we live in chelsea & i love it. it does get busy around the beach & shops on hot days, but we live maybe a 15 minute walk from the beach & i have no idea that it's busy unless i go to the shops. there's buses & the train (also a 15 minute walk), heaps of parking for the train if either of you need to commute to the city.

there are quite a few primary schools around & there's a great park with lots of new play equipment, bbqs etc. there's also a bike path if you guys are into cycling.

edithvale & aspendale are quite similar, they just have smaller shopping strips - but they're all so close to each other, it doesn't matter.

aspendale gardens is nice. but i do prefer being in an older suburb - i feel like a car would be more necessary in AG than it is in chelsea (although we do both have cars).

it's great for walking with a pram too cos it's flat