Phoebe18

apologies on slow response, been hectic trying to get the house ready for shipping (tomorrow) I think we will end up somewhere like Sandringham, Malvern, Box Hill, Brighton East, Bentleigh East kind of area... Excited to get over and drive round all the areas to find out where we will settle for a while. Thanks Z

Will let you know what the area is like for sure. Yes for 30day rental we just went and found an air bnb. As we only booked it 3weeks out there were only a few options as we preferred a house vs flat so the kids can run around and let off some steam too. what areas have you been looking at and will you be commuting into CBD? thanks

Thanks for the above. its just hard to imagine areas just by looking on internet. We are hertfordshire / north Essex area at the moment so suits the family to have lots of outside and fields and be a goodish commute for me to get into London. look8ng forward to driving round the areas. are you still out there? thanks

Thanks for this info. It’s right by the beach in a place called Long Island. I think we will end up further up the bay Sandringham area but as we also liked to look of mt Eliza just wanted to give the commute a chance. i also like that further up you go there are more train line options to get in. Cheers

Thanks for all the replies so far. My company managed to expedite my Visa and it came through this week... flights booked for March 7th so lots to do in the next few weeks! as we don’t know how long a commute I will be happy with we decided to get a 30 day rental in Frankston which will enable us to travel up the bay and down that bit further to MT Eliza and see where seems the best fit for house inn schools commmute etc. on another note what has everyone done for health insurance? It’s a condition of the 457 we get it but don’t know where to start looking at package to look at. as always thanks in advance for the help. thanks Z

I hadn’t considered Williamstown, but will definitely be checking it out. Seems to be a fair amount on West side do you know if there are good schools for the children too? Thanks in advacnce

Thanks for this and the other suggested areas, very useful. Do you usually get a seat on the way back in peak hours? Looks like Frankston is a good hub for activity to be near too.

Those places all look amazing and making me wish we were moved already! I think we are going to have to jump in a car and drive around a few areas and work out the max commute time I want to be doing as so many of the bayside suburbs look lovely. Thanks for your help Eva.

Sounds great, we have a 4 and 2 year old so sounds like lots to do bayside. I think we are looking at March time just waiting on the visa currently. Have you done lots of exploring all down bayside?

Thought it may be like that. From looking at the map depending on where you live it seems easily accessible by bike. Are there good schools in Sandringham\Hampton area too? what are the best activities in the area, any swimming pools? thanks Eva

Thanks Eva, like the idea of having a few different lines to choose from. What is the traffic like in peak hours in Sandringham area and is there ample parking at train stations? thanks z

Do you live down towards Frankston area? Just trying to work out total commute time if a) driving and b) you end up getting slow to Mordialloc then switching to fast train. Also what would be the daily return cost on train? Thanks in advance

Hi As I understand the post April 2017 re 457 Visas any role on a STSL you can only receive a 2 year visa that can be renewed one time only. This will give a total of 4 years. Question is, are there any different Visas one can apply for after a set period of time and staying in the same company that offer access to PR. Appreciate that 4 years is a longish time and Visa rules can change just curious and wanted some guidance in the instance they didn't change. Thanks in advance, Z

Thanks Eva. do the trains get ridiculously busy during peak hours? where I am in Essex you basically have to stand the whole journey into London...

Great will check these out as hadn't heard of them before and doesn't look to long a commute into the city