Working in Deerpark (west melbourne), where to settle?

[Anna333]

Hey,

 

My hubby's from Melbourne, Greensborough originally. His parents are still there and other family and friends in the east. In the UK we live in a village in the Peak District. Love fell running, mountain biking and the outdoors. Hoping to adapt our love for the outdoors with the move, and live somewhere with nice outdoor space close by, although not necessarily for the same activities as before. Want to have less that 30 min drive to Deerpark.

 

I'm not sure if I'll work or be stay at home mum, so I guess I'd be looking for a place I can meet people too. Maybe a wee shopping street or similar. We currently live in a village with a PO, chippy & 2 pubs so don't expect much on my doorstep, although a 10 min drive from here I've got most things I need. Would like something similar if it exists in the West!

 

I've been tasked with doing the property search when we arrive while the other half earns a crust. Any suggestions of where I might start looking?! I have no clue about anything out there - the OH mentioned places like Bacchus Marsh & Melton could be worth looking at. He seems to turn his nose up at Werribee and Point Cook because of the sewage getting pumped out there. Should I rule those places out or are they actually quite decent??

 

Thanks in advance!

[Petals]

Riddles Creek is nice, Bacchus Marsh, not sure about Melton, does not get a good wrap.

Its totally different here in Melbourne, its a huge rambling sprawling place, and to live in idyllic parts if country is what you want you need to go to the outskirts. This will require traveling to work and not sure that 30 mins is in the picture.

 

I think of an English village situation and I think of Melbourne and the two do not correlate, because this is Australia, its completely different. You have to get it out of the mindset that it will be similar. Yesterday I went to see my daughter she was moving and its seventy km to the city from where I live for example. To get to the airport from here is 100km.

 

I love Melbourne its great, but its not like the UK at all, in my view.

 

If you want strip shopping then you need to live in the inner areas mostly and they tend to be very old and very expensive.

 

Deer Park's council is the City of Brimbank and if you look up the site it will give you an idea of what its like there. Transport etc.

 

Also Wiki will give you a description of it and also any other areas you may be interested in.

[KazzE]

We are moving to Werribee in a couple of weeks - Where does the sewage get pumped out near there?

 

We smelt 'the smell' for the first time in ages as we drove along the freeway, where Deer Park bypass joins the Werribee/Point Cook traffic the other day. But have not smelt anything around Werribee, there was a treatment p,ant but it has gone, I think?

 

From w hat you have said it sounds like somewhere like Baccus March would be worth a look, not sure on the time to Deer Park though?

 

I really liked the look of Little River but could not find a suitable house there, mainly because there are none for sale!

 

So we have ended up right on the edge, Geelong side of Werribee and we are hoping for similar to you, community feel and not too suburban.

 

But as Petals says it is different, you will not find anything like an English village but you should be able to find somewhere that feels right.

 

Have a look at Melton but I would not live there, Rock bank is the next place they are starting to develop. Eynesbury looks like it will develop well but it is a bit remote, no facilities, the kids go to school on the bus to Melton. I really liked it the first couple of times we visited but it started to feel a bit Stepford.

 

I would say, in general stay away from the new estates.

 

If want some company while you are looking or just a chat give me a pm, happy to help out in any way I can.

 

Karen

[Guest The Pom Queen]

Personally I would look at Gisborne and Mt Macedon (I love it there) but it may be too far out for you.

[kipper2]

We are moving to Werribee in a couple of weeks - Where does the sewage get pumped out near there?

 

We smelt 'the smell' for the first time in ages as we drove along the freeway, where Deer Park bypass joins the Werribee/Point Cook traffic the other day. But have not smelt anything around Werribee, there was a treatment p,ant but it has gone, I think?

 

From w hat you have said it sounds like somewhere like Baccus March would be worth a look, not sure on the time to Deer Park though?

 

I really liked the look of Little River but could not find a suitable house there, mainly because there are none for sale!

 

So we have ended up right on the edge, Geelong side of Werribee and we are hoping for similar to you, community feel and not too suburban.

 

But as Petals says it is different, you will not find anything like an English village but you should be able to find somewhere that feels right.

 

Have a look at Melton but I would not live there, Rock bank is the next place they are starting to develop. Eynesbury looks like it will develop well but it is a bit remote, no facilities, the kids go to school on the bus to Melton. I really liked it the first couple of times we visited but it started to feel a bit Stepford.

 

I would say, in general stay away from the new estates.

 

If want some company while you are looking or just a chat give me a pm, happy to help out in any way I can.

 

Karen

That smell near the bypass has nothing to do with Werribee plant.It's chemicals used by some of the factories and tanning facilities in the Laverton area.Don't stress about the sewer smells it's a non event.

[KazzE]

Thanks! Wondered what it was, had been told it was the water treatment plant.

 

Is there a smell problem in Werribee?

 

Bit late now as we move in a couple of weeks ;0)

[KazzE]

I thought about Gisbourne also Romsey and Sunbury . . . . .

 

Mt Macedon felt a bit English villagey to me when we drove through, milk bar, school, etc on main street if I recall correctly.

 

Wood end and Kyneton are nice too, but maybe a bit far out, used to take me an hour from Deer Park to Kyneton, straight run, more or less though and not much traffic.

 

Don't forget the more country you go the more you will need to be thinking about preparing for bush fires.

[Anna333]

Hey,

 

Thanks all for the comments. Please don't get me wrong, I'm not expecting a piece of Little Britain in Oz!

 

I've since been chatting to friends and family from Melbourne. Some more suggestions have been Altona, Footscray, Gisborne & Craggiesburn to name a few. I think it'd be good to have some contrasting areas to look at - city and country - I don't want to rule out city without looking first. If there are nice parks and amenities close by then these could trump a more rural area.

 

I've definitely ruled out Melton from comments made by all the Melbournians I know! Not sure about Bucchus Marsh yet. I've also got to think long term, so depending if I go back to work (which I guess depends on proximity to city centre) I would need childcare, then I need to think about schools and all that jazz (he's only 1yo!). With regards to the outdoors lifestyle I was thinking more along the line of proximity to beach/outdoor pool for swimming and nice parks, roads etc to play with kids, run or road bike around.

 

Any more feedback would be most welcome, this is all great stuff I'm hearing back. Can't wait to physically get there and start looking... google maps and wiki really don't tell the full story, although they'll need to do for now.

[Petals]

Werribee sewerage plant is a ponding system and covers a huge area and the treated water goes into the sea. Treatment plants tend not to be smelly these days. The other large Treatment plant in Melbourne is at Carrum. Actually across the road from Patterson Lakes. You can see the holding basins as you drive down the freeway, this water when treated goes out at Gunnamatta beach on the Peninsula.

 

The Environment Protection Authority is on their tale all the time if there are any problems.

 

There used to be an open sewer going to the plant at Werribee but that is covered in now, I think people who remember the smell may be referring to this.

 

I would be more worried about the planes from Avalon airport in the area.

[mng75]

Craigieburn's a bit far from Deer Park, around an hour by the back roads.

 

More built up than you might like but Keilor and Taylor's Lakes are nice areas. Keilor has a nice little high st (unusual!) and Brimbank Park is right on the doorstep for walks and swimming in the river. Sunbury is lovely and still has a country town feel. There are excellent private schools in the area (I went to Overnewton!) but I'm not sure about the state schools.

 

Macedon and Melton sprang to mind from your description.

[KazzE]

I really like Keilor village the high street is fab, not far to the freeway, good connections to the city, to highway toward Geelong and Great Ocean road to the North and to Bendigo.

 

Great cake shop that does gluten free, yummy cakes

 

Not sure what the schools would be like.

 

but we were put off by being on the flight path

[mng75]

You do get used to the planes!

[surfndirt]

Geez,

 

Pretty sorry to tell ya but you aint gonna find anything like a village in the lake district here I'm affraid! And certainly not in the western burbs of Melbourne!! Bloody hell, thats like comparing pretty much the two most opposite things :-)

 

One is a sprawling mess of un-planned housing estates which stretch off for miles and miles with no services, tons of third world immigrants, little means to get around and a souless air which drives everyone to consume in order to prove to themselves that they have 'made it'.....

 

The other is, well, where me family live (Cockermouth) and hasn't changed for 100's of years really.....

 

The only place I can see which may fit would be Greendale, great little village - but a village in the lakes, it aint!!

 

I just can't get over how everyone from the UK thinks this place is the answer to every problem or life need in the world - it just isn't. Sure if you like;

 

- Surfing

- Dirt bikes

- Sports

- etc

 

It's a great place (hence why I'm here), but coming from an area of outstanding natural beauty in Europe to the western burb's of Melbourne if you don't have a need to partake in one of the above sports or similar - well I just can't understand it.

 

Anyway, from someone who is out bush everyweekend in the west - Greendale would well be worth a look. Just be prepared for the worst driving experience of your life coming into the city everyday!!

[Petals]

Geez,

 

Pretty sorry to tell ya but you aint gonna find anything like a village in the lake district here I'm affraid! And certainly not in the western burbs of Melbourne!! Bloody hell, thats like comparing pretty much the two most opposite things :-)

 

One is a sprawling mess of un-planned housing estates which stretch off for miles and miles with no services, tons of third world immigrants, little means to get around and a souless air which drives everyone to consume in order to prove to themselves that they have 'made it'.....

 

The other is, well, where me family live (Cockermouth) and hasn't changed for 100's of years really.....

 

The only place I can see which may fit would be Greendale, great little village - but a village in the lakes, it aint!!

 

I just can't get over how everyone from the UK thinks this place is the answer to every problem or life need in the world - it just isn't. Sure if you like;

 

- Surfing

- Dirt bikes

- Sports

- etc

 

It's a great place (hence why I'm here), but coming from an area of outstanding natural beauty in Europe to the western burb's of Melbourne if you don't have a need to partake in one of the above sports or similar - well I just can't understand it.

 

Anyway, from someone who is out bush everyweekend in the west - Greendale would well be worth a look. Just be prepared for the worst driving experience of your life coming into the city everyday!!

 

 

Bit harsh, try to be helpful, its Greenvale by the way. Actually we do have nice villages here in Melbouirne but unfortunately they are quite a hike from the area that the poster is going to be working in.

[rikyuu]

Personally I would look at Gisborne and Mt Macedon (I love it there) but it may be too far out for you.

 

I agree, Gisborne and Mt Macedon are getting a little like the English country side and look like nice places (I go camping up there). Like others say, Melbourne i svery different to the UK, hard to describe, but not many 'villages' with a couple of shops and pubs. It's all sort of city, then nothing but farms, plains, hills until the next town. Would be tricky to get something village like within 30mins of Deer Park. Melton isn't well thought of, lots of full on yobs and bogans. Werribee and Hoppers crossing seem a bit run down, but have some new housing estates. I caught and ate a bream from the river and survived. Diggers rest is a small village type place, but the pub is derelict after being burnt down several times and there's one shop. Seems to be where tradies with utes live. It's also marked for expansion and the train station has just been improved.

Oh yes and Keilor village as Kazze said looks nice and quaint.

[surfndirt]

Bit harsh, try to be helpful, its Greenvale by the way. Actually we do have nice villages here in Melbouirne but unfortunately they are quite a hike from the area that the poster is going to be working in.

 

Apologies if I came across harsh.... Nah, it's deffo greendale like. Just off the western highway about 20 klicks on from Baccus Marsh. Great little spot;

 

http://www.realestate.com.au/property-house-vic-greendale-110585329

 

Good pub n' that there too. Again, nowt like a hamlet in the lakes though :-)

 

In fact, that's a pretty nice little joint - shame it's the same price as a nice terrace in Tynemouth or some such! Would be great for $100k!!!

 

Again, apologies if negative - just trying to tell it like it is....

[Anna333]

Hey,

 

I've been in Melbourne just over week now and commenced the 'area' hunt so I thought I'd update the thread in case anyone else is in a similar position.

 

Drove out to new estate in Deerpark and Caroline Springs. Found them both pretty soul-less and removed from anywhere else. Went on to Bacchus Marsh, which I loved. Great stroller walks around the town, good cul-de-sacs for kiddies to play in at the house and decent enough strip of shops for day to day. Also on the doorstep for bush walks / fell running at the weekend. I guess this would be the equivalent of the peaks, where we've moved from. Still a good commute for my OH to Deerpark (25mins) and 40 mins by train to city centre.

 

Next stop Altona and around. Fell in love with Altona and dropped into some house viewings while we were there. Too expensive for us, but good to know what you get for your money. Got the beach and cherry lake both in walking distance, opposite directions. Went to Hoppers Crossing, Werribee and a new estate out in Tarneit and by comparison they had nothing to offer. We have defo decided that location is more important to us than house. The latter places where minimum 15 minute drive from the coast. So on we went to Altona Meadows. Think we can get the best compromise of location and house here. It's on the same reserve that borders Altona so lovely walks in 2 directions. Looked at availability of family sized houses to rent or buy there and all looks good. So there we are. We'll take a look at some of the neighboring suburbs like Sanctuary Lakes and Point Cook next to compare.

 

So, so far Altona Meadows is in the lead, with Bacchus March in second place. AM has the edge as it's not as detached from places as BM. Both a similar distance to Torquay / Anglesea which was another factor. Pretty pleased with how the search is going, but do have the luxury of staying with the in-laws in Greensborough for as long as we need.

[BenSwinney]

Will be following this thread as you've mentioned all the suburbs I would be looking at when I get across ... please keep it updated on the likes of Point Cook and S Lakes please.

 

Thanks

Ben

[KazzE]

Altona Meadows is cheaper because of social issues and being very close to industrial areas, we counted it out for these reasons

 

But plus side is good links to road and rail

 

Bacchus Marsh is quite a bit further out, would that be an issue for you?

 

If I had a young family I would probably go for Bacchus Marsh over Altona

 

Or even Point Cook/Santuary Lakes but it can get grid locked due to one road in if you need to commute - great place for families

 

Totally agree about the soulless sets of some of the newer estates in Deer Park and Tarniet the reason we have moved from there out to Werribee, westleigh gardens, right on the edge of Werribee heading towards Little River-Geelong

 

Keep going back to the areas you like the look of, even some you are not sure of you will see different sides of the area at different times.

 

Happy house hunting

[Anna333]

Hey,

 

Another update. We've decided that Bacchus Marsh is the place for us. For a while we were torn between Altona Meadows and BM. We spent a few full days around AM at the weekend looking at houses and going for walks. We actually narrowed our search down to the more eastern side, so south and west of Victoria Street, and also off the main road as we have a kid. Thought the proximity to vast outdoor space was great, plus just 5 min drive to Altona beach. We looked at property in Point Cook and Sanctuary Lakes, as well as AM. Drawback of PC and SL is traffic at peak hour - still a very big issue. We didn't like the fact that you weren't as close to the nice open space that AM has to offer. Just felt all the houses were more compacted than elsewhere as well. Back in AM, we found a house in the area we like with a good amount of land with it and would have suited us in the long term with a growing family in AM. It defo sounds like property with a good amount of land outside was unusual for AM and surrounding areas. What is it with everyone building to the boundary - ever heard of a 2 story house??! Sorry...! Incidentally from the houses we were looking at you can't see any of the industrial towers etc, and we didn't visibly see any social issues - but I guess this is when it's good to chat to the locals. One small bit of graffiti on one wall beside the public path was the extent of it - then again we weren't hanging around after dark. There's a skate park to the east and large basketball hall.

 

We camped for the weekend in BM to check it out. I'd been for a brief look but my husband hadn't been. Suffice to say we fell in love with it. Ate out Friday night, loads of places to choose from and all were busy enough. Tried a few different cafes, all good with a particular favourite that will become our regular haunt I'm sure. We got speaking to locals who were all really friendly and all very positive about living there. Lots of couples around out age (30) moving out there to start families. It's definitely expanding and there is a wide variety of housing available from your SL estate type place to older properties with more land. Someone circled the 2 'known' druggy / bad areas, they're confined to a few streets, all very useful info. We fell in love with a house that has an acre of land. It's in the adjoining area to BM called Darcy. Everyone still calls Darcy BM though, it's a little confusing. It's a bit further from the shops than I would have liked - a 5-10 min drive, but it ticks all the other boxes. The house is incidentally larger than the place we like best in AM, obviously with more outdoor space, has views and is on for slightly less. So you do get much more for your money, but alas some people would see living so far out of town a negative. They have the more luxurious fast trains running from BM, so 40 min into the city. They run more frequently at peak hour and do a few later services at the weekend. And for us the lifestyle that's on your doorstep - dirt biking, mountain biking, road biking, local and bush walks, seasonal fruit picking...

 

So we're at the stage of having put an offer on the house and seeing what else comes up that's similar. We're in no rush to buy, too busy free-riding with the in-laws! But pleased and settled with our decision now.

[KazzE]

Wow you have been busy, sounds like you have found the place to settle, good luck with the house offer

:wubclub:

[leanda]

I live in point cook and love it, but agree with some others on here it's not for everyone. I love the mass of young families just like us. For me the traffic at peak times is getting better, it's not perfect, but then, where is at peak time!! I work in Altona and drive through altona meadows to get home and have friends there. It's a nicer place than it used to be and has some reasonably priced homes.

 

Bacchus Marsh is somewhere I don't know we'll but have friends that live there and love it, they wouldn't go anywhere else. Apparently they have one of the best schools on the west too! I haven't looked into that yet and my son is too young but I do know of a few people that send their kids to Bacchus marsh.

 

Hope you find settle where you are happy and hope you love your new life

[Anna333]

Hey again! Ok, so you may see a pattern emerging that my husband and I like to change our minds as often as the wind changes direction... we've decided not to move to Bacchus Marsh but instead to focus on Altona Meadows (and Altona if anything came up anywhere near reasonable price!). The reason for the change in decision is whilst my husband works in Deerpark now and it's a reasonable commute to Bacchus Marsh, 5 years down the line when he decides to change jobs we're concerned there won't be the selection concentrated out that far west. Hence moving our search more central again.

 

Still really like Bacchus Marsh and if it weren't so far out it'd be number 1, but alas location location location...!

[leanda]

To be honest, the reason, I don't know much about Bacchus marsh is that it is too far out for me. Yell if you need any further help x

[boganbear]

Oh good,no one has mentioned Williamstown yet so I will keep quiet. Its not known as the jewel of the west with lots of famous people living there for nothing. I used to see Sean Micaliffe most weekends doing his shopping and theres loads of AFL players (who I have never heard of).