Caroline Springs VIC

[radelaide]

As per previous posts moving to Melbourne and looking for PPOR, have been looking around Maidstone, Footscray, Altona etc. Budget is around the $500k mark. I have been looking in these areas as I will be working in Tottenham area.

A side thought someone mentioned Caroline Springs to me, so I would ask is this a good place to live?

My circumstances:

Work pays for fuel so travel not an issue but I dont want to spend more than 30 minutes in the car one way. Happy to leave a bit earlier if need be. Travel time to Tottenham from Caroline Springs?

Have 2 kids, wife doesnt work. Want to live somewhere with a "community feel" to it, sounds like the walking trails, lakes and community stuff is good in Caroline Springs, far better then what I would get at the other suburbs?

Would prefer a new house, dont particularly want to maintain the upkeep of an old house, price for a new place seems good.

Wont be going into the city too much, maybe once a month so public transport not that important.

Schools in CS?

Shops in CS?

I can get a far superior house for 500k but have double the travel time to and from work... hmmmmmm

edit:

Moving down from Darwin so need good heating, dont want crappy heating in an old house.

Also want a house with decent security, reasonably safe area.

I am thinking Maidstone etc probably not as good..

 

[KoopaTroopa]

I used to live in Sydenham and bought (built) a 3/2/1 house in Caroline Springs in 2009 as an IP for $265k. It rented for $350/wk up till early 2012 when the tenants moved out and I moved in. It was last valued for around $380k so that's some pretty decent growth in 3.5 years. Not that you were asking for investment purposes, but I thought I'd throw in some figures that I've experienced.

Since moving in, I generally leave after the peak hour traffic and get to the city (Crown Carpark) in 30 minutes or less. If I left the house around 7:30am I'd get to Crown around 8:30-9:00am (not too bad relative to the Monash Fwy)

Travel time to Tottenham from Caroline Springs?

Caroline Springs to Tottenham via the Ring Road in 18 mins is pretty realistic AFTER PEAK HOUR. If you go in Peak Hour via the Ring Road I reckon over 30 mins. Via Ballarat Rd/Western Hwy I reckon similar timeframes.

A side thought someone mentioned Caroline Springs to me, so I would ask is this a good place to live?

It's very quiet. Nice streets, modern houses, everything is new.

Have 2 kids, wife doesnt work. Want to live somewhere with a "community feel" to it, sounds like the walking trails, lakes and community stuff is good in Caroline Springs, far better then what I would get at the other suburbs?

CS definitely has a community feel. It was master-planned that way.

Schools in CS?

There are a LOT of schools, public and private. Elementary and Secondary.

There's a huge library, a multi-million dollar multi-sports centre, childcare, swimming centre.

There are multiple medical centres, multiple health services (Physio, Osteo, etc)

Shops in CS?

Abundance of shops. One big shopping centre that has Coles, Aldi, Target, Reject Shop, Dick Smith.

There's even a new Daiso!

Restaurants, cafes, hotels.

Also want a house with decent security, reasonably safe area.

I am thinking Maidstone etc probably not as good..

Like I said, I think CS is very safe and has everything a young family could need.

I know you said Public Transport wasn't an issue, but Watergardens train station is a 5-min drive and there are direct buses from the Caroline Springs Town Centre to Watergardens.

As the crow flies it's about 22km from Caroline Springs to Melbourne.

It's a good place to live.

 

[radelaide]

Thanks for the info mate, appreciated.

 

[KoopaTroopa]

Thanks for the info mate, appreciated.

No worries!

Some more CS info:

http://www.delfincarolinesprings.com.au/ has links to all the shops and servics you'll find here

Also, it's even good enough for Arnie! though that gym they mention isn't really in Caroline Springs, but close enough. It's right next to the Bunnings and Masters stores.

---


Also, to mention your other three suburbs.

Altona is close to the beach which is great. Every time I've been there, it's been nice. However, there's occasionally an odd "sewage" smell sometimes...dunno how frequent that is though.

Footscray is super-close to the city, but I'd think the crime rate is (a lot) higher than CS, Altona, and Maidstone.

Maidstone is pretty quiet, very close to Highpoint, only 8km from the city too.

All three have much older housing stock than CS, but they all have the advantage of being much closer to the city (esp Footscray which is literally the next suburb). They are all closer to Tottenham too (except maybe Altona)

$500k will buy you a huge house in CS. $500k will buy you an older house in the other suburbs, might not buy you much in Footscray.

Good luck!

 

[BFT]

I also live in Caroline Springs and agree with everything KoopaTroopa mentions. It's a great place to live and has absolutely everything a a family could need at their doorstep.

Don't imagine you would ever regret moving in to CS.

 

[cimbom]

I think the commute might be longer than 30 mins. My parents live one suburb in from Caroline Springs and it would take probably 15 minutes to drive from their house to the nearest train station ~2kms away. It would be quicker for me to drive to one station down the line. Traffic is pretty bad getting out of suburbs in that area.

 

[BFT]

I think the commute might be longer than 30 mins. My parents live one suburb in from Caroline Springs and it would take probably 15 minutes to drive from their house to the nearest train station ~2kms away. It would be quicker for me to drive to one station down the line. Traffic is pretty bad getting out of suburbs in that area.

Took me 28 minutes going to work (at Crown also when i was there) from my door step to the Crown Carpark, left my place at 8.30 got to work at 9.00ish. Deer Park bypass FTW!

 

[MC1]

Deer Park Bypass has made a huge difference!

CS is a great place for families. Lots of sporting clubs for kids in the area as well.

The sergeant of CS police station lives in my street and says that crime wise it is fairly quiet, besides the usual that happens in most suburbs.

As others have said, shopping, restaurants etc is all covered.

I travel to the city a couple of times a week (not in peak) and I'm there in 25 minutes. Tottenham in 20 minutes is about right.

If you have to travel to the city in peak, it would be a nightmare, like the rest of Melbourne.

There are different pockets in CS, some nicer than others. If you want a nice place to live and grow your kids, you cant go wrong.

 

[Pianissimo]

Caroline Springs is good but I think Maidstone is better as it is closer to the city and Tottenham.

It only takes 10-15 minutes or less to Tottenham even during peak hour traffic.

The nice pocket of Maidstone, above Ballarat road, can walk to high point shopping centre with Bunnings, library, and aquatic centre.

It is also next to more expensive suburbs, like Maribyrnong, Kensington,or Moonee Ponds. It is easy to take the ripple effect once the market picks up.

 

[meggala]

Caroline Springs is good but I think Maidstone is better as it is closer to the city and Tottenham.

It only takes 10-15 minutes or less to Tottenham even during peak hour traffic.

The nice pocket of Maidstone, above Ballarat road, can walk to high point shopping centre with Bunnings, library, and aquatic centre.

It is also next to more expensive suburbs, like Maribyrnong, Kensington,or Moonee Ponds. It is easy to take the ripple effect once the market picks up.

Maidstone has the inner city feel also close to highpoint lots of older houses there plenty of town houses. also quite a bit on housing commision houses close by.
Caroline springs is more family orientated woth good shopping etc. 20-30mins travel time to Tottenham it takes me 30 mins in truck from melton to tottenham. If you want the inner city lifestyle maidstone etc if you want space and a good area for kids caroline springs.
good luck

 

[ark8]

Another suburb to consider if you'd like new/newish homes would be Point Cook and Williams Landing - just a bit further from Altona. Plenty of open space with lots of shops and amenities.

Having said that, Maidstone and Maribyrnong wouldn't be too bad either with some nice "community" pockets around there with highpoint and Maribyrnong River just around the corner.

 

[pieman]

I work in hawthorn atm and several peolple I work live in Cs and point cook. The commute in peak hour from point cook often takes 1.5 hours ONE Way. Different story as others have mentioned if you travel out of those times

 

[Truly Exotic]

I work in hawthorn atm and several peolple I work live in Cs and point cook. The commute in peak hour from point cook often takes 1.5 hours ONE Way. Different story as others have mentioned if you travel out of those times

ive known a few people living in these areas, most are quite nice, but you get the odd person with a chip on the shoulder who sound like a sales brochure, and get really annoyed if you dont acknowledge them when they give their reasons as to why CS is better then toorak

 

[KoopaTroopa]

20-30mins travel time to Tottenham it takes me 30 mins in truck from melton to tottenham.

Melton itself is over 15 mins away from Caroline Springs!

So of course it takes 30mins from Melton to Tottenham!

 

[cimbom]

My parents went to an auction there over the weekend. Apparently the guy who owned the house spent 600k for the land plus big new house (5 bedrooms, 3 bathrooms if I recall correctly) and it sold for ~550k. I don't recall the exact numbers.

 

[radelaide]

Well I bought a house this week in Caroline Springs.

Dealing with RE agent in Melbourne certainly different to dealing with them in Adelaide!

I am pretty happy with the purchase (I think) and got it around what I wanted to pay.

Ahh the joys of more debt.

Thanks everyone for the advice!

 

[jacked]

Congratulations! I love this area and have been looking at many properties for the past few months, May I ask where in the suburb did you purchase and which real estate agent did you deal with... finding it quite difficult at the moment,

Cheers.

 

[MelbGal]

Well I bought a house this week in Caroline Springs.

Dealing with RE agent in Melbourne certainly different to dealing with them in Adelaide!

I am pretty happy with the purchase (I think) and got it around what I wanted to pay.

Ahh the joys of more debt.

Thanks everyone for the advice!

CONGRATS! I didn't get a chance to post before you bought but was going to recommend this area based on your needs i.e. wife being at home, wanting a community feel, safe etc.

 

[Lamingtons]

Sorry to dig up this old thread.
But I haven't been to Caroline Springs in many years as my friend moved out of the area after her divorce. Drove there to attend a party on Friday.

WHAT ON EARTH HAPPENED THERE? Luxury waterfront houses, Daiso!, apartment blocks and QUEST APARTMENTS!?

WOW.

 

[KoopaTroopa]

Sorry to dig up this old thread.
But I haven't been to Caroline Springs in many years as my friend moved out of the area after her divorce. Drove there to attend a party on Friday.

WHAT ON EARTH HAPPENED THERE? Luxury waterfront houses, Daiso!, apartment blocks and QUEST APARTMENTS!?

WOW.

LOL the suburb is pretty much complete. The Sales Office is gone, hardly any blocks of land to buy now. Pretty much established now, just two apartment buildings being built and just a few random houses being built now.

Everything else is finished now, even the lake has been upgraded just in the past year. Much bigger and now has more children's playgrounds and BBQ areas.

Really can't complain with the suburb now.