House-hunting in Melbourne

[Reinhardt & Christa]

We are getting closer to the day that the visa is approved and will soon have to decide where to start looking for a house to rent. Below is an excerpt from a mail that I sent to someone in Melbourne with her reply. I thought it may be useful to somebody else, but I would also be interested in some more opinions from people currently in Melbourne.

My mail:

I would like to get the opinion of a few people in Melbourne with regards to

areas and neighborhoods where we can look to settle. From what I saw and

read, the areas listed below seemed to be good middle class options - we are

looking to rent a 3 or 4 bedroom house. I would appreciate it if you could

give me your opinion and recommendation. I don't really mind staying further

out, provided there is easy access to public transport, preferably trains.

The other main consideration of course is schools.

The areas that I am considering are:

Doncaster, Templestowe (although not near train stations)

Bayswater, Boronia,

Eltham, Greensborough,

Broadmeadows, Upfield

Sunbury (not sure about schools),

Kew, Balwyn, Hawthorn

Mount Waverly, Glen Waverly

Her reply:

To give you a rough idea of your listed areas (if not slightly biased),

I would suggest the following:

Doncaster, Templestowe (although not near train stations) - these areas

are not too bad, but have been known for their school-type "gangs".

Relatively cheap for rental properties, but as you say, there are not a

lot of options when speaking of public transport into the city or around

town.

Bayswater, Boronia - I grew up around this area. Pleanty of options

when it comes to schools. Again, rent is relatively cheap and there is

good access to public transport, but it is a little further out of town.

Would probably take close to 1 hour to get into the CBD.

Eltham, Greensborough - lovely area of Melbourne. There are quite a few

options for schooling around these suburbs. I lived there a few years

ago, and the township of Eltham is beautiful on weekends, nice parks,

small cafes and little arty shops. Would take approx 30-45 minutes by

train to get into the city. The rent is becoming increasingly more

expensive in Eltham, slightly less around Greensborough, but both areas

are still affordable.

Broadmeadows, Upfield - personally not an area that I would consider, as

it is know as a rougher, and slightly more "lower class" area of

Melbourne. But that comes down to personal opinion I suppose. Rent

would be a fair bit less expensive around here.

Sunbury (not sure about schools) - again, as with Broadmeadows, not an

area which would be of my personal preference. Also, it is a fair way

out of town.

Kew, Balwyn, Hawthorn - this is probably where I am biased, as I live on

the border of Kew and Hawthorn, and last year was living in Balwyn. It

is a really beautiful area of Melbourne, and my husband and I love being

so close to the CBD, yet still feeling as though we are out in the leafy

suburbs. It is a very safe area, with lots of options when it comes to

schools, and there is the advantage of having access to trains and

trams. I walk to the station in the morning, and it only takes 10-15

minutes on the train to get to work. The downfall would be the rent

that you pay in these areas. To give you a rough idea, we are living in

a 3 bedroom, 3 bathroom townhouse, with a small backyard, and we pay

$395 a week, which is actually very reasonable in Kew. It would be very

hard to find a place in any of these areas under $400-$450.

Mount Waverly, Glen Waverly - quite nice suburbs. A lot of options for

schools. Depending on what part of Mount Waverley or Glen Waverley,

there can be good access to the trainline. Rent is affordable, not

cheap, but you will more likely find 3-4 bedroom homes with larger

backyards around there, as the area is known for it's "family" homes.

I hope this gives you a bit of an insight, but as I mentioned, it is

personal opinion, as I know people who have grown up around the

Broadmeadows type areas and think highly of it. Other areas I could

suggest looking would be:

Mont Albert/Surrey Hills/Glen Iris - very close to Balwyn, but not quite

as expensive, close to public transport, and generally larger homes.

Carnegie/East Malvern - same as above. Although the houses are very

expensive to buy in this area, the rental prices don't seem to have

increased at the same rate.

I can't give too much input in regards to schools (especially

pre-schools or primary schools), as I don't have children, and it really

does depend on whether you choose to go public or private schooling. I

don't have a preference towards either, as I went to both a public and a

private high school and the level of teaching was comparable at both.

[NikkiH]

Thanks very much for posting this it gives good insight into the areas.

[Mara]

I disagree with the comments about Sunbury, it is 35 mins by train from the city, and about 45 mins by car (reasonable traffic time). Rents are definitely affordable and there are some good schools. After all we are about 12 SA families that live there and some have been there for 20 years already....what more can I say!

[Sam]

How old are your kids? A lot of people with pre and primary school kids settle in Bentleigh East (near Carnegie). There are some excellent schools there and the area is great for rentals... and very popular. Why don't you pm Oubossies. Also search for topics written by her on the forum.

Cheers

[OzzieAfrikaner]

I live in Kew and I believe this area (inner east: Hawthorn, Kew, Balwyn, Camberwell, Canterbury) is the most beautiful part of Melbourne (of course I'm biased). I don't have kids but we live in the 'private school' belt so there is plenty of schooling options, including the nearby public Balwyn High School which performs very well each year academically. Transport is OK but no trains in Kew itself, so you'll have to bus, tram or drive yourself.

I do like Templestowe as well, and you'll find that a lot of South Africans are based there.

Sunbury is ok but not great, it's a bit 'remote', and therefore more affordable than Melbourne proper.

Broadmeadows, crime rate and drugs a problem there.

Mont Albert/Surrey Hills/Glen Iris - also very nice, like Balwyn. Glen Iris however is now top of the list in real estate price increases.

East Malvern - very nice, similar to Glen Iris, but less pricey.

Glen Waverley - popular with South Africans. It's not in the inner east, it's further out, but still accessible.

Hope that helps!

[lisabella]

Thanks for sharing that - very useful

[Guest Chris Rimmer]

Thanks for sharing that - very useful

I think Oakleigh is a great buy and a 'sleeper' in terms of investment opportunity. It's a vibrant area dominated by Greek and Italian first wave migrants. It's only 10 miles from the CBD. It has some beautiful Victorian and Edwardian architecture on tree lined streets. Some have been recently renovated very smartly but there is also some new building going on.It's close to City Link and well serviced by public transport and community facilities like library, day care etc. 8% is parkland with bike tracks going as far as Punt Road. It is a very friendly place. The guy at the bottle shop told me he has had to stock Cape wine because so many expats are moving to the area. Most importantly, it is in my opinion currently undervalued but won't be more much longer.

Good Luck,

Chris

[NikkiH]

Thanks for the tip Chris!