Mart888 Posted June 4, 2016 Share Posted June 4, 2016 Hi, Completely new to the site, stumbled across it whilst searching Google - great to see people working together and sharing knowledge....so thought I'd give it a try! We're (me, wife + 3 children) moving to Melb later this year and wanted some advice/recommendations on family-friendly west side suburbs (within reasonable driving distance to Geelong). Kids are 11, 9, 7 - so good schools a must but really interested to hear your views/experiences (both good and bad). We've read some of the other threads regarding Melb suburbs but nothing specifically relating to the western suburbs. Many Thanks Everyone!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quinkla Posted June 4, 2016 Share Posted June 4, 2016 If you want to be within easy driving distance of Geelong, have you though about... Geelong? If that's where you are going to want to be most of the time, then that's the sensible place to live. You can make trips to Melbourne as needed, but it seems better than being in an outer suburb of Melbourne for that occasional Friday night out and having a long drive (or helicopter ride) on a daily basis. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mart888 Posted June 4, 2016 Author Share Posted June 4, 2016 Hi Quinkla, yes Geelong is a consideration but we're open to the other suburbs around, just trying to get a view on which ones are good as we don't know much about them. Don't mind driving, currently do a 40 min drive in the UK and where we live vs where I work are very different places. The where we live - thinking about whole family - is our main priority. Schools etc. Anyone live in Geelong? Is it good for families/schools? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ger007 Posted June 4, 2016 Share Posted June 4, 2016 Hi Mart888, I'm completely new to the site too and found it by google as well. Your post has prompted me to register! We moved to Oz from the UK 10 years ago. You can't get any more family friendly than the beachside suburb of Altona in the western suburbs. There are great primary schools, lots of parks & open spaces, cafes/restaurants, and of course the beach! High School/Secondary Schools are an issue at the moment, but there are options nearby in Williamstown/Altona North/Point Cook. Geelong is about 50-60 min drive depending on traffic but most of the traffic is going in the other direction at peak times. One of our neighbours works in Geelong and I've never heard her complain about the commute :-) We have two children, aged 1 and 10, and we wouldn't live anywhere else in Melbourne. It's a hidden gem that we discovered 8+ years ago after living in the city for 2 years. The area is full of families from all over the world, in the school playground you will meet English, Irish, Scottish, Danish, Sweedish, German etc. the list goes on and there's a great community atmosphere. As a side note after being in Australia for 10 years, we have decided to go home for 12 months to spend time with family whilst the kids are young and the grandparents are still active. We're going to put the house up for rent mid June to be available from late July/early August, furnished or unfurnished. Would be great to lease to an expat as we know how hard it was to find accommodation when we first moved to Melbourne. Cheers Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mart888 Posted June 4, 2016 Author Share Posted June 4, 2016 Hi Ger007, Thanks Altona sounds like a great place, we will definitely look into it. What's Point Cook like too? There's a place there called Sanctuary Lakes which seems nice too? We'll be moving over Sept/Oct - do you have any details of your place you could send over? Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ger007 Posted June 5, 2016 Share Posted June 5, 2016 Hi Mart888, Will PM you re details of our place. With regard to Point Cook, it is more recently developed than Altona and still developing. It is a huge area made up of lots of estates with modern facilities, shopping centres, parks etc. The area is very car dependant but if you're close to the railway line/freeway that is probably better when trying to get out to work in the mornings. Service frequency on the Werribee Line has improved to/from the city over the last couple of years in addition to a train station that opended at Williams Landing, probably over 12 months ago now I think. Sanctury Lakes is a nice area, you just need to be comfortable with the potential extra travel time to work given the distance from the city and I understand Point Cook Road is a bit of a bottle neck during peak times but then again if you're driving in the opposite direction to Geelong it might not be so much of an issue. There are other alternatives to the freeway but I just don't know the area that well. Cheers Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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