Best Places to live in Melbourne?

[AnxiousMum]

Quite frankly I am ashamed to be part of this forum at the moment, I dont feel I can add much to the ORIGNAL thread about best places to live in Melbourne as havent been there yet. BUT would like to say people like Treesea need to get a life and stop putting everyone who hasnt been to Melbourne off. I feel really sorry for the poor person who asked the question in the first place, and cant actually believe what this innocent thread has created.

 

One of my friends on PIO doesnt come on here much anymore because some of the members depress her with their either nasty or unthoughtful comments. I am all for knowing the good and the bad on a subject but this thread has become a joke.

 

There now I have gone and lowered myself to certain people's standards.:mad:

[Guest itskaren]

We lived in Mt Martha for 6 weeks and hated every minute of it. We now live by Lilydale and my 2 boys go to a fantastic private school. Funny how things turn out. all the planning before hand on where to live in Melbourne etc. It is not particularly and area that I would want to spend the rest of my life but near the school, great parks and near the Dandonongs.

 

Good Luck.

[Guest spottymercedes]

We lived in Mt Martha for 6 weeks and hated every minute of it. We now live by Lilydale and my 2 boys go to a fantastic private school. Funny how things turn out. all the planning before hand on where to live in Melbourne etc. It is not particularly and area that I would want to spend the rest of my life but near the school, great parks and near the Dandonongs.

 

Good Luck.

 

We quite liked the Lilydale area when we first arrived, but rentals were very few and far between, so we looked elsewhere and found Pakenham. We really like it here and feel that it was fate to find the house we rented. I do often wonder though, where we would have ended up if we had planned our time a bit better on arrival and had more time to look around.

[Guest The Pom Queen]

We lived in Mt Martha for 6 weeks and hated every minute of it. We now live by Lilydale and my 2 boys go to a fantastic private school. Funny how things turn out. all the planning before hand on where to live in Melbourne etc. It is not particularly and area that I would want to spend the rest of my life but near the school, great parks and near the Dandonongs.

 

Good Luck.

 

Karen

What are your thoughts on Lilydale as I know you weren't enjoying Oz at all? Do you feel more settled now? I have a few clients in Lilydale and they love it and from visiting I really like the area.

[Guest The Pom Queen]

We quite liked the Lilydale area when we first arrived, but rentals were very few and far between, so we looked elsewhere and found Pakenham. We really like it here and feel that it was fate to find the house we rented. I do often wonder though, where we would have ended up if we had planned our time a bit better on arrival and had more time to look around.

 

Marie

Before you came out did you have any ideas where you wanted to be?

[Guest spottymercedes]

Marie

Before you came out did you have any ideas where you wanted to be?

 

We thought Werribee looked quite nice although we kind of knew we wanted to be on the eastern side. I always wanted to be in Upper Ferntree Gully. I loved the look of houses for sale there, they had great views and absolutely loved the name of the place. I know thats a bit stupid now to like somewhere because of the name, but I guess deep down we didn't really have a clue!! We loved all the places amongst the trees and in the mountains, but when we got here I discovered I had a strange fear of living amonst the trees. We looked at houses in Emerald and Cockatoo, but because a lot of them are actually built amongst the trees I discovered I didn't like them. We have a bit of a joke in our house that mum is scared of trees!!

 

I think we have found somewhere that we like and can actually imagine staying here now, which is good as a while back I was convinced we had chosen the wrong place and wanted to go to Perth to see what it was like. It really is hard to appreciate how huge the area is until you actually get here and gosh what a difficult decision it is to find an area to try and settle in when there is so much to see and so little time on arrival.

[calNgary]

OK Guys ,,please can we keep this thread on track , people like differnt places for their own reasons , life would be very boring if we all liked the same things.Lets not turn this thread into he said, she said please.

 

 

One thing i do agree on in the last few pages ,is as a relocation adviser myself i find (like moving2melbourne) very few ,if any, family's settle in the suburb they picked out over the internet ,you really do need to see a place to know if it is right for you.

I strongly advise keeping an open mind, yes ask and take in peoples comments , but check out as many places as you can whilst your in temporary accommodation and make up your own mind, someone else's negative will be your positive!

As for bush fires , i wouldnt worry to much , we have had a few around Brisbane in the time ive been here ,never though i have felt threatened, the SES and fire brigade are highly trained for these situations, after all if you let a bush fire put you off , dont forget to consider the dangerous snakes& spiders, not forgetting the hurricanes and floods that can happen,lol.

Cal x

[Petals]

Firstly I think when you look for somewhere to live you really need to be here. Also Melbourne area is such a vast area there are places I have never been in the thirty odd years I have lived here.

 

So first thing is find out where you are going to be working, work out how much time you would be prepared to give to a commute each day. Have a look at Google Earth and see what the areas are like.

 

I do agree with another op that if you are going to be a stay at home Mum you should try to find an area with a cross section of the community to avoid feeling isolated during the day. In the new suburbs most mums are at work. Houses do not speak to us nor does fancy furniture.

 

The more down to earth the suburb the better the lifestyle in my opinion and more friendly.

Good luck just do not worry there is an area for everyone.

:coolxmas:

[Guest The Pom Queen]

We thought Werribee looked quite nice although we kind of knew we wanted to be on the eastern side. I always wanted to be in Upper Ferntree Gully. I loved the look of houses for sale there, they had great views and absolutely loved the name of the place. I know thats a bit stupid now to like somewhere because of the name, but I guess deep down we didn't really have a clue!! We loved all the places amongst the trees and in the mountains, but when we got here I discovered I had a strange fear of living amonst the trees. We looked at houses in Emerald and Cockatoo, but because a lot of them are actually built amongst the trees I discovered I didn't like them. We have a bit of a joke in our house that mum is scared of trees!!

 

I think we have found somewhere that we like and can actually imagine staying here now, which is good as a while back I was convinced we had chosen the wrong place and wanted to go to Perth to see what it was like. It really is hard to appreciate how huge the area is until you actually get here and gosh what a difficult decision it is to find an area to try and settle in when there is so much to see and so little time on arrival.

 

Yes I must admit I am a huge fan of the ranges, I love the village atmosphere although like you say, not really a place to go if you don't like trees:laugh:

You are right in saying that when you first arrive there is so much to do and so little time and that because of the size of Victoria it is very difficult to cover even a quarter of the suburbs in a few weeks. We recommend a minimum of 4 weeks in a furnished rental when people first arrive but to be honest I don't feel this is long enough to get a true feel, but then we have been here for years and there are still suburbs I haven't visited. At least people are going in to a 12 month rental and during this 12 months they can explore all that Melbourne has to offer and maybe even travel interstate to see what the rest of Australia is like. At the end of the 12 months they will have a better and more informed decision on where they want to live.

Pakenham is lovely and often gets overlooked, the property prices use to be quite cheap but they are slowly gaining now that more and more people are looking over there. They have now started building in Nar Nar Goon.

Beaconsfield, Officer and Harkaway are also lovely areas.

[Guest itskaren]

Karen

What are your thoughts on Lilydale as I know you weren't enjoying Oz at all? Do you feel more settled now? I have a few clients in Lilydale and they love it and from visiting I really like the area.

 

Hi

 

You are correct in saying that I did not enjoy Australia at first. I am still not 100% but it is getting better. I still cannot think of being here for ever but it IS geting better. Lilydale is not the place that I want to die in but it is ok. Much, much better in my opinion than Mt Martha, Frankston etc.

 

Thanks for asking!

 

Kind regards

[Guest The Pom Queen]

Hi

 

You are correct in saying that I did not enjoy Australia at first. I am still not 100% but it is getting better. I still cannot think of being here for ever but it IS geting better. Lilydale is not the place that I want to die in but it is ok. Much, much better in my opinion than Mt Martha, Frankston etc.

 

Thanks for asking!

 

Kind regards

 

Karen

That's great news, hey maybe Melbourne is slowly growing on you:cutexmas:

Glad the children are enjoying school.

[Guest TheArmChairDetective]

Downplaying the dangers of bushfires in some of the outer suburbs to people who are probably not used to bush fires and certainly not on the scale they occur in Victoria, is, imho, irresponsible. And certainly pertinent to the topic about where to live in Melbourne.

 

 

I'll shortly be off to stay with me family in Melbourne for xmas.

Not far from Puffin Billy:biggrinxmas:

 

Another load of the TACD crew have lived in the dandenongs for 25 years now.

Yes they have bush fires but it's not the big issue you appear to be making of it.

[Guest whitey25817]

Just to put my 2 cents worth in. We have lived in Melbournes South eastern Suburbs (Glen Waverley, Mt Waverley and Rowville, Knox ) for 40 years and they are great. Unless you intend to work in the CBD why even live close. I'm lucky if I have to go into Melbourne twice a year, and quite frankly that's too often for me. The suburbs have everything you could want and more. Knox for example has a huge shopping centre that has everything you could ever require.

A lot depends on what you do for a living and what type of lifestyle you prefer. Some people love the 'City Life' me I couldn't think of anything worse, but it would be a boring place if we were all the same. Good luck.

[Petals]

Have to agree about bush fires but then I remember the eighties fires and the Dandenongs looked like a lunar landscape afterwards.

 

People unfortunately have not taken on board the need to cut back the bush as time has dimmed the memory and of course so many people have no idea as they were not around then.

 

We were in Bright year before last when the State was on fire and could not see or breathe very well and the smoke stretched right up the Murray.

 

We will have bush fire and its something to take on board when thinking where you want to live. Also if you do live in a bush fire area make sure that you have adequate insurance and it covers bush fire.

 

Same in the hills make sure that you check for land slip with the local councils when purchasing a property. Shire of Yarra Ranges had a booklet on land slip.

[Guest itskaren]

Karen

That's great news, hey maybe Melbourne is slowly growing on you:cutexmas:

Glad the children are enjoying school.

 

I know! It just goes to show that you do need to give it time really. I needed to put myself in a different fram of mind. I just did not want to think positive at wll when I first arrived. At the end of the day I have a great husband and 2 lovely children. We are so lucky in many, many ways that sometimes you forget just how lucky you are.

 

So for all those who do not like Melbourne .....Give it time!:emoticon-signxmas:

[Guest The Pom Queen]

I know! It just goes to show that you do need to give it time really. I needed to put myself in a different fram of mind. I just did not want to think positive at wll when I first arrived. At the end of the day I have a great husband and 2 lovely children. We are so lucky in many, many ways that sometimes you forget just how lucky you are.

 

So for all those who do not like Melbourne .....Give it time!:emoticon-signxmas:

 

WHat a lovely post Karen, I am so happy that you are finally settling, and now the summer is here it can only get better.:coolxmas:

[scarlet mia]

I am also glad that things are looking up for you Karen I have read some of your other posts and it,s really nice to know that you seem happier.

Hope you have a lovely Christmas. x

[Guest wilbs]

Hi Zoe,

I had the luxury of working in Melbourne for some time before I moved here and I visited a lot of places, from Geelong to Pakenham and the peninsula. In the end I decided there are loads of great places to live just need to know what you are looking for. I have replied to someone else and my advice would be to make a list of the things you want in order of importance and decide on that basis. I know it sounds very regimental but I honestly spent every weekend going to different places checking distance from city, distance from schools, transport, nightlife, etcetc until my head exploded. Definitely transport is important Melbourne is huge and travelling into the city every day from can be a drag. My first suggestion though would be to look South and east of the city but it really does depend on what is important to you. There are loads of great places just need to know what you want. If you let me know I can give you my advice for what it's worth.

I can tell you why I decided on my location. I have 3 kids age 25 19 and 14 the 2 older ones wanted to be near the city. My wife and youngest daughter wanted to be near the country as they had horse and want to get another horse.The youngest needed to be near a good school, they all need to use public transport to get about. My wife wanted to live in a house with a garden either near the beach or in the country and didn't want an appartment. My older kids want to be near all the clubs and events and shops. I don't need to go into the CBD for work. The city and places like St Kilda and Richmond are good places for my older kids to go out. but all the ares near the city are quite expensive and mostly appartments. I ended up choosing a house in Mentone and don't regret it, but all that area is good.If you want to be in the thick of the action go to St Kilda or prahran if you want to be near the city but somehere quieter around kew, hawthorn looks good. Depends on what you wnat and how much money you have. The closed you are to the CBD the more expensive it is.

I hope this helps if you want any more ramblings from a northern lad let me know

Good Luck in choosing

[Guest sharrondodd]

hi we are looking to move to Pakenham you make it sound just perfect for us we have looked at lots of houses on the internet so looking good for us. we are only just starting the visa process and have been told it will be march 2010 b4 we get out. What are the schools like i have a 3yr old and 15yr old are there schools locally?

[Guest spottymercedes]

hi we are looking to move to Pakenham you make it sound just perfect for us we have looked at lots of houses on the internet so looking good for us. we are only just starting the visa process and have been told it will be march 2010 b4 we get out. What are the schools like i have a 3yr old and 15yr old are there schools locally?

 

Hi Sharron,

 

Our kids go to St Patrick's catholic primary school which is in Pakenham about 10/15 mins walk from our house. It is a nice school and is due to extend as they are expecting the intake of pupils to almost double in the next 5 years. There are also plans to build a secondary school on site starting in 2010, which will be great for my girls, but my son will need to travel to Berwick for the catholic secondary as he will start there next year.

There are other schools here too. We have Pakenham Springs which is a new primary and has won several awards, although I'm not entirely sure exactly what the awards are for. Pakenham Springs is on the new estate here which is not really my favourite area as the houses are a bit too close together, but they look nice if you like new builds.

There is also another primary school called Pakenham Consolidated which I'm afraid I have only ever heard bad things about, but I've never been there or looked around as we wanted a catholic school as thats what we had in the uk.

There is a secondary college here called Beaconhills, which has all good reports, but again I don't know much about as its not what I am looking for.

 

Pakenham is a really nice area and you are close enough to nature here whilst at the same time close to civilisation, at an affordable price. I do have concerns however that so many years down the line it will be too built up and join up with the rest of the suburbs along the way. Personally, I don't want to live in a built up area that is full of new houses and has no open space left in it, but if and when that happens to Pakenham there are loads of other areas only slightly further afield to move to.

 

Good Luck with your move and hope this helps.

[olly]

I find it interesting to hear some posters making comments regarding Melbourne's outer eastern-sth eastern suburban sprawl as it is is often called. Huge growth corridors of housing, more housing,more housing etc. The city is growing for heaven's sake, and why shouldn't young people or anyone who wants to come and live here have access to reasonably affordable housing? As I have commented upon elsewhere before, places like Berwick which sprouted 15-20 years ago, took some time to grow as a community, and some areas such as some parts of Packenham or Drouin will also take time to do the same. Some of those parts of Melbourne have come on even if the past 5 years. Owning a home has always been important to Australians, and it is great that huge tracts of land have opened up to allow for the expansion of the city. And regarding Treesa's comment regarding Ringwood & surrounds, I do disagree with that to an extent. I live in the next suburb to Ringwood, and I get an express train to the city in 40 mins or so. (And I drive to Doncaster on the tollway in 8 minutes, or non tollway in 25 mins). The surrounding suburbs of Ringwood are a very pleasant place to live, especially for families. And not everyone needs to get into the city either - for good value, a bus service and great access to the Yarra Valley there is also Chirnside Park, quite affordable and good access via the Maroondah Hwy to the city/country and some good schools. I agree with the person who mentioned there is something for everyone if you have a look around.

 

[THE DUNSCOMBE FAMILY]

hi there we moved to melbourne about 5 weeks ago, we have 2 kids 6 and 12 and we live in Doncaster and we love it hope this helps you

[Guest ozboy]

The dangenong mountains area just outside Melbourne is very nice great scenery, nice laid back country lifestyle within 1 hour of the city center , Areas like Diamond creek, St Andrews.

[THE SELBIES]

Hi were off to melbourne 2nd week in feb for 3 weeks to validate our visas as our house not sold yet, we were thinking on lillydale, ferntreegully area, going to spend most of our time traveling around to get a feel for the place ,will let you know what we think when we get back. colin

[Guest jodielola]

My advice is to avoid Point Cook. There is a reason it is cheap. It is up wind from the Werribee Sewage treatment plant. If you search on this on the web, I think Melbourne Water has a map showing the size of the plant. Think hectares rather than acres. This really is massive, and in summer the smell around Point Cook can be a bit like Rotorua in NZ.

 

On this forum, perhaps check out the Victoria thread. There's various comments about Melbourne areas on there. Basically, the inner (within ten km of the city) eastern suburbs are quite wealthy and expensive. Balwyn has the best co-ed non selective state high school in Victoria. The western suburbs are cheap but then to be cramped with relatively poor quality housing (Footscray, Brooklyn, Laverton), bayside, but too close to the sewage treatment plant, (Pt Cook, parts of Altona), overpriced and not good value for money, (Yarraville and near environs), poor outer suburbs (Deer Park, St Albans). Williamstown is an exception. On the bay, but at the Yarra river end, close to the city and far enough away from the treatment plant. The western suburbs have all the checmical plants and oil refineries. A bit like Grangemouth near Edinburgh. Not the healthiest part of Melbourne to live.

 

To the North West, Moonee Ponds, Strathmore and Ascot vale are quite nice. Essendon is a bit too industrial for me (it's close to the airport. Avoid Broadmeadows (poor and quite ethnic. Asbestos roofs.) Anywhere north of that is too far away imho. Coburg, Thornbury, Preston, parts of Glen Roy are predominantly Middle Eastern. That's where a lot of the mosques are situated. The second language (all primary schools teach a second language) at North Brunswick primary school, just south of Coburg, in the Moreland area, has Arabic as it's second language.

 

Brunswick is nice but cramped. West Brunswick less cramped but you get the noise from the Tullamarine freeway.

 

Ivanhoe is lovely, just to the north east of the city, and I like Northcote, coming closer to the city, but not Thornbury (in between).

 

Closer to the city, North Carlton is a lovely place to live. Likewise North Fitzroy.

 

To the east, North Richmond is predominantly Vietnamese. There are four council high rises there.

Beyond North Richmond , directly East is Kew, then Balwyn. Anywhere south of these two, all the way to the sea, is a nice place to live. So Hawthorn, Elsternwick, St Kilda, Middle Park, Albert Park, Port Melbourne, Brighton, Toorak, Windsor, South Yarra, Prahran. All reasonably expensive, though there may be some bargains here and there.

 

Going out further, Camberwell and Canterbury are lovely. I wouldn't go beyond Ringwood though. Too expensive to get into the city, and too far away.

 

On the bayside, if you did want to live further, Frankston has very good train links. Avoid the outer eastern suburbs - Pakenham, Narre Warren, Cranbourne, Hallam and the like. These are commuter suburbs - they are miles away from the city - over 25 - and tend to empty during the day. Dull, boring places to live. Nothing but mile upon mile of houses.

 

If you know where your husband's work would be based, I could be a bit more specific.

Burwood, going south east, is nice. I don't mind places like Knox and Wantirna (not Bayswater though, or North Croydon and Croydon Hills (poor transport links, and Bayswater is too industrial). But, once you get to these sorts of areas, the state education on offer is relatively poor. I wouldn't , for instance, send my children to state schools in places like Box Hill (nice to live though ) or Maroondah's catchments.

 

Avoid Springvale (poor and predominantly south east Asian, and Dandenong, (poor and mainly Indian). I don't say this from a racial point of view, - more to give a sense of the predominant community in those areas. The area around the Glen shopping centre is nice, but just keep in mind, what you save on housing you spend on private school instead, if you want your children to have the equivalent in education to what they would get in a good state primary or high school here (starts at around $7000 per year in P1 up to around $15 - $20K in P12).

just been reading your message regarding places to live and you sound like you know what your talking about. i found it really helpful.

 

We are thinking of moving to melbourne as my husband has been offered a job. We have friends living in St Kilda, Brighton and Hampton, but wondered if you have any thoughts on:

East Hampton? or

Mitcham or

Edithvale?

Price wise, generally nice places to live and good schools etc.

 

thankyou.