KiwiKaye

You could try Frankston Hospital. If you google Peninsula Health Jobs, then their vacancies site will come up.

Just on the car parking charges, if you are a resident, you can go into the council offices and get a permit which lets you park there for free. We moved down here 7 months ago and loving it so far. As others have said, no real problems. There's lots of shopping options, the beach, restaurants, cinemas, etc. my kids are at Frankston High and Overport Primary, and so far so good. My daughter at the high school is doing lots of extra curricular stuff.

You'll need a Myki to get around in Melbourne, too, which is another pre-loaded card. If you are only staying in the CBD, the trams are all free, but this won't apply if you want to go to St Kilda or Brighton. I think there are bus tours out to Ramsey Street, if you want to do the neighbours thing. You should be able to book one of those. The only other way to get out there would probably be taxi or Über.

Hi Wooba. If it is a "drive away" or "out the door" price, that's what you should pay. Those prices usually include transfer, registration fees and stamp duty. As others have said, if it's a new car they will still try to sell you a whole host of "extras", but up to you whether you take them.

Agree with this. We've just moved into Frankston from Mount Waverley. We were finally in a position to buy after 3.5 years renting, but no way could we afford to buy in MW. My only family members not Melbourne lives in Frankston South so I knew the area a bit, and research told us the high school was really good (borne out by our daughters first term there this year). It is important to be in the zone for the high school though. You likely won't get in otherwise. Our son is at Overport primary which is right next door to the high school and seems to be doing well so far.

I know nothing of furniture prices in the ME, but some AU online retailers you could try for comparison shopping are http://www.harveynorman.com.au or http://www.freedomfurniture.com.au. Neither will be the cheapest you can get in AU but will give you some idea.

We've been living in Mount Waverley for the past 3.5 years, which is fairly close to Ashburton/Ashwood, and a bit further out from the CBD than Glen Iris. We love the area and there are some great schools, but @Petals is correct that house prices are high. The median house price in Mount Waverley now is just over AU$1million. Ashburton would be about the same, and Glen Iris substantially higher. We've been paying between $400-500 per week for rent in that time for 3 bed places. If you wanted a newer property however, the cost would be at least $650-700 per week.

We ended up in Melbourne because I applied for a job here back in 1996. I was offered the job but ended up not taking it. In the meantime OH had secured a transfer with his company to the Melbourne office, so we decided to come anyway! Stayed here until 2009, and then came back in 2012. We've not lived in any other cities in Oz, but have visited. I would absolutely choose Melbourne again. The only thing I would perhaps change is not having left.

i understand the issue of wanting to maximise what you get for your money, and that temporary accommodation for a bigger family is expensive, but I agree with others who have said you never really know a place until you are there. W are in the process of moving our kids from one school to another as we are moving suburbs. I looked at the websites online for school ratings, and though I knew which primary school I wanted, but it wasn't until I went to see them, that I realised that the school I had "chosen" was all wrong. If you are happy to try a place for six months knowing you may have to move either school or houses, or both, after that initial period, that is fine, but if you haven't seen an area and the schools first hand, it is a possibility you need to consider.

Well done Sarah. Safe flying and all the best for your new adventure. Whereabouts in Oz are you heading for?

That's a good size block. Would probably be of interest to a developer. Good luck if you decide to go to sell!

That's what attracted us. Trying to buy a house anywhere in Melbourne these days on a budget is difficult, but a lot of the suburbs between where we live now (Mount Waverley) and Frankston don't have much in the way of facilities - they're just housing. Frankston may be further out commute-wise for me, but it has more going on for the kids, especially with one starting high school next year.

I suspect you may be right. There have been a few houses for sale recently in the central Frankston and Frankston North areas which look very nice - people have spent some time and money on them prior to sale. Wasn't the case a few years ago.

Actually @biomedical scientist you are right on time! We settle on the house next week (finally), and will move in just in time for summer :cute:

Hi, I don't know for sure about sports, but might be worth looking at Parkdale High School. They have a very good reputation. Most Australian High Schools have a pretty broad sports focus, even if it doesn't seem like it on the websites. What budget are you looking at for renting/buying - that might help suggest some suburbs. Suburbs along the Sandringham line can be pretty pricey.

Croydon is fine. It's a nice suburb, but the OP did say they wanted a 30 minute commute, which doesn't equate with their $850k budget.

Hi cheese n pickle, Thanks very much for the reply. K

Hi Simon, I second the Frankston High - we've just purchased in Frankston, and made sure that we bought a house in zone as my daughter starts grade 7 next year. The other school in Bayside area we looked at was Parkdale High, but that is closer to town and properties are proportionally more expensive. Cheese n pickle - its great to hear from someone who has children at the school - from your post I assume you're happy with the school so far - can I ask what years your girls are in? (Apologies to the OP for butting in on the thread.)

Agreed. As ridiculous as it sounds, $850k does not buy you a lot in Melbourne any more in any suburb close to the city. We we jcurrently living in Mount Waverley which is about 30 mins from the city by train, and a lovely suburb with great schools, but most houses now are over $1 million. We're moving to Frankston shortly for that reason. There are good schools down there, but definite not a short commute.

The chances of getting a 3-4 bed house on that budget in either of those suburbs is slim. I would look at Parkdale, Mordialloc, Aspendale. Check out transit times on the trains at http://www.ptv.vic.gov.au. Bayside is lovely, but expensive, particularly close in. Parkdale has some good school, as does Mentone and Mordialloc. You could also look at the other side of the bay if you want to be close to the beach, as the suburbs on the western side tend to be cheaper than south-east. I'm not so sure about the schools on that side though, but hopefully some others on the board may know more. One thing I will say though is that if you are looking at schools, go and check them out, don't just rely on the websites and NAPLAN ratings. I've done this excise very recently and completely changed my mind about two of the schools based on a tour, rather than rankings. We've lived in Melbourne for about 15 years now, so feel free to answer any questions. Good luck with the house hunting.

We're a couple from two different countries too, and now living in Oz. We got married in my home town because my mum and dad threatened not to come to the wedding if we got married in the UK. I gave in, but it meant that none of my OHs family were there. They could not afford to travel from the UK to NZ, but my parents could have afforded to, they just didn't want to. But I was young when we got married. I think have the wedding where you want to have it. If necessary you can always travel and have a party with family later. Make it part of your honeymoon!

Hi, we have a few things in common as I grew up in Christchurch and my OH is also a Yorkshire native We have lived in Melbourne for a number of years, returning for a short stint in Christchurch just in time for the earthquakes. In some ways returning to Melbourne was easy this time around as we had lived here before, although we're living in a very different part of Melbourne. I'm not sure either OH or I could live in Brisbane long-term as we like the seasons too much. Love it to visit, just not to live. Melbourne is a great city though with heaps to do. The house prices here are definitely higher though, but renting is still fairly reasonable. I don't know much about Berwick, other than what I've read but I think you can still get property out there for a reasonable price. It is a fair commute if working in the CBD though. Having said that, we're about to move to Frankston as house prices where we're living now (Mount Waverley) are just insane. I'm quite looking forward to living near the beach again.

St Kilda is a great spot. Its a while since I lived there (when we were young and carefree ), but it is far from just the sex industry. Yes, there is some of that, as there is in many inner city suburbs, and even some outer suburbs. The restaurants and cafes are great, and you have the beach which is ok, but not the best place to go for swimming. If you want the "safer" side of St Kilda however, I would look around the Acland Street area, rather than Fitzroy Street.

We're currently renting in Mt Waverley, and have just bought a house in Frankston. We'll be moving at the end of this year. No way we can afford to buy around here. The properties are silly money and I find it hard to believe the prices are sustainable. The schools are really good, but not worth the house prices.

Hi Shelley, if you're not shipping a whole lot of other stuff as well, I agree with Bungo that it's probably not worth it. You can buy those style of fridges here too. Maybe have a look at this site http://www.appliancesonline.com.au to see if there's something similar on there, as that will give you an idea of price to replace it. Unless it's a particularly special fridge that you're very attached too, I think you'll find it will cost almost as much to ship it as to replace it. We bought one in Oz when we lived here before and shipped it to NZ (along with a whole container of stuff) and it was never quite the same after that.