We're off to Melbourne in a couple months and although I've done some research, I still don't have a good handle on which suburbs we should be targeting when we land.
We're looking for a large 2 or 3 br with storage space in a safe area. We don't mind whether it is nearer a beach or inland, but it needs to be within walking distance of a great primary school, train/trams into the CBD with a commute of about 20-25 mins and shops. We are paying the equivelant of about A$300/wk in a lovely neighborhood north of London, and would hope to pay about that in Melbourne (everyone keeps telling us the cost of living is lower in Aus, I just don't see how that can be the case unless the homes are all massive).
Any suggestions on primary schools/neighborhoods would be most appreciated! (before the panic of the upcoming move sets in 
Moving to Melbourne -- advise needed
Welcome to Expat-blog, BonnieScot 
Your discussion has been redirected to the Melbourne forum for effective networking.
Regards,
Sheetul
Hi BOBBY G! Could you please avoid using caps lock on the forum. Thank you very much.
Hi hope that is not too late but I will give it a shot
South East suburbs are really good, has really great schools in here, suburbs like, Mont Waverley, Ashburton and Glen Iris.
About price I'll copy one of my blog's post but have a look there once you have time
helponaustralia.blogspot.com or
marcossupra.blogspot.com
It looks like an easy task, but actually it is really had, if you gonna live in big cities like, Melbourne, Sydney or even Canberra, keep in mind that you need a good 20 days to find something good and sure win the competition. "Competition?" yes see why.
Thing that you need to know:
A good site to find houses to rent or even if you need to share id realestate.com.au/
If you live close to the city, most of times you don't need to pay train, you can walk
The best suburbs are in South East but they are expensive then others, you will pay for a normal house close to AU$1400.00 and a good one close to AU$1700.00 a month
North areas you can pay close to AU$1000.00 but they say that is not the safest area in here, my opinion, it still good, not that dangerous.
North West areas, it is so far and takes long by train to go to the city but with AU$1200.00 you can rent a big, really big awesome house
Keep in mind the distance between the house that you are looking for and the next train station, if you do not have car can be painful to walk.
Wednesday, 2 March 2011Rent a House
It looks like an easy task, but actually it is really had, if you gonna live in big cities like, Melbourne, Sydney or even Canberra, keep in mind that you need a good 20 days to find something good and sure win the competition. "Competition?" yes see why.
Thing that you need to know:
A good site to find houses to rent or even if you need to share id realestate.com.au/
If you live close to the city, most of times you don't need to pay train, you can walk
The best suburbs are in South East but they are expensive then others, you will pay for a normal house close to AU$1400.00 and a good one close to AU$1700.00 a month
North areas you can pay close to AU$1000.00 but they say that is not the safest area in here, my opinion, it still good, not that dangerous.
North West areas, it is so far and takes long by train to go to the city but with AU$1200.00 you can rent a big, really big awesome house
Keep in mind the distance between the house that you are looking for and the next train station, if you do not have car can be painful to walk. 
this is a house located on the Noth West area.
You will pay AU$1200.00 a month to live in this house
this is a house located on the Noth area.
You will pay AU$1000.00 a month to live in this house
this is a house located on the South East area.
You will pay AU$1800.00 a month to live in this house
Remember to find a house with carport or garage if you intend to buy a car soon, some houses doesn't have garage and would be hard to park your car outside, sure have a look on the street first.
Is good idea to go by train and see how long from the city to the destination, and ever more important, mark time wealking from the train station to you new house, some of them looks like close but they are so far. It's good idea to see it on google maps before going, somtimes, you don't need to waste your time going to somewhere so far to walk, remember that you will need to walk every day that distance, raining or shinning lol, I did.
hope that helps
Cheers
Marcos
Articles to help you in your expat project in Melbourne
There are many types of flats, rentals, and houses in Australia, ranging from modern units to more traditional ...
If you're planning a long-term or permanent move to Australia, purchasing property may be something you ...
Accommodation in Melbourne can be expensive, both for renters and buyers but with a bit of research, you can end ...
Accommodation in Sydney can be very expensive, both for renters and buyers alike. Known for being one of the most ...
Expatriates can face challenges when purchasing property in their new host country, as buying procedures can be ...
Perth is the largest city in Western Australia and is popular with expats, especially those employed in the mining ...
