her grammar and spoken English. a Ak people to correct you, because if you keep making the same mistake in the beginning, its difficult to change after a couple of years. youll be surprised how quick you pick it up once living here.

welcome aboard Valentina, and good luck with the visa application. there is plenty of info on here about both visa applications and Perth, so have a good search, but if you cant find it, just ask a few questions, and you will get plenty of answers.

everybody has there own personal preferences, so my personal preference is different to everybody else. I live in Monbulk in the Dandenongs, and love it. great small town mentality, everybody knows everybody else, and will always help out, but also a major bonus for me is that I work 3km down the road, and the wife has her own business in town now. For somebody else, its not got great public transport links, and its just a bit too far from the CBD for most people to happily want to commute, and the bush fire risk is pretty high. Ill try to give as much info as I can. The basin, Montrose, lilydale, mount evelyn (and other towns in this area) Heres the train line from Lilydale http://ptv.vic.gov.au/assets/Maps/Routes/PDFs/9_Lilydale.pdf Not 100% on the best route if travelling by car, but expect it might be via the eastlink or even over yarra glen if you will be working near the airport. plenty of good schools in lilydale that I know of, good ameneties and if you are looking for more trees, scenery, space, I would probably look towards mount evelyn, outer edges of lilydale or even silvan or Seville (but these will make commuting just over an hour) Ferntree gully, Belgrave, Belgrave south, upwey, tecoma http://ptv.vic.gov.au/assets/Maps/Routes/PDFs/2_Belgrave.pdf ferntree gully has nice areas, but upper gully is much greener and is on the edge of the Dandenong ranges. The rest are further up the hill but before you hit the main forest. again all have decent ameneties close at hand with again decent schools within short distances and good road and train links to the CBD (less than 60 minutes approx.) all the above mentioned places do have a higher bush fire risk, but not too bad when compared to lots of places further in the hills & ranges. Belgrave is a bit "hippy" but has some great shops, cafes and bars. It even has its own wizard if you want to go a bit further into the hills, you then have Kallista, the patch and Monbulk. because of the higher altitude and the hills catching a lot of clouds, temperatures are always lower and rainfall much higher. Winters can be frosty and cold. bushfire risk because of the forest of 100ft tall gum trees. plus points are lower rents and house prices. lots of 10 acre blocks with houses around $600k and upwards. fantastic views from many properties, wildlife everywhere. Pakenham, Pakenham upper, Berwick macclesfield emerald, cockatoo don't know too much about the first three to give real detailed info, but they are on the edge of the city sprawl, and Berwick especially is popular with the poms. it has an old town and new town, good road links and reasonable commute to the city. There are dozens of threads about Berwick, so maybe do a search. Pakenham, Pakenham upper are a little bit further away from the more built up areas, but are going to be very popular in a few years time IMO. again don't know too much, but it is nice and flat there, and very green. emerald & cockatoo are both firmly seated in the Dandenong ranges. They can be a bit bogan with a few rough characters including a Hell's angel clubhouse in cockatoo, but that's a minority.The bush fire risk is however probably highest in these 2 towns, but all that said, fantastic countryside, real bang for your buck if buying a property, emerald has excellent schools and amenities as well as great sporting amenities as well. I personally wouldn't live in either town because of the bush fire risk being too high, but I have dozens of friends who do live in the towns, and its all part of living in the hills. Here in Monbulk, because its a very large growing community (flowers, plants, fruit & vegetable, we have far more cleared areas, therefor a lower bushfire risk) Macclesfield is half flat, half hilly, and very horsey. it is a bit more expensive than many surrounding towns, but great views and generally large blocks make it worth the extra. If I were to move, I think Macclesfield would be one high up the list because the wife loves her horses (but cant afford one ), or otherwise a little bit of acreage out silvan or Seville, but I don't have to worry about commuting and my boys are now 15 and 18 so either driving or very easy about using public transport (they have a 45 minute bus journey to school every day) drop in on the life in Victoria forum as well. There are members that live in Berwick, the basin etc. they might be able to offer a bit of advice on their areas.

If you are heading east (west has nothing really until Geelong) you will be looking at 45 minutes minimum commute and in reality closer to 60minutes for most. The basin, Montrose, lilydale, mount evelyn etc all have a main train connection close by for easy commuting into the CBD. Ferntree gully, Belgrave, Belgrave south, tecoma etc are all on the Belgrave line, but also driveable via the monash (ferntree gully road or Wellington road) Pakenham, Pakenham upper, Berwick, emerald, cockatoo etc all require a commute by car of about 60 minutes as well. The bonus living a bit further out, is that rents and house prices are lower and generally lots more space/land but one downside can be that some of the above mentioned places do have a higher bushfire risk.

I'm not going to argue the toss about ned because its a never ending discussion. He is still an Australian folk hero and biggs is a british folk hero.

The OP asked about living in smaller towns or rural without a car. Its very simple. you need 2 cars. new or old doesn't matter, but without 2 cars its not practical (and living rural if one is a Ute it's a bonus)

well done. But, Ive got a life and Ronnie biggs and a lot of the London crims were a part of my early years as a youngster, and it was no different to how the aussies think about Ned Kelly. (born and bred cockney, and know more than you will ever read in the daily mail)

If its the Dandenong ranges, more than happy to offer a few recommendations for accommodation & places to visit. (we prefer bookings for a week and longer) plenty of lovely places in Olinda & some of the other small towns higher up the mountain. just had a meal at Kelly's in Olinda, and for very good affordable food, definitely on my list to recommend.

wrong and wrong IMO. I live on the edge of melly and its alive and kicking. Not rural and remote. The Cities are where its being killed off, but get outside the sprawl and hit the normal country towns and its normal.

http://www.koalanet.com.au/australian-slang.html I use a lot of these terms daily and more (but they will probably get me banned on this forum)

You will find your budget is going to be your first hurdle. Something half decent furnished including the peak period is going to cost (I would guestimate) at least $350.00 per week. also, a property owner can never guarantee 3-4 years up front, because of the circumstances of the property owner can change. (they might guarantee it verbally to lock you in initially of course) I think the suggestion Petals makes, buy and rent out is maybe a good option. Firstly it will be a return on your investment if rented out, but also gives you a foot on the property ladder over here, and anything bought now is guaranteed worth more in 5 years time if you want to sell up and move on.

I recently bought a car (it was from a private seller) and when I picked it up, it wouldn't start, the body panels have rust holes in them, the fuel tank has a leak and the brakes don't even work!!!! and that is just what I have found so far. I better get to work fixing my new project I suppose I still think its the best $800 I ever spent.

they were saying the same over a year ago when house prices were looking unstable. too many families have high mortgages and cant afford to lose income, otherwise they risk falling behind on mortgage payments. Its an accident waiting to happen IMO, especially in the suburbs mentioned. All new builds, young families and many in trades were jobs are at risk with the downturn in the economy.

I would look at anaconda for LED head torches. Anything else lights of LED based check out LED's unlimited. Based in mornington. They have a great range of LED based lights, torches, car lights etc. Used them a couple of times and the products are great value and excellent quality. (Not cheap Chinese rubbish)

Sounds like you might be able to squeeze another grand out of it. Throw it out there to both that have put bids in. Tell them that the first to accept your offer gets the house. (Can't help myself, I buy and sell as a profession)

personally If you are happy with the price you can sell for in the UK and once sold, the exchange rate will help you get onto the Australian property ladder, I would go for it. why take the risk of prices dropping locally or rising in Sydney, exchange dropping, throwing away $500/$750 p.w. on rent while in Sydney. too many negatives IMO.

Melbourne IMO is a great place to live, especially if you live on the fringe (as we do on the eastern side) great places to visit, great people, and just a short drive to awesome beaches, scenery or even snow. Geelong is a good sized city that I have actually read almost only good things about on the various expat sites. If you have researched Geelong, and it ticks your boxes, go for it. If you decide at any point it isn't what you expected, then you can look elsewhere. Its as easy as that over here. also, if the chopper in your avatar is coming with you, or you are planning on building one over here, then Geelong is just before the start of the great ocean road, and that is one awesome road to travel on, on 2 wheels. its a win win situation.

its bin day monday, and ive been renovating. better get my balaclava out and fill everybody's bins tomorrow night when its dark

I would think a lot depends on where you live as well. We live in a small town on the outer edge of Melbourne and none of our neighbours would give a hoot if you used their bins without asking. everybody knows everybody else, and are prepared to help each other in any way they can. a bonus that we have on our street as well, is that it used to be 2 shires at one time and the rubbish gets collected on the opposite side of the road on a Friday and our side on a Monday. We can actually wheel our bins over the road, and the shire MUST empty them. (we pay for 2 sets of bins because of our rental unit, so don't need to do so BTW)

if you have just 3 days, it will be difficult to put the 4x4 to good use. If you have the time, I would recommend heading out towards the high country (dargo/Walhalla/woods point etc) and explore some of the fantastic countryside out there, but you would lose half a day travelling each way. Happy to give you more tips if you feel you have time. really, I would look at maybe spending a day on Philip island, head out to Healesville maybe or otherwise head in the opposite direction and spend a couple of days around the otways and the great ocean road. just thought of another one. We have also stayed at Halls gap lakeside caravan park and the amenities are excellent, and you can spend a couple of days exploring the Grampians (no beaches) There are also a few basic dirt tracks you could explore through the Grampians as well.

that's about $5.00 an hour!! My eldest (18) gets more than that a week and he works less than 25 hours a week. (mitre 10 and farm work)

if anybody wants more info on the 4x4 tracks out that way or on the horse riding just drop me a PM. BTW, I broke the jeep again It was only a Uni joint this time, and luckily a group of dirt bike riders helped me pull out the front axle half way up a hill, so all good. need to get her fixed ASAP, as I have been invited to go to Robe (SA) for some beach/sand dune fun in 2 weeks, and they have hired a helicopter to film the fun and games for advertising for a jeep parts supplier

Ok. Jeeps back on the road. headed off last weekend to the Victorian high country for a "boys" and a "girls" weekend. the boys (me and my mate Pete) took our 4by's out to play on tracks around craigs hut, sheepyard flats, pineapple flats, razorback just to name a few, and the girls travelled over 100km's on horseback with "high country horses" having a great time seeing the beauty of the high country on horseback.