KiwiKaye

Arrived the first time in July 1996, left in 2009, came back in 2012 and still here. Loving it.

If you are coming over with children, it's unlikely you will be living in the CBD anyway, as the only housing is apartments, mostly inhabited by singles and students. Where you should look will depend very much on where you will be working, and your budget for rent/buying.

Hi, There aren't very many schools actually in Melbourne CBD. If you check www.myschool.edu.au and enter the postcode 3000 into the search section on the right-hand side, it doesn't generate any public schools - only private, and not many of them. There will be more choices in suburbs immediately surrounding the CBD. If you can share more about where you are looking, and whether primary or secondary it will help.

Well, it doesn't sound like you are worried about schools, so that makes it a bit easier. Williamstown is a lovely place to live, but expensive to buy in. Commute if you are working in Port Melbourne should be ok, but bear in mind that if you are driving the West Gate Bridge can be a nightmare in peak hours. There is a train from Williamstown to the city and then a tram to port Melbourne, but depending on where you need to get to, that total trip could take up to an hour. As for other things, once you get here you will need to organise Medicare, tax file no., and bank accounts. The bank accounts you may be able to do from the uk, but the others I believe you actually need to be here for. Williamstown does have lovely Cafes near the waterfront, and some beautiful walks. Are you looking to buy eventually or just rent? If looking to buy, your potential budget will dictate where you should look. You will need probably at least $1 million in Williamstown, but some surrounding areas could be slightly lower price wise, eg. Newport, Altona, Yarraville. I like the beaches on the other side of the bay, and it is where we live, but the commute to work would be much worse.

Hi, Welcome. We've been living in Melbourne for almost 6 years this time around. Happy to help. Whereabouts in Melbourne are you heading to, and what visa? A bit more information will help people to help you. ?

Hi. We live in Frankston. Have been here for abut 18 months now, and lived in Mt Waverley before that. We really like Frankston, and there is heaps of stuff to do for kids, but you are right that it is better to steer clear of Frankston North. It is getting better, but not there yet. Mt Waverley was brilliant, too, but the schools are more academically minded, and very results-focussed. The main reason we mioved was because of the house prices. TBH you will struggle now I think to find a rental for $400 a week, but I have let looked for a ile, so there my be some out there. Based on what you've written, I would look at the areas in the Dandenong's (NOT Dandenong the suburb), such as Tecoma, Belgrave, etc. We considered that area before settling on Frankston to buy in and a friend lived in the area for a while and really loved it.

As kevsan said, it depends on your definition of good. We're a bit further down the road in Frankston, which I love. The one main thing I would watch out for in Carrum/Patterson Lakes is the smell of the sewerage works near the Eastlink freeway. It would pay to check the proximity of any property to this site, and perhaps visit a few times at different times of the day/week to check it out. Its not a problem all of the time by any means, but when it smells, it really smells. I drive to Carrum station every day to get the train to work, and some nights coming home I have to turn the air con off to avoid the smell coming into the car. Otherwise there's an ok shopping centre on Thompsons Road, and many more shopping options in Frankston which is about 10-15 mins down the road.

If you like the multi-cultural aspects, then Footscray would be fine. I would also look at Coburg which is an inner-north suburb of Melbourne - Sydney Road has a great range of food shops, restaurants, etc. from all parts of the world. Much will depend on your budget, which you won't really know until you find work. The closer you are to the city in Melbourne the more expensive it is, especially if you want to buy. Check out www.realestate.com.au and www.domain.com.au for rental and sale prices. Most of the houses for sale in the inner areas go to Auction, so the guide price means very little. You can check out past sold prices on both these websites though.

Libby, It does depend on your budget, but when we moved to Frankston in late 2015, we had the same issue. We ended up buying in Frankston Heights, which is still in zone, albeit a little further away from the school. It is still close enough that the kids can walk to/from school (about 30 mins), and the prices are still a bit lower than Frankston South.

I don't have any particular experience on either school, only anecdotal, but one of my daughters friends moved from EMC due to issues in the school. She's is now at Frankston and doing well. I have heard that both Mt Eliza and Mornington are ok.

Hi. I would love to meet up some time. We are up the road in Frankston, with kids aged almost 9 and 13. We are at work during the week, but around most weekends. Hope you're enjoying the area.

I agree that it hasn't been long enough to make a concrete decision. We've lived in Aus for a while, but we moved suburbs last year at the end of school, as we had bought a house. It meant both kids had to change schools - one to a new primary school, and one starting year 7. It was particularly hard on the then 12yo, as it meant that she wasn't starting hs with any of the friends she had from primary. But that's the way it had to be. I'm going to stick my neck out slightly and say that, whilst we all want the best for our kids, and we spent a lot of time finding an area where we could afford to buy, but also had a good high school, at the end of the day the decision was ours. If you tell kids that you will uproot your whole life just because they are a little unsettled or unhappy, then, particularly at this age, this is what they will choose to do. Sometimes it is actually easier on them if they realise that this is life, and they need to make it work. Giving them too many options can be counter-productive some times. Of course, I am not talking about major issues such as bullying, or where children are clinically depressed, and need medical assistance, and in those circumstances different solutions need to be found. But if its just a settling issue, then definitely give it more time. I agree with the earlier responses that it is a difficult time with end of school year and holidays, etc. Hopefully once he returns to school for the new year it will improve. Don't shoot me, but I wonder if he is picking up on your disappointment at ending up in a different city/state than you had hoped? Whatever you decide I hope it works out for all of you.

Hi, congrats on the move. We lived in Mt Waverley for about 3 years when we first came back to Melbourne. It's a lovely suburb with really good schools. You will likely get a rental of about $500-600 per week. HOWEVER, when it comes to buying you will struggle to for more than 2 bedrooms on your budget. The prices there are high, as they are for most of the suburbs around there. Have a look on realestate.com.au and domain.com.au for sold prices (not listed prices) and that will give you some idea. We moved out of the area because we wanted to buy and couldn't afford that much. From what I've read the prices have come back slightly from the massive highs in the last year or two, but a 3 bed townhouse with very little land is still going to set you back close to a million, and a detached house much more. If you can give us an idea of what the of propert you are looking for, perhaps we can suggest some other areas. All kl the best.

Thanks for the reply Snifter. I'll recommend that.

Thanks again Marisa. He would be working for an Australian company, so AU$ salary. This is not an inter-company transfer from his UK role.

Hi Marisa. Thanks very much for the reply. I'll pass that info on. Just for interests sake, do you know what the position would be if the UKC was out of the U.K. For more than 6 months?

Hi all, I wasn't sure where to post this - it might be better in the Moving Back to the UK section - if so Mods please feel free to move. Anyway, does anyone know whether, if your OH is on a spouse visa, due for ILR and naturalisation next year, and the UKC moves out to OZ for a few months to work - will this affect the non-EU spouse's status in the UK? The spouse would remain in the UK with the kids. When the spouse hits the point where ILR needs to be applied for - does it matter if the UKC is earning money out of the UK, as long as it meets the threshhold, or does he need to be in​ the UK? Thanks all!

The problem with driving in though is not the traffic. It is the cost of parking in Melbourne CBD. If you don't have parking provided (which is rare for office jobs), it costs anything from around $14-$30 (or more) for a days parking. This is more than the daily cost of a train ticket, and then you have to add the cost of petrol and other car-related costs on to that. To the OP - we live in Frankston which is a suburb I would recommend. The transport links are good and, as others have said, the train is fine. I drive to Carrum station each day (as I can get parking there), and if I catch an express train it takes about 45 minutes to Richmond Station (about 50 mins to Flinders Street). Otherwise I can catch a loop train straight to Parliament station which takes around 50-55 minutes. I catch a train between 7.30-8 in the morning, to get to work easily by 9, and can always get a seat. I can usually get a seat coming home too, but I do usually leave the city after the main rush hour (about 6-6.30pm most days - if I leave at around 5 it is busier). The Cranbourne/Packenham lines also come down this way but tend to be MUCH more crowded IME. I have in the past changed at Caulfield so I can get an express straight to the loop, but have had on occasion had to let 1 or 2 trains go first as you simply couldn't get on the train, much less get a seat. If you wanted to look at Frankston you would be able to get a reasonable house for you budget down here - look particularly at Frankston South, and many of the houses have pools. We don't but it wasn't a priority for us. My daughter has started at Frankston High this year and so far we are very impressed. Most of the primary schools are also good. Beware though that to get into the high school you will need to rent/buy in the zone.

Hi. It's fine in Oz to start part way through the year. We did this when we came back to Melbourne. My daughter started school at the beginning of term 2 in grade 3. As others have said for primary school, you can get 2nd hand uniforms here too, and usually some things can be bought as generic at Target, KMart, Big W, etc. saves money on the school uniform shop prices. There are 4 terms a year, with 2 weeks holiday usually around Easter, in June/July and again September/October, so if you are both working you will need holiday care to,cover these. Most schools offer before and after school hours care, and holiday programme. If your school doesn't offer it one nearby will. Costs for holiday programme vary from about $30 to $90 per,day, depending on what the activity is and the provider. If you are on a PR visa, you will get some of that subsidised (I think -someone correct me otherwise), but if younger on a 457 you will not get the subsidy.

Hi, my OH has triple too, UK/NZ/OZ, and he did get the OZ last (2001). HTH Kaye

Hi, If you look on http://www.realestate.com.au you can select "sold" properties and then look at an area, which will give you an idea of what places are actually selling for. It is very hard, but I think there is less of a "mark up" in the Frankston area than closer into the city. Prices are growing down here though. Langwarrin is also nice, and is a newer area, if that appeals. Personally, I like Frankston because its more like a self-contained town with its own CBD. We have restaurants and cafes, there are markets on weekends, you have the Frankston Arts Centre, and the library. Just be aware that for Frankston High, you will need to buy or rent in the catchment zone (available online if you Google). Our daughter started there this year in grade 7 and is loving it. Lots of extra-curricular stuff as well.

Greater Melbourne is huge, so much will depend on where you will be working. That said, with those budgets you will not likely be in the inner eastern suburbs. We live in Frankston which is definitely do-able for those numbers, is near the beach and has an excellent oublic senior school, as well as several private schools nearby, but is over an hour commute to th CBD. If you would be working on this side of town, it is a great area to live, but if you were going to be working in the western suburbs for example, definitely not a goer. There are areas in the northern and western suburbs which are also going to fit into that budget, eg. The newer suburbs around Taylors Lakes and Caroline Springs in the NW, and some areas on the north-north east side. Unfortunately 750k in Melbourne doesn't buy much any more. Hope that helps and feel free to ask any more questions. Melbourne is a great city with lots to do.

Hi, We've been living down here for a year now, and love it. I work in the city and drive to Carrum Station each morning, as you can't get parking at Frankston after about 7am. In total it takes me about 75-90 minutes to get to work which is about 2 buildings away from St Vincent's. Frankston is a mixed bag people-wise but its interesting, and we've not had any problems so far - even coming home on the train late some nights. I would not suggest hanging around the main train station at 2am! But that goes for pretty much anywhere these days. Frankston beach is lovely and there is some good cafes and restaurants down this way - and access to the Peninsula is fantastic. Lots of things to see and do on weekends. We've got to know more of our neighbours in the 1 year here, than in several years in other places we've lived. I agree with Priscilla101 - you will likely need a car. It will be easier to work things out once you know how much time you will be spending in each location. If you are going to rely on public transport, then definitely stick with somewhere on the Frankston line (http://www.ptv.vic.gov.au for timetables and route maps), as you can get to both places. Rent-wise it will start expensive near the city and get progressively cheaper as you get further away. If you want to be beach-side of the Nepean Highway down bayside, it will be considerably more expensive than further inland, but in most places you can walk to the stations from there.

Hi. We live in Frankston so happy to help with info for her, but as Zoot said, it will depend on where you are going to be working. All of these suburbs are fairly far out of town. But with that budget you are probably not going to get a 3 bed place much further in. Personally, of all the suburbs you mentioned I would go with Frankston/Frankston South as it has good schools, and more amenities that some of the other suburbs. I haven't lived in the others but have heard very mixed reports about Clyde. I have an 8yo in primary school and a 12 year old just started high school this year, so feel free to ask any questions about the primary schools in this area. Happy to help.

Hi. St Kilda is a nice spot, but if I were you, I'd seriously consider Richmond. Mainly because Richmond station is a main hub, and you can get loop trains from there to Parliament station, which is only about 2 mins walk to St V's, and get trains direct to Frankston. It will take you about 10 mins from Richmond station to the city hospital, and about 50-60 minutes to Frankston. Of course you could move further down the Frankston line to be more half way between both, but you would obviously be further from the city. We used to live in St Kilda and now live in Frankston so I know both areas fairly well. Good luck with the move!