VIC Upwey, Tecoma, Belgrave - CBD commute times (Rail / PT)

Hi all,

Following on from another thread, I'm looking for my first PPOR.

I spent the weekend looking around Upwey, Tecoma, Belgrave and Upper FTG, as I am a CBD worker (and will have to be for the foreseeable future) and am aiming to keep my commute to 1 hour or so max.

We're very happy with any these areas.

I'm trying to determine how important it is for us to be walking distance to the train stations. At first I thought it would be important, as I read that parking around these stations is both limited in number with some of them being reduced to 4 hour max parks as well.

Then I read the 'trick' for those who live in these suburbs, is to drive to Upper Ferntree Gully station, as there is much better parking, more trains and also the express trains only leave from here, saving around 10 mins worth of commute. Google Maps says the car traffic to the station on a weekday is pretty good (to catch say the 7:55am Express into the CBD).

Given this, I'm thinking walking distance to the train station isn't as important, although what I don't know is how wise it is to base a purchase decision on these change - parking restrictions, availability, express train routes and morning traffic in the area (in the 3-4+ years we'd plan to live here).

@Spiderman , are you around?

Also - anyone live around here have any comments?


Orion.

 

Thinking long term and from a renter's PoV, I'd say walking distance would be a definite plus to get a better yield when the property isn't your PPoR anymore. One of PC's leading members always says, buy as close as possible to amenities and you can't go wrong. Would under 1km from any of these stations be too expensive for you? 1-1.5km's is easily walkable. I walk the 2.2km's almost every day in the city's SW.

 

Good point. Ideally I'd be within 1km - 750m of the station, which is also where the shops are, and there doesn't seem to be too big a premium for these areas - rather, it's just limiting the choice of properties really (might not get a view, and also eliminating several nicer nearby areas - Belgrave Heights/South, etc).

 

Nice - just noticed the car park at FTG (not UFTG) was recently upgraded - Station car park upgrades: Ferntree Gully | VicTrack

 

Keep in mind for walking in this area is that suburbs on the side of a hill the acceptable walking distance will shorten compared to 'flat' suburbs.
ie Think of walking up a steep hill on a 35degree day like today.
PS - Do like your thinking of area and commutability factors though

 

Absolutely! Thanks Craig. It's a very hilly area indeed, might be nice in one direction and a hike in the other. I've tried to use Google Maps terrain mode for this.

 

The formula I use for walking distance to shops/train stations
Under 500m - not good as street can be busy and not enough privacy and train stations/shops can attract loiterers
500m to 1k.m - ideal distance as up to 10 minute walk
1 k.m. to 1.5 k.m. slightly worse than the above as walk getting closer to 15 minutes
over 1.5 k.m is not walkable for everyone on a daily basis due to weather (don't think you will be the only one driving to the station due to the bad weather)

I'm talking about actual walking distance not as the crow/bird flies. Google maps is great