M005 Posted December 9, 2014 Share Posted December 9, 2014 I've read a lot of threads regarding suburbs and we thought we'd got our shortlist together (Mordialloc, Parkdale, Aspendale etc) but there is currently a new series of Location Location Location Australia showing on UK tv which is showing Melbourne a lot, and whilst the suburbs shown are closer into the centre, it reminds us of London So we revisited our requirements; Near the beach Near open countryside with bike / running trails Community where we can meet people, children (9 & 5) can go to schools No views of CBD / city Away from freeways & train lines Ability to commute to northern / eastern suburbs for work As I'm an accountant and will be looking for jobs in industry, rather than accountancy firms etc, the chances are I won't be in the CBD & would certainly like the flexibility of being able to access the CBD if needed or drive to work in the outer suburbs. Requirements 3-5 are non negotiable. We currently live on the edge of the New Forest in the UK and are about 20-30 minutes from the beach. We'd like to be closer to the beach, but also don't want to lose the access to bike / run trails. Do any suburbs meet all requirements above ? We've started to look at places such as Templestowe & Manningham which seem to meet all bar number 1 above. But how easy is it to get to the beaches? We'd be looking to rent at first but then buy in the same location with a budget of $750k - $850k for a 4 bed house. Thanks for the help (& reading a long post ) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
foolboy Posted December 9, 2014 Share Posted December 9, 2014 Melbourne is nothing like anywhere in the UK. You have the city centre funnily enough in the centre and then the suburbs radiate from it. There is no countryside for at least 3o k/m in any direction. There are some very nice suburbs in Melbourne so I would be renting in the suburbs you mentioned and then having a look for your perfect home when you get here. Melbourne as been planned really badly one suburbs ends and then the next begins a lot like the suburbs in the US. You have the beaches around the bay and the countryside about 1 hour away unless you want to travel right into the country where you might get both such as Mornington in the south east where I live. 4 Million people live in Victoria but we are spread out in an area the side of Britain like I said its nothing like the UK. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Melbpom Posted December 9, 2014 Share Posted December 9, 2014 I'd add Bulleen to your list if you are looking in the Templestowe area. You can get quite a lot of house (might need updating) in that suburb. It's close to the eastern freeway and bordering the more expensive suburbs such as Ivanhoe and North Balwyn. You may also get CBD views which are sought after and quite pretty at night. Of course you'd be about an hour north of a beach. What is a big factor is schools. If you are thinking about private schools, then suburbs such as Kew/Camberwell would give you more options. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rosiew Posted December 9, 2014 Share Posted December 9, 2014 Your other option is somewhere like the corridor between Ringwood and Mount Dandenong - it gives you access to plenty of greenery at the outer end as well as good access to roads, good schools, community and the Eastlink which will have you on the Mornington Peninsula in around 30 -40 mins for beaches. So, the outer East. But I think the Templestowe option is wise - also Donvale. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Petals Posted December 9, 2014 Share Posted December 9, 2014 If you want beach, everyone in the east says its a shortish drive, but when you are going with everyone else on a hot day its not its bumper to bumper. That is why us who live on the Mornington Peninsula love it , we have it all. The beach, the country and no traffic jams to get to the beach. Also Parkdale is a lovely area and beach side of the railway line is the place to live. Close enough to walk down to the beach there. All along that area is good. My friend lives on the beach front at Edithvale and it was wonderful when the kids were young we could sit and watch them from the veranda. The beach side suburbs will give you access to the industrial areas in the south like Dandenong, Braebook, Warrigal Road etc where you may find work. Parking at the beach is also at a premium in summer so that has to be taken into account if you are a beach person. If you have not already done so join up with the Life in Victoria forum there is a link at the foot of this forum. Most of the members are now living here and they will be able to give you their first hand knowledge of areas etc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
M005 Posted December 11, 2014 Author Share Posted December 11, 2014 Thanks all - now busy researching all the areas Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
starlight7 Posted December 12, 2014 Share Posted December 12, 2014 Warrandyte? You get the river which you can swim in, you get the bush and not too far from anywhere. Have a look at it, you would probably like it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ArrowsEng Posted December 13, 2014 Share Posted December 13, 2014 We live in Vermont, 26km due east of Melbourne. We have a fantastic view of Mount Dandenong and no view of CBD. We are a bit more than a stones throw from Eastlink so we don't hear any traffic noise but we can be from our house to my parents beach house at a place called McCrae on the mornington peninsula, 75km away due south in 45mins. If we need to go to CBD, the train line is not far away and the local high school and primary schools are well sort after as they have high achieving results and are government schools instead of private ones. There are still houses in your price range but these are going as we have noticed that many of the Chinese and Indian new comers also like the schools. There is Dandenong creek bike trail that takes you quite a distance in 2 directions. In the end, there is nothing like just driving around and seeing a suburb for yourself! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quinkla Posted December 13, 2014 Share Posted December 13, 2014 If you like the beach, Melbourne is probably not the right city. There are places you can live (e.g. Mornington peninsula) that do have beaches, but you'd be compromising on everything else. If you live in Templestowe, you'd never go to the beach even though you might tell yourself that you would. Melbourne has so e great places to live, especially in north and eastern suburbs, if only you would drop the beach requirement. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ciaranmacgiolla Posted January 25, 2015 Share Posted January 25, 2015 We are in Mentone and love it... Beach life is great, when are u looking at coming over. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blobby1000 Posted January 25, 2015 Share Posted January 25, 2015 I've read a lot of threads regarding suburbs and we thought we'd got our shortlist together (Mordialloc, Parkdale, Aspendale etc) but there is currently a new series of Location Location Location Australia showing on UK tv which is showing Melbourne a lot, and whilst the suburbs shown are closer into the centre, it reminds us of London So we revisited our requirements; Near the beach Near open countryside with bike / running trails Community where we can meet people, children (9 & 5) can go to schools No views of CBD / city Away from freeways & train lines Ability to commute to northern / eastern suburbs for work As I'm an accountant and will be looking for jobs in industry, rather than accountancy firms etc, the chances are I won't be in the CBD & would certainly like the flexibility of being able to access the CBD if needed or drive to work in the outer suburbs. Requirements 3-5 are non negotiable. We currently live on the edge of the New Forest in the UK and are about 20-30 minutes from the beach. We'd like to be closer to the beach, but also don't want to lose the access to bike / run trails. Do any suburbs meet all requirements above ? We've started to look at places such as Templestowe & Manningham which seem to meet all bar number 1 above. But how easy is it to get to the beaches? We'd be looking to rent at first but then buy in the same location with a budget of $750k - $850k for a 4 bed house. Thanks for the help (& reading a long post ) There is no suburb in Melbourne that meets all 6 of these criteria i doubt there is anywhere in the world that meets these 6 requirements? if I have one bit of advice (coming from a failed pom in oz/returnee ) it is that you must learn to compromise ! By the way if you do find somewhere that meets these requirements, please let me know, because we will be coming back! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blobby1000 Posted January 25, 2015 Share Posted January 25, 2015 Warrandyte? You get the river which you can swim in, you get the bush and not too far from anywhere. Have a look at it, you would probably like it. Yes Warrendyte is about as perfect as it gets However, nowhere near the beach and would take hours to commute across the city If we returned/could turn back the click , we would live in Warrendyte Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
M005 Posted March 9, 2015 Author Share Posted March 9, 2015 Thanks all, been busy getting IELTS out of the way and planning out recce visit which is only 3 weeks away - we leave the UK on the 2nd April for just over 2 weeks in Melbourne. We are staying in South Morang with my Sister for a week (with a couple of nights down the Great Ocean Road) and the rest of the time in an apartment in Parkdale. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest leonburger Posted March 10, 2015 Share Posted March 10, 2015 That's a difficult one. Geelong if you want to be cheap. Williamson could be good Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Petals Posted March 10, 2015 Share Posted March 10, 2015 Parkdale is a nice suburb and close to the beach Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grahamffc Posted March 10, 2015 Share Posted March 10, 2015 I cycled from Frankston to Port Melbourne once and while it was very brief I liked the look of Chelsea. A quick look on domain.com.au looks like a 3-4 bed close to the beach would be around that price range. I know it takes about 45-60 minutes to get a train into the CBD but don't know if there would be much chance of work locally, whether schools/community is good. Perhaps someone knows? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cliff Cornell Posted March 11, 2015 Share Posted March 11, 2015 We're in Mornington and it ticks a lot of the boxes. Short drive to train station and then 50 minutes to CBD but it's a life style choice and never met anyone that's not been happy with choosing this area. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Petals Posted March 11, 2015 Share Posted March 11, 2015 Aspendale, Edithvale Chelsea, Bon Beach are all ok. I lived in Edithvale for 11 years and it as a really good place to live. Close to Dandenong area for work. Train to the city, beach walking distance. Shops are fine, schools are fine. My friend lives on the beach at Edithvale so I do still visit a lot but prefer to live a bit back from the beach as its very crowded in summer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
M005 Posted March 12, 2015 Author Share Posted March 12, 2015 We're looking at schools in Parkdale and Aspendale, but are currently drawing up other 'scenarios' for living inland a bit or further out towards Frankston & Mornington, and to spend some time in those areas when we are there. I have appointments booked the first week with some recruitment agents with the aim of understanding the job market and where the likely roles will be. If there is enough opportunity away fromt he CBD we may well look further out along the peninsular. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Petkula73 Posted April 20, 2015 Share Posted April 20, 2015 Downsize your house expectation and move further up the coast towards the centre - better overall quality of life for a family. There are loads of great Bayside suburbs that $850K would just about get you a 2-3 bed house (small one though). Sandringham, Black Rock, Mentone, Beaumaris, Mordialloc - all nice places. The thing with Melbourne (and others will disagree) is once you get outside the older more established suburbs, it just becomes very boring and soulless. Edithvale, Aspendale etc all have extremely beautiful beaches, maybe the best in Melbourne, but there's not much else to them in all honesty. That said, if you break completely free from Melbourne there are some amazing places a bit further down the coast and on to the peninsular. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Petals Posted April 21, 2015 Share Posted April 21, 2015 Chelsea, Aspendale, Edithvale, Bon Beach, Carrum, Patterson Lakes are very popular areas now because they are close to the freeways, Eastlink and the Frankston Freeway. Also easy to get to the Dandenong Corrididor for work or to the Princes Highway for work up that way, close to Monash Medical Centre. Very accessible area. Plenty of sporting facilities, my son played baseball for both Chelsea and Bon Beach. There is small public golf course at Edithvale. Its getting expensive in the area, a lot of larger than average blocks of land in this strip and the are being bought up and people are building new homes on them. I was in Edithvale on Saturday and as I know the area very well went around and had a look and its changing. Its also very accessible to private and public schools. You will get more bang for your buck but for how long who knows. Prices are going up and Frankston is also getting more expensive, especially South Frankston, its never been cheap in South Frankston but a million is being paid more often these days. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Petkula73 Posted April 21, 2015 Share Posted April 21, 2015 A million dollars to live in Frankston? Gulp!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Petals Posted April 21, 2015 Share Posted April 21, 2015 A million dollars to live in Frankston? Gulp!! Obviously you do not know Frankston, its Frankston North that is a bit dodgy not the rest of it. There are many million dollar homes there and always have been. Olivers Hill, and the areas around there. Gould Street Many houses in the 6 - 800 range in South Frankston. The secret is and has always been for people who know that people who think its horrible keep away and they are happy about that. Its kept a lid on price for a long time for those in the know. Unfortunately its being discovered by others now. Many homes in Frankston have fantastic views of Port Phillip not just from Olives Hill. Ballam Park, the Whistlestop Estate have homes with 90 degree views across the bay. From the highway you can see to the city skyline so it shows how many people are living with great views. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Newts Posted April 22, 2015 Share Posted April 22, 2015 Hi, we have just moved to Melbourne with my job, initially for 2 years. We originally lived in the CBD for a couple of months, whilst awaiting for our stuff to be delivered and decided that we would move Mentone. Why? Well there are plenty of school choices my son is aged 11 and has gone into grade 6 this year. He chose Mentone Park Primary school and really enjoys it there. We are currently looking at secondary schools and have so far seen Parkdale and Mordialloc college, we plan to see Cheltenham as well and will make a decision based on this viewing. Mentone has a nice little town centre, more of a village feel, than a lot of the other close by suburbs as well as the train station (which is why we did not move to Black Rock) so we have connections if we need them. However I drive to the CBD everyday anyway, so not so much an issue as it turns out. I am a keen cyclist and use Beach Road (along with the other thousands of cyclists!!). Mentone is quiet, but pretty much has most things you would want close by. We are pleased we chose it, however for us Melbourne/Mentone does not compare to London so we will probably still go back after my 2 year initial contract period comes to an end. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Petkula73 Posted April 22, 2015 Share Posted April 22, 2015 Obviously you do not know Frankston, its Frankston North that is a bit dodgy not the rest of it.. The comment was more about house out in the sticks now costing seven figures. I'm sure South Frankston is fine, I just wouldn't want to live an hour away from the city centre and pay $1M+ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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