Leaving Melbourne's suburbs

[blobby1000]

I have really enjoyed hearing stories of other people like us that started out in surburban Melbourne and have since left to live away from suburbia, so I thought I would start a thread to see if anyone else wants to share stories of their experiences in the suburbs and how life has changed since moving out of that environment.

 

Where did you start?

Where did you go?

How did you like living in surburban Melbourne?

How is life in your new town now?

Any advice for anyone starting out over in Victoria/alternatives to starting out in suburbia.

 

It seems a lot of the jobs are in Melbourne or its suburbs and so many of us have no choice but to spend the first year in the suburbs before moving on, I wonder if there are any alternatives to this for people starting out from the UK now.

 

Will be interesting to hear of experiences.

 

We had a year in Greensborough (Northern Suburbs) and now live in Torquay.

[Quinkla]

Apart from the beach, how is Torquay actually different to Greensborough? Both have a shopping centre surrounded by lots of houses. Greensborough has the advantages of being near other suburbs whereas Torquay is a bit of a drive from Geelong but isn't it pretty much of a muchness?

[byrned]

Apart from the beach, how is Torquay actually different to Greensborough? Both have a shopping centre surrounded by lots of houses. Greensborough has the advantages of being near other suburbs whereas Torquay is a bit of a drive from Geelong but isn't it pretty much of a muchness?

 

Living near water is a totally different vibe then living in greensborough. Yes you are right take away the coast from Torquay and you would probably find yes a muchness but I think for a lot of people who love living near the beach and asking them to compare greensborough no comparison in my opinion that is because I am more of a water and beach lover then I am of places like Greensborough, to me all I see is a mass of housing estates with busy roads, a shopping plaza and nothing else. when I go for coffee I like to sit and have coffee and look out on a beautifull view the beach and sea, when I used to have coffee in Greensborough all I saw was busy roads, or in the plaza a noisy food court. Torquay is a lovely little town, I was down there last year for the ottways ride.

[blobby1000]

Hi,

 

No it could not be more different to Greensborough. Firstly it has the beach and with it there is the fact that you can surf, swim, dive, snorkel, fish, go out on a boat, sunbathe, jog along the sand, kite surf, wind surf, water ski and have long jump competitions with your 4 year old son.

 

 

Also as is stated above you can have a coffee and look out to sea. The beach really defines a town and is what makes this town what it is. And yeah you can drink coffee and look out to sea rather than look out of a plaza.

 

However if we ignore the beach completely let me explain how it differs from Greensborough:

 

 

Apart from during the very busy holiday periods of about 6 weeks a year there is absolutely no traffic whereas in Greensborough it is constant traffic. Cars let you cross the road when walking rather than speeding up and trying to kill you (Im not joking). There are no hoons driving past the house (and on the rare occasions there are the police are called and they come and have a word).

 

Perhaps most importantly the local people all say "hello" and the recognise you from day to day, they know our names and our kids names. The coffee shop owners greet us by our names and give us free cookies for the boys! In Greensborough if you said "hi" to someone they looked at you like you were gonna steal their wallet.

 

There is no litter, no dog turds and no grafitti. Greensborough I am afraid is full of all those things.

 

If I walk back from the pub at 11 on my own noone chases me down the road like they did in Greensborough (admittedly only once).

 

 

The shops have character as do the restuarants and coffee shops, they are not all chain places like Greensborough.

 

If you drive a few KMs down the road you get to Lorne, Anglesea and Apollo Bay.

If you drive a few KMs down the road at Greensborough you get to Watsonia and Bundoora and Rosanna.

 

 

The two places couldnt be more different (even if we were to remove the beach).

 

And its only 75 mins from Melbourne (Greensborough was 45 mins!!) so not even much longer to travel to the city.

[Harpodom]

IMO Torquay is lovely as a place to visit, but not as a place to live. We looked at housing there before buying our current house and tbh unless you were prepared to pay silly money to live in the 'old town', the alternative was living in a vast estate of hideous new housing. I found this 'suburbia' of Torquay quite soulless, lacking infrastructure and the distance from the beach meant in reality most people probably end up driving there! Plus there is a lot of expansion going on in Torquay, i can't see it retaining that small town vibe much longer.

Working in Geelong as I do, the appeal of the 'sea change' lifestyle soon wore off, imagining that dull drive back and forth each day. I've spoken to quite a few local people who had exactly the same feelings.

 

Give me a nice house on a tree lined street in an established suburb any day thanks. 10-15 mins drive to work, 30 to the beach, walking (staggering) distance back from town. Sorted.

[Quinkla]

If you drive a few KMs down the road you get to Lorne, Anglesea and Apollo Bay.

If you drive a few KMs down the road at Greensborough you get to Watsonia and Bundoora and Rosanna.

If you're happy in Torquay then great but you aren't comparing like with like. Torquay to Apollo Bay is an hour and a half and over 90km. If you allow an hour and a half's drive from Greensborough and 90km then you could be in plenty of places more interesting than Watsonia. You'd have both peninsulas, the Yarra Valley, all of Melbourne, Daylesford, almost out to Ballarat, the Dandenongs and a host of other places.

 

Greensborough isn't 45 minutes from Melbourne. It's barely more than half an hour on the train and can be as little as 20 minutes in off peak road traffic.

[Harpodom]

I used to live in Preston (Melbourne, not Lancashire) about 12 years go. It was a bit grungy and yeah there was graffiti and stuff like that, but blimey there were some fantastic Thai and Vietnamese restaurants and a very multicultural cosmopolitan atmosphere which I liked at the time. It was very easy to get into the CBD by tram and car. And as proud Pom says, there were places like the dandenongs and the yarra valley within easy reach.

 

But why the need to keep slagging off Melbourne suburbia? No one made you live in greensborough, you didn't like it and now you've moved somewhere you do like.

[byrned]

He is just giving his opinion on a suburb he lived in and how he found it that means, how he found it not anybody else but him, so he decided to do something about it and got the hell out of there to a place that he liked, nothing wrong with that, we all slag stuff off if we dont like certain things nothing to get too excited about.

I lived near Greensborough and I must admit it did not float my boat either, first time there for me I thought bloody hell did not come all this way to spend my days here, thinking there must be better out there and I as well found it. I was looking for a community type place to live where you could get to know people by name and say hello, in the suburbs that way I never found it, no matter how hard I tried. So I live near the beach was down the street go for a drink and bump into people I know by name, it also as an holiday feel about it, so everybody seems just that bit happier and relaxed.

[Harpodom]

He is just giving his opinion on a suburb he lived in and how he found it that means, how he found it not anybody else but him, so he decided to do something about it and got the hell out of there to a place that he liked, nothing wrong with that, we all slag stuff off if we dont like certain things nothing to get too excited about.

I lived near Greensborough and I must admit it did not float my boat either, first time there for me I thought bloody hell did not come all this way to spend my days here, thinking there must be better out there and I as well found it. I was looking for a community type place to live where you could get to know people by name and say hello, in the suburbs that way I never found it, no matter how hard I tried. So I live near the beach was down the street go for a drink and bump into people I know by name, it also as an holiday feel about it, so everybody seems just that bit happier and relaxed.

 

 

Sure he's entitled to give his opinion. I think it's more that mr blobby has told us numerous times before how much he hated greensborough and how happy he is in Torquay. I'd say chillax and enjoy Torquay. Life's too short.

[Guest The Pom Queen]

He is just giving his opinion on a suburb he lived in

This is the problem though he isn't just basing his opinion on where he lived, he is slating ALL the suburbs in Melbourne.

[byrned]

So what does it matter, its his own opinion right or wrong, its a forum we all put our thoughts and opinions out there most of us wont take a blind bit of notice, its like someone saying to me oh dont go to that place its crap, would I listen to them, I dont think so I dont judge until I have been there or experienced it, same I should imagine for most other people, while I was in england we chose the area near greensborough because someone we knew living near there recommended it they said it was lovely, well their idea of lovely and mine was very different, I could not stand it and most suburbs in the area massive housing estates where you did not see anyone, I found them very soul destroying, thats me I found them very souless not him or her but me if that makes sense, we all have opinions, if we all agreed on things we would all be as souless as some of the suburbs I have experienced.

[Guest The Pom Queen]

So what does it matter, its his own opinion right or wrong, its a forum we all put our thoughts and opinions out there most of us wont take a blind bit of notice, its like someone saying to me oh dont go to that place its crap, would I listen to them, I dont think so I dont judge until I have been there or experienced it, same I should imagine for most other people, while I was in england we chose the area near greensborough because someone we knew living near there recommended it they said it was lovely, well their idea of lovely and mine was very different, I could not stand it and most suburbs in the area massive housing estates where you did not see anyone, I found them very soul destroying, thats me I found them very souless not him or her but me if that makes sense, we all have opinions, if we all agreed on things we would all be as souless as some of the suburbs I have experienced.

thats fine it's your opinion and MrBlobby has his but I don't agree with gross generalising. Melbourne wasn't for us but I don't come on saying it was crap because that's not the case, certain areas were but not all.

Yes it is a forum and I agree we need good and bad and it's usually me defending people's rights on here to say what they want, but a lot of people on here do hang on every word, and when they have poured their life savings to chase a dream of moving to Oz then gross generalisations don't help. If you don't like certain suburbs name them explain why, but don't say all Melbourne Smells etc

[KazzE]

Great idea for a thread, thank you:notworthy:

 

We have been in Oz almost 4 yrs, we squatted in an unrenovated house in Strathmore, loved the area but could not afford to buy there.

 

We bought in Deer Park because we could afford it, a friend had just moved there and it was being touted as an area that would perform better than average- not sure that has happened.

 

Now we are ready to find our forever home and we are struggling to decide where to go. I want a community feel, easy access to somewhere to walk my dogs, good local shops.

 

On the list are:

 

Keillor East

Ascot Vale

Oak Park

Avondale Heights

Seaholme/Williamstown (put off by refineries)

Point Cook

Eynesbury

Werribee

 

Hubby has a geat job in Footscray (rail yard)

 

I am looking for a new job which could be anywhere.

 

I have family in Essendon.

 

Any comments on the suburbs mentioned would be gratefully received.

[blobby1000]

Hi

 

Just one point before I get properly stuck into answering these interesting posts.

 

YES WE WERE MADE TO LIVE IN GREENSBORUGH

 

This is what has meant the resentment has rather stuck in. This is a lesson for all on here. We came over on a 457 visa to work in a hospital in a pretty unpleasant area but were not too worried as I have always been happy commuting. When I suggested this idea to my boss he went off his head. He told me we needed to live near my work because these were the best areas.

 

He recommended Thomastown, South Morrang, Mill Park, Whittlesea and Bundoora.

 

We had a look and we wanted to go home innediately. We were too scared to go against what he said for fear he could cancel the visa, sack me, whatever! We thought we were being daring going as far out as Greensborough but on a first look it seemed better than those other options.

 

This is the problem. On a 457 visa you are owned by the company you work for. I reckon my boss thought if we ended up in a nice suburb (yes there are some) then I would end up leavinga getting a job out there.

 

The problem is on getting out here the only person we knew at all was my boss and he gave us extremely poor advice for whatever reason, only he knows!!

[blobby1000]

Thank you Bryned for your support and understanding of my opinions! Next time your in Torquay we should have a beer!

 

As Bryned says, its a discussion forum and although I am negative about the suburbs I am very positive about other things, at the time I posted my surely now legendary thread "Melbourne smells" I was at an all time low, stuck somewhere we didnt wanna be and 6 months til the end of the contract on the lease seemed endless.

 

If I was in the UK waiting to follow my dream and someone on here said they didnt like Melbourne it would not make me change my mind.....honestly I think its almost offensive (unintentional I know) to suggest people that are big enough to move to the other side of the world will be put off by me! Im sure they have numerous loved ones that they are leaving behind and the fact they can do that, well, I doubt they will let some suburb hating fool put them off coming here!!!!

[blobby1000]

Hi Kazzee....

 

Im not the best person to ask!

 

I wouldnt live in any of those places but it really depends on what you like as can be seen by this thread and many others.

[blobby1000]

Moving to Melbourne I dont think I am slating all the suburbs in Melbourne, Im probably slating all suburbs in the universe!!!!!

 

Ha!! No I have stated there are suburbs I like over and over again...Warrendyte, Hurstbridge, St Andrews, all the dandenongs....

 

I think, for me, suburbs anywhere on earth are just not for me. There is just something about them. A kind of lack of identity. Just lots of people working and driving and sleeping.

 

If you get the chance have a listen to Arcade Fire's album "the suburbs" although they state its not meant to slag off or praise suburban life its certainly sums up suburbia brilliantly I think!!

 

My post "Melbourne Smells" was so entirely ridiculous, one sided, and shamelessly written to bring about lively debate that I really think the average person on here has more intelligence than to take that seriously and to be put off moving to the other side of the world!

[Guest The Pom Queen]

Moving to Melbourne I dont think I am slating all the suburbs in Melbourne, Im probably slating all suburbs in the universe!!!!!

 

Ha!! No I have stated there are suburbs I like over and over again...Warrendyte, Hurstbridge, St Andrews, all the dandenongs....

 

I think, for me, suburbs anywhere on earth are just not for me. There is just something about them. A kind of lack of identity. Just lots of people working and driving and sleeping.

 

If you get the chance have a listen to Arcade Fire's album "the suburbs" although they state its not meant to slag off or praise suburban life its certainly sums up suburbia brilliantly I think!!

 

My post "Melbourne Smells" was so entirely ridiculous, one sided, and shamelessly written to bring about lively debate that I really think the average person on here has more intelligence than to take that seriously and to be put off moving to the other side of the world!

The main thing is that you are happy now. There is nothing worse than making the big move and being unhappy.

[blobby1000]

Yeah and when you think about it, whats the chance of anyone striking gold in the first place they live in Australia. I always feel a bit sad for people that get here, think its not for them and leave. Australia is rather large, it must be worth one move at least to see if you feel different!

[Guest The Pom Queen]

Yeah and when you think about it, whats the chance of anyone striking gold in the first place they live in Australia. I always feel a bit sad for people that get here, think its not for them and leave. Australia is rather large, it must be worth one move at least to see if you feel different!

Agree it's these damn members who generalise everything :tongue:

[blobby1000]

I think homesickness is the biggest thing to manage. And Im not sure if this changes all that much whether you love or hate where you live. It seems to always be there! I would be interested to know how people manage this and go on to make a good life out here over many years.

[Petals]

Human nature, being homesick affects some more than others. Also colours our minds with joys that did not really exist in our previous lives. I am lucky never knew where home was from one year to the next and got used to living in new places.

[Guest Guest62757]

I've been thinking about this recently. It is very difficult to give your opinion on areas, lifestyles unless you know the person. We are all so different with different upbringings, incomes etc and may want or expect different things from an area.

 

What I like and think is nice may not suit some people just as someone's idea of heaven isn't mine either.

 

So although blobby loves being near the coast not everyone does, so to blanket all suburbs of Melbourne as awful is unfair really.

 

People don't just move to Australia for the beaches, yes they are nice but there is a lot more to this country that can be enjoyed.

 

For the record I moved out of Sydney to the beaches and since moving to Melbourne and living in a suburb 12km from the city I have realised all the things I have missed about living near a city and how much better it suits my family. I can still enjoy the beaches and country as they aren't far.