h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Hi, Me and my family are planning on moving to melbourne from scotland.Would like to know the decent areas of melbourne to rent a house and what areas to avoid.

from scotland

I've moved from Perth, Scotland to Oz this year

I know nothing about Melbourne though, as I'm in Queensland

Hi, Whats queensland like as we thought about cairns but was put off as we were told weather can be extreme both summer and winter.

although i'm from Sydney i did live in Melbourne for 5 years.

What suburb you want probably depends on what you like doing.

Personally i like around St Kilda or on the strip from South Melbourne down to Elwood.

thx my oldest likes soccer, ice skating, swimming and my youngest likes being outdoors

I lived in Cooktown and then Cairns. You're right about the heat in summer/wet season. But you do get used to it. The winter/dry is just heavenly

I'm near Bundaberg now and the climate is drier than up north and it's cooler at night for sure.

Soccer, swimming, being outdoors That sums up all of Australia really

indeed, not so sure about ice scating though...from memory there is only one rink in all of Sydney and i've no idea about Melb. Might need to buy some roller blades.

It is hot up north but i like hot. You probably will be influenced somewhat by the type of work you are looking for.

I'm a northern suburbs girl myself, so I'd say Northcote would be the nicest place to live...a nice mix of battlers and the "not really battling at all"

It has the advantages of not being too expensive and close to buses trams and trains. It's also a 10 minute drive (30 minutes on the tram) into the city.

But then I lived in Northcote for most of my life and am probably biased

I live in Hawthorn and love it. Close to everything and beautifully appointed with parks and high class services nearby. Expensive to rent or buy, but the lifestyle is excellent and convenience saves a lot of cash I'd spend if I lived further out of town.

i only lived in South Yarra (company paid) North Carlton and St Kilda all nice and close to the city for an inner city type like myself who needs to be within walking distance of a dozen houses...

hi, i heard st. kilda was a bit mad but you hear different stories from different people. thx for ur input

If you can tell me what kind of a place you're looking for I can find out an average cost ?

looking for a 3-4 bdrm house/bungalow with driveway and large gardens and a swimming pool if we could afford it also not too far away from the beach, my wife has now been told adelaide is a great place to bring up the kids?

Adelaide is nice, a big country town. House prices much cheaper than Melbourne. The climate's a little warmer too.

I grew up in Adelaide, and yes, it is a big country town with 1.1 million people. Feel free to drop in at my space (just click on my name) and ask for details. I've just been at the pub, so I don't trust myself to say sane things right now...

hi we have been looking at adelaide as well, what we really want is a nice suburb near a beach for the kids what about perth is that better than adelaide & melbourne or worse than

Have a look at Newcastle NSW. Australia's 6th largest city. Reasonably priced real estate - lots of nice beaches handy to most suburbs - close to vineyards - working port - university. http://www.newcastle.nsw.gov.au/

Oh! just seen your housing specifications. Housing in N'castle goes from about $200 K up. You would get what you are after from about $300K and upwards. Mansions "over the hill" for $700 - $2mil.

Perth is lovely, although the weather can be quite hot for a lot of the year

thx for all the input, we have decided not 100% but almost on adelaide anyone have any input to that and whats the best suburbs to bring up a family there also near a hospital and schools. thx again