Good Suburbs In Melbourne

[flare]

Hi,



My family and I are planning to move to Melbourne and will be there to scout around from the 18th of Dec 2008 till Christmas eve. We are looking to check out good suburbs where we can safely bring up our young (1-1/2 years) daughter with nearby facilities for pre-school, parks etc. Preferably, we would prefer a suburb between 15 ~ 20km from the city center, but would consider up to 30km if necessary.



Would appreciate some feedback with suburb names which I can pre-program in my GPS. Thanks in advance future neighbour! <img src='http://www.melbournechat.org/public/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/rolleyes.gif' class='bbc_emoticon' alt=':laugh:' />

[glen]

hi flare, there are hundreds of suburbs so it is hard to pick out particular ones! lots of people have the same idea of living near the city but it is pretty expensive!!!! so many end up at least 30km from the centre <img src='http://www.melbournechat.org/public/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/smile.gif' class='bbc_emoticon' alt=':laugh:' /> really depends how much you want to spend.

[flare]

Hi glen,



Thank you so much for your reply. I've been looking thru [url="http://www.realestate.com.au"]www.realestate.com.au[/url] to get a feel and now have a much better idea. I guess we'll need to find out more from the banks on downpayments, interest rates, mortgage payments etc and then from there we can gauge how much we are willing to spend in total for the home. Will do some scouting next week when we arrive although it may be bad timing coming right before the Christmas week where everyone is in the holiday mood! <img src='http://www.melbournechat.org/public/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/gathering.gif' class='bbc_emoticon' alt=':laugh:' />

[glen]

i am not recommending them but i know i see these guys advertising on tv a lot



[url="http://www.aussie.com.au/"]http://www.aussie.com.au/[/url]

[Cameron]

East Keilor, Essendon, Moonee Ponds, Niddrie, Avondale Heights & Airport West are all safe areas.

[Guest]

Kensington is great.



[url="http://www.kensingtonstories.org.au/"]http://www.kensingtonstories.org.au[/url]

[url="http://www.kensingtonassociation.org.au"]http://www.kensingtonassociation.org.au[/url]

[url="http://www.kensingtonstories.org.au"]

[/url]

[Guest]

yes, that is correct.



my wife has been in Kensington for 10+ years and she tells me it continues to get better and better. so good, we bought a house here. the community feeling is what we like the most.



Macaulay Road and Racecourse Road have traffic at peak but does not bother us since we commute via either trains, trams or taxis else walk to place if local (we sold the car - our choice was to make do without it and we don't regret it one bit).

[Guest]

cars are expensive and a lot of people don't realise it. we hire a FlexiCar for trips on weekend. there is one in Kensington.

[glen]

Yeah I enjoy the drive anywhere freedom too. While I have been in china i have felt a little "trapped" because i cannot drive over here. <img src='http://www.melbournechat.org/public/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/smile.gif' class='bbc_emoticon' alt='' /> I miss my car! <img src='http://www.melbournechat.org/public/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/smile.gif' class='bbc_emoticon' alt='' />

[glen]

Yep I am on holidays! But I have had internet access most days so the shop is pretty well looked after <img src='http://www.melbournechat.org/public/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/tongue.gif' class='bbc_emoticon' alt='' />



I come back to Melbourne at the end of the month <img src='http://www.melbournechat.org/public/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/smile.gif' class='bbc_emoticon' alt='' />

[glen]

hahaha well i have not seen any power stations so far. they must be hiding them <img src='http://www.melbournechat.org/public/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/smile.gif' class='bbc_emoticon' alt='' />

[Guest]

maybe you cant see them because you're unable to see through the pollution which they've caused.

[glen]

hahaha. the air is actually a lot clearer than i expected. though i am in a city called cheng du which is supposed to be "nice". so maybe other places are more polluted. <img src='http://www.melbournechat.org/public/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/smile.gif' class='bbc_emoticon' alt='' />

[MissAnn]

I would not reccomend Western suburbs, though Eastern suburbs & near the dandenongs are beautiful, with plenty of schools, shops, public transport and 20 mins from the city. Lots of trees, parks, and nature walks, etc. Prices vary but still affordable <img src='http://www.melbournechat.org/public/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/smile.gif' class='bbc_emoticon' alt='' />