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Berwick Melbourne


Mel-B

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Hi peeps! :) Ok So I'm doing more and more research looking at suburbs. Narre Warren? (spelling?) has been mentioned before on the forum, I always thought its a bit too far. Now we are re-assessing and looking at Berwick. This is due to affordability of homes! We LOVE Eltham, Templestowe, and Doncaster - who won't? But I don't know if we could manage it. Looking at more affordable options. Is here anyone from Berwick or close to it who can advise on traveling time to the city and train reliability? We are trying to establish a few options in every direction of Melbourne and will take best we can afford depending on where husband ends up working.

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Hi Mel-B

Although I do not live in Berwick, I am opening a business there, so I spend a lot of time in that area.

Berwick is 40 klms outside of Melbourne, and I find it quite a nice part of Melbourne. Affordable housing , very many new housing estates, loads of shopping centers. Fountaingate is in Narre Warren, and yes, you got the spelling right , and it's one of the largest shopping centers in Melbourne.

Loads of schools all around, and the Monash Univercity is also there. Train services right in the center of Berwick, they run regularly to the city.

If you are working in the city, and you are travelling by car, the highway in and out of Berwick is very very busy. Better to go by train, bearing in mind that public transport is not everyone's cup of tea.

The nice thing about Berwick, although it is quite a busy, built up area, there are some really rural areas all around it. Cardinia dam is not far, fab picnic spots and loads of hiking.

The Dandenong ranges are really close, sweet little towns like Sassafras and Ferntree gully.

So, it has loads to offer, and there are lots of SA's living there.

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Thanks Karin. What business are you opening?

Sounds LOVELY. I read there are horse farms around there too? I've been wanting to get back in the saddle! Would be perfect if its true, my daughter wants to take up horse riding as well.

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Dear Mel-B,

If horse riding is your thing-Beaconsfield Upper, about 15 Klms from Berwick would be lovely for that. Also the Dandenongs - loads of large properties with horse riding schools.

Berwick is a good choice for someone staring out in Melbourne. Loads of new housing estates, where you can still get a 3/4 bedroom house from $380 000.00. Very hard to come by those prices anywhere else in Melbourne. Rentals are also reasonable.

Beautiful rural areas all around Berwick. Hiking/parks galore.

Very accessible to inner Melbourne for work, and it has one of the highest percentages of SA's living there. All in all a good all rounder.

We are opening a gym in Berwick-if you are ever in Melbourne -pop in- it's on 240 Clyde Road Berwick. It's called Jetts Gym.

We have often thought we should have moved to Berwick when we first got here, it's a nice place, maybe we still will.

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I can't add anything to what KarinWise said about Berwick in terms of the good things - we lived close for 6 years (further out, Pakenham). I agree with all of what she's said, it's not a bad place at all to call home.

Some down-sides though, just to add balance.

- my wife grew up nearby on a farm, they don't recognise the place anymore because of all the houses that now occupy what used to be farm land. When I visited in 2003 for the first time, Berwick was a nice little village. Now it's a busy town.

- the traffic can sometimes be horrendous, especially on a Saturday morning

- houses are popping up absolutely everywhere- I just hope that the infrastructure grows along with the numbers.

Other than that, I can't fault it.

I would just double check your commute times before you settle there, it could take longer than you think. The freeway gets extremely busy around the Narre Warren area in rush hour

Also, if you like Eltham, and horses, etc, there are plenty of areas this area that are cheaper but similar with trees, wildlife, etc.

I mentioned Greensborough to you and from memory you visited here. We love it. Bearing in mind there are very different sides to Greensborough. We live in the bushy bit, close to the National Park. It's cheaper than Eltham, but more expensive than Berwick. It's half the distance to the city in terms of km and less of a commute.

We're only 18k from the city but bump into wildlife all the time. On Saturday my wife ran into a wombat!! I saw a blue-tongue in the street. We have kookaburras on the garden fence, I run into kangaroos all the time in the bush, it's just great. We wake up to the sounds and smells of the bush and then commute to the city.

There are other areas around here that are further out, closer to nature and a bit cheaper again - Diamond Creek. Doreen. Even South Morang and Mernda which are very similar to Berwick with a similar commute.

I'd say come on an LSD but you've already done that!

Happy to help with questions - like I said, I know both areas fairly well.

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I may just add that Monash University is in Clayton not Berwick.

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Thanks for input! Yes Greensborough is very nice, is also on our list of maybes. I'm just sorry we didn't explore South more past Brighton. I'm full of plans and then husband said "what if I work more South?" Hmmm. I like having plans and not feeling lost! I guess it all depends on how much he will earn and where he will work. :)


oh and PS I LOVE wombats! So cute :)We saw a kangaroo on our visit there, we drove around aimlessly enjoying getting lost, just exploring, and we went out north from Eltham, and one hopped across the road. Was one of the COOLEST things ever. :)

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Dear Mel-B,

If horse riding is your thing-Beaconsfield Upper, about 15 Klms from Berwick would be lovely for that. Also the Dandenongs - loads of large properties with horse riding schools.

Berwick is a good choice for someone staring out in Melbourne. Loads of new housing estates, where you can still get a 3/4 bedroom house from $380 000.00. Very hard to come by those prices anywhere else in Melbourne. Rentals are also reasonable.

Beautiful rural areas all around Berwick. Hiking/parks galore.

Very accessible to inner Melbourne for work, and it has one of the highest percentages of SA's living there. All in all a good all rounder.

We are opening a gym in Berwick-if you are ever in Melbourne -pop in- it's on 240 Clyde Road Berwick. It's called Jetts Gym.

We have often thought we should have moved to Berwick when we first got here, it's a nice place, maybe we still will.

Karin all the very best with Jetts, I hope you do well. It certainly sounds like you're in a growth market ???

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Ag nee man!.. Just when I think we have a better idea of where we might end up living, somebody comes along and talk about other nicer places... Thanks KarinWise and HansaPlease for putting a spanner in the works.

Best of luck with your search Mel-B.

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Neels lag ek nou lekker, I feel the same way. Although having visited recently I can honestly say almost any area would work out nicely. My concerns is mainly that once we arrive there will be little time for suburb searching and we will have to make decisions quickly, so I am trying to narrow down options down for each direction of the city, and then once a job is secured have an idea of where we will want to go. All forum people are MOSTLY happy with their areas and all their areas described sounds great :) I honestly hope to meet some of you one day, would love to put a face to the personalities here :)

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One thing I do have to comment on - the train lines. I've definitely noticed that the train line to Greensborough/Eltham, etc is a lot more reliable, with less delays. Makes sense because the Pakenham line has more interchanges and more trains which means more can go wrong.

The Hurstbridge line also seems to have a *cough* different demographic of passenger and feels safer, particularly at night.

It's logical though because the Pakenham line does serve more areas of lower socio-economic group.

Trying not to be a snob here, I'm no Nobleman, but there is definitely a difference :)

The other thing that is now a breeze is - because we're under 20 km out, catching a cab home from the city is no big deal - $45. Berwick is easily $120. Handy when the trains break down and your kid is sick, daycare are about to put him in an ambulance and you're trying to get home from the city! Been there!

What I an trying to say is - the trains might be similar times, but don't under estimate the challenge of being 40km away from home as opposed to 20.

I hope that makes sense.

Happy to show you guys around when you arrive Mel-B.

oh and PS I LOVE wombats! So cute :)We saw a kangaroo on our visit there, we drove around aimlessly enjoying getting lost, just exploring, and we went out north from Eltham, and one hopped across the road. Was one of the COOLEST things ever. :)

I still get excited when I see a Kangaroo. I run a fair bit locally and there is a particular couple of spots where there are literally hundreds of them. It's great. We've been simply blown away by the wildlife since moving to this side of Melbourne.

Edited by HansaPlease
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Hi Mel-B,

Google horse riding schools in Berwick and surrounds, and you might be sold. We drove around this area some more yesterday, it's green and hilly and has lots of big , beautiful trees. Melbourne is at best at this time of the year, getting a bit warmer, but still very very green from the winter rains.

Bronwyn , thanks so much for the good wishes, we started selling memberships yesterday, and our very first sign up was a lovely South African boy from Cape Town. I consider it a good omen, we sat a talked for ages about the old country. It's amazing how you just " click" with one of your own. Must say, I really made me homesick.

Amazing how such little things can catapult you back into " homesickness mode" just as you thought things were getting easier.

Oh well, I suppose this will be ongoing thing, better get used to it. I have to strap on my " big girl broekies" and stop hankering after Cape Town. I am actually from JHB, but I really get homesick for CT. It's truly Gods country , that!!!!!

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Happy to show you guys around when you arrive Mel-B.

Wow Mel B, how lucky are you. Hansa is as elusive as Big Foot. We know he exists, but I dont think anybody has ever seen him, and lived to tell the tale. I was going to suggest you take a photo, but your camera will surely mysteriously malfunction ;)

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Wow Mel B, how lucky are you. Hansa is as elusive as Big Foot. We know he exists, but I dont think anybody has ever seen him, and lived to tell the tale. I was going to suggest you take a photo, but your camera will surely mysteriously malfunction ;)

Hahahah. I'll have you know, I've met at least... erm... a couple of people on the forum... Come to think of it, none of them are on the forum anymore, make of that what you will :D

I was so used to living out in the sticks for so long, nobody ever moved to MY neighbourhood!

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Hahahah. I'll have you know, I've met at least... erm... a couple of people on the forum... Come to think of it, none of them are on the forum anymore, make of that what you will :D

I was so used to living out in the sticks for so long, nobody ever moved to MY neighbourhood!

Holy Cow, thats as close to a confession as I have ever heard. Mel B, he goes "running" in the bush often, read looking for "shallow grave" options. You will have to make up your own mind about meeting, just tell loads of people where you go and meet in a public place. Australia is a dangerous place...... ;P

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Holy Cow, thats as close to a confession as I have ever heard. Mel B, he goes "running" in the bush often, read looking for "shallow grave" options. You will have to make up your own mind about meeting, just tell loads of people where you go and meet in a public place. Australia is a dangerous place...... ;P

Usually described in police reports as "seen running out of" the bushes, yes... :D

Thanks a lot, now I have to change my forum name... !

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Hahaha you guys crack me up! :jester:

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Back to your property search ;) - we now live in Chirnside Park which is Outer Eastern Melbourne and there are quite a few affordable options here in Chirnside Park and in the surrounding areas which include Croydon (The Range is a new development), Croydon Hills, Croydon North, Warranwood, etc. Lots of horse riding in nearby Wonga Park and Warrandyte, there is actually a huge paddock with horses just across the road from our suburb. Lovely leafy and hilly area, also near Mt. Dandenong and the Yarra River in Warrandyte is where we like to go on weekends.

My husband takes the train into the city from Croydon station, never has any problems but it does take about 40 minutes.

Plenty of good state and private schools to choose from.

The Ringwood and surrounding area does have some bogany (is that a word?) parts but they are redeveloping Eastland Shopping center including the library as well as the Ringwood Aquatic Center so I think we'll be all right :lol: .

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Thanks Sibella. Will investigate! Love Google earth :) Can't wait to hear the birds again instead of barking dogs.

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my 5c,

We on the Eltham / Hurstbridge line, and it is really good so +1 to that.

On a side note, we have some friends out in Berwick and surrounds and it really is far, even though we are on the way to them from town going to visit is a fair drive and they have mentioned that it is quite a long train trip into town so they seldom go in when not working.

You definitely get more property for your buck but the trade in is a fair commute to town and less easy access to the stuff in Melbourne.

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I know someone who lives in Berwick and works on the St Kilda Road (close to CBD) it took them an hour+ to travel in each day. But otherwise they loved Berwick.

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Thanks everyone xx

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