Places to live in Melbourne

[Floods]

Hey, I am thinking about moving across the ditch to work in Melbourne. I work in the printing industry and most of the bigger printing companies are in the eastern suburbs of Melbourne like Clayton, Mulgrave, Knoxfield etc.

Can anyone tell me what the suburbs around those areas are like as far as moving a small family over there, what are the neighbourhoods like, are they relatively safe, good for transport etc?

Brisbane may also be an option but I already know people working in Melbourne so am looking there first.

Any help would be appreciated.

 

[madunit]

If you are going to rent, there's a shitload of units, new and old in around Bayswater, Bayswater North, Croydon etc.

Try and steer clear of Dandenong, Boronia, Rowville etc and places in the South east, like Frankston etc.

Box Hill is very busy with lots of asian shops and restaurants.

If you want be in a more 'well-to-do' area, go to inner east, like Burwood, Toorak, Hawthorn etc.

If you are looking to buy, avoid the east side and go to new housing development areas with a large property developer, most of these are West of the CBD and in the North.

 

[Sans Souci Sainter]

I lived in Knoxfield for a couple of years and would consider it quite safe for a family. Never had any issues there, quite a lot of young families etc.

I'd call it a fairly "Aussie" area, a few young bogans cutting donuts in utes on a Friday night would be the worst you would come across.

I would have considered Croydon, Bayswater and Boronia a bit more gnarly.

Bayside is ok but as mentioned Frankston, Dandenong, Springvale, Noble Park should be avoided.

Northside is a bit stinky as well, Coburg, Sunshine, Keilor are all fairly pox.

Ive lived mostly in Sydney and Perth and found Melbourne a bit strange in the way that quality of suburbs can change so quickly in a short distance.

I would find out where your job is located and then ask the question again, it is fairly broad at the moment.

Good luck and if your looking for somewhere to watch the footy, try this:

http://www.mbds.com.au/


Melbourne is a good place to live if you can past a few things.

1. AFL getting jammed down your throat
2. 1 hour long drive to a freezing cold beach, being from UnZud, this probably wont bother too much.

 

[meltiger]

MadUnit why would you recommend Bayswater then dissuade from junkie city Boronia given the suburbs are NEXT to each other? lol.

Should note, I grew up in Bayswater, went to Baysie High so know the area VERY well.

If he's going to work in Knoxfield I would recommend Wantirna quite highly, Clayton then living anywhere from Clayton through Oakleigh would suffice (Plenty of his compatriots too). Depending on what sort of coin you are on, Carnegie, Caufield etc are awesome suburbs. Similarly depending on what you earn Ashburton is also quite nice, and quite easy to get to both Knoxfield or Clayton

& yes, SansSousiSainter is right..... For the sake of your sanity get Foxtel. FTA is better now but it's still only 3 games per week

& don't buy the local papers lol

 

[innsaneink]

Try Coolaroo or Broadmeadows

 

[meltiger]

LOL!


Plenty of Kiwis in Broadmeadows too ;-)


Stay the hell away from Broady

 

[kia ora storm]

Lived in Melbourne now for 15 years and in Eastern Suburbs...Knoxfield is fine but not really on a train line so not sure if you will be using cars to get around or not ??. Knox also has a good shopping centre.

Wantirna is a good suburb for young families and house prices are reasonable. Rowville is also good but once again train lines are not great out to these suburbs.

Mitcham, Box Hill, Vermont are close to Wantirna if driving and have all the amenities you need. Be warned - Box Hill is very asian but has good restaurants and shopping.

Avoid Croydon, Ringwood, Springvale, Frankston...all are Bogan Central and not that safe.

 

[madunit]

MadUnit why would you recommend Bayswater then dissuade from junkie city Boronia given the suburbs are NEXT to each other? lol.

it wasn't a reccommendation as such, just more a case of picking the prettiest piece of shit near where he has to work.

Should note, I grew up in Bayswater, went to Baysie High so know the area VERY well.

I lived there for 2 years, its basically a large retirement village now, with high unemployment.

 

[Floods]

Thanks for all the info, Wantirna looks good and maybe even Box Hill as my partner is Asian anyway.

Funnily enough one of the things thats kind of puts me off Melbourne is reading the threads about how poor the league coverage seems to be down there, but it would be a good reason to get pay TV I suppose

 

[sensesmaybenumbed]

Had to have a chuckle at suggestions of Coolaroo. I lived in Brunswick and Coburg for 6 years, and Coburg is a suburb on the up atm, with great access to food, PT and the like, but not much in the area in terms of high schools. In the east, some good suggestions, and I'd add Glen Waverly into the list of possible places. Also close to the trains (depending on where you live in the suburb, obviously.)

Also, prepare yourself for an insular bunch. I've lived in a number of Aussie cities and this is what stuck with me most in Melbourne. Had one old coot try and tell me that Fed Square is much better and prettier than the opera house as it's in Melbourne and also a multi purpose building! Asked him if he'd ever been to Sydney to compare and he'd last been there in the 50's (well before the opera house) and he said it's because someone was rude to him FFS. I laughed and said he should go back to see it and compare it to the tin shed erected by drunken gorillas by an open sewer (ie: the Yarra). Masssive little man complex at work there, but get past that and it's a nice place to live.

 

[Grapple]

Thanks for all the info, Wantirna looks good and maybe even Box Hill as my partner is Asian anyway.

Funnily enough one of the things thats kind of puts me off Melbourne is reading the threads about how poor the league coverage seems to be down there, but it would be a good reason to get pay TV I suppose

I gotta agree with all the suggestions above, especially Frankston - Bogan Town. Blackburn and Doncaster are also pretty good areas around Box Hill.... If I was doing what you were i'd get closer to Camberwell and Hawthorn as I really liked those areas and have mates there, also in a good spot to get into town.

Melbourne is a great city though. I lived there for 4 years and went to a ton of Storm games, even know I don't really support them. You'll find the public transport to and from the AAMI really good. (depending on where you live of course). Being able to easily hop on a train for $6.00 and go and get a GA ticket kind of makes up for the lack of coverage on local TV and in the papers.... but it is getting better though.

All the best for your move.

 

[kia ora storm]

Blackburn and Doncaster are good suburbs as well...

Depends also on if you are renting or going to buy a property ??...you will get cheaper rent in Blackburn, Wantirna, Doncaster, Knox etc than Box Hill IMO.

Also - get Foxtel because you will get sweet FA live NRL on channel nine down here.

 

[Floods]

Hi again, yes would be renting and don't mind driving too far to work (I drive an hour each way ATM), if I did get a job in Knoxfield then looking on Google Earth, Box Hill or Blackburn would be fine. Don't know about public transport over there but over here it is worthless IMO so would definitely be driving everywhere.

 

[Grapple]

Public Transport is MILES better in Melbourne than anywhere in NZ. Really, it's not comparable.
People in Melbourne whinge all the time about train delays - especially in Summer - but coming from NZ they really have no idea how good they have it. Some train lines are dodgy at certain times of day, but it's just common sense really...

There's still issues driving to work. I mean, it's a BIG city, so you're going to get that. But hopefully you don't have to drive too far.

 

[muzby]

asking where is a good place to live in melbourne is a tough question..

there are so many different areas...

for example, sensesmaybenumbed & i lived maybe 8-10kms apart, but the areas were like chalk and cheese..

it really depends on:

- where you live in brissie now?
- do you want something similar in melb?
- if not, what are you looking for (beaches? nightlife? family friendly? holdens without wheels on the front lawns?)

cause you do have one advantage if you are working out of town - going against traffic will make the travel time so much easier.. if you work in the likes of bayswater / wantirna areas, you can pretty much live anwhere close to eastlink / eastern or monash freeways provided you are going against the city traffic..

 

[SpaceMonkey]

I gotta agree with all the suggestions above, especially Frankston - Bogan Town. Blackburn and Doncaster are also pretty good areas around Box Hill.... If I was doing what you were i'd get closer to Camberwell and Hawthorn as I really liked those areas and have mates there, also in a good spot to get into town.

Melbourne is a great city though. I lived there for 4 years and went to a ton of Storm games, even know I don't really support them. You'll find the public transport to and from the AAMI really good. (depending on where you live of course). Being able to easily hop on a train for $6.00 and go and get a GA ticket kind of makes up for the lack of coverage on local TV and in the papers.... but it is getting better though.

All the best for your move.

I live in Camberwell at the moment and agree with that, both there and Howthorn are great areas. I also lived in Richmond which I loved (even has pubs that show Rugby League and some knowledgeable fans) but it would be a pricey place to rent with a family and can be a bit dodgy down at the Collingwood end.

Agree on AAMI too, has to be close to the best rectangular stadium in the country for club games, at least.