aduffield76 Posted March 17, 2012 Share Posted March 17, 2012 Hi I am in the process of gaining my visa for a permanent move to Melbourne early/mid 2013. I will hopefully be finding work in or around the CBD and I am in desperate need of advice on the best places/suburbs for myself and my young family to settle, what local expat communities there are as we will not have any family or friends in Oz. We are keen to be close to parks and other things for the kids to do. I have scoured the real estate sites to death but need some areas to narrow the search down a bit!! Any help will be fantastic.... Thanks in advance.... :hug: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Petals Posted March 17, 2012 Share Posted March 17, 2012 Depends on how long a commute you want to work and your budget. The closer to the CBD the more expensive to buy and rent. Suburbs like Hawthorn, Camberwell, Box Hill, Kew, Glen Iris, are popular but expensive, leafy streets and old but nice housing. If you want the beach and close then South Melbourne, Albert Park, Elwood, Brighton very nice suburbs. Young expats with no children usually stay in areas around the CBD. Melbourne Central is not that child friendly to live. Lots of attractions to visit but not a nice enivironment. A lot of expats move to areas like Williamstown, expensive again, but very nice. Cheaper you go for Point Cook in the west, in the East they head out to Berwick or south to the southern suburbs which abound the beach. If you have a look at the transport site http://www.metlinkmelbourne.com.au and follow the transport links, train is usually quicker than tram you can then have a look at the suburs you may be interested in. Ivanhoe is a lovely suburb, Rosanna more inland. Eltham very nice place. Ringwood, bottom of the hills and leafy. Glen Waverley good transport line. Sandringham lovely area and good train line to live on. I live on the Mornington Peninsula which is a good commute from the city but a lot of people are doing it these days. We do not have to so its fine for us. Good luck. Have a look at the Life in Victoria forum there is a link for it here. Its specific so posts do not get lost in the larger scheme of things like here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Guest62757 Posted March 18, 2012 Share Posted March 18, 2012 It depends on your budget and expectations really. We are also more of a park than beach family at the moment and settled on Surrey Hills which is next to Camberwell, Canterbury, Ashburton, Glen Iris, Balwyn. The next suburbs along are Box Hill and Burwood which are cheaper but still close on the train and tram link into the CBD. On my street is a great playground and a reserve with a bike track, bridge and creek and only 12km to the CBD. All of these areas are really family friendly and there are lots of things to do with the kids that don't cost a fortune. We are lucky that the kinder/pre-school that my two eldest go to is on my street and as it isn't a day care it is very social and community orientated. The primary and catholic schools are also very good in these areas. The Bayside is also very family friendly but not as park like but then you have the beaches, but the beaches are only a 20min drive from the Eastern suburbs so not far at all. My hubby also bought me this pack of cards that has all of the child friendly cafes in and around Melbourne, I found it a great source as the cafes listed are near boating lakes (kew), great playgrounds (Malvern East), modern sculpture gardens (Heide), city farms (Abbotsford Convent). You are also not far away from taking a drive into a little countryside, we drove to Emerald (Puffing Billy steam train) for a Thomas the Tank Engine day and it took 40mins from where we are. After having lived on the North Shore in Sydney and the Central Coast I love living here and have found it to be the most family friendly of all my experiences. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sally04 Posted March 18, 2012 Share Posted March 18, 2012 http://www.playgroundfinder.com/ As an aside, the above link lists play grounds all around. I use it regularly to explore new parks with my daughter! I live bayside and there are a number of excellent parks, and some really nice and shaded ones along the foreshores of black rock, Elwood etc. also check out the playcentres that are around in different locations, as these are good for really warm days as well as wet days! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
garry lewis Posted May 11, 2012 Share Posted May 11, 2012 hi agree with petals lots of parks around rosanna banyule flats warringal park great place to live u must explore urself Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
starlight7 Posted May 13, 2012 Share Posted May 13, 2012 Sometimes ex-pat communities can be a hinderance rather than a help-just a word of caution! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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