Eynesbury

[sunshine123]

Hi all,  

 

Been living in Aus for 6 years, in Sydney.  We're considering a move to Melbourne, more specifically Eynesbury - and wanted to find out from people who live there what they think? Husband will work in CBD.

 

Which high schools would you recommend (private or public), and specifically, is it quite difficult to enrol your children into Baccus Marsh Grammar?  I have heard this is quite a good school, but we are not set on a private school, would be happy with a good public school too.  Does anyone know what sort of bus/transport services would be available for the kids attending any of these high schools?

 

Many thanks

 

Edited April 2, 2016 by sunshine123

[Mel-B]

Hi, just curious? Why Eynesbury? It seems really far from the BCD Like I said just curious. Have no info for that area, but we are recent arrivals to Melbourne. The city is great.

[sunshine123]

We're looking for an area that is quite open with new developments, which are affordable; and anything under a 1.5hr commute would be an improvement on Sydney?

 

We've also seen Berwick which looks quite nice and seems to be affordable too.

I've read somewhere that Berwick has a lot of new developments and houses as well as quite good public schools?

[Mel-B]

I've heard good comments about the Berwick area, and Narre Warren just next to it, haven't seen it ourselves. The areas we explored for more larger and affordable properties were Sunbury and then Eltham/Greensborough areas (they have train lines to CBD which makes the commute much easier/faster). My hot fav. was Eltham. We are currently renting in Doncaster (much more central) as we don't know where husband will be working, we are looking at buying a property in about 2 years, so we are taking our time to asses areas.

[Mara]

@sunshine123 Then you should take a look at Sunbury, it is a lovely place, with a great atmosphere and village like. It is in the North West, totally different from the West, and the train takes around 50 minutes from Sunbury Station to the city. Good bus services, and lots of new suburbs going up.

[sunshine123]

Hi @Mara, thank you.

 

Could you comment on good high schools in Sunbury, as well as the names of some

of the new suburbs being developed? I've seen quite a few houses still being built or offered as house&land packages, we would prefer to buy something new but not build it?

 

By the way, I see you enjoy patchwork, it's my hobby too and I love it, are there good patchwork shops around??

 

Edited April 3, 2016 by sunshine123

[miran]

My son goes to Sunbury Downs Secondary College.  He is very happy there.  I know some kids in Sunbury College, they are happy too.  The really expensive one is Salesian Catholic College.  Also a great school.  Happy hunting......loads of affordable houses for sale.  Great thing about Sunbury is that there's no school zones.  You can pick your favorite house and school.  Bus services and trains are awesome!  Jackson's Hill is very popular but more expensive.  Mara's area, Rolling Meadows is beautiful too.  We are currently renting in Ashfield.  Unfortunately most of the new developments have really tiny properties.  You can almost hear your neighbor snore....

[Mara]

@sunshine123 I see @miran has already answered your question about the high schools, she should know, being a teacher and a parent of a son at high school. I may add, our previous neighbour specially moved to Sunbury in order for her daughter to go to Salesian College. If I remember, it cost her around $350 per month, but that is a few years ago.

 

With regard to the patchworking, I do not know of any local shops, except for Lincraft, which sells the material. I do know of a couple on the east side, but I do know there is a guild etc., however, I have never joined anything like that. I got hooked on it whilst living in the USA, where it is an extremely big industry. Mostly I design my own patterns, as I prefer to stick to the more simple patterns.

 

As far as housing is concerned, I have to agree with miran, in that some of the new properties being built have fairly small land. Now this could either be a bonus or an aggravation. Bonus: you do not have to spend all your time in the garden over weekends cleaning and clearing... Aggravation: you can hear your neighbours fighting and snoring...!

 

My advice to newcomers is that I would never buy a house until I have lived in the area, and decided whether or not I actually liked it, whether it is convenient for my lifestyle and whether I would be happy here. Stamp duties and agent's cost on reselling can be high. It is difficult to actually give you areas in Sunbury, because of the following conundrum. Although suburbs are named in Sunbury, you will not find them on any search engines, as Sunbury is regarded as a suburb of Melbourne. You can, when you do searches, put in Sunbury and then where it asks you for "more refinements" go to that and then under "keywords" you can put the local suburb name in. Unfortunately this will only work if they have actually mentioned the name in their advertisement. I have listed some properties for you to just have an idea... none of these are "new" they are existing properties in areas where the land is larger. Remember, land in Australia's large cities could cost you a lot more than the actual house that is built on it.

 

Properties around Sunbury (searched for up to $599,000)

http://www.realestate.com.au/property-house-vic-sunbury-122098618

http://www.realestate.com.au/property-house-vic-sunbury-121996714

http://www.realestate.com.au/property-house-vic-sunbury-122116994

http://www.realestate.com.au/property-house-vic-sunbury-121968982

http://www.realestate.com.au/property-house-vic-sunbury-121949662

http://www.realestate.com.au/property-house-vic-sunbury-121926862

http://www.realestate.com.au/property-house-vic-sunbury-121909258

http://www.realestate.com.au/property-house-vic-sunbury-121286562

 

Properties in Rolling Meadows (all over $600,000)

http://www.realestate.com.au/property-house-vic-sunbury-121952654

http://www.realestate.com.au/property-house-vic-sunbury-121487518

http://www.realestate.com.au/property-house-vic-sunbury-121364834

http://www.realestate.com.au/property-house-vic-sunbury-120090153

 

Also in Rolling Meadows with an interesting twist. We know the guy that built this house, halfway through his wife was diagnosed with cancer, and that took over their whole life. Unfortunately two years later she passed away. He tried to sell the house half built, but had no takers. So he moved into it and started finishing it off. I do believe that it is to the highest standard, as he was building their dream home. Having two young daughters to care for and the sad memories that the house holds for them, he has now decided to sell it. The add says it will be finished off for the buyer.

http://www.realestate.com.au/property-house-vic-sunbury-107053377

 

Hope this has helped you somewhat.

 

 

 

 

[TeeTMI]

I'm also in Sunbury (love it here)  I have seen that some of the new developments house & land packages can have plot sizes of 1000m2. 

 

Patchworking - there are several other arty type shops in Sunbury, but also in the nearby suburbs of Gisborne and out to the Macedon ranges etc there are arts/crafts. 

 

If you know where your hubby will be working in the CBD also take a look at the train line times into the CBD, I think the Sunbury goes all the way around the city loop ending at Southern Cross.  So if your hubby will be working in a specific area of the CBD check out the timings to the station he would be going to.  (http://ptv.vic.gov.au/journey) 

 

Regular trains from Sunbury there are rarely any problems on the line.

 

We also looked at Eltham, Diamond Creek, loved those areas also but it was quicker to the area of the CBD we were aiming for for us from here (45/50 mins).

 

For the past few weeks we have flocks of Corellas (small white cockatoos) at least 1-2000 strong flying around the outskirts of town and then breaking up into smaller flocks around the town and surrounding areas.  An amazing sight to see.  The other evening I passed about 500 on the secondary college football field.   

 

 

[Mel-B]

There are many South Africans in Sunbury And there is a NANDOS that much I remember as we ate lunch there!

 

Shame Mara that is quite sad about the wife dying of cancer. Its exactly what happened to my father in law. He too had built his wife's dream home and she passed away soon after completion. He sold it soon after.

It is beautiful house he built in Sunbury - any idea what the asking price would be (curiosity)?

[sunshine123]

Thanks @miran, @TeeTMI, @Mara and @Mel-B , all very insightful and helpful advice!  My husband's office is in St. Kilda, it is not a new job, but would be just a transfer between the Sydney and Melbourne office.  He currently travels between both offices anyway.  We have been renting in Sydney for 6 years and saving really hard, and even though we could probably afford one of the ridiculously priced houses here in Sydney's northwest by the end of this year, we still feel like we will be paying too much for what you get and we will not have the disposable income to do anything else but pay a mortgage!    We're not after a large piece of land, as long as the house in not a shoebox size  .  Because my husband travels a bit, the fact that Sunbury (or even Eynesbury) seems like an easier drive to the airport, that is a bonus.  Thanks Mara, for the effort you put into listing those properties, I just realised last night what you mentioned about the 'suburbs' within Sunbury not being specifically mentioned in the listings, so it does make it a bit more challenging searching for new properties I guess.  Well, my husband is having a meeting tomorrow with his boss; after which we will decide whether to fly to Melbourne this weekend to come and have a look at the areas we are interested in.

[TeeTMI]

Depending where in St Kilda (or e.g. if St Kilda Rd which is a business area but not in St Kilda), I'm not sure how useful Sunbury will be.  If using public transport you would be looking at potentially a change or two and using train and tram/bus.  Or a busy trip if driving in at peak hours.    

 

You might also look at the direction of Sandringham, Mordialloc, Pattisons lakes? 

The hassle of getting to St Kilda (the place rather than Rd) from the west would be in that you are crossing the main build up of people/traffic/transport in the CBD to get there.

[TeeTMI]

2 hours ago, Mel-B said:

There are many South Africans in Sunbury And there is a NANDOS that much I remember as we ate lunch there!

 

 

And also several Fish and Chip shops selling Snoek (Couta).

 

3 hours ago, Mara said:

Also in Rolling Meadows with an interesting twist.

http://www.realestate.com.au/property-house-vic-sunbury-107053377

 

 

I often wondered about that place - explains a lot - thanks Mara.

[sunshine123]

23 minutes ago, TeeTMI said:

Depending where in St Kilda (or e.g. if St Kilda Rd which is a business area but not in St Kilda), I'm not sure how useful Sunbury will be.  If using public transport you would be looking at potentially a change or two and using train and tram/bus.  Or a busy trip if driving in at peak hours.    

 

You might also look at the direction of Sandringham, Mordialloc, Pattisons lakes? 

The hassle of getting to St Kilda (the place rather than Rd) from the west would be in that you are crossing the main build up of people/traffic/transport in the CBD to get there.

 

 

@TeeTMI, Oh I should've mentioned, his office will be near St. Kilda Road, CBD, not the suburb St. Kilda  

Edited April 4, 2016 by sunshine123

[TeeTMI]

1 hour ago, sunshine123 said:

@TeeTMI, Oh I should've mentioned, his office will be near St. Kilda Road, CBD, not the suburb St. Kilda  

 

You would be looking at a train to Flinders and then tram/bus along St Kilda Rd.   In peak times Probably about 1 hour (plus maybe 5-15 mins depending upon how busy it is)?  The PTV link in my earlier email is pretty good for times.

[sunshine123]

Thanks, that's very helpful, and considering the distance it's not a bad commute time at all.

[Mara]

@MelB Mel it is an extremely large home, at a guess I would say probably around $750,000, but then anything is negotiable and there isn't a garden as yet.

[Mara]

@sunshine123 The airport is only about 15mins away, in non traffic times and perhaps 25mins in traffic. I used to work there and therefore know what it is.

 

If you are coming up this weekend and would like someone to show you around Sunbury, then by all means, I am happy to do so. It is also very beautiful where @TeeTMIlives, I always call it Sherwood forest, not sure of the actual suburb name...

 

If you want a nice hotel near Melbourne airport, then do try the link below. Our staff and visitors from overseas always stayed there and never had a complaint.

http://www.mantra.com.au/victoria/melbourne-and-surrounds/tullamarine/accommodation/hotels/mantra-tullamarine/

 

I will email you my contact details.

Edited April 5, 2016 by Mara
Added hotel link.

[TeeTMI]

On 02/04/2016 at 0:34 PM, sunshine123 said:

Does anyone know what sort of bus/transport services would be available for the kids attending any of these high schools?

 

 

I have seen coaches going to the schools and there are plenty of bus stops for the public transport.  However, a vast proportion of the local kids here seem to walk or cycle to the schools, there are a lot of off road cycle paths through green areas dotted around the suburbs.