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Hi Louise and Nick We moved to Frankston South in August last year with our 3 boys 16, 10 and 7 and love it. We have the beach 5 minutes drive away, and Frankston town 10 mins the other way. The town has everything we need ( good shops, Library,more beach, good Sunday market etc). We also have a mainline to the City which my friends hubby uses and says it's an ok service most of the time! There are several Kinders ( pre-schools) too. The 2 younger boys have gone to Derinya Primary and have settled really easily and made lots of new friends. It's a big school with around 600 pupils but the class sizes are good, with around 20-22 pupils per class. Great facilities and fab teachers! Our older son has gone to Mount Eliza Secondary College which is a 2km drive or bus away - he's settled well despite being an awkward teenager! We managed to stay with my husbands relative when we first arrived but sorted out a rental within 3 weeks. You need to drive around for a bit and see which areas you like as agents won't let you rent somewhere unless you've inspected it first. So pick your area and visit all the agents nearby for the list of whats available, then get in there quick. You often find several people inspect at the same time, so if you like it put your application in quickly. It's pretty stressful especially when you have to tow 2 children around but it's short-lived! We've been here 6 months now and love it, no-one has complained and wanted to go back so fingers crossed we're okay! Other places we like are Mount Eliza, Mornington, Mount Martha, Somerville ( all a bit far to commute to the City), Chelsea and Chelsea Heights are nice and have good rail links, Patterson Lakes is nice with shops and schools all close by, though I don't know much about the schools there. Anyway if you want to ask anything, anything at all just drop us a line. Lynda and Ash

Hi Simon, We have been in Frankston South since the end of August. Our son is 16 and is currently in year 10 at Mount Eliza. He didn't particularly enjoy school in the UK, but has found it much more interesting here. He seems to have really engaged with the topics they are covering in a number of subjects. For the first time in years he is actually looking forward to school each morning. Socially everybody has made him feel very welcome, there are quite a few British kids there already. Obviously it is early days for us, but he seems to be knuckling down to work here far better than he ever did in the UK. Ashley & Lynda

Hi Antoinia We moved to Frankston south from the UK a couple of months ago and we really like it. Our two youngest kids (7 & 9) go to Derinya Primary school and our oldest (16) goes to Mount Eliza Secondary College and have all settled in really well. Both schools made the boys feel right at home and have got them up to speed really quickly. We've got no complaints at all. When we were looking for 4+ bedroom rentals, we found there was a lot of competition and not many houses available. Each open house had 5 or 6 couples looking around. The listings on real-estate.com.au are up to date and will give you a feel for prices. We are a (20 minute) walk to the beach, but tend to take the car and go to some of the smaller bays in mount eliza with the boys. Frankston shops are adequate for day-to-day needs, but there are plenty of Malls around with all the big shops and designer names less than 30mins drive away. Frankston to Melbourne by train is less that 1 hour, and many people round here do that commute. Also the bus service from Frankston south to the train station is fine. Hope some of that helps. Ashley

Hiya, Yep we were down the road in Finchampstead, just outside Wokingham. The people we sold the house to were from Thatcham!! Small world....

Hi Linda, We arrived from the UK a couple of months ago now. We've settled in Frankston South which is lovely. Our boys are 16, 9 and 7yrs; the younger 2 have gone to Derinya Primary and the elder to Mount Eliza Secondary College. I haven't heard one complaint about school, everyone has made them very welcome and they've all made loads of friends already. Nobody has said they don't like it which is great! The locals are great and so helpful and I'm slowly finding my feet - it takes a while!! A big plus is the beach 5 mins from us! Oh an the Cafe at the end of our road! I guess what I'm trying to say is don't give up on Frankston, it's got fantastic schools, the uni, and the shopping mall 5 mins down the road. Maybe you're in the wrong bit. Have a look around the Humphries Rd, Overport Rd down to the Nepean Highway it's much nicer! Lynda

Hi, My wife Lynda and I are new here (Australia and PomsInOz) and have just move into Frankston south with our 3 children from Berkshire in the UK. We would be very much like to meet up with people who've "been there, done that" for a friendly chat etc. Is this a general meet up that anyone can attend? If so would you mind if we tagged along when you have a date fixed? Thanks Ashley And Lynda