VIC One for the Melb Locals - 10 km from CBD

On a slightly unrelated topic what are everyone's expectations for the Inner Melbourne market over the coming 12 to 18 months? I feel like it is a good time to sit on the sidelines until at least the end of 2019 as I loathe the idea of buying in a falling market (rather wait until it bottoms out and then buy just as it starts to improve).

 

I already live in the West so I know all of those suburbs reasonably well. Apart from Essendon/Strathmore (Strathmore High) however the quality of state high schools is somewhat lacking (that is a big part of my decision). I will check out Essendon / Strathmore at some stage.

 

Fair enough...but being in the Strathmore or Buckley Park zone wouldn’t be too bad. Strangely enough the better performing state schools seem to be in the outer west. Or you can just send your kid to PEGS

 

Yeh, Werribee Secondary does pretty well actually as does Hoppers Secondary funnily enough. But for lifestyle reasons / distance to work neither of those suburbs is an option.

 

Same goes with Sunbury Downs, Keilor Downs, Braybrook, and that’s just off the top of my head.

However I grew up in Taylors Lakes and was zoned to one of the worst high schools in the state. Yet if I lived 2km away in Keilor I would have been zoned to a much better one. Same goes with Keilor East, zoned to a very underachieving school, but Avondale Heights is mostly zoned to a school that is quite high achieving.

People bang on about school zones in the East - but IMO they’re so important in the West. And unlike the East - in the West, a more expensive burb doesn’t necessarily mean a better school.

 

Werribee SC, Keilor Down, Sunbury Down yes. Hoppers, Braybrook no.

 

Depends on exactly what Vibe you want/demographic but also consider looking at Camberwell / Hawthorn / Kew areas. A bit better traffic (relatively) than richmond but as above it’s different. Lots of cafes / leafy streets etc but area is not cheap for a reason.
Good luck

 

Just my two cents, but I love Yarraville. It has a great vibe and a few cafes.

 

And the beautiful Sun Theatre. I'd love to live there.

 

Best Value for Lifestyle/Community/Cafes/Restaurants

1. Elsternwick
2. Gardenvale
3. Ripponlea
4. Elwood
5. Balaclava
6. St Kilda East
7. St Kilda
8. St Kilda West
9. Windsor
10. Caulfield North
11. Caulfield South
12. Caulfield
13. Caulfield East
14. Malvern
15. Malvern East
16. Armadale
17. Prahran
18. Middle Park
19. Albert Park
20. South Yarra
21. Glen Iris
22. Camberwell
23. Canterbury

Or Williamstown for the best suburb in the western suburbs but generally the good ones are in the inner south

 

Yes the Yarraville village is very cool. But unfortunately the local secondary college is not the best. Great for singles or couples without kids though and the sun theatre is a cracker.

 

If you don't mind me asking, which high school is this "one of the worst"?

Also which one is the good one in Keilor and Keilor East?

 

I like the inner north and bayside. Port Melbourne always feels summery to me.

Don’t rule out clifton hill. It actually has great transport links. Two train lines stop there so trains are frequent and there’s the tram. Hoddle Street has been widened and is only really slow for an hour in the morning peak. There are lots of back ways to avoid the traffic and there’s an entry to the eastern.

I really like the parkland to the east of clifton hill. There are some stunning views of the city.

Northcote will evolve into a hawthorn type suburb eventually. Lots of cafes, boutiques, restaurants and the cinema.

Thornbury is younger, more fashionable and a bit grungier. There are some lovely leafy streets in Thornbury though.

I love the market in Preston. Has a library too. I’ve never been wowed by a street there though.

If money was no object, I would go clifton hill (walking distance to westgarth and train station) or port Melbourne.

Eastern suburbs are a bit boring and full of tedious people.

 

Taylors Lakes Sec College is the bad one. Keilor Downs College is the much better one.

 

Different strokes for different folks. Take it easy on passing judgements about swaths of individuals living in a densely populated area.

 

Pasco vale south.

Safe, good schools, some houses under 1M

 

North of the River ....
North Fitzroy is a great place to live and is very close to a number of great precincts.
Lots of community activity and a walk to town.
North Melbourne/West Melbourne has a nice vibe and the Vic Market is close.

South of the River....
You cannot go past South Melbourne with great parks and the Market.

 

Anyone have any thoughts on travancore? It's not an area I'm particularly familiar with being a south Eastie but from memory there's an oversupply of units that skew the overall headlines figures of the area, within 5km of the city, close to melb uni, appears leafy and surrounded by some trendier named suburbs. PT looks okay but not outstanding too.

 

PT is pretty good in Travancore - Serviced by Flemington Bridge station (Upfield line) & Newmarket station (Craigieburn line), also serviced by tram route 59 (Airport West to City).

Apartments are cheap but be careful of OC fee and location. They tend to be next to main roads and Citylink.