A fresh thread looking for Melbourne mummies

cherisw

Active Member
hi

we may be relocating there due to hb's posting. Hv a coming 3 year old ger...hope to know more mummies who r in Melbourne now...would be great if we can stay in the same neighbourhood
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hi.
Actually, whatever asian stuff you want to buy, you can buy it here. You may not able find speciality items outside like wu xiang or braised pork, but you can find the ingredients to cook. But you can find beef rendang, curry, nasi lemak, hor fun. lor mee here. if you know where to go. So you will find it easy to adapt.

My place is around 15 mins walk to the beach, but with a kid, I don't walk. 8P. Actually, all the suburbs are self sufficient. They have a shopping area, parks and plenty of playgrounds. It really depends how big the shopping area is. Most suburbs have at least 1 safeway or coles. And they open from 7 am to close to midnight. And they stock everything.I have a big shopping center my region, southland is around 10 mins drive.If I want drive a bit further, I have chadstone which is the biggest shopping center in mel. Where to live depends on your budget and what you looking for. DO you want to stay near asians? Or stay near your hub working place. Or you want to stay in the city? Of course. if you stay in the city then you don't have the open area. But you need not drive to get to places. But you can consider staying in zone 1.
For the indicative rental pricing,
you can look at http://www.realestate.com.au or http://www.domain.com.au

We have only 1 car, but we are considering getting another. The bus here is not that frequent, is around 30 mins per bus. If you are staying in the city, dont think you need another car.

My daughter is May 2005. Here there are 2 kinds. State schools and independent school. Certain state schools take in international students. And you have to pay, unlike PR and citizen. It is free. Independent Schools take in both residents and international. But Independent schools are expensive, and some have long waiting list. And you have play international student rates.

Childcare is expensive and the better ones have very long queue. Even for residents is already 65 dollars onwards a day, without factoring the possible childcare rebate. I am not sure what is the rate for international students.

Seeing the doctor is around 50 dollars. And medicine is different cost.
 
Hi

I'm a mother of three who just moved to Melbourne last Nov.

I currently stay in the south east of Melbourne, in a suburb called Boronia. Yup like what hopeac says, u can find most of the ingredients to satisfy yr cravings for sporean/asian food in Melbourne.. there are many Asian groceries ard my area and also many Chinese-populated suburbs like Boxhill, Glen Waverly etc..

I have two girls aged 3 and 2 and a baby boy almost 3 mths old.. yup all three under 5! It's been tough adjusting to life without our parents/maid's help... Sometimes i do miss the space to breathe with their help... but the good thing is also u get to determine how u want to bring them up.. u have more control as u spend more time with them, disclipining and getting to know them..

I dun have much to offer since i just got here and also learning to adapt.. so i would say it's a good idea for all sporean mums residing in melbourne to chat here! at least we know that we are not alone..

whenever i meet a sporean or even asian face in melbourne.. i'm always terribly excited..guess its the only way to help ease those hmsickness...

Hope we can all gather here and give each other some supprt..chat again soon!
 
hey girls
thanks for dropping by this thread to chat...yes, let's hope more 'lost' melbourne mummies will report here hahah. So do both of u live quite near each other? how much do u pay for ur place? bot or rental? apologies, i really hv no idea on the geographical part of melbourne yet lol. Been to melbourne once many years ago for hol but it was a guided tour so...one of the things we hv to decide later is which suburb to stay in.

my hb's job requires him to travel ard diff parts of Oz & NZ. When he's not required to travel, he will likely b working from home.

so do both of ur kids attend any sch now? or totally homeschooled? both of u r PRs? how do u spend a typical day there? pls share...would be nice if we can arrange some regular playdates for our kids. Let them speak some Mandarin, sing Mandarin songs, eat SG food hahaha

yes, without the comforts of a maid & relatives, there's quite a bit to adapt. I'm not that good in housework & cooking, so must really get some tips from you ladies. Hv to pick up my driving again too if we do drive ard. Of course, if my ger & I can survive on public transport would be wonderful
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melgirl...how do u cope wif 3? Just one & i'm frazzled hahah
 
btw we will be in Melbourne for a short 2 weeks hol in mid May; part hol, part recce & part hb's biz trip...will try to visit those few suburbs more popular wif asians. Maybe we can meet up if time permits?
 
Hi Cheri!

Sorry took so long to reply. Was sick along with my daughter and little boy last weekend..
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So r u still in spore? when do u plan to come to melbourne?

I'm not too sure where hopeacc's staying. hopeacc, din really have a chance to chat with u on fri night cos of the kids.

We are renting our place for 250 per week. It's a two bedroom house... very simply furnished.. My two girls are currently attending full day childcare twice a week. That gives me the much-needed space to keep my sanity heh. or else i think i will go mad facing three monsters 24/7.

Yup, i am PR. Typical day ah... lets see.. the kids wake up ard 7-7.30am. we let them watch tv or do some painting until lunch time. Eat rest a while and then we'll put them down for noon nap. They wake ard 3-4pm. Then i'll try to get them to do some painting/colouring. If not, it's TV again till i finish cooking...i will try to sneak in some educational time once i get this glen doman book suggested by a fren. But realistically speaking, i find it hard to 'do things' with the two older ones with a baby to care for. Maybe when my boy is bigger, it will get better.

Hmm... how do i cope with 3? I also dunno.. My husband's a great help. He will start work soon and it will be down to me. I sure hope i can do it.. will have to try to take things one day at a time..i guess having a daily routine will help... at least the day wont seem so long if u occupy yr time with activities - go playgrps, visit parks, libraries, shopping or simply doing art & craft at hm....

Yr hubby's job good ah.. can do from home. But when he travels, it's also hard on u too to manage all on yr own.

Suburbs popular with asians are Box Hill, Glen Waverly and Springvale (vietnamese).

Sure, can try to meet up if time permits. Just let us know once u confirm the dates. Closer to the date, we can exchange numbers via pm or e-mail.

btw, do u girls use any of these social communitites sites - Totspot, kidmondo to upload photos, updates of yr little kiddies? or do u know of frens who do use them? if so, can let me know? i got a few questions to ask for an article i'm writing.

http://totspot.com
http://kidmondo.com/

Other sites include:
http://www.lilgrams.com
http://www.babylolly.com
http://www.babyspot.com


take care girls! gotta go!
 
hey mel
r u all better now? oooh really not easy when so many in the family r down esp the kids. take care!

yes, we're still in SG now...the melbourne move seems quite likely but guess it will not be for another few mths or so. His company will likely pay an agency to see to our relocation but we will hv to let them know our criteria & needs so that they can help us shortlist some places to stay.

We dun mind living in the suburbs but hopefully, the suburb is self-sufficient & easy for us to adapt. Uppermost on my mind is actually a sch for her since we may not be going as PR yet. May apply for PR after we r settled etc. I dun intend to put her for full day maybe few hours daily. Can share wif me why u chose to stay where u r staying now? pros & cons? where else did u consider in ur shortlisting process then?

wow u seem to be very into art & craft wif ur kids...my ger loves to draw & paint too. But i'm not that good at it so always looking out for ideas.

250 per week is not too bad. I was hearing like 400 per week? hehe if dun mind, can email me pics of ur house & suburb area so i can hv an idea? r u on Facebook? Mine is cheri siaw...add me if you r.
 
Hi Cheri!

Yup we are all better now. Thanks!

That's great if yr hub's company can arrange for accom. That will take some load off yr mind.

Most suburbs are self sufficient and have the usual big shopping centres. Like my suburb Boronia, there are many shopping centres nearby. And also some chinese groceries too. There are also many schools in our area too.. We have been checking out some schools too.. have yet to decide on one to send our eldest girl to (she turned 3 in Feb) but there's still a lot of time. She can only go when she is abt 5.

Actually, we had planned to stay in Frankston where a friend of ours is currently staying. Frankston is far from the city but we tot for the first year, it will be good to have some social support. Then after we arrived, we found it hard to rent a place in Frankston as my hubby had nt found a job then and houses for rental were in demand. When we went to see a hse, there could be as many as 6-8 families viewing the same hse!

After searching for a month or so without success, we decided to try out Boronia at the advice of my hubby's cousin who is staying nearby in Ferntree Gully. She helped us with it as she knew the property agent managing the propety personally.

Our hse is rather small, just two bedroom.. nothing very much to shout about really but good enough for us now till my hubby settles in his new job. Then we will try to move.

It will be good if u can stay in a suburb close to the city. Then, it will be easy especially if yr hubby works in the city.

I'm also not that good at ideas to entertain my kids... very oft, they end up watching telly as there is simply very little time to do things with the two older girls with the little boy ard.

I added u on FB liao..i do not have any pics of my place taken but when i do, i'll try to mail u. My suburb is very hilly.. lots of undulating roads.. so it's also a consideration as petrol costs can be high. but it's a pretty suburb here. For 300-400 plus u can get quite a nice, decent place, 4-bedroom too.

lemme know if u need any more help. Be happy to help in any way.

take care!
 
angie
when u say they will only go to sch at age 5, what sch r u referring to? u mentioned that ur gers do go to a childcare now...those aren't really schs ah?

how far away to drive from Boronia to the City? my hb asked me to shortlist a few suburbs & we could drive ard next mth when we r there to hv a look-see.

wat line is ur hb in? he's gonna start his new job soon? wow, so exciting!

thanks so much! yes, hv mixed feelings definitely abt the relocation. I'm sure you've gone thru these feelings urself too...having the social network as a form of support sure helps. Hee hoping to find a network of mums wif kids of almost the same age so we can take turns to host playdates & the rest of the parents can hv some time to themselves away from the kids. My dream! hahaha
 
hi,
For more asian area, and within zone 1, with tram to the city, you can consider balwyn and doncaster. Those are around above 300+ for 2 bedder. Further out in the east is boxhill, blackburn and glen waverley. THose are popular with asians.
If you are looking for near the city and near the beach, then you will be looking at brighton that region. There is this report which you can buy over the internet, around 30 dollars. That tells you the demographics of the place, schools, crime rates etc.

At 5, it is prepartory. There is where they really starting alphabets and phonics. Before there the kindergarten, is play and play.

We are PR, my son attends a christian independent school and my daughter attends 3 year old kindie. They do attend chinese school on Saturdays to keep in touch with their roots. They teach hanyu pin yin and chinese.

Melgirl,
You working from home?
 
hopeac
good to hear from you again. What's the name of the suburb u r staying in? is it brighton? cos i tried searching for bayside in a site but couldn't find it. Just curious, the asian favs of boxhill, blackburn and glen waverley r slightly further (zone 2?)...why do the asians prefer to stay there then? is it cos cheaper or cos more amenities that r more suitable for asians?

if they only learn phonics & alphabet at age 5, do u ladies kinda homesch ur kids at home on these then? Cos afterall, kids at 3 can oredi be intro & learn letter sounds, alphabet & numerals quite well. I love the idea of a chinese sch..where is the sch? ex? conducted by china teachers?

r u on facebook by the way...do add me if you r.
 
hi,
Actually, I am also staying in zone 2. We are staying at mordialloc. Brighton is further up. Zone 1 is really expensive, and not necessarily safer. We do not really work in the city, not much point staying in zone 1 also. Boxhill is so call the "china town", so therefore alot of asians stay around there.

Well, you can send them to enrichment too. It is around 16-20 dollars per lesson. My daughter goes to brainastics besides the 2 day kindie. www.brainastics.com. My friend's kid goes to learning land. There are alot of chinese schools around, some private , some subsided by government. My kids go to Xin Jin Shan. Less than 5 years old, you pay 50 dollars per half year.But less than 5 years old, it is really like chinese playgroup. For 5 years and above, then formal learning starts. For the older kids, it depends what you take, so it can be 100+ to 300+ for half a year. But it think it is subsided by the govt, as you declare that you taking chinese as sec language. And you need head of the primary school to sign. I am not sure if you pay different rates for non residents. Yes they are conducted by china teachers.
 
hopeac
hey, brainastics sounds great..i like jolly phonics. In fact, i hv the readers, cd, dvd etc. Intend to use that to teach my ger in future. But realized they only hv 3 locations unlike letterland which has more outlets. Enrichment sounds like a great idea & it's not that ex compared to SG's JG lessons hahah. Does ur daughter enjoy brainastics? can she blend words oredi?

in fact talked to a fren who used to study in melbourne...she says she would stay in glen waverly but rental may b slightly higher. 2nd choice for her is boxhill. She oso recommended brighton if i prefer somewhere near the beach but now that i hear ur place is not as far out as brighton & yet near the beach, sounds good. R GW & BH really much more ex? pros & cons staying there as compared to ur place?
 
hopeac
if u dun mind me asking, what kinda place r u staying in now in mordialloc? how much do u pay? sounds like a nice place to stay..will try to go by to recce the place when we go over for hols next mth.
 
hi,
I am further down south from brighton. So not so near the city as compared to brighton. It is another 15 mins further down from brighton.

Well. I am paying 285 for a 2 bedder unit. It comes with a garage and a small backyard. That is last year's rental price. This year should be up for renewal soon. My place was refurbished and renovated last year before we rented. I checked recently, for those recently refurbish 2 bedder at around my area is around 305 to 310. But those older ones are going for 250 to 290. For 3 bedder around my area, is at least > 350. But they do have very nice houses here. We are quite near (about 8 - 10 mins walk) to the Mordialloc train station. It is around 45 mins train ride to the city.

If you are looking for School Zone area in Glen Waverley. It is really more expensive. Another reason is becos alot of chinese from china with lots of cash likes to stay in asian area.They are willing to pay.I also like blackburn south, near boxhill, but not so fu zha. Or you can consider Mt waverley. It is south of Glen Waverley, 1 or 2 train stations before Glen Waverley. And Glen Iris is nice.

Pros and Cons? Well if you are staying Glen Waverley or Boxhill, it is like you are staying in singapore. Everywhere you turn are asian. You need not speak english if you don't want to. All the chinese food stuff is easy available in Boxhill. But I feel boxhill is abit overcrowded. Glen Waverley has good pri and secondary school. But they are zoned schools, you have to stay within X km from the school. It may also mean that it is difficult for NON PR to get in, as it is very popular. This one you have to check. Box hill also has good secondary school.

My area are predominately white, aussie. So, if you crave asian company, then it is not a place for you. My daughter is the only asian in her enrichment, and pre school class. So you may need to adapt. For us, we are ok with it. We dont have an asian speciality shop in our area. But Safeway sells almost everything. You need those meat for cooking soup or certain of meat cuts that only chinese use, you can get it at clayton or springvale which is around 10 mins drive. Clayton and Springvale both have well stock asian grocers. From dried mushrooms, dried shrimps, bao, lap cheong,roti prata, chee cheong fun to japanese, korean stuff. Different indian spices, differ flour etc. I do my weekly marketing at SpringVale, which is cheaper than boxhill. Major shopping center southland is around 10 mins drive away, and Chadstone is around 20 mins drive. School wise. I must admit, I feel the public school here is not as good as Glen Waverley. (Some pple feel Glen Waverley is good becos of the asians very Kia Su) But, they have alot very good independent schools in this area, like mentone grammer, mentone girls, St Lenoard, Hailebury. But alot of pple say, the primary school in melbourne all around same standard, the distinction is the secondary. As your daughter is so young, it should not make a difference.
 
hopeac
thanks so much for all the detailed info you've posted so far...will definitely come in helpful for me later though a bit confusing for me now, i must admit haha

yes, a safe neighbourhood is one of our priorities esp since during the times when my hb travels overseas for work, it'll only b my daughter & I in the house. Do you think it's generally safer to stay in an apt vs a house? do they hv apts in suburbs?
 
hi Cheri,
I am not sure what you looking for. Usually, nearer the city, it is mostly apartments. But out of the city area, I would prefer a house. If you are unlucky to have partying pple in the same block of apartment. It could be very disturbing. In the suburbs, I think it is better get a unit or a house, than an apartment.

By the way, my friend was telling me over the weekend. For non PR to go into state school, you have to pay 8 K a year for primary. Perhaps. that is the reason why most non PR go independent school
 
hopeac
we dun mind staying in suburbs that r not too far away from the city & being near to the beach is definitely a big plus for us. Whether we prefer suburbs more popular wif Asians, we can only hv a better idea after we visit those places next mth when we r in melbourne for our hol. My hb will probably rent a car so that we could drive ard the few suburbs to recce. Their residential areas (houses) should be quite safe mostly?

yes, if we intend to stay there for long term, will def apply for PR. But for these first 2 years or so, when my ger is still young, hopefully can find her some daily 3-4 hour prog that's not too ex. I like the jolly phonics classes
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Hi ladies!

wow i missed out on a lot of chatter over the long weekend hee hee.

hopeacc - I'm currently doing freelance writing from home. How about u? r u working frm home? What is yr daily routine like?

abt the houses, we initially tot we would prefer to stay in a suburb that is not so populated with asians... but however after living here for some time, we realised we like living in a suburb that has asian shops. When we were staying in Frankston with a fren when we just got here, there werent any asian groceries nearby! in our suburb there are many nearby. although u get get most of yr groceries from the ang mo supermakets like coles.. there are some vege and spices which u cant get in the supermarkets. some more vege are cheaper at asian groceries.

i also prefer to stay in a hse. With kids, it'll be good to have a backyard for them to tire themselves, although our current pl is not that conducive for outside play. We plan to look for a better place at the end of the year, prob a 3 bedroom.

So far, my 3-yr old and 2 year old are attending childcare nearby two times a week. But we might be adding one more day as now my husband is working. My husband says better to send them 3 days so i won't go crazy! heee... also gives me time to do chores and perhaps squeeze in time for attend courses as well.

I'm also thinking of sending them to enrichment and chinese class.

hopeacc - the chinese school u sent yr kids, is it good? so u're paying $50 for half a year? how abt the brainastics class, how much r u paying? u say yr girl is in 2-day kindie, how old is she now?

ya, for 3-4 years old, most schools dun have daily unless u are talking abt those private schs. There's one private school nearby we visited called Knox School, they have pre-prep and prep classes up to 5 days a week. The more days u want, the more u have to pay. And it's not cheap. For prep, their sch fees is already abt 10k per year!
 
2 days a week? why? is it cos the rest of the days will be other batches of kids? the sch is not opened everyday?

actually the half day cc fees we're paying for my ger in SG now is oredi quite ex too...600 plus per mth so i'm not sure how ex is ex in Oz...minimum 3 days i guess is still reasonable haha.

3 bedder sounds good to me but hor, more rooms mean more housework so better not! haha esp since we only hv 1 child.

is it easy to buy chinese story books for the kids in Oz? i'm planning to stock up on some b4 i leave. How hv u been getting ur kids to use the Ch lang more? Will be meeting an sg mummy who's back from Melbourne for short hol tmr, she's a PR there too...wonder if you all know her. hope to find out more from her too.
 
Cheri,
It is the system here. Most kindie only have 2 or 3 days kinder. Becos, they don't believe in too much schooling at that age. Yes, the pre school is not open everyday. As Melgirl has mentioned, only certain independent schools (Very few) have 5 days. Most independent schools also have 2 or 3 days. Even the 5 days one are usually meant for the 4 year old kinder. And don't expect too much from kinder, it is really play n play and socialise. SO you really have to change your mindset. Well, for kindie in private schools ranges from 8 to 12 K for PR. Non PR is usually + 4 to 8 K.

Melgirl, Waverley christian college at Watrina south has full kindie for 4 year old. And it is quite cheap for the pre onwards.. around 3 to 4 year a year. Last year it was in top 70 for VCE>

My daughter turns 4 in May. So she attends 3 year old kindie, since the cut off is apr. So looking for 4 year kindie now. The chinese playgroup is 50 dollars per 2 terms. And brainastic is 16 to 20 dollars per lesson.
 
Hi hopeac/melgirl,

Do you know any good Christian primary school near melb city with affordable fee? We're not PR. Also, is there any school bus sending and fetching children to school in Melb? Thanks.
 
hopeac
thanks,ya hv heard that they really believe in the play approaches. Such a change from SG's system. Do u intend to stay there permanently? ur kids will be schooled in Oz in future?

the chinese playgroup fees r really cheap. what do they do there? only play oso or they do hv some teaching in it?

je
u r an SG mummy in melbourne too? u dun intend to apply for PR? how old r ur kids? which part of melb do u stay in?
 
cheri,

We'll be going there after mid may due to my hubby's posting. So, I'm busy searching for info for the relocation. Likely to stay near the city.
 
je
i'll be going there mid may too but for a 2 weeks hol cum recce of suburbs location...hahah maybe we can meet up?

wow ur posting & relocation quite rushed leh..mid may is one mth from now!!! we hope to slowly hv few mths to settle everything once our move is confirmed.
 
JE,
Don't really know of any affordable schools in the city. All like above 10K. You have to ask the school if they have school bus services provided. But you have bear in mind the distances in melbourne. It is not like singapore everything is a short drive. So the bus fares are expensive, and usually people send their kids to schools within the neighbourhood. My son's school the bus fare is around 180 to 200 dollars a month, so you have to be prepared it may be more for the city schools. So it may make more sense for you to send your kid to school.

You may want to get your hub company to arrange accomodation? Becos here, you cannot rent a place unless u view the place?

Cheri,
My son is in pri in melbourne. Staying here perm, see where the lord leads us. Chinese playgroup just intro them simple chinese concepts,sing songs, play games in chinese, then art and craft lor. If you attend the prep maths, then they teach maths in chinese from 1 to 100. As I say, no formal chinese teaching until prep.
 
hopeac
get company to arrange accomodation? as in they shortlist few places for us to choose based on our criteria & needs?

btw r there many catholic churches ard? yes, chinese playgroup is a good idea..at least they get to mingle & speak some mandarin but i guess, home context is still impt if you wanna learn the lang well. It's good that you r happy wif staying there permanently. Accept the good & not so good abt the place. I know of some who try to leave back doors open at home but think it's stressful that way...
 
hopeac,

thanks for your reply. The coy provides the accomodation which will be near to the city. That's why I hv to find school near city...I know the fee is quite high for non-PR, abt 17k per yr...I hope to find below 10k and good one:p

Cheri,

Yeah, quite rush. May not be able to meet you up since we hv not really firmed up the date yet. I hope to settle down fast esp. I've a baby with me.
 
i think my girls' childcare does provide bus (i saw the bus parked outside the school) but i'm not sure how much. Currently we have only one car and my hubby uses it to get to work. So he sends the girls to and fro. Once we get a second car, i can send them to sch.

ya, here is unlike spore... everywhere aso need to drive. Public transport more ex and less reliable. Sometimes the bus dun come on time and not at all!

Cheri - u are catholic? I am too. We live nearby to a Catholic sch (St Joseph's Primary) and church so every SUN we go there. We might send our older girl to the sch.

hopeacc - so yr girl is now 3 n will turn 4 in may? my girl just turned 3 in feb. acc to the catholic sch next door, she can oni attend when she is 5 which i found it surprising cos i tot 4 yr old can attend kindie odi.

anyways we r keeping our options open... we see how we do n whether we like it enuf to stay here or go back spore. i guess for some closing the option of gg hm makes it less stressful.. i guess i cant help comparing the two ctriies..


one more thing abt accom, if u do nt hv a job, its very hard (close to impossible) to get a plc to rent. but for cheri n JE, i guess u neednt worry as both yr hubbies r posted here.
 
hopeac,

does your son attend public or pte school? near city? pte school is not cheap even for pr...is there any good public schools there?
 
hi JE,
If you want less than 10 K. Your only option is public school. For non PR, you need to pay 8 K. Becos private school, you need to pay few more K above what residence pay.
The list of primary schools in melbourne city.
http://www.melbourne.vic.gov.au/info.cfm?top=13&pg=570 . Certain independent schools have waiting list that are more than 5 years. So some of them, put their kids on the list when they are born. So even if you have money, you may not get in. If you are interested in the school, it is best to email the school to ask if they have vacancies.

Alot of my friends say that independent school and public school makes no difference at primary level. My son attends an independent school which my husband teaches in. It is out of convenience. If not, I will send my son to a public school. The school is not in the city.

Though we have one car now, we may get a 2nd car.

MElgirl,
4 year old kindie is for those kids who turn 4 years old before Apr 30. I think they are refering to prep. Prep is for kids who turn 5 before april in the year they start school. I heard some rumours in future, they have to be 5 before Jan then they can start school.
 
hopeac,

thanks for the link. i've that already. in fact called most of the grammar schools til gave up and wanted to try public school instead cos no more vacancies
sad.gif
those with vacancies one are at suburbs area. actually, i prefer Christian school, but no choice....
 
je
which part of the city have you decided to stay in? just met up wif a mummy today who stays in carlton area cos she works in the city...supposed to be opposite victoria market, i think. She's back here for hol. no problem, we can always meet up in future...

mel
ur #2 is born in 2006 or issit #1? i'm lost wif all the terms; kindy, pre prep, prep etc etc...which year can my ger go to a formal sch? she's going to b 3 next mth. i need not look at pri schs now rite? she's too young for that?

yes, i'm a catholic too. a catholic kindy will b good...they should be considered private rite?
 
cheri,
sorry for the late reply.
yes, wendy (no. 1) was born in may '06. she's currently attending 3yr old kindy/activity group, it's called aerotots. that's the only place in my area which accepts 2 1/2 yr olds. here the cut off for schooling is 30 apr. e.g. by 30 apr '09 she has to be 3yrs old then can attend a 3yr old kindy.

my no. 2 is elina and she's 16 mths old.

i live in western suburb, point cook. not far from city. by car it's only about 20-25 mins. and there's a train station that u can drive to, laverton, it's zone 1. point cook itself doesn't have train station. and the train journey to city/vice versa during peak hour is only about 20 mins. but if u stay here u better have a car.

i'm a PR and we own the house. there are houses for rent too. point cook is a quite a new housing estate. lots of houses are still being built. for more ideas, if you're here and got the chance, can drive around.
 
Hi Me going to move at the end of the year or earlier.. and stumbled on this thread.. good to know that there are a few mummies in melbourne who are talkin
 
my dodo
added u in my FB
happy.gif
i heard point cook is really nice but someone told me it's v far...is it? my hb needs to fly quite often so hopefully, not too far from the airport either. how's life there in melb so far for you? r u sahm? how's ur typical day like wif ur kids?

pluf
hihi! i will be moving there ard the same time as u too...will u b working there? r u going there as PR or posted there for work? hv u decided on where to stay oredi?
 
my dodo,

just curious. will there be traffic jam in the morning hours to work in melb city if were to travel from point cook?
 
JE,
oops... sorry forgot to mention that. yupe, definitely. and with the increasing petrol price more n more people in the area are taking train. that's why the laverton train station car park will be expanded.
 

cheri,
point cook is not that far.
life in melbourne is ok. i love it here, because i used to study here too, before worked in spore. my sis, and few in-laws are here too. so it's not too bad.

wendy goes to 3yr old activity group every wed (pm) and fri (pm) for 3 hours each session. and on monday we go to mainly music, some kind of music activity group conducted by few grannies. because elina still naps twice in daytime, we donn't really have too much time to spend outside. while elina naps, usually i let wendy watch tv/dvds and i do the cooking, tidy up, etc. and when elina is up, they play/quarrel/etc.

i do the vacuuming/moping/ironing on the weekends when my husband takes care of the girls. as for the washing, i do them whenever i get full load, so i won't have mountain of dirty clothes
happy.gif


as for food, i have catering on wed-thur-fri, it really helps. and for grocery shopping, just go to coles/safeway, the local supermarkets. but for asian stuff, i go to footscray (a suburb like springvale and box hill, where asians live and shop at).
 

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