munchkinpie

Hi Plastic Packaging Pom There are 4 State Secondary Schools in Berwick. Berwick Secondary, Kambrya Secondary College, Timbarra P-9 and Nossal High School. Berwick Secondary College does have a very strict intake zone, especially for the new intake into Yr 7. My 2 daughters joined when we arrived in Berwick and went into Yr 10 and Yr 8. We don't live in the catchment zone and applied to the school before we had a property because we were really struggling to find a rental in the right area but because we were coming from out of the area and not at a natural joining point we were able to make the application and luckily for us they were very happy with the girls folders with previous school reports and references etc. I do know however that there have been instances of people living just on the South side of Princes Highway who havent been able to get in for Yr 7. Kambrya Secondary is located on Bermsyde Drive, not far from Clyde Rd and is the nearest school for houses near O'Shea Rd and in the Chase & Eden Rise Estates. It had some rough press for a fair few years but I know a few people who have children attend and they are happy with the school. One of the biggest problems I think it recently had to overcome was staff turnaround as lots of staff were being poached. That combined with it being a relatively young school, probably put off a lot of people who expectedly want the best option possible for their children. Timbarra P-9 School is located down Parkhill Drive, just off the Princes Highway at the Narre Waren end of Berwick. This is one of the few new schools across Melbourne which is operating as an extended education establishment, pupils can stay at the one school from Prep up till Yr 9. They can then move to one of the other secondary schools for Yr 10 onwards. I believe the system is still only a few years old at this school but I know lots of families who have children in the younger years at the school who love it. Nossal High School is a Select Entry school located just off Clyde Rd in the Monash Uni Campus. Again its only 3-4 years old and to be honest I know no one locally who attends the school and I believe most of them bus in from all over the city. My daughter travels to her cheer training 2 days a week after school and it is over 45km away and she has pupils from Nossal that get on her train and subsequent buses and are still on when she gets off. You also have a host of Private and Religious Secondary options - Beaconhills, Haileybury, St Francis Xavier, St Margarets and Berwick Grammar and more. I cant help with much more on these. Also there are then a range of schools that cover the Narre Warrn area also. In terms of Primary schools, my youngest is starting in Jan/Feb. We live on the Chase Est and we considered Berwick Chase Primary, Berwick Fields Primary, Berwick Primary and Beaconsfield Primary. For us we found that the 1st 3 were just too big and the current intake was just daunting. We were very impressed with Berwick Primary and all the facilities and what it had to offer but the average intake for Prep is 8-10 classes of 19-20 pupils and I just personally didnt want my son to be one of 200 new faces. Just remember that schools do change and have peaks and troughs like everything else in life. Also each child is different and what suits one will be very wrong for another. Hopefully when you arrive you will be able to get a feel for the schools for yourself and see which works best for your children.

Hi Woodstock We are in Berwick, my hubby commutes to the City via train (and cycle) and having come from doing the commute from Essex to London, he actually enjoys it! He normally is door to door in about 75-80mins. He cycles from home to Beaconsfield Station (for us its closer and quieter), jumps on train to South Yarra and then cycles again from there to his work in near Clarendon St. In our 9 months here, I have only had to "rescue" him once due to problems on the line. He leaves home at 7.30am and is home about 7.30am so his commute times are a bit different. Now for the Monash, and it is very very busy and does have regular problems. Hopefully someone can comment on that early commute but I think you may just get through quite easily before the madness descends. Coming back at 3.30 you can expect to hit the traffic starting to mount up and most days you can pretty much crawl along from Stud Rd to Berwick, that stretch should be a 9min journey when traffic is clear. When I drive from Berwick to Clarendon St it usually takes me 40-50 mins but that is out of peak hours. In terms of settling and the life here, then I really enjoy it and all going well will be here for the rest of our time in Australia. Only change we would ideally make would be moving maybe into Beaconsfield itself, just for practicality for ourselves with schools etc. We have 3 children, 2 at Berwick Secondary which I am very happy with and then our youngest is at Kinder. We were originally attract to the "feel" of Berwick, with the High St, mix of old and new, good schools, decent enough commute in our eyes, plenty of community activities and facilities. Additionally, bang in the middle of the beach and the mountains. We spend many weekends enjoying a day at the beach followed by a day up Mt Dandenong as each is only 30 mins or less away. Jump in the car a bit longer but still under an hour and we can be at the ocean or further down the bay at Mornington. We have the huge Westfield Shopping Mall at Fountaingate, Narre Warren which is 10 mins away as well as Pakenham and Cranbourne being within easy reach for shopping also. Negative points for us of the area is that it really is expanding at an astonishing rate, with lots of new houses going up. Schools, medical facilities and recreation do seem to be appearing along with these though so thats a good thing but the actual infrastructure will need looking at soon enough to cope with it as that will be the biggest problem. Feel free to fire any more questions at me. L x

There is another meet up planned for this Sunday (28th April) from 12pm onwards at Wilsons Botanical Gardens in Berwick. Full details on Life in Victoria page. http://www.lifeinvictoria.com/forum/socialising-whats/1873-sunday-28th-april-wilsons-botanical-gardens-berwick-another-meet-up-d-2.html Come along and have a natter.

Copying this info over from Victoria section in case anyone hasnt seen it. There is a meet-up planned for next weekend - Sat 23rd Feb Coot Picnic Area at Albert Park - everything there ie Parking, Play Area, BBQs. Hopefully see you all there on the 23rd of Feb from 12 noon onwards. Look out for the Union Jack bunting x

Hi guys Yes there is still the meet up planned. Hoping to have a good turn out too, so make sure you pop along and say hi Louise x ps. One of the other forum members from Life in Victoria is bringing some bunting so lookout for that x

We met a family who moved to Endeavour Hills - I think they liked the area but if I remember correct the main thing that wasnt working for them was distance to Train line service. They actually sent their children to school/kinder in Berwick but think the reasoning was for work purposes. I believe they have since relocated to Lyndhurst (out past Cranbourne towards the coast ) There are some lovely parts of Narre Warren from what Ive seen. I dont know the area too well and havent looked at schools. I never looked at Cheltenham or Keysborough.

Hey Asuffield76 (and PityTheFool) We first moved to Glen Waverley as we had wanted to be as close to the city as we could afford, where there were decent schools and a nice area etc. However for a dew different reasons the area just wasnt for us and after 3 months we moved to Berwick. Ive said many times on here how I feel about Berwick and how much I am enjoying it. To answer your query regarding distance from the city, here is how it worked for us: My husband works in South Melbourne, near Albert Park. In Glen Waverley he would either run or bus from home to the train station, train to Flinders St or Southern Cross, then run or tram to work just off Clarendon Street. The journey each way was 75-80minutes each way. If we drove from home to his workplace straight down the M1 Freeway (not at peak times however) it was less than 25 minutes. Now we are in Berwick he cycles to Beaconsfield Station, train to Richmond or South Yarra and then cycles to work. This journey takes 85-90 minutes each way. Again we haven't done the peak rush hour drive but from our house to his workplace its a 50 min journey straight down the M1. So overall despite moving that bit further out of the city we have only added a negligible amount of time to his commute and the the other benefits we feel of the area far out weigh it. Before we got here we were dead set that commute time would not be something we would shift on and that we wanted to be less than an hour door to door. Funnily it just didnt work that way and its important to factor in not just the train/tram journey times but the whole journey as you find yourself surprised.

So guys Ive looked at a variety of other parks/areas (Fawkner Park, Docklands Park, Yarra Park) I think that Coot Picnic Area at Albert Park is going to best in terms of having everything there ie Parking, Play Area, BBQs. Hopefully see you all there on the 23rd of Feb from 12 noon onwards I will update as to what to look out for as I think the Santa Flag may be a bit out of season :-D Louise xxx PS - Mods how can I amend the Thread title to include date and time details as opposed to making a new thread? thank you x

So guys between here and the other forum and messages - 23rd Feb is looking the most popular. I think most central locations have been Albert Park and Royal Botanical Gardens. Im not overly familiar with Royal Botanical Gardens and having looked at website I cant find any overly ideal locations. Anyone have any map points/areas that might work? ie near childrens activity, parking, etc? There are 2 places at Albert Park that would work well (and are different from the last location we used there) http://parkweb.vic.gov.au/explore/pa...ound-areas-x-2 or http://parkweb.vic.gov.au/explore/parks/albert-park/things-to-do/coot-picnic-area

Another 2 years when she is driving solo and Ill send her down to you lol

They are fab babysitters - just not within their own house or with each other lol! 2 hours with teenagers is a wise time frame - after that they just whinge and cost money! Can you tell I'm having a good week? ;-p

If you ever fancy a swap then just yell lol

Ha ha funnily enough it was part of the Great Ocean Road plan but a friend has just been there for a few days and reported back lots of positive things so might make it a wee weekend jaunt sooner than later. As for keeping anyone happy, Ive got enough to deal with what with it being school holidays and having 2 teenage girls and a 4 year old monster! ;-p

Thank you Harpodom and dmjg I had been thinking something more along the lines of in Central Melbourne. I haven't been to Geelong yet but it is on my Must-Do-Soon list. I have popped down to the Mornington Peninsula a few times now and it has many lovely spots. Both would Im sure be perfect for Meet-Ups and Im sure there have been some not that long ago in both locations. Just thought it would be nice to try find somewhere that most people can get to within an hour or so if they wished to come along. Hopefully wherever is decided you will both pop along and say "Hi"

[h=5]So I'm thinking it would be good to arrange another meet-up whilst its still Summer time. Perhaps sometime in February? It would also be good to make it a central location to give all of the members an opportunity to meet one another. Any suggestions/interest?[/h]

Hey Guys A few of the members from Living in Victoria are going to be catching up on Saturday. Pop over to the forum for all the details L xx http://www.lifeinvictoria.com/forum/socialising-whats/1501-get-together.html :xmas16:

I try not to make assumptions about others as I dont live their lives. We have infact used the 457 before as a means to earn a lot of money in a short space of time because at that point in time it was what suited us.

Hi FamilyGuys In terms of school I think the girls are settling well, they were a bit peeved to say the least when we moved them after 9-10 weeks at a school in the old area but I Im sure Id know about it already if they were having any problems at Berwick Secondary. I straightaway had a much better feel for it, than I had for the schools Id visited in the old area. As it goes BS is a lot further down the school table than their old one but so far I'm much happier with how it operates, the school ethos and attitude. Oh and the uniform is cheaper ;-p! I feel as if much more of a personal interest has been taken in the girls and that the admissions staff actually took the time to read their reports, etc to the point that when my oldest picked her subjects for this year and one of the options had no spaces available they discussed with her about taking the subject at VCE level a year early as they felt she was more than capable. Additionally, Berwick in general does have quite a few ex-pats and most trips into the High St or Supermarket result in hearing at least one other Brit. Both the girls have other Brits in their classes at school so I think it reduces that "Odd One Out" syndrome. At the other school they went to even the teachers would be forever asking them to say this or that. In terms of actually getting into the schools you will mostly find that they will tell you that they cannot make any offer of places etc until you live in the area. With BS we contacted them before we had found a rental as we couldnt actually find many that were suitable within its strict catchment zone. We sent them copies of the girls school reports from the UK and letters of recommendation they had received from clubs etc and the next day we were offered an unconditional place for them regardless of where we found a rental. They do actually have provisions for new students who are coming from outwith the area, particularly if they are joining when its not classed as a "natural" break ie Year 7 or Year 11. Securing a rental was quite easy really but then we didnt have to worry about the zoning once we had the place. I know that it can be very difficult to find places in the official zone as demand is quite high. Also we found that very few of the ones that even did come available matched our needs. There are a few private, catholic and christian schools in the area as well as a few other state secondarys so you may find that one of these suit you also. Have a look at the websites for Kambrya, Nossal, Haileybury, Beaconhills, Gleneagles, Hillcrest, so you can see some of the different options. Feel free to message me about anything - its a tough old process but so worth it in the long run x

Maybe for a second think that some people are seeing it as an avenue that they hope will eventually lead to something more permanent? Every stone left unturned when there are no other options left available to them. You have stated that in your circumstances you are here on the 457 with no intention of wishing to emigrate but to seek an adventure and a bit of a change. Every body has different circumstances and life is not "One Size Fits All" unfortunately. In the time we are here on a 457 we hope that we will be showing that we are worthy of Australian residency and citizenship, my husband is gaining Australian work experience, in our time on the 457 we will never need to claim anything from the state in terms of financial aid as the visa doesn't allow it and if we find we are starting to struggle in terms of finance we will then look at changes we as a family can make ie me find some part time work, all the time my husbands wage is taxed and we are paying into the country we wish to be part of, we are paying for our childrens education, we are getting involved with the local community, and overall we are having experiences we had only dreamed and wished for. Maybe one day all these things will go in our favour. If tomorrow we had to pack up and leave we would be heart broken but we knew it was a possibility. However as it stands we would still come back on another 457 if it was offered again. Im sure there are as many people who will agree with me but then just as many who think I am mental!

Im hearing this so much now. 1 of my friends even has 18 month work references from Sydney last year when she was with her partner there on his 457 but still companies here aren't getting that she has full work entitlements.

We also have chosen to come over on this Visa as it is our only way to get into the country - over 3-4 years my husbands job was never on the Skills List but always on the Employer Sponsored Lists. I wont even pretend its not risky or quite stressful being on this Visa because it is, I think especially so because I have 2 teenage girls whose schooling I am taking a serious gamble with but as a family we decided after a LOT of discussion and contemplating that it was a chance worth taking. I do worry about the whole 28 day notice thing everyday. This is our 2nd 457 - we have had other offers as well but each time we have had to consider the risks associated with that particular job etc. For example one company in Sydney would not offer a relocation package and we decided that with the associated school fees on the 457 in NSW as well as the other start up costs, it would maybe make that first 6 months too much of a struggle and have too much of a negative impact financially so in our minds too much of a risk. The company then offered a higher salary but still no relocation package but we felt that maybe they just weren't listening to our needs enough so decided not to accept the offer. Yes we were absolutely gutted to be turning down a chance of achieving what we so desired but we had to decide what was a good risk and what wasn't. Husbands current employer have been aware from the beginning that we were looking for longer term commitment from a company and although I guess people could say its empty words, we feel that they are worth our trust and they have done a few things to help us feel supported by them. They have jumped few quite a few hoops to help us out so far and its comforting to us as they could have just said its not their problem. Still no offer to support the PR application as yet but its early days (only 6 months in) and to be honest we havent pushed it yet but we will in another 6 months or so. In my husbands line of work you will very rarely find anyone who has a "permanent" job as most companies in his industry function with maybe 3-4 permanent staff then just employ contract staff for the duration of each project. So I guess for us his industry is as a much of a risk as anything else. I do also think there is another side to the 457 in that many companies who are desperate to get the staff over to them in as short a timeframe as possible, use it to get the staff in the door so to speak. I know of 3 people who were brought over within the past 6 months on a 457 and the employer is already supporting their PR application. One point that I feel needs to get out there also is that I know quite a few "partners" of the main 457 applicant can find it very difficult to find work. A lot of everyday companies aren't really sure of what it entails if they themselves don't use it and I believe they honestly see it as a problem employing someone on a temporary visa and many seem to think that the partner isn't entitled to work. Short of carrying around a copy of your Visa and its conditions I cant see how else this can be rectified though. Very soul destroying for a few of the people who I have met whom this is applicable to. As other people have said it is a visa you need to make sure you have done your research on the 457, and again the pros and cons can be state dependant.

A whole heap of beaches to choose from - can get across to Chelsea Beach in probably 30-35 mins, down to Mornington Beach in 45mins or heading directly south to Tooradin Beach in about 25-30 mins. We are hoping to explore a few of the beaches further South-East soon as they are supposedly better for surfing etc and the kids are keen to have a go. We have been recommended to try Inverloch and have seen pics and it looks gorgeous - thats about and 1hr 15mins away though.

Just copied this over from what I wrote to another member just a few hours ago. We have just moved to Berwick after 4 months in a suburb about 20 mins further into the city. We have 3 children (15,12 & 4) so currently have 2 at Berwick Secondary College and little man starts at Kinder in Feb. We have only been here just over 2 weeks and I am loving it - believe me until then I felt like getting on the plane home almost every day, but again that was just my personal experience. Why do I like Berwick? I feel it has more of a Villagey feel to it than a city suburb. It has gorgeous parks and open spaces as well as plentiful resources in terms of clubs and activities for adults and children alike. The house we are getting for our budget is far superior to what we were getting closer to the city but we still feel that the transport links are on equal par. We are virtually half way between the mountains and the coast so whichever mood we wake up to on a Sunday we can head off in the relevant direction and within little more than 30 mins we can be at either. I like the fact that it has a lovely little High St that reminds me of a leafy UK village. There are also lots of fab shopping centres within close driving distance. (Essential with 2 teenage girls lol) All the other posters are correct though in that you can only make up your own mind on what suits you. I thought we had it so right when we chose the last area - but I was still in the UK and hubby was working full-time in the city so we didn't really get enough "personal" exploration of the area. Also I do believe that unless you are living and working more inner city, it would be very difficult to get by without a car. Anyway feel free to message me if you want to ask anything else Good Luck L x

Hey Plastic Packaging Pom We have just moved to Berwick after 4 months in a suburb about 20 mins further into the city. We have 3 children (15,12 & 4) so currently have 2 at Berwick Secondary College and little man starts at Kinder in Feb. We have only been here just over 2 weeks and I am loving it - believe me until then I felt like getting on the plane home almost every day, but again that was just my personal experience. Why do I like Berwick? I feel it has more of a Villagey feel to it than a city suburb. It has gorgeous parks and open spaces as well as plentiful resources in terms of clubs and activities for adults and children alike. The house we are getting for our budget is far superior to what we were getting closer to the city but we still feel that the transport links are on equal par. We are virtually half way between the mountains and the coast so whichever mood we wake up to on a Sunday we can head off in the relevant direction and within little more than 30 mins we can be at either. I like the fact that it has a lovely little High St that reminds me of a leafy UK village. There are also lots of fab shopping centres within close driving distance. (Essential with 2 teenage girls lol) All the other posters are correct though in that you can only make up your own mind on what suits you. I thought we had it so right when we chose the last area - but I was still in the UK and hubby was working full-time in the city so we didn't really get enough "personal" exploration of the area. Also I do believe that unless you are living and working more inner city, it would be very difficult to get by without a car. Anyway feel free to message me if you want to ask anything else Good Luck L x

Albert Park Poms Living in Victoria Meet - Sat 1st Dec - 12 noon onwards A chance for everyone to meet-up and catch up. Come along and meet new friends, catch up with old ones and have a whinge about the price of Heinz! Hopefully the sun will be shining. Kids can play and BBQ facilities available. The venue has a great play fort for the kids, it's pretty big! It's middle park community play ground. Entrance is off Canterbury Road (where it meets Armstrong Street). There's parking in the park if you drive under the railway line at Canterbury Rd x Armstrong St. Also there's 4h free street parking around there. There's a variety of BBQ's, picnic tables and public toilets near by.