# Help with Suburbs in Melbourne!



## tarlyn

Some background....my wife is Australian and we have 3 boys together....11, 7, & 6.

We have been living in the US for the last 11 or so years and are moving back to Australia in July.....will be spending 2-3 months with her parents in Swan Hill while we wait for our stuff to arrive and then are looking for a suburb to live.

General things we are looking for is a 4 bedroom house to rent for $350/week or under which from what I can tell limits use to mostly the outer suburbs. Other things looking for are suburbs with a train station close as we most likely wont have a car for possibly the first year. A safe neighborhood and good schools would also be great.

From the info I can look up online we have a short list but are open to other suburbs if they fit what we are looking for.

Pakenham (currently our favorite)
Epping
Craigieburn
Frankston

Currently I work from home as a consultant and it sounds like I will be able to keep the job once I move so commute into the city not a huge issue as I can take time to find the right opportunity within a reasonable distance from wherever we decide to settle in.

Any help especially regarding schools and safety of the above neighborhoods or any others you think we should look into please let me know!


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## pressurewashing

Pakenham is nice has a good rural feel and still fairly close to the city
Frankston is ok too, being close to the water but perhaps not as safe as Pakenham.


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## tarlyn

Ya I had heard Frankston is one of those just be careful where you live so you dont go to a bad area but otherwise not too bad and mostly has a bad rap.

We are not really the type that would be freaked out by a group of teenagers hanging around the train station or anything like many people are.

Any idea on the schools for those areas anyway?

Mainly primary schools but will need secondary in another year and a half or so before secondary.


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## pressurewashing

I only lived in Melbourne for a short time and not in those areas, so not really close enough to be able to help out much more than I have. Unfortunately. 
I actually live in the States now myself in Michigan and I'm originally from Sydney. 

Just depends on the lifestyle you want to provide for your kids.

I had a friend who lived out near Pakenham, we used to play basketball out there. It's a nice place. 

I don't know much about the other areas you mentioned. Perhaps somebody else with a bit more knowledge of Melbourne can help you out.


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## tarlyn

pressurewashing said:


> I only lived in Melbourne for a short time and not in those areas, so not really close enough to be able to help out much more than I have. Unfortunately.
> I actually live in the States now myself in Michigan and I'm originally from Sydney.
> 
> Just depends on the lifestyle you want to provide for your kids.
> 
> I had a friend who lived out near Pakenham, we used to play basketball out there. It's a nice place.
> 
> I don't know much about the other areas you mentioned. Perhaps somebody else with a bit more knowledge of Melbourne can help you out.


Thanks for your input!


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## honest

As a local Melburnian, I'd probably say avoid all of them! haha. 

But I worked in Pakenham for three years and it is quite nice in parts. The advantage is that it is a growing area and so should have plenty of kindergartens and schools to choose from. Some of the housing estates, such as Lakeside, are quite nice. Look carefully at the areas you are thinking of moving to, whether they are suburbs or housing estates, as some parts are a bit dodgier. 

The other good thing about Pakenham is that some of the surrounding areas are just beautiful. If you would like a place in the bush, Upper Pakenham is really nice, although it might be more expensive. However, the downside is that Pakenham is really far from the city - 50kms to be exact. 

I'd definitely rule out Craigieburn and Epping. Frankston is nice in certain parts, but you would definitely want to avoid others. You are also close to the beach if that's your thing.

It might be worth looking in suburbs in the north or west of Melbourne, such as Coburg, Preston, Reservoir, Footscray, Essendon, etc. which have generally been considered poorer areas in the past but are now really growing. You might be able to find cheaper rent there. You will be able to travel from any of these areas to some of the best schools in Melbourne. Keep in mind that for many schools now you have to live within a certain radius of that school. Check with the school before signing a rental contract.

And please feel free to ask me any more questions once you have a bit of a better idea of where you want to live.


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## tarlyn

Thanks for the response!

I just got a good raise at work which I'll be bringing over with me so we will now most likely get a car which opens up some more options for us....right now looking heavily at Point Cook which the only bad things we hear is bad traffic during commute time but since I wont be commuting not too much of a worry.

Wont know much more until we get over there and get our feet on the ground tho


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## aussie_victorian

This may sound a little left field, but I notice you're staying in Swan Hill for 2-3 months. Between Swan Hill and Melbourne is the most fantastic place to live in all of Australia: Bendigo! (I live there, so could be biased!) If you're renting for $350 a week, you could get an average house in a place like Pakenham and be over an hour from the city...or you could live in comparatively a mansion in Bendigo, a little under 2hrs on the train from the CBD too. It's a beautiful provincial city with all the facilities one could ever need...and better weather! It has a nice rural feel, and is so quick and easy to get around. Just a thought....!!


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## tarlyn

Ya we are pretty set on being closer to the city then that but I'm sure Bendigo is a great place. Some things have changed since I posted originally and we are now looking heavily at Point Cook......can get a very nice house in our price range.....traffic isnt a huge deal as I wont be commuting to the CBD and they have a couple of estates with lots of available houses with fiber internet.


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## callumchapman

Personally we live in Mordialloc, and we pay $350 a week for a 2 bed apartment, so I think you're right in saying you'd need to be further out from both the city and the beach. However, you don't need to go as far as Frankston. We've been here for 8 months and we've heard a lot of bad stuff about Frankston.

I have a friend who lives in Wantirna - I've been there a few times and I know the houses are cheaper there. My mate lives next to a school which looks pretty great and is huge (loads of outside space). The whole place seems very family orientated so I'd check it out. 

Hope that helped.


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## AUSConnect

I am Frankston-born and certainly it does get a bad rap, perhaps not as bad as it once was, but when I compare that suburb to what else you have listed then I would suggest given your life priorities that other options are better suited to you. 

The flexibility in your career location, and the lifestyle you could provide your children in Pakenham, makes that area an ideal location to consider. Others have noted the distance it is from Melbourne, a valid point, but you will know what impact that means for you.

Surely you will get a good feel by driving though these suburbs and I predict you will just know when you are there.

All the best with your search

Cheers,

Daniel


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## tarlyn

Yup we will be doing lots of ground work once we get there for sure.

With Point Cook we love the type of house available for our budget....still not that far from the CBD when we want to go (just avoid commute times) and fiber internet if we stick to Alamanda or Saltwater Estates.

We still like Pakenham but the internet situation there scares us as we are both internet junkies and I rely on it for my work from home job so we cant take a risk of getting stuck with worthless wifi due to no ports being available.

From my research it sounds like it is very hard to guarantee that adsl or better will be available before you actually move in and get a phone line. Even if you should be able to get it things might be full or what not.

Read lots of horror stories regarding people not being able to get internet even when they thought they did a good job of checking into it before hand.


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