Chezza66

Hi, I was wondering if anyone could give me some feedback on this area, in terms of living there. Ideally, I would like to know what childcare facilities there are and what you think of the Primary & Secondary schools. Is there a large British contingency or is it fairly mixed? How easy is it to commute to the CBD and SE suburbs, such as Hawthorne & Bayside? Finally, are theere plenty of places to eat out and socialise? Thank you.

We have used Toby Haenen Swim Centre on Bay Rd since our daughter was 2. She is now 6 yrs of age and loves it. If you use this centre, I would suggest you try and get Emily, Dillon or Cathy as your tutors. They are all good, but these really brought out the best in our daughter. Can't help on gymnastics other than suggesting Kelly Sports, who run in school programmes at local Primary schools.

The cheapest I can find is $570 pr week with Ourproperties.com.au. It must just be the area as to why so pricey!

Try Balcombe Serviced apartments, not sure what they charge but they are in Parkdale. Or Bayside servied apartments

Try Balcombe Serviced apartments, not sure what they charge but they are in Parkdale.

I've just posted in the Wants for a Side by Side fridge freezer, but apart from The Good Guys & Appliances on line, is there any other place to search for one? We currently have a Westinghouse 610L but it appears the top half of the freezer will no longer freeze and the fridge has started to freeze the lower part of itself!!! :arghh: Sadly, not enough to move thing around, but it froze my tomatoes, cucumber & spinach!

If you live close to the postcode 3188 and are heading back and needing to sell a Fridge/Freezer we are in the market for one. Otherwise, apart from the Good Guys and Appliances on line, is there any other place to shop for one? Thanks

We have done several trips back to the UK and back to oz again. We learnt our lesson after thr first trip, as our daughter was only 9mths old, she slept in bassinette but if you hit turbulance you have to take them out. This made for a very overly tired baby on the leg out, the return we didn't have turbulance. Our 2nd trip we chose to do a one night stop over in Singapore on route over and this made for a better trip for all. Our daughter was aged 19mths then. We took playdough, crayons and paper, but dependent on who you fly with they also provide activity bags. Our best purchase was a portable Dvd player, we took about 8 dvds with us and whe watched those when she grew tired. Our return leg we stayed in Hong Kong for one night and almost a whole day, which really helped with jetlag. Since we always pack our own little food snacks, such as crackers, sultana's and fruit. Our daughter suffers terribly with her ears, so we also take ear defenders which help. If you have never flown with your little one before, I suggest you invest in these, as having their ears hurt during descent/ascent is excruciating for them, you and others. I suggest stop-overs of at least 12 hours, so your little one can stretch legs, run around and burn off energy. Take night flights too, as they will sleep for 4 + hours if you do! Good luck!

I do not mean to sound or even be racist, so apologies if that is how this post has come across! We have been here 7 years, have adapted well and have many Australian friends, but I just wanted a connection to my roots too. For instance as someone already stated, Oakliegh has a greater Greek community, as other areas are more Italian etc. I merely wanted to know where our Ex-pats have called home and why. As in what does the area have that appeals to them etc. I also admit I do like knowing that there would be a percentage of Brits in the area that socialise, so we can begin the friend making process again. Not that I would not make friends with any other Nationality, I pretty open and friendly :wink:

Strangely I have just been looking at Mounts Martha & Eliza, I'm amazed at what you can get for the money, ie: 1300mtrs square 4 bed house for $695k......makes it very interesting now!

Thanks for the information thus far. I know I will find it very hard to leave this area, due to the very strong friendships I have formed in my Mother's grp, which is 6 yrs old now!!! I told them this morning and they were all in tears at the prospect of us moving out of the area. So many of them suggested we just looked to move down the coast towards Mordialloc or Aspendale, but I admit to having very little knowledge of these or other areas.

We currently live in Hampton, Bayside, but with the ever increasing cost of living and a soon to be change of jobs (not so well paid) we are considering a move. Ideally we would like a 4 bed property, with outside space. We love the vibe of both Sandy and Hampton so it will be hard to say goodbye, but I know many of you love the suburb you live in, so if you can get property for 600-700k in your area, it has good recreational space and a nice village feel, please tell me about where you live....we may become neighbours! :wink: