Colin lay

Northcote, Clifton hill, thornbury and preston are all good in my opinion. If you get near the train line in these suburbs, you have the choice of the train or 2 different tram lines to get into the city. My boys went to Northcote high and we can highly recommend it! You have a bit of nightlife in Thornbury, more in Northcote and would be very close to bustling Fitzroy. Rental property is moving fast atm, but house prices are steady. Lower end would be $700k northcote, $600k Thornbury, $500k Preston. We are currently in Preston close to tram line. When we first moved to Melb (from Perth, WA), we pushed the budget for a 6 month rental in Northcote just to get in the Northcote high school catchment area..they are strict on this! Definitely a good area for a 12y/o to grow up in. Keep it Northern suburbs!