Anna333

My husband's from Greensborough and we've been living with his parents since we landed here 7 months ago - we do plan to move on in the spring! I have to say it's lovely here, perfect for bringing up kids. Very leafy and green as others have said. I couldn't comment on the price for rental here. Another place you might consider on the train line is Rosanna. I would discourage Bundoora as it's not on the train line and the tram looks dreadfully slow although this is a second hand observation from driving past it as opposed to having ever experienced it. Also there is a lot of new housing as it expands. You may see this as a plus for the community. Eltham, where we have more family, again would seem like a nice place to live. Diamond Creek is nice too, just a bit further out that's all so it would depend on what kind of commute you'd be happy with. There's Plenty as well if you're happy looking over that way. And Watsonia seems like a good option too. I don't think you can go too far wrong in any of these areas so long as you're happy with your house and the local amenities.

I hate all the Aussie bashers. Every last one of them. RAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRRRR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! ha ha ha Is that what we were meant to say?!

I came over to Oz too early in my pregnancy to do this, but it would have been my plan. You can't leave prior to a certain amount of weeks, I was only 9 or so when I left. If there is a 'rule' about returning to work after mat leave that will only apply to the company contributions on top of her statutory maternity pay. So she will get something if she comes over on mat leave, you just need to read up on the Ts&Cs in her contract to see if it'll be with the company contributions or not.

I wouldn't be as blunt as this, but I guess is does sum up why we aren't moving to Point Cook. However some of the other suburbs you've listed are a way different price bracket - not really comparable! To the OP - We're buying a place on the western fringe of Altona Meadows where housing is more reasonably priced than Williamstown & Altona but is a good location in terms of proximity to large open space, beach, train, it has quiet courts, potential for large garden (relatively speaking). There's a post that I've updated regularly on our search for an area in the west of Melbourne to settle. You may find this helpful. http://www.pomsinoz.com/forum/victoria/159390-working-deerpark-west-melbourne-where-settle.html

It's going to be a wee while till we move out - probably August. I'll be bringing a 2 year old a newborn with me so hoping to scope out mums groups etc for when I arrive. I know how long it's taken to get to know people from my initial move from UK to Aus but come to realise you need to be proactive and it soon comes together. It makes such a difference making friends when you move and I've realised the sooner you do it the better, so hoping to be more proactive as soon as we do arrive 'on the other side'. I'll defo be up for meeting anyone in the area when we make the move!

Will do. You didn't happen to play in an Aussie Rules team in Wolves? My hubby played with the Manchester Mozzies when we were in the UK.

Sounds like you're in the same scenario as us right now, except we've made the move from a wee village in the Peaks to Melbourne. We have an almost 2 year old and another one due in a month. In fairness we've had an easy time migrating because my in-laws are from Melbourne. It sounds to be like you've got a realistic perspective on the move. You mention you wouldn't mind living in the city for a while. I guess the thing is the 'city' is so sprawling that that could mean a lot of things as the suburbs can be very different. We've been living (with the in-laws) happily in leafy Greensborough, which would be too expensive for us to buy our 'ideal' family home in. We're moving to Altona Meadows soon. Chosen because it's beside open area for stroller walks, flat bike rides when the kids are old enough, 5 min drive from the beach, large garden and good commuting distance. There are loads of opportunity for the activities you've mentioned you'd be interested in. When we were making the move and I posted here I think some people got the impression that I was looking for a like for like move, when in fact you're just trying to size up 'similar' opportunities/hobbies that are suited to the type of person you are. I think you've got the right idea and mind set to make a move to Oz a success.

Hey I wanted to do another update to let you know that we have paid up our deposit and are DEFINITELY moving to Altona Meadows later this year! We're obviously really pleased with our decision or we wouldn't have gone ahead with it. We checked out a few renovation projects in Altona as the cost of these places was obviously lower, but it became evident that they would still go for a reasonable price and most likely be bulldozed and 3 units thrown up in their place. What surprised me was that the location of these properties was worse than were our new place is going to be. They were on grid reference roads several hundred meters from the beach. We're going to be in a quiet court with the wetlands reserve on our doorstep and play park in spitting distance. We've had to compromise - the train station is a 5 min drive away, but alas you usually have to make compromises. My hubby, who's Aussie, fell in love with the house immediately. I know it's the perfect setup for us but didn't get that instant 'love', I think because it's SUCH an Aussie style house. We feel like we got a good price - I doubt we would have bought it we didn't. It has the large garden we were after and one of few houses with really practical use and layout of all the indoor space. Can't wait for the move. Did I mention the icing on the cake is we don't have to renovate it?!! LUXURY!

Regarding family allowances, you will be assessed on your income what your child tax benefit (or something like that) is. You'd need the search online for a calculator. If your kids are child care age you will get a 50% rebate on the cost. Generally speaking it's $80 a day per kid and you end up paying $40. You are entitled to medicare with a permanent visa so you can go to the doctors for free at Medical Centres and get referred through to public hospitals if need be, so pretty much like NHS.

We moved from a village in the Peak District where we could mountain bike and fell run from our front door. We knew moving to Melbourne we wouldn't have the same opportunity and we were right. We've decided due to commute times and future job prospects to live in a Melbourne suburb (Altona Meadows) as opposed to a countryside town (Bacchus Marsh). We moved for the same reasons you want to - outdoor lifestyle so our toddler and kids to come get outside and 'muddy'. I've found that we've had way more camping trips than I could imagine we could have. We've been inland to the mountains, to the sandy coasts and to National Parks so far. Another trip planned for this weekend and then Easter after that. The beauty is you can decide to go camping and pretty much know if won't be put off due to weather. Well that's our experience since October last year. I don't think the cold will put us off in winter either - we're pretty hard core campers! There are plenty of places for mountain and dirt biking but for us we would need to drive a couple of hours to get to those good locations. That is fine for us as we managed our expectations prior to leaving the UK so these are activities that we fit in around camping weekends away as opposed to daytime / evening activities like they used to be. I've taken up road biking for the week nights from the house. So far the most restricting thing for me is how hot it's been when I've got home from work and having to explain to my son (who isn't yet 2) that we'll go outside after dinner when it's cooled down enough. Whilst I think that we had a better natural 'play park' on our back door in the Peak District (biking / running / hiking), the weather was definitely the more limiting factor. I didn't mind going out in the rain and snow but it's not the weather for kids to play outside in the winter for the most part. So overall we have a more bountiful outdoorsy lifestyle here. However we only moved here in October so I've not experienced a full year. Hope that helps and isn't too conflicting!

This will be my first footy season in Oz, so need to make the all important decision about which team to back. I don't want to be influenced by my husband's family's choices - the bombers and the lions. How do I make the decision?!?!? Living in Melb so defo want a team from down here, although that doesn't really narrow things down!!

I'm just speculating but I guess if you had more friends, or more that you had a good bond with, then it might make a difference. There are so many ways to meet people in a similar situation, meetup.com is just one way. There's an outdoors family camping group in Melbourne that you may be interested in. My husband, son and I moved from a village in Derbyshire late last year. I was formally a keen fell runner and mountain biker. I did the move knowing that I would need to supplement these hobbies for something else day to day and leave them up to the weekend camping trips. So now I have a road bike and do pilates. Whilst I'm very pregnant now so limited in activities I can do now, I hope to join a sailing club when time permits (through meetup.com). We're still getting away on regular camping trips. You will realise that with a baby, whilst you can absolutely still do much of what you did pre-baby, life slows down and the walks will have different criteria to the past.

Well we put an offer in this morning and it was accepted! Essentially decided you can't postpone your happiness and that the house was just right for us. Hope the coming weeks go well getting the mortgage and contract sorted without too much hassle!

Anyone got a crystal ball??! We're currently in negotiations to buy a house in Altona Meadows but with the house within reach we've taken a step back and are just wondering is now the time to buy? It works out that we wouldn't loose any money if we rented for a while due to the interest on the mortgage being so high initially. The question is do we hold off for a while to see what happens or do we go ahead and buy now. We have no issues with the property in question, just the housing market!

That's great you were so supportive. Have you any tips, as I doubt we'll do a course, how I can get my partner to buy in? I'm struggling to get through the book and I know he won't read it. What elements do you think should be emphasised to him the most?