Guest TabloidTony Posted March 14, 2012 Share Posted March 14, 2012 Hello/ G'Day Everyone! I understand that this is a very popular topic and there are plenty of threads that exist. And, I have read them all but just incase anyone has any more to add to our personal situation then your knowledge would be most welcome. I really enjoy listening to peoples opinions as I understand everyone has their own. Please feel free and let me know your experiences of living in Melbourne. We are a young family (just us two and our little 20mnth old Roscoe) looking for some suburb advice. We are moving to Melbourne in June of this year (2012) as I have a job lined up in the city. After beginning our suburb research we are feeling a little overwhelmed with the choice! HELP! We will be renting for the first year, I will be earning around $110,000 p/a or $7,500 per month after tax so we have budgeted for a maximum of a $1000 per week on rent. (Any budget advice here would be welcome!). We would like to be near good transport links to the city in an area with a good family atmosphere, great parks for riding bikes, not too far from a beach (half hour max). If anyone could send a link to budget breakdowns and our likely monthly expenditure that would be really welcome, including day care costs, travel to work costs etc. Also good shipping companies and costs/ times involved. We are so excited about the move and cannot wait to start our new life down under... hope to meet lots of great positive people on this site! Tony and Lou. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest The Pom Queen Posted March 14, 2012 Share Posted March 14, 2012 Hi Tony You have lots of questions there are some of them may get missed, you are welcome to start a thread under Transport/Shipping and Money/Finance if it helps. In regards to suburbs, wow the worlds your oyster. There are some great suburbs and you will probably be spoilt for choice, as Roscoe is only young then schools don't come in to play just yet. What kind of areas do you like, are you beach people, city people or rural people, also do you prefer the newer style houses or the older ones? Will Lou have a car or will you be relying on public transport? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Toomers Posted March 14, 2012 Share Posted March 14, 2012 Hi Tony, I am in a similar position, have a job offer and hope to be working in the CBD by end May 2012 (Visa dependant) we have friends that live in the Bayside area Sandringham and Parkdale, I have also been looking at Black Rock, Brighton and all surrounding area's in Bayside.. If you are planing to spend around $1000 per week with just 3 of you then you will have no problem smashing any wish list you may have... I will be on $195600 per year and we are a family of 5, I am looking at 4 beds houses in Bayside for around £850 - $980 per week, good transport on the Frankston line (30-40 mins I am told) and close to the beach 5 - 10 min walk. My friend even cycles into the CBD from Sandringham in 30 mins he tells me... I am advised that Bayside is the sort of professional area (white collar) so should be a nice place to start.. best of luck Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest TabloidTony Posted March 14, 2012 Share Posted March 14, 2012 Thanks Toomers, will have a look at these places you have mentioned. I'm pretty confident we will find a nice house but as we won't have much time to look around we're a bit worried we might end up in a crappy suburb. We have been looking at Williamstown a lot. Looks great for families with a reasonable beach pretty close and only 15 mins from the CBD... Have you (Or anyone) heard much about Williamstown??? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Guest62757 Posted March 15, 2012 Share Posted March 15, 2012 I actually think your rent amount is a little too high for your salary. Speaking from experience when we first came out 4 years ago with only one child who was 16 months at the time we were paying $990pw on a salary of $142k. The food bills creep up and so does the utility bills and you're not left over with much for entertainment. Also if you are intending to take out a car loan this can be costly. I would personally start off with a lower rent and see how you go living day to day. As a guide they advise 30% of your salary but maybe you have other income factors that I don't know of so ignore me if you do. As for areas you can't go wrong with the Eastern suburbs and Bayside as they have a good public school system and good transport links into the city. There are a lot of professionals moving to the Bayside so it is popular. Edited to add you will also probably be taking out private health insurance, we have a family cover which is slightly subsidized by hubby's company and we pay $260 per month. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DBC Posted March 15, 2012 Share Posted March 15, 2012 Just a quick question - have you calculated your income after tax correctly? My husband gets a slightly higher wage but it's $6000 or so a month after tax. Double check that - or perhaps we're paying too much tax! As mentioned, food bills and utilities are expensive so factor those in too. We live in Bayside (Mentone) and love it here, I can highly recommend it. We pay $550 a week for a 4 bed (dated but huge) and we can walk to the shops, beach and train all within 5-10 minutes. If you were after something nice and modern then you would easily get a place for around $600-700. Personally I would spend less on the rent and more on getting out and about seeing the country. I thought I was very materialistic (we knocked kitchens/bathrooms out in our UK house and had it just so) but it turns out I'm happier with the space and the weather! Good luck! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.