Melbourne mums-talk to me about your city. Why do you chose to live there?

[dulciejones]

So, visas in place. DH will be working in Melbourne CBD. No idea where to live. No idea how child-friendly the city is. Will they make friends easily? Will I?

I have a serious longing to live close to the sea (preferably to see it)Not interested in miles of sand and would actually prefer a craggy beach IYKWIM. As a family we're big on walking so opportunity for that would be nice.

I want a gentle pace of life if that's possible. Need 4 bedrooms (3DCs) with a budget of 1000AUD a week rent max or maybe look to buy with a max 750000AUD.
DH is happy with a commute of up to 1.5h each way.

So wise ladies in my soon to be home, where should we be looking?

[dulciejones]

Should add that good schools (probably independent as DH's company will contribute)and nursery provision also required.

[meerkate]

Yarraville? My friends live there with their two young kids. Really friendly, fab neighbours, good community feel. Not sure about proximity to the sea though...am sure someone will tell us shortly! Great city, TONS to do with kids, and I am sure you will settle in beautifully. My cousin emigrated there last year, and is hoping to start a family this year - no regrets at all so far, he and his wife are v happy there. good luck!

[echt]

Yarraville is not near the sea at all. I only really know the east side of the bay: St Kilda, Brighton, Hampton, Sandringham, Black Rock, Beaumaris, Mentone, Parkdale, Mordialloc. you can get into the city in 30 mins from these you have to get to Parkdale to buy in the range you're looking at, though you can rent in the pricier areas near the sea, and look about you then. Further down towards Mornington and Mt.Eliza is meant to be very nice.

As for craggy beaches - Australia is very old indeed, worn to the nubbins, and there aren't a lot of dramatic crags/cliffs of any description on the bay, and most of these have the tide permanently up to the base!
In fact, Oz's flatness is one of the first things you notice.

There ARE hills and mountains, just not quite like the ones in Europe/America.

Don't be put off by any of this, it's a great place, And we live by the sea as a priority, so can appreciate why you'd want to do the same.

Lots of good walking, especially in the Dandenongs, where you'll get to see (and hear) that lyrebird that does the chainsaw imitations in the David Attenborough Life of Birds. Try the You Yangs, or Bushranger's Bay, where the rock pools are so deep you can swim in them.

Easy to snorkel - end of the road for me - and quite a lot to see, though the octopuses should not be poked.

Nice place for people with children. I guess you'd make friends through their friends. I didn't find this very easy, as I was in full-time work within six months of getting here. Lots of friendships generated via sports, which is taken loonily seriously here. Surf Life Saving Clubs are very good indeed for getting to know others; I can thoroughly recommend them, and they always want new blood, as it were. (Only occasional sightings of sharks in the bay, always followed around by helicopters and reporters).