What are some decent suburbs to live in in Melbourne, outside of the CBD?
I'm a storeman, my wife is a nurse. Wife happy to take public transport to work. Where are some decent suburbs out of the CBD to work? Where are the big industrial estates found in Melbourne? Could someone give us an overview of the Melbourne suburbs and what they are like?? Cheers
There are lots of really nice suburbs to live in Melbourne. How far out of the city do you want to consider?
To give you a brief overview:
South of the CBD: Includes a mixture of grungy and well-to-do suburbs - all considered desirable to live in, but are quite expensive. E.g. Balaclava, Montmorency, St Kilda, Brighton, Windsor...Public transport serves these areas but can be variable. For example, it's tram only to St Kilda, so takes a good 40 minutes to get to the CBD this way. Balaclava and Brighton are on a trainline, which is faster.
East of the CBD: These suburbs are traditionally middle to upper-middle class and tend to be very family-oriented and traditional. Hawthorn, Camberwell, Balwyn are all lovely to live in - leafy and green, but perhaps a little on the boring side if you like lots of hip cafes and shops etc. Pretty good public transport with trains and trams both going to these areas.
North of the CBD: This is the hipster/hippies with money area and very popular with young families, couples and students. It's still a little bit bohemian but increasingly gentrified these days. Lots of cool cafes, bakeries, organic shops and plenty of public parks. Can be noisy though due to this popularity! Includes suburbs like Fitzroy, Clifton Hill, Northcote, Carlton North, Thornbury.
West of the CBD: These suburbs are currently the least desirable but are up-and-coming. Crime is higher in suburbs like Footscray, but you also get a reasonable number of families choosing to live there for the cheaper prices and the multicultural experience. Suburbs like Yarraville are little pockets of gentrification - i.e. organic cafes, art deco movie theatre etc.
Further out you get a bit less character but cheaper house prices. Housing estates like Point Cook and Deer Park are popular with people wanting to build their own home at an affordable price. However public transport is dicey this far out so you have to rely on the car entirely.
Hope that helps a bit. Feel free to ask further questions about particular suburbs you want to know more about.
We are moving to the Glen Roy area of Melbourne. Is this a safe choice?