[Andlig]

Hi everyone,

DH & I have had a desire for a long time to move to the hills. We recently moved back to Melbourne (Inner city) after spending 2 years in a small coastal town for a work contract.

We have been back in Melbourne for 5 months and I must say I find the traffic a nightmare after living in a town without one traffic light! Aside from that, it is nice to have the abundance of city-life options such as cafes, restaurants, shops etc.

I would love to hear the pros & cons of hills/country/coastal living.

My list;

CONS - FIRE SEASON
- HARSHER WINTERS - (Dandenong ranges area)
- DISTANCE FOR DH WORK - Currently in the city, would take an hr on train.
- PROPERTY GROWTH IN EQUITY?

PROS - OPTION OF A BETTER HOME FOR LESS MONEY -Currently renting but have funds to purchase - Inner city is very expensive however! We could possibly afford a reno's delight shoebox, or take on a nasty large mortgage.
- GREAT LIFESTYLE FOR YOUNG KIDS
- NO TRAFFIC
- MORE OF A COMMUNITY FEEL

WDYT is the best option? Go for lifestyle or go for future financial growth in property?
Thanks for any feedback

[MrsLexiK]

We are on the outskirts. We choose lifestyle and the lifestyle we wanted our child to have. Yup it means at present it is 52km to work on the lovely murrodoch, easy link and monash (I bet the stupid pen link will open just as I go on mat leave) it also means that having us both go back to work after the baby would be hard both in petrol, tolls and hours spent just getting to and from work. i would never get back in time for pick up and some days DH wouldn't make it either. We would have to look at child care closer to one of our works which would be a pain if either was sick. The up side is our mortgage is much smaller so manageable on my DH's income. Also I can get our fruit and veg from actual farms (very cheap) so some of our living expenses are less as well.

I wouldn't have moved out this far if my plan was to stay in my current job for years.

[Domestic Goddess]

All these really depend on where you would be looking to locate.

I mean, I live on the North Coast of NSW and winters are better here than Melbourne. No fire danger either.
Properties though, are very expensive. Our 70000 town is called the 5th most expensive city in the world to live in. Simply because the incomes are lower here, but house prices are in line with big city pricing right now.
So the prices are not insanely high, just the affordability is less because of the incomes being lower than in the city. IYKWIM

[Andlig]

Thanks for the replies everyone. I'll be sharing these with DH tomorrow. We both switch our minds all the time, hence why I'm asking for guidance. So thank you!

[ekbaby]

Country/Coastal living cons:

- harder to find work/possibly lower pay/less opportunities for promotion (there may be exceptions in some industries eg essential health workers etc- but the jobs are often in the "less attractive" rural areas)
- in many areas- less diversity that the cities, more racism/homophobia/discrimination, more conservative [big generalisations and it's not to say there aren't many many exceptions but voting patterns etc tend to support this... of course for some people who share those values this would be a plus!]
- less anonymity- the flip side is that it can be really nice feeling part of a community and knowing your neighbours. But some people find it stifling having everyone know their business.
- less access to things like museums, cultural events, festivals
- less variety of things for kids to pursue in terms of their interests/hobbies- if they are interested in a niche sport or subculture

Pros:
- more affordable housing
- more space
- more access to natural environment/bush/beaches
- less traffic (although if you are commuting to a city- probably more traffic & time spent travelling)
- simpler lifestyle
- ? maybe less w*n*ers?

[Charlies Angel]

I've done both, and can see the value in country living especially for bringing up children. Your housing $$$ certainly goes a lot further!

How flexible are your careers? Would it be possible to transfer skills to an allied industry where you might get local employment?

The Dandenongs are lovely but also quite damp. Have you considered Lancefield direction, outside Geelong or Warragul? (Warragul has good schools and is a great size with excellent services).

[janie1105]

We're thinking about doing the same thing: Dandenong Ranges (from QLD)

Will be watching this tread with interest!


For us, it's about living amonst all that nature. We are over the burbs.

[Etcetera]

I grew up in a small town. From my perspective, it's a nice place to grow up when little but once you hit about high school age, being closer to a big city would have been nice. Having access to museums, galleries, universities etc would have been invaluable.

My ideal would be an hour or two outside a major city - best of both worlds.

[tothebeach]

The Dandenong ranges always seems so cold and damp and gloomy to me. I couldn't live there. However, an hour commute is realistic (our commute in Sydney is an hour and we live 14km from the CBD).

I also wonder why you think that the lifestyle would be better for your kids. I'd more easily let my child walk/ride a bike to friends in the inner city/suburban melbourne than the windy blind corner, no pavement roads of the Dandenongs.

[Grobanite]

We live in the country and love how quiet it is. We also love the small school and the fact that we got a big house for just over $100k. There is also a local hospital with a nurse on 24/7. We have also found it better financially for us.

The downside is the 1 1/2 hr drive to the nearest town to get groceries and anything else. However as a PP said being away from it more means you appreciate more. We have learnt to bulk buy and be more creative in our meal choices at the end of the month.
And unfortunately when the kids have to go to high school it will be boarding school.

We will look at moving before my DS is 12.