Possible Move to Melbourne

[yakubu22]

Afternoon All,

I am considering a move to Melbourne. I work in IT and assume that the CBD would be the most likely location for that type of employment.
My very general question was where is a nice, safe area, close to a beach(es) that is within a 1 hour commute from the CBD.
Does such a place eve exist?

Thanks for your suggestions...

[kaz101]

Hi yakubu22,

I know I may be asking an obvious question but do you have a visa sorted out? You don't say whether you are already in Oz or are moving here from abroad.

Other members will be able to talk about the areas in Melbourne.

Regards,
Karen

[Dolly]

Hi,

Welcome to the forum.

Bayside is very nice (Brighton, Sandringham. Black Rock etc) - but a bit pricey. There are nice areas all the way down the Peninsula. Hopefully members who live up that way can give you a bit more info. If you do a search, you may find some info helpful.

We live in Frankston South, which is about 40km south of Melbourne and it takes my OH about an hour to get into the CBD by train. He is also in IT. A good source of IT jobs are agencies like Gemteq, Hudsons, Greythorn.

Dolly

[interplanetjanet]

I live down the peninsula just a few suburbs north of Frankston, and it takes about 45 minutes by train to get to the CBD. It's much cheaper than the bayside suburbs, and we still have the convenience to the beach. It's less than a five minute walk to the train station from our house and another minute or two to the beach. Our suburb is pretty quiet, so it's good for families, and we've got a nice park and good schools just down the road. Shops are close, and Frankston is nearby to the south for all your bigger shops, like Bunnings, Harvey Norman, Good Guys, etc., as is Cheltenham to the north.

The further north you go, the more convenient it will be for work, but it will also be more expensive. Where is best for you really depends on your budget and whether you'll be renting or buying.

Good luck sorting it all out!

[yakubu22]

Originally Posted by kaz101

Hi yakubu22,

I know I may be asking an obvious question but do you have a visa sorted out? You don't say whether you are already in Oz or are moving here from abroad.

Other members will be able to talk about the areas in Melbourne.

Regards,
Karen

Hi Karen,

I'm still in the UK but going through the Visa process now but am also looking at jobs in which (via Agency) were the company may sponsor my visa if successful in getting a job. A friend of mine recently did this and had his visa fast tracked.

I was hoping for somewhere no more than an hour from the CBD for work but still close to good beaches/shops/parks etc. Thanks for your suggestions so far

[sheilaB]

Originally Posted by interplanetjanet

I live down the peninsula just a few suburbs north of Frankston, and it takes about 45 minutes by train to get to the CBD. It's much cheaper than the bayside suburbs, and we still have the convenience to the beach. It's less than a five minute walk to the train station from our house and another minute or two to the beach. Our suburb is pretty quiet, so it's good for families, and we've got a nice park and good schools just down the road. Shops are close, and Frankston is nearby to the south for all your bigger shops, like Bunnings, Harvey Norman, Good Guys, etc., as is Cheltenham to the north.

The further north you go, the more convenient it will be for work, but it will also be more expensive. Where is best for you really depends on your budget and whether you'll be renting or buying.

Good luck sorting it all out!

Janet

Where do you live, we are looking at Aspendale, Chelsea area...and want exactly what you describe, good family area, good schools, local to train station and beach, and reasonably price.

Sheila

[interplanetjanet]

I'm in Bonbeach, which is the next suburb south of Chelsea. It's a bit like Chelsea but with only a few shops (two coffee shops, bottle shop, milk bar, takeaway and a couple others). There are a few empty shop fronts, so it'll be interesting to see what eventually moves in. A large amount of the land in Bonbeach is covered by a reserve (I think around 1/3). The nearest freeway access is in Chelsea or Carrum, which makes Bonbeach a little quieter. It has a primary and preschool, but I think the nearest high school is in Carrum.

We were first-time home buyers without a lot of savings, so we were looking for something relatively inexpensive (around $350k). Chelsea or Bonbeach was about as far north as we could go and find a 3br house in that range near the beach. We moved in in January, and so far we're very happy with Bonbeach and with our house.

Good luck finding what you're looking for! You'll love the beach side suburbs, especially when you want to go for a quick swim on the really hot days!

[sheilaB]

Originally Posted by interplanetjanet

I'm in Bonbeach, which is the next suburb south of Chelsea. It's a bit like Chelsea but with only a few shops (two coffee shops, bottle shop, milk bar, takeaway and a couple others). There are a few empty shop fronts, so it'll be interesting to see what eventually moves in. A large amount of the land in Bonbeach is covered by a reserve (I think around 1/3). The nearest freeway access is in Chelsea or Carrum, which makes Bonbeach a little quieter. It has a primary and preschool, but I think the nearest high school is in Carrum.

We were first-time home buyers without a lot of savings, so we were looking for something relatively inexpensive (around $350k). Chelsea or Bonbeach was about as far north as we could go and find a 3br house in that range near the beach. We moved in in January, and so far we're very happy with Bonbeach and with our house.

Good luck finding what you're looking for! You'll love the beach side suburbs, especially when you want to go for a quick swim on the really hot days!

Sounds fantastic, we've looked at Bonbeach too actually, I like the look of the primary school. If we end up there I will let you know

Thanks for the info

Sheila

[yakubu22]

Thanks for all the tips so far. As someone who doesn't (yet) no much about the various areas of Melbourne -I've only visited once. Can anyone suggest any areas to avoid out of the areas being discussed (following the coastline southwards from Melbourne, St Kilda etc)?
From research I can see areas like Brighton, Black Rock are more expensive than say Frankton. Or are they all generally quite nice places?

Sorry for the rather unspecific questions

[interplanetjanet]

I think for the most part they're all pretty decent places. South Frankston is really nice but isn't as convenient for the train. In all honesty I'd just steer clear of north Frankston. Unless you're right on the beach it's pretty average to downright crappy depending on the exact area, and the train stations (Frankston and Kananook) are much further inland and more in areas I'd want to avoid. The beach side of Seaford is probably just fine, but it does seem a bit more run down than the other beach side suburbs. I don' t think you can really go wrong anywhere Carrum and northward. We were originally looking as far south as Seaford, but after looking at lots of houses I'm really glad we ended up in Bonbeach instead. That said, I do like Seaford. It's got a nice little shops area by the train station, great beach access and Safeway is right there. I'd imagine the beach is really busy in the summer, though. There's a car park right next to the beach, and with the new Lifesaving club with patio and cafe and the fishing pier, it would be much more inviting to non-locals than the surrounding suburbs.