Pensies Posted October 13, 2015 Report Share Posted October 13, 2015 Hi All,We will be in the process to apply in December for our visas. Looking at where to stay is a mission. We would like to go a bit more rural, but yet still be able to travel easy enough to the CBD - not sure where I would be working -. Any suggestions?? Need access to a primary school and high school as well.Help would be appreciated. Thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mara Posted October 13, 2015 Report Share Posted October 13, 2015 We live on the edge of the Melbourne metropolitan area, in a town called Sunbury, north west of the city, past the airport. There are quite a number of people here from RSA. Rents are affordable, plenty of new modern rentals and the train takes around 50 minutes to the city. I do not have school going children but people appear to be quite happy with the schools here. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pensies Posted October 13, 2015 Author Report Share Posted October 13, 2015 Hi Mara,Thanks for the response. We currently stay in Johannesburg and we had horses, so we would like to get out of the city and move a bit into the countryside. (Cannot do that in RSA)We still have a way to go as we will make more decisions when we get visas. Perhaps you can give me more info about the weather there as well. Not getting a clear indication on the web.My daughter is in grade 9 and we are not sure yet what would be better for her, to finish school here and then study in Aus or to move asap. Hence my question about areas to stay in. Trying to get as much as possible info. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RedPanda Posted October 13, 2015 Report Share Posted October 13, 2015 Unfortunately I think looking at the different places is the best way to get a feel for them. We had the opportunity to look at a whole bunch of places around Melbourne in June this year, and we like the Belgrave/Selby area the most. The climate is a lot different from Sunbury.I would suggest renting for a year, if possible, and using the time to decide where you want to live. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pensies Posted October 13, 2015 Author Report Share Posted October 13, 2015 Hi RedPanda,Thanks for the advice. There are still many decisions and it is all just a bit overwhelming. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mel-B Posted October 13, 2015 Report Share Posted October 13, 2015 My favourite was Eltham in Melbourne.Sunbury is a good option too.We rented a car and drove out in every direction into the suburbs, went to malls, the zoo, the cbd, just exploring. Eltham is also my husbands first choice. There were nicer areas but they are out of our price range. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sunnyskies Posted October 13, 2015 Report Share Posted October 13, 2015 Might be helpful if you explain why rural, do you ride horses, want a massive vegie patch or want to go for walks, or plan on starting a business on a small holding. The reason will help guide us to a suitable areas. If you just want to be out of the closer areas but don't have a real reason then Sunbury is a good option. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pensies Posted October 13, 2015 Author Report Share Posted October 13, 2015 @Sunnyskies - The rural is because we love outdoors and we are not able to have that in RSA. We would like to grow some of our own veggies as well. Perhaps late on we might want to start something from home as an extra , not sure, keeping all our options open. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mara Posted October 13, 2015 Report Share Posted October 13, 2015 Okay, more information on Sunbury, here goes: There are a number of places around where you can go horse riding.SUNBURY INFORMATIONI live in Sunbury, north west of Melbourne, it has a small village atmosphere, good schools and affordable rentals. There is also a fairly large South African population that live here and find it a great place to stay. You can read a bit more about Sunbury here:http://en.wikipedia....nbury,_VictoriaThe nice thing is that there are a number of newer suburbs, so there are modern spacious homes available, both to rent and affordable to buy as well. Public transports to the city is via train, which takes around 45 minutes from Sunbury station to Spencer Street station in Melbourne city. You can check out rentals for Sunbury here:http://www.realestat...eSort=price-ascI would suggest that you make sure that you bring a reference from perhaps where you are renting in RSA or from the agent that sold your house, or who is going to rent it out, from your minister, etc. Some have made up a small file, with family pictures of their previous home, a short family history, and of course, offering three months rental in advance, will often get you in the door. The thing is, in Sunbury, there is a lot of rental accommodation available due to all the new building that is happening, therefore you generally do not have to jump through hoops to secure a rental. Although I do know of a couple of people on the forum that have secured rentals before they arrive, 98% do not.. For myself, knowing the industry and trick photography, I would like to see the place before I sign a contract for a year!Bus timetables:http://www.sunburybu.../timetables.aspThe schools are :Primary schoolsSunbury West Primary School http://www.sunburywestps.vic.edu.au/Sunbury Primary School (this school comes highly recommended) http://www.sunburyps.vic.edu.au/Sunbury Heights Primary School http://www.sunburyheightsps.vic.edu.au/Killara Primary School http://www.killaraps.vic.edu.au/Kismet Park Primary School http://www.kismetparkps.vic.edu.au/St Anne's Primary School (Catholic) http://www.sasunbury.catholic.edu.au/Our Lady of Mount Carmel Primary School (Catholic) http://www.olmcsunbury.catholic.edu.au/Goonawarra Primary School http://www.goonawarra.vic.edu.au/Obviously I do not have young children, but I have a friend whose children go to Sunbury Primary School, and she does relief teaching at Goonawarra Primary School, she loves both. If you would like to chat to her you can send her a message on the forum, “Miran”.Secondary schools and high schoolsSunbury Downs College http://www.sunburydowns.vic.edu.au/Sunbury College http://www.sunburysc.vic.edu.au/Salesian College (Catholic) http://www.salesian.vic.edu.au/OthersRed Rock Christian College http://www.rrcc.com.au/You could have a look at the following options for places to stay when you first arrive.http://www.stayz.com.au/https://www.airbnb.com.au/http://www.big4.com.au/There is a bed and breakfast accommodation, close to town centre, but I do not know anything about it. See link here:http://rosaliemay.com.au/Converting your driver’s licenses:In Victoria, as long as you are over the age of 25 and have held a driver’s license for longer than three years, you walk into a VicRoads office with your RSA license, and they will issue you with a new one. I do believe you have to make an appointment though. You can check it out here:https://www.vicroads...gov.au/licencesI do hope that the above has been of use to you. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TeeTMI Posted October 13, 2015 Report Share Posted October 13, 2015 I'm another Sunbury convert - we used to live in the inner south-east. Much more space for your money and the town is surrounded on all sides by fields. But a bit cooler than the south-east, we had ice on the bird bath one day this winter and I saw frost for the first time here. I also liked Eltham and Diamond creek mentioned above. Also Heidelberg as there were some hills and greenery. Depending upon where you work in the CBD will depend on the travel time as changing trains in the CBD can add a lot of time to your journey. http://ptv.vic.gov.au/ has a great journey planner that shows changes you may need and journey times. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pensies Posted October 14, 2015 Author Report Share Posted October 14, 2015 Wow, thanks for the information. I can definitely make use of alllllll of it. You have been a great help! Thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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