Places to live in Melbourne

master-t

Just wondering if anyone has any advice/experience on where some decent places are in Melbourne to live? Close enough to local amenities perhaps? Any advice welcome!:D

osullic

Sunshine is nice and has its own small shopping centre and also a large mall just 5 minutes away.
Weribee is quite nice too but a bit out of the city and as such is an expensive taxi trip home when you go out in the city.

master-t

Cheers osullic!

Did you find these areas expensive? I suppose ideally a safe enough area with stuff to do with be ideal!

Is there an area that seems to be more popular with the Irish over others? Although that may not be the best option!:P

osullic

Well I didn't know any Irish in Sunshine,its quite an old area,its not supposed to be the safest place though,I never encountered any trouble there but i'd liken it to somewhere like Santry in Dublin its about the same distance from the city centre as well.
Weribee had some Irish,lots of new estates there and new houses with young couples and first time buyers.
It would be less expensive than sunshine but you're out quite a bit.also not much of a night life in the area,there like 3 pubs.the race course can be good though,it only opens for summer as far as i know so its open at the moment.its a good night out anyway.

master-t

That puts in good perspective! Cheers! Had a look there at it, seems quite nice!! (Sunshine)

Where would the majority of Irish go would you say? (Vague I know!) It's just i'd assume the areas would be pretty safe and decent nightlife! :P

osullic

I'm not sure if there is an area that is mostly Irish,maybe someone else can help.

Luminant

Sunshine and Werribee probably wouldn't be high on my list!

I recruit a lot of Irish professionals into the Australian market and many who arrive in Melbourne migrate towards the likes of St Kilda and surrounds.

It is a strange mix of some of the poorest and richest in Melbourne living within a stones throw of each other but it has a couple of pubs where some of the GAA sides run out of or socialise in like Pint on Punt and the Village Belle. It is also right on the beach which is always popular. The CBD is becoming more popular as well and more Irish are getting flatshares there as availability improves with new developments being opened up. Docklands is a bit soulless but might improve over time.

Have a look here for rental options and prices and also have a look at metlinkmelbourne.com.au for transport options. You can't really go wrong with somewhere in Zone 1 as you will have train, tram and bus options but may even be within walking distance of work.

If you are office based, most jobs will be in CBD, Docklands and St Kilda Road.

The Irish Australian Chamber of Commerce is active in Melbourne as well so might be able to assist when you arrive.

Hope that helps.

tba

I can confirm the huge amount of Irish in St. Kilda

Zambia

Once again you also like the other thread need to state where you intend to work or spend time plus what night life etc you desire.

Melbourne is very big in some cases you can live in a Melbourne suburb work in another Melbourne Suburb and it will not be commutable

edit -> A good general rule of thumb is the nicer a place sounds in Melbourne the worse it is.

Sunshine sounds lovely

ArtSmart

keep away from St. kilda, unless chaos/ drinking is your objective.

hawthorn is nice, brunswick st (close to the more sophisticated action) also CBD ok, a couple of bars but a little soul-less.

cormaclynch

ArtSmart wrote: »

keep away from St. kilda, unless chaos/ drinking is your objective.

hawthorn is nice, brunswick st (close to the more sophisticated action) also CBD ok, a couple of bars but a little soul-less.

Bit Harsh,

I'm living in St Kilda at the moment and if you want chaos/drinking you can do that but if you dont its equally easy to avoid. I just like being close to the beach for a run or round the lake is pretty nice. We moved over from the "more sophisticated" side of town a few months ago and enjoying it more tbh.......only my opinion mind you!

Cooperspale

St. Kilda is a real mix of a suburb.
Millionaires and playboys in penthouses or Bay view mansions.
Backpackers in their droves from all parts of globe, you can spot the Irish in Village Belle or Pint on Punt in their EPL/GAA jerseys
And junkies, prostitutes and others attracted to Grey & Fitzroy St for the halfway house accoms, charities, crises centres, addiction clinics and social services.
A very lively spot on some weekends!

Tigerandahalf

Sunshine is a working class area. It is in the inner western suburbs which would be the working class area of Melbourne. Sunshine as the name might suggest was once an agricultural area, then became industrialised. It is now 70% Vietnamese. I wouldn't live there tbh. It probably would be very cheap but there wouldn't be brilliant facilities. It depends what you want. Most of the Irish hang around St Kilda, Carlton or the city. A lot depends on where you have to work etc and what cash you have. The big thing in looking for a place is to make sure it has good connections to bus, train and tram, plus also the nitelink bus service which is free with your normal commuter ticket.

master-t

Thanks for all the replies!

@ Luminant - That's great information thank you I will look up thoses sites! Very helpful!! You mentioned you recruit Irish professionals into the Oz market? For what kind of work if you don't mind me asking? What type of professionals?

@ Zambia - Yes I agree my original question was a bit vague. You see I am not sure yet as to where we will be in Melbourne as it is some months away. So I was trying to get an understanding perhaps of where some popular areas are considered to be. Or more importantly, some advice on where to avoid I guess.
PS - I like your idea of "if it sounds nice, it isn't!" Very good advice, i'll remember that!

I think it would obviously be a bit easier to decide if I had work lined up, but I will not be arriving for a few months yet. I just wanted to get a feel for some general opinons on some areas.

Is the CBD area the main working area of Melbourne? I have read some stuff on it and it seems to be the business district alright!

tibor_imo

I'm living in St Kilda now, best way to describe it is "colourful".

There is a lot of Irish, but it's pretty easy to avoid the morons. Great location, close to the city, nightlife, beach, parks, transport etc. I didn't want to live here originally due to the saturation of other Irish and backpackers but I'm nicely settled now and loving it.

The_B_Man

how about South Yarra? Its the next suburb over from St Kilda, but is a little closer to the city. Its also right beside Chapel St, has the Tram and a train station, and is a pretty nice area.

I lived there for about 5 months and loved it.

Zambia

The_B_Man wrote: »

how about South Yarra?

Sounds like a kip .....you should so live there dude.:)

Ozeire

master-t wrote: »

Cheers osullic!

Did you find these areas expensive? I suppose ideally a safe enough area with stuff to do with be ideal!

Is there an area that seems to be more popular with the Irish over others? Although that may not be the best option!:P

Don't heed trying to look for where Irish live . Don't worry you'll run into plenty of us around . Look more for where you think you might be working and the trams n buses needed to get there .


St Kilda is nice alright but the futher you move from the city the cheaper the rents get and bigger places you get plus really only a thing of taking the trains into the city .

master-t

Zambia wrote: »

Sounds like a kip .....you should so live there dude.:)

How far on a tram/bus would St Kilda / South Yarra be to the city would you say? When people say 'the city', is this the 'CBD' or this a different area again?

master-t

Ozeire wrote: »

Don't heed trying to look for where Irish live . Don't worry you'll run into plenty of us around . Look more for where you think you might be working and the trams n buses needed to get there .


St Kilda is nice alright but the futher you move from the city the cheaper the rents get and bigger places you get plus really only a thing of taking the trains into the city .

I agree Ozeire. I am just trying to find out some areas that are considered normal I guess.

Zambia

The city is the CBD and yeah South Yarra is close enough to the city. South Yarra would be pricey enough as well.

I would consider Northcote, Moonee Ponds as my two.

Cooperspale

CBD is the central business district and centre of town.
The closest burb on the bay to here is Port Melbourne, a bit trendy and perhaps pricey but most apartment complexes will have a pool/gym.

Docklands is close, but a bit soul less.

Fitzroy is trendy very close to CBD and maybe too hip at times, lots of warehouse conversions but Napier Hotel still provides a good drop.

As stated above Moonee Ponds and Northcote are nice. Closer to city Clifton Hill, Brunswick, Kensington are great neighbourhoods, they may have smaller backyards though. You will find that the closer to city you get the blocks may get smaller, just depends on if you need a yard or not.

As for out of city, you will get your Mc Mansions if you want them but I wouldn't be a fan of Werribee, there's a bit of a smell, it deals with about half of Melbournes sewage:
http://www.melbournewater.com.au/content/sewerage/western_treatment_plant/western_treatment_plant.asp?bhcp=1

markymark21

Funnily enough I was about to post a thread regarding where to live in Melbourne..

Anyway me the GF are moving out that way at the end of the summer, we both work in the hospitality industry so ideally I want to live in a place that is near lots of good restaurants, hotels etc..

Would we be better of getting a place in the CBD? Since i'm guessing that is a major hotspot for hotels etx or maybe a few miles outside due to high rent costs?

cheers!

Ozeire

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L0RjC85AMEA

I know it's about buying property but worth a watch

the dee

I'll add my two cents and recommend life in the Northern suburbs - Brunswick, Northcote, Collingwood, Fitzroy. Lots of character, everything within easy reach, much closer to the city than St. Kilda. Lots of nightlife if you're in to that, multicultural, great food, great amenities, parks, shops etc.

I live in Brunswick, can cycle to work and rarely have to leave the area, everything I need is close by. There's a real community feel to the place. It's pretty expensive to buy a place but rent is reasonable enough.

gonedrinking

Ozeire wrote: »

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L0RjC85AMEA

I know it's about buying property but worth a watch

god that chinese woman was a nightmare, her husband must have the patience of a saint

universe777

Southbank - opposite side of the river to the CBD, can be quiet in parts if that's what you want. You have all the restaurants along the river, the casino, DFO shopping centre down a bit further etc etc

Zambia

Nice to hear from you again Dee.

Ozeire

For all in Ireland that couldn't wtach the video Relocation Melbourne
You can wtach it here
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v_WJOXkk7KE

The_B_Man

Zambia wrote: »

The city is the CBD and yeah South Yarra is close enough to the city. South Yarra would be pricey enough as well.

I would consider Northcote, Moonee Ponds as my two.

Depends. If you're a backpacker willing to go into a share house, between mself and the missus, we were paying $920 a month, with no bills or anything, just the $920. There was a full house though, but I liked having lotsa people around for the craic!
The area was nice too, in the houses part, not near the flats beside chapel st. But ya could still walk down there in 10 mins or so or get the bus 1 stop.

If you can get a house there, go for it. Decide if you want a house in a social area, or if you want to stick to yourself. On paper, a share house might seem icky, but its some craic, and really its 2011 and housing isnt that bad anywhere in Sth Yarra, or St Kilda!

haydar

I lived in Randwick in sydney, anyone know an area similar to this in melbourne?