Where to live? SE suburbs

Hi, my small family (Mum, Dad and nine month old bubba)are moving to Melbourne soon (YAY!) but at are a loss on where to live. We used to live in Melbourne a few years ago pre-baby, (Northcote and Malvern)and liked both areas (epecially Northcote!) although life is a little different now.

My husband will be working in Clayton, so we are looking for something to rent at first in that general direction. We would prefer a house with a yard of some sorts, in a quiet friendly area. We're looking at places in the hills, e.g. Upwey, as we want the country feel, big trees and hills. We are not so into nightlife, restaurants etc as we don't have any family to babysit! Other areas we are considering are Mount Waverly, Glen Waverly, Upper Ferntree Gully.... Honest helpful advice on these areas plus any others would be great.

We want to avoid full on bogans, (part bogan is ok as we all have some bogan in us somewhere!) loud cars, drugs, and most crime in general.

Thanks in advance smile

Hi Fiby

Congratulations on your move!

When I moved to Melbourne we lived in Glen Waverley - DH also worked in Clayton at that point. It's a nice area, but housing prices are quite high because the high school is much sought after. For the same reason, a lot of houses have been knocked down and replaced with units or townhouses, which might not suit you. Mount Waverley is similar, fewer units, although more are being built all the time. mellow

I recently moved from Ferntree Gully and found it quite a nice place to live. Not too bogan-ish lol. Same goes for Upper Ferntree Gully, although the bogan ration seems to increase slightly. grin I have a friend who lives in Upwey and she loves it. They have a lovely big block with a great view.

One day you might want some night-life smile so Glen Waverley has a movie/restaurant complex. Ferntree Gully/Upper Gully are a short drive from one (10 mins ish). There is a large hospital in Clayton, a smaller one in Upper Gully. Great shopping alternatives for all suburbs.

I work in Clayton but would not recommend living there as it is quite dodgy... stabbings at night etc.

I live in Knoxfield, and previously lived in Rowville. There are really nice suburbs, close to shops (stud park, knox city) but green and leafy (lots of parks) + you can see the hills. It takes about 15-25 minutes to get to Clayton in the morning for work.

Hope this helps!

I live in Ferntree Gully and thats a wonderful place to bring up your children. I have grown up in the south eastern suburbs of Melbourne and have loved it. I would also recommend Montrose, its at the foot of the danenong Ranges (Mountains).