Tell Me About Living in or Around Frankston, VIC?

SO...we are talking about/considering/weighing up our options about moving. The new house will need to be our FOREVER house iykwim? so we need to make sure we get it RIGHT. Including a perfect location for our family IYKWIM?
DH has been throwing around the idea of moving to Frankston or surrounding areas. I know it has had a dodgy name in the past (no offense to anyone that lives there, of course) but it has been made the butt of many jokes in the media etc. does this reputation still exist? DH thinks it's a lovely area, and would be perfect for bringing up our growing family of two boys- close to beach, lots of infrastructure- schools, shops, skate parks etc.- lots for the boys to do.
Does anyone know the area well? Which are the 'better' areas? Which are the good schools? Does it get super annoyingly busy in the summer? Are any of the surrounding suburbs nicer? Any information you could give me would be much appreciated. I'm trying to do lots of research so that we get this right IYKWIM? Thank you :)

I lived in frankston in my early 20s and enjoyed it, never had a problem, but couldn't answer any of your questions. Avoid the Pines though :p
That said, I did live in Chelsea up until 4 years ago and love, love, LOVED it, and I have a girlfriend who lives in Bonbeach with her young family and she's really happy there.
There is something about living near water that changes the energy and it's so nice. people just seem happier. I'd move back in a heartbeat.

Frankston still has a bad rep. I don't live too far from there & it's not a place I'd consider living with or without kids. Langwarrin which is only a stones throw away has a far better reputation & I've known a few people who've lived there very happily. Mornington is nice too, but it is getting a bad rep for violence at night around the nightclubs. Again I know several people who've loved living at Mornington.

Last I shopped in Frankston (over a year ago now I guess) you had to pay for parking at the big shopping centre which is a pain in the butt (and pretty much unheard of anywhere else out this way). It's a very busy car park & you can sometimes have to drive around a bit to even find a car park. That situation may have changed since I went there though.

I grew up in Carrum which is about 10 mins from Frankston. Any of the bayside suburbs are gorgeous. There are always going to be bad crowds no matter where you live, its just steering your kids in the right direction.
Bonbeach, Chelsea, Edithvale, Aspendale, Mordialloc, Parkdale - all great places by the beach.
Personally I'd love to live in Frankston, as I live in the country now and as a city girl, crave 'civilisation'. Close to the beach, shops etc - the beach in summer down that way is awesome.
There are heaps of schools, not sure if you want public or private...

Paying for car parking wouldn't put me off an area - living in the city I have often paid $30 to park my car before, so 80cents or whatever isn't an issue for me.

There are some areas to avoid, The Pines has always been one of them.... these kinds of areas can exist anywhere though, I've lived in LOADS of different areas of Melbourne and honestly, Frankston isn't a place I'd ever really feel unsafe - unless perhaps I was night clubbing etc or out walking those kinds of streets at night, but those days are long gone.

You could always try Pakenham - we went to Lakeside for something the other day and walked around the lake and I started talking like one of those people in those ads, raving about how family friendly and relaxed it felt. :lol:

i'm not a fan of frankston but i live in chelsea & i love it. i agree with littlelara & think that there's something about living down here that does change the energy.

it does get busy around the beach in summer but to be honest i don't really notice it & it's mostly just on weekends.

the blocks of land are pretty big around where i am so you'd have lots of space for the boys. there's also a really big playground & park about a 5 minute walk from our place.

i've found that lots of people stay in the area for ages which i think is a positive thing - for eg both DP's parents grew up down here & still live in the area and DP is obviously still here. i hope that makes sense, but it's just something i noticed moreso than anywhere i've lived before.

my parents recently moved to bonbeach & they're loving it.

sorry - that's all a bit over the place!

I live in Langwarrin now, having moved from Frankston South a few years ago. Our house is about 8 years old and quite affordable. We live close enough to the beach, close enough to the peninsula, and only 45 mins from here to the Crown Casino (purely for the parking!) on a good day.

People who think Frankston has a bad reputation need to open their eyes. It's a perfectly nice place to live. Sure, there's a few interesting characters, but aren't they everywhere??? And although I'd never feel safe at the train station at night - I'm not sure i'd feel safe at many.

I was not born here, nor do i have family here, and I've lived in 5 different countries, and countless cities - and I am happy raising my son here.

Just subscribing to this thread, as we're interested in finding affordable housing in Melbourne and Frankston seems to be one of the few areas on a train line that are left :)

My sister lived in Frankston until about two years ago, maybe less. I've never noticed any trouble when in the area. You get louts in most areas! However, I'd choose the southern end over Frankston North (The Pines/Kananook Creek area is where the Frankston stereotype comes from). It's not like you're going to be hanging about the train station at night though...

It's got great public transport, beach, shops, etc...

Also look at the suburbs Emma1979 mentioned and also Seaford, Carrum, even Patterson Lakes (more inland).

I'd love to live near the beach!

I have a sis that lives there - seriously I think the area is underrated. You are close to great beaches, there is a major shopping centre and good transport. Certainly there are less desirable areas too but I really think that is everywhere. Oliver's Hill and Frankston South have some pretty exxy areas with amazing houses. There are also other options close by as pp have mentioned - also Mornington, Mt Eliza etc.
FWIW too Margaret Lomas (a well known Property Investor) has spoken quite often that she feels Frankston is very cheap for the quality of the area, so anticipating some serious growth in prices. The council has also a massive development plan for the town centre and a new Marina, I believe - not sure how far down the track this is tho! If DH and I didn't have to go to the city regularly for work we'd definitely be moving.
Good luck on your house hunting - work out what works for you and your family and go for a look, maybe even consider renting for a while to suss it all out, if it is possible. I am lucky enough to live near the beach and would never go back. xx

Thank you so much for everyone's responses! i can't actually believ how helpful everyone has been, this is fantastic.

MAk- i will try to ggogle that property investor's name and find some info, thanks for the great tip. it would be amazing to actually buy in a place that went up in value like that.

Holly- i will definitely avoid those areas, sounds like the pines is a notorious bad spot!

Lenny- that's great to hear that you're happy to raise your ds there, that's the kind of info i'm looking for. i've noticed on the internet a few houses in langwarrin. i'll have to get a map out and have a look where it actually is. how far from the beach are you?

sloane- chelsea sounds fabulous, i'll have to do a search and see what the prices are like around there. thanks for the info.

nelle- hhmmm not too sure about pakenham.......how far is it from the beach?

emma- thanks for the list of suburbs, i'll have to suss out the pricing...the pines is definitely sounding like a no go zone LOL

littlelara- i agree about the water, it's v calming. chelsea is getting loads of reviews, i'm going to jump on the internet now and check it out. thanks :D

:D My sister sold up her house and moved in with her fiance into his house in Karingal (Frankston way) ... she actually thinks it's not too bad in Karingal though she said she couldn't live too close to the Frankston shopping centre.

I lived in the Sth Eastern suburb McKinnon for 6years before moving to Ballarat 4years ago , ... Chelsea is really lovely but from memory is much more expensive than Frankston (littlelara ... i liked Bonbeach too and also Edithvale, ... DP & i almost moved to Mentone instead of Ballarat but we bought a much nicer home on decent size land here whereas as Mentone it would have been a small unit)!!

Dunno Ginger, try asking Raven or one of the others. It took us maybe 20-25 to get to Tooradin the other day, but that's mostly marshland really, not surf or anything. Not sure how much longer you'd have to drive to get to beach. But on the plus side, it's not too far to the snow either.

... i drove past Tooradin last night coming back from in'laws in Sth Gippie ... yeh, Nelle i agree with you there ;)

Ginger - we jump in the car and we are at the Frankston Waterfront in about 10 mins. It has a bit of a boardwalk which they are extending, and a great playground. It has woeful 'restaurant' there (sorry) but a nicer one at the other end of the beach. We drive through Karingal (where smiles's sister lives) - that's kinda where i do most of my groceries/butcher etc. Karingal has an awesome park for kids (Ballam Park)
About 3 mins walk from my house there is a lovely school called Woodlands Primary.
There are 2 very good reasons why the Bayside shopping centre does not have free parking - firstly, it is minutes from the train, so all the commuters would park there all day and people like me would never get a spot, and secondly, it is minutes from the beach, so again, shoppers would be competing with beachgoers in the summer.

Oh god, listen to me - i sound like the 'I love Frankston' lady :redface: I need to go and get a life now.

If you ever wanted to take a look around...I'd be happy to help. Honestly.

I'm also from Langwarrin and i really love living here. I moved here with my parents when i was about 8 years old and when DH (originally from Karingal) & I brought our first home we both wanted it to be in Langwarrin.

I'd say it's about 10-15min from Frankston/beach (give or take depending on traffic) Just straight down Cranbourne-Frankston Rd.

I find it great because it is so central to everything, 45 min to the city, 45 min to Phillip Island, 20 min to Mornington. It has a variety of shopping centres with great shops to choose from. Just recently got one of those big Home Maker centres. I don't have any trouble getting parking in Frankston (multi-level car park) and on a Sunday it's free!!! I get my fruit & veg from the Frankston shops but other than that i can get most of what i need at Karingal or Langwarrin.

Growing up in Frankston i never had any trouble but there are definately areas and to be wary of (like you would find no matter where you lived). In my younger years I went out to the nightclubs each weekend and never had any trouble, i actually felt safer in Frankston than i would going into the city.

There are schools that you'd stay away from but there are many good ones to choose from also.

Each Thursday i drive up & down Olivers Hill and look out to the water and tell myself how lucky we are to have such a view so close to home. I'm not a real beach person myself but i love the fact that it's there and we can take the boys without too much of an effort. It's been cleaned up a lot and i could be wrong but i'm sure it's got a name as to be one of the better beaches now.

I'd say Packnham is about 40 min or so from Frankston.

I don't find that it's any different so much during the summer, i could be wrong but Frankston may get day trippers & otherwise i think people go further down the peninsula to Rosebud, Rye, Sorrento to stay for the holiday seasons.

If you choose the area you will have a lot avaiable to your family, like someone else said it also has a lot to do with how you bring your children up and teach them to avoid certain situations and/or people. My parents brought up 2 well adjusted children how have managed to stay out of trouble in this area ;)

Good luck with the search, so much comes into the decisions we make now that we have our childrens furtures in our throughts doesn't it!?!?!

Hi Ginger

We are in Mt Eliza, which is 3 kms south of Frankston on the coast and I love, love, love it....we have been here nearly five years and it is great. we are a five minute walk to the beach, lots of family friendly groups around here, playgrounds, etc. We were living in Melbourne before we moved down here and it is a much more relaxed vibe, people are very friendly. If you are looking at Frankston, I would be looking around the Frankston South area, some beautiful houses on great sized pieces of land.

Good luck with your decision.
Laurin x

thank you so much again everyone, it has really really helped me 'talking' to you all.
dh and i spoke about it a lot last night and we've had a bit of a look on the internet and we're going to go for a drive down there in the next couple of weeks and closely check-out frankston south, mt eliza and langwarrin :)
mt eliza sounds awesome, and is definitely where my mind is heading towards. i'm so excited to have a sea-change, now it's just a matter of getting our house ready for sale..ggrggr