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Thanks for your comment. It is fun while we leave politics out of it.
Well, I have lived in Melbourne so immediately an area came to mind. My friends' daughter went to school at Eltham College. It's a private school located outside the town of Eltham in another suburb called Research. It's in the Yarra Valley and the area is so amazing...lots of trees, upscale homes, (some not so upscale), arts and crafts, nurseries, etc. Further out is Kangaroo Ground which is where I lived. The whole of that area is very lovely because it's out of the city but there is train service in Eltham to Melbourne.
Anyway, they have their own swimming pool and sports fields (ovals) and as is common in Australian schools, sports is huge. Here's the link:
Perhaps others have something they could add about other areas. I can really only speak personally about what I know first-hand. At least this gives you a starting point.
they have a good basketball program in eltham
also the eastern suburbs are quite nice in melbourne around hawthorn
Yeah, To Aussie's everyone is a "Bloody Yank", "Bloody Pom" ....Etc, Foreigners shouldn't be too worried, Unless the person is going out of their way to make a point about it?
yea well the poms are our cricket enemy and there accent becomes a tad annoying
Last edited by ciggas; 03-19-2008 at 03:22 AM..
Reason: *poms
Do you have any preferences?
Are you wanting to be in the inner city, bayside, outer suburbs or is this not a factor?
Is religious education important to you?
Is travelling to and from work an issue? (Melbourne is a very geographically large area)
What kind of community activities, resources and facilities are you looking for besides sports?
Anyway, I'm happy to help if I can, feel free to message me if you'd prefer.
I will work in the city - Don't mind up to a 45 minute commute - would go longer to have good schools.
School quality is important - we have them in Catholic schools in the US and they are high quality (relative to public). I heard Melbourne has ok catholic but the private are better??
I would love to rent a house with a yard - 6 of us in all. A suburb with places to bike - run - beach would be nice or we can drive to it.
I am planning a visit next month - just trying to get a feel for where we should start looking.
We spend time here driving kids to track, diving, basketball - so for my wife it's important to be near these activities.
I'd agree with that and add that Aussies in general have a tendency to muck around with affectionate banter that could be misconstrued. Not everyone gets the Aussie sense of humor.
Let's face it there are a whole bunch of interstate rivalries and jokes.
Can't count how many times I've heard someone being called a Mexican by some Banana Bender or Cockroach or Sandgroper or vice versa. It's all in good fun and should be taken it with the irreverance it's delivered with.
Lots of Aussies love Americans, they even have nicknames for them. Why would you bother if you didn't like them?
Exactly. I have a lot of dear Aussie friends and they lovingly insult me with regularity. I'd worry if they didn't! It is, after all...Aussie LOVE.
Yeah, To Aussie's everyone is a "Bloody Yank", "Bloody Pom" ....Etc, Foreigners shouldn't be too worried, Unless the person is going out of their way to make a point about it?
Agreed!
Nasty is nasty and you'll find those folks everywhere and should deal with them accordingly. Being called a yank or a sepo is a term of endearment usually. And we love the poms too!
I will work in the city - Don't mind up to a 45 minute commute - would go longer to have good schools.
School quality is important - we have them in Catholic schools in the US and they are high quality (relative to public). I heard Melbourne has ok catholic but the private are better??
I would love to rent a house with a yard - 6 of us in all. A suburb with places to bike - run - beach would be nice or we can drive to it.
I am planning a visit next month - just trying to get a feel for where we should start looking.
We spend time here driving kids to track, diving, basketball - so for my wife it's important to be near these activities.
Thanks!
Well I'm thinking Bayside might be the place for you. Somewhere along the bay is always nice and there are great places to swim, run, walk, have coffee (Melbourne is very big on coffee and eateries) It's not far from the city and the commute would be fairly easy. Lot of sporting clubs and facilities too.
Here's a little about the area and what services and attractions there are and it's a real estate site so you can see what you think about the housing.
Around Melbourne by the Bay, local information guide to Melbourne by the Bay - realestate.com.au (http://www.realestate.com.au/doc/locality/au-vic-melbournebythebay.htm - broken link)
Here are some of the private schools in the area, some are catholic schools, some are not.
I only know these schools by reputation so I'm sorry that I can't offer personal experience but they are excellent schools.
I hope this helps as a start and if you have any questions or need any more help I'm happy to oblige.
Exactly. I have a lot of dear Aussie friends and they lovingly insult me with regularity. I'd worry if they didn't! It is, after all...Aussie LOVE.
Well I'm not sure it's that they're insulting you but it does sound like you're getting the Aussie LOVE! It's sorta of a sign that you're accepted and cared for to have a nickname.
warnweatherplz: Did you really mean "you hope I'm getting tired of (answering questions)? No, I didn't think so! It gives me a great deal of pleasure to be talking about Australia and it's very gratifying that others care to ask questions.
Yes, I did mean I hope you are NOT tired. And so grateful that you aren't!
This is very helpful and the areas you mentioned were the ones that I was looking at - so I'm on track for what I want.
Considering our weather is between 0 and 20 degree F in the dead of winter with wind chills to below zero for weeks at a time - and our summers are typically 90 degrees with 100% humidity - I'll take mild climate. We often have 50-60 degree F swings in temperature in one day.
A couple of weeks ago is was -9 one morning (yes - negative 9 was the actual temp) and then the next day it was 45 degrees.
I checked out the cost of living - and it is actually pretty similar to where I'm at - again, as you said, if you take under consideration the higher incomes - it is just slightly higher than my area - which you would expect in a larger city.
My daughter and I are trying to figure out how we can visit later this year so we can see for ourselves first handedly.
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It's all in good fun and should be taken it with the irreverance it's delivered with. 
