We love Melbourne. We all know it’s a great place to live – there’s plenty to do, many cultures, wonderful food, public facilities and so on. But how do you choose where to live, where to buy your next family home? How do you find the best family-friendly suburbs in Melbourne?
First off we recommend starting with your lifestyle. Write a list of what you want from a neighbourhood. List all the things that are important to you and your family depending on your stage of life. Do you need to be close to good schools? Are you active, do you like to spend time outdoors? Is going out to cafes and restaurants part of family life?
Then start researching. There are plenty of resources out there. Some more comprehensive papers like the PWC’s CityPulse Melbourne report analyse the live, work and play considerations for Melbourne. Including things like affordability, safety, access to education and childcare, public transport, entertainment and access to parks and gardens.
There are also plenty of less formal resources that share information on the best suburbs for your family to live in.
Looking at the research and using our extensive real estate experience supporting families buying and selling properties for close to 30 years, we believe that the best family-friendly suburbs in Melbourne all have:
- Access to high-performing schools
- Oodles of outdoor facilities
- Good public transport
- Variety in local shopping
What to look for when choosing a family friendly suburb.
- Great schools: Bayside suburbs like Brighton, Beaumaris, McKinnon and Bentleigh are highly sought after by families due to the great range of schools, and opportunity for quality education all the way from kindergarten through to high school. Popular suburbs have a good mix of public, private, religious and non-religious schools. They have schools that offer students lots of variety and generally To find out if the schools in a neighbourhood you are interested in living in have a good performance record go to the Better Schools website.
- Great outdoor facilities: Whether its parks, rivers or beaches, suburbs high in greenery and the ability to spend family time outdoors are always popular. From the bayside beaches with walking and bike paths to Caulfield’s parks and sporting facilities check out the local council website for public facilities and take a drive around neighbourhoods to see the quality of facilities, and ease of access.
- Access to transport: When you are raising a busy family you are always driving here, there and everywhere. If you are a one car family then public transport is key for the parents to get to/from work, and as the family gets older public transport gives independence to kids to get to/from school or sport. So consider those suburbs that have more than one type of transport – places like Elsternwick and St. Kilda East that have trains, trams and buses are a sure winner.
- Local shops, cafes and restaurants: A great family suburb provides choice in shopping, cafes and restaurants so that you can keep the whole family happy. There’s always a local shopping strip where people become regulars and shop owners get to know your family as they grow. The central shopping strip is where your neighbourhood becomes a community. Hang out in areas like Bay St, Brighton, Hampton Village or Bluff Rd, Black Rock to get that feel for the community and understand the variety on offer.
Suburbs with excellent facilities, like schools, parks, transport and shops will help to create a good community feel and always provide a good return on investment. As you grow out of your growing family stage into empty nesters others will want to seek this lifestyle, meaning the neighbourhood will always be sought after.
Of course, talk with us, your Melbourne Real Estate Agents, specialists for the pros and cons of different family-friendly suburbs. Call us on 03 8680 9421 or visit our Bay Street office for a chat.
