MELBOURNE - Suburbs

[Sol1]

Hello guys,

My journey has led me to Melbourne and it is very likely that an offer is going to be made to me for a Job in the City.

I am in a bit of a Tizz mentally now as I never expected it.

Please can anyone help me with information. I am looking for Suburbs to rent in which has good schools, Playgrounds, not too busy, shopping centres etc. My rental budget will be 500 p/w. Any help will be appreciated.

Also can anyone tell me what procedure is for converting a South Africa drivers license to Victorian one is?

I have only been in the city 5 days now so don't know much about the city as in that 5 days 3 days were spent preparing for intense interviews- 2 rounds and one day was spent recovering from Perth time changes as I arrived from Perth.

One last thing - having come from Perth , I have noticed that Melbourne is distinctively different with its old homes v new. Can anyone recommend a place which resembles perth suburbs with their limestone face bricked houses etc. I kinda fell in love with the Perth suburbs but obviously appreciate this is Melbourne with a different lifestyle and suburb design.

Thanks guys in advance.

Regards

[DXB2OZ]

First, huge congrats on potential job offer.

1. Where is the job?

2. What is an acceptable commute time? Door to door

3. What age for the schools?

4. Will you need to include before care/after care?

My suggestion would be to start with your commute. Draw a ring around your work place - that is your starting zone. Then narrow down by schools - sometimes it is easier to rule out some schools, or go with the top 10.

Haven't yet been to Perth so I can't help you on that side, but I can say that each suburb is very different and once you have your short list, your best bet is to go and visit. Use google maps to find the nearby parks, playgrounds and shopping centres.

hope this helps.

[Sol1]

Thank you DXB2OZ- the advice you provided has been extremely useful.

Edited October 25, 2015 by Sol1

[RedPanda]

For a license conversion...
Just check that you are still in the required period of arrival for the license conversion, since I don't how long you've been where (you mention coming from Perth?)

You can follow this link VicRoads it should give you all the information that you need. We went to the office in A'Beckett Street, to book an appointment and it was fine. But I have heard that you can make appointments via telephone, so you might want to try that rather.

Melbourne was our city of choice from the start, hope you grow to love it.

[Donovan83]

One last thing - having come from Perth , I have noticed that Melbourne is distinctively different with its old homes v new. Can anyone recommend a place which resembles perth suburbs with their limestone face bricked houses etc. I kinda fell in love with the Perth suburbs but obviously appreciate this is Melbourne with a different lifestyle and suburb design.

Unfortunately the building style in Victoria is not like in Perth. Apparently WA is the only state that builds most of their properties out of brick/limestone (not sure how true this is - was an anecdote from a friend back in Perth).

I also prefer the WA style of building. These ugly old weatherboard dumps are FREEZING and tend to get quite damp. If you're looking for modern, I think some of the far outlying suburbs are a bit more modern/less run down looking, but then you have a longer commute.

If you're looking for modern and close to the city, you might need to look at an apartment. They have really new apartments in Southbank or Docklands, and some in Richmond (but unfortunately the overall neighborhood has that awful dreary look to it too). For some reason Melburnians seem to shun anything new and modern, so disregard what locals may tell you as they'll invariably direct you to live in the most awful areas (like St Kilda *shudder* near the "beach").

Edited October 26, 2015 by Donovan83

[EmNew]

Also can anyone tell me what procedure is for converting a South Africa drivers license to Victorian one is?

Hi,

We're fairly new to Melbourne too - 29 days.

Just a word of warning - if you tick any of the boxes relating to medical conditions, such as driving with glasses, taking ANY prescription medication, you will need to undergo a medical examination and optical test....

We got posted a form that needs to be filled out , stamped, signed off by medical practitioner and posted to VicRoads within 4 weeks of issue, otherwise licence which was already issued will be revoked. Made booking at bulk billing practice, to be told by GP that the optical exam needs to be done first - the irony of which is that according to Aussie rules, my eyesight is good enough to NOT have glasses as a condition of my drivers licence, and then had to go back to GP to have form signed off.

The licence conversion itself was painless - made appointment, took along necessary docs ( bank cards, proof of address, $76 for three year licence , passport ) and licence arrived in mail about 7 days later. About 15 minutes at counter at most, including photo. Try and get necessary form to fill in upfront - perhaps arrive 20 minutes before appointment and get one from the lady that issues the tickets at the door for other services - you have an appointment, so you wait until your name is called, not until your number is called.

I can't comment about schools although I believe there are some good government ones here, etc, but we are falling in love with the Bayside suburbs , where we're blessed to be staying with friends. We have seen some lovely solid brick units in Hampton, Brighton East, Sandringham. I love those 3 suburbs, as there is an eclectic mix of ultra modern, 50's bungalows , Victorian and Federation houses. Very green with lots of parks, and within walking distance of the lovely Bay trails and beaches ( not 'catch a wave' type beaches, but beaches none-the-less ). We're hoping to find a rental in Sandringham. You could get something within your budget in those suburbs, and will have a 20-25 minute train commute. There is a good selection of shops - lots of Coles to choose from between the 3 areas, as well as a variety of stand alone grocers, bakers, butchers etc. Everywhere seems about 2.5km to either Sandringham or Frankston train lines and closer to shops. Also close to Nepean Highway for vehicular travel.

Hoping your job offer comes through!

[TheMullers]

Hi Sol

Based on what you are looking for I would recommend Point Cook, it is located ±22 to 25km west of the City. This is the fastest growing suburb in Australia, nevermind Victoria. It is a good family orientated suburb, good schools (some are coming over the next 5 years also), shopping centres like we know them in SA, quiet and weekends are perfect to spend with family and going for walks etc. There are also lots of Saffers there.

The average rental for a BRAND new 4 bedroom 2 bathroom house is between $350 - $400 per week. We will be staying there to save on rent money - saving for a deposit for our own place.

Ok the setbacks - traffic sucks. Klaar. Traffic congestion is a problem but that being said, if you leave before (or after) peak time, the commute is manageable. Where will you be working? There is also n new train station at PC. Once on the train the average commute time to the city is about 25min on the express line.

I would say this is a good area for a family if you can look past the traffic. It all depends on what you want from a suburb? Do you like the SA style homes, with a big houses and some backyard for dogs and kids - PC is your place. If you want to spend ±$500 per week, you could get a 2 bedroom apartment close-ish to the city.

There are also other areas that are being developed like Point Cook i.e. Cragieburn, Mernda but distance wise PC is the closest.

All of the above is based on my own experience and personal perception. Others would agree, some would disagree. It all depends on what you want from your local area / community and the price you are willing the pay for it i.e rentals, traffic, public transport etc.

I hope this helps. And congrats on the job offer. I hope it all work our for you.

Cheers

Luan

EmNew, the Bayside area is awesome. I love that area. Wish we could buy there but scraping up enough money for a deposit. My office is located on Bay St, Brighton! EXPENSIVE!

Sandi is an awesome suburb. Enjoy the new journey!

[Pink]

Hi Guys

Once all is sorted and I get my PR Visa, I plan on settling in Melbourne, Eastern Suburbs

I would sincerely appreciate any advice on where and how to start. From Flights i.e. Contact details in Durban.

Then Short stay to Rental to bank accounts, drivers license and schools! I have a 10 yr old and a 5 yr old.

Tia

[RedPanda]

Well I can tell you that we booked out flights via IOM using email, and we got a good deal on Qantas, with 40kg + hand luggage each. And we used Airbnb to find our short stay (long stay, 3months, actually). But there are lots of other options too.

[itchyfeet]

Just some info...

We booked our flights with Qantas online as the price at the time was pretty good. I only found out afterwards that we should have phoned Qantas beforehand in order to get the extra luggage allowance becasue we were moving to Australia. Might be worth a call!

We are currently staying in Point Cook with friends but I am driving to and from Coburg every day for work. I spend an hour each way in the traffic to do 30kms! Point Cook is stunning, with great schools, shops and parks with awesome, free 'bar-b-q' areas but the traffic is a nightmare.

There are many great areas. It all depends where you are going to work and how long you want to spend in traffic. We have kids, so have based all of our searches around the schools.

[Guest]

Hi itchy feet we (sol1) being my hubby have settled nicely into Point Cook. He also travels into the CBD but via public transport as we knew commuting in a car would not decrease time anyway. Besides we have yet to purchase a car but will do so in January sometime as we have to go back to SA for few weeks to sort few things out. Only problem with using public transport in PC is that the buses don't run frequently enough and if you miss one bus from Williams landing train station then you're likely to wait 30 mu s for the next one.....a bit if a pain when you want to get home.

My husband does love working in the city and the great atmosphere of Melbourne itself just takes time getting used to travelling. ?

[TheMullers]

Itchyfeet, you mentioned that you are staying with friends. Have you and the family decided to settle in Point Cook or are you still looking around for other places?

[itchyfeet]

Hi TheMullers. We have settled for Taylors Hill. The area is great, with lots of shopping centre's close by. It's closer to work and the primary school seems quite similar to the school that my children attended in ZA, but without the huge fees!

Hi emma.yenkanna. My wife loves Point Cook and if I didn't have to travel to work every day then we would probably have settled there also.

[TheMullers]

How does the commute compare with PC? We are moving to PC and I work in Bayside!!! I want to know, what I let myself into...

[Mara]

TheMullers, you need to get ready for a very long commute!

[Guest]

The mullers if you are going to travel via public transport use the ptv journey planner to see what time the commute takes. It takes my husband about an hour from PC to Carlton. He is getting used to it though now. The advantage of using public transport is that he is now using this time to read more.

Point Cook is a lovely area. We live in a quiet suburb shops nearby, schools, the local library here is amazing and has everything from Salsa dancing to learning mandarin. The people here are extremely friendly and I am sure you will enjoy it.