Altona, VIC 3018

Altona is a charming coastal suburb located approximately 13 kilometers southwest of Melbourne's Central Business District (CBD). This close proximity to the city makes Altona an appealing choice for those who work in Melbourne but prefer a more relaxed suburban lifestyle. The suburb is well-served by public transport, with the Altona train station providing direct access to the city via the Werribee line. The commute to Melbourne's CBD typically takes around 30 minutes by train. For those driving, major arterial roads such as the Princes Freeway offer convenient routes into the city, with travel times varying depending on traffic conditions. Altona is home to several well-regarded educational institutions, offering a range of options for families:Altona Primary School,Altona College,St. Mary's Catholic Primary School. Altona boasts a variety of parks and recreational facilities, enhancing the lifestyle of its residents. Altona offers a diverse range of dining options, catering to various tastes and preferences. Altona is known for its strong sense of community and relaxed coastal lifestyle. The suburb hosts regular community events and markets, fostering a friendly and inclusive atmosphere. The combination of beautiful natural surroundings, a range of amenities, and easy access to Melbourne's CBD makes Altona a highly desirable place to live. Altona, VIC 3018, offers residents a balanced lifestyle with its proximity to Melbourne's CBD, excellent schools, ample parks and recreational facilities, and a variety of dining options. Whether you are looking for a family-friendly environment, a beachside lifestyle, or easy access to urban amenities, Altona provides a welcoming and vibrant community that meets diverse needs and preferences.

We moved to Altona from sydney 2 years ago based on a Google maps search criteria of:
1. Recreational areas and open spaces.
2. Train line.
3. Less than 20km to CBD
4. Close to major arterial roads.
5. Less than $1 million for a house.
Altona ticked all the boxes and hence we are now building our forever home here. Great local community with people who are 3rd generation altonians. The seaweed smell can get a bit much when the wind blows the wrong way.

Seven years ago, we spent six months attending auctions and viewings in Williamstown, but found homes there either needed a total rebuild or were impossibly expensive (or both). One weekend we strayed across to Altona and found ourselves admiring the expansive beachfront and Norfolk Island Pines. We viewed a house in Seaholme and that was it. Large block, quiet street, solid home and 100 metres from the sea. And affordable. Since then we've discovered the vast amount of wetlands , birdlife and Friends Groups who look after these beautiful assets. There is definitely a community feel here and people are right - It does offer a little bit of 'country' in a big city, and being country people, we like that. One thing we've noticed since moving here is that it is becoming more gentrified and a cafe culture has emerged. Old houses are being replaced by new townhouses, units and apartment blocks. And prices are rising rapidly. Downsides include the lack of effort by Council to do anything constructive about the smell of rotting seaweed, for example by fixing the storm drain outlet from Civic Parade. Also the amount of trash dropped into our bay from boaties and onto the streets by visitors to the area.

My husband and I have lived in Altona for the last 4 years with our two children and I couldn't be happier. It is not far from the CBD and has everything that you could want. Shops, schools, gps, gym and best of all the beach. It is green with many parks and established trees. It is overall a quiet town except during the summer months when heaps of out of towners visit but even then it's ok as it's lively. Thee is always something on and it's a real community where you always bump into people you know in Pier st or at the local Coles. I feel safe as there isn't much crime unless you live on the wrong side of tracks (ie the birdcage). The close to the beach, the nicer it is. The only downside is how expensive it is to buy a house now. You need around $1 million now for a house or for even a townhouse near the beach.

I've lived in Altona (three blocks from the beach) for just over two years now.

Altona is very quiet leafy suburb that is slowly being gentrifed which means it's slowly becoming to expensive for the average Australian. It's really ideal for a homebodies because it lacks a cafe culture despite having a beach. The restaurants are all subpar or just overpriced. Shops are nothing special there's a weekly street market.

It's reasonably safe. I only had my car keyed once and only seen graffiti along the train line. The neighbours tend to mind their own business and stick to themselves. The Internet connection tends to dropout (I've had both Optus and Telstra). From time to time you can smell the seaweed from the beach. The beach has free parking all year round which is a definite plus.

Born and raised in the south eastern suburbs my partner and I started looking into purchasing our own property in the SE suburbs, we soon discovered that anything within decent proximity to the city in the south east was well and truly out of budget. We saw the west as the undesirable part of Melbourne - so begrudgingly we ventured out to the west and decided to have a look at Altona, so that we could justify how much nicer the SE suburbs were - expecting derelict houses, factories on every corner and questionable locals we planned a 5 minute drive through before heading back to the city for breakfast.

We reached the end of Millers Road, turned right onto the Esplanade and we both immediately fell in love. The bias, prejudice and lack of knowledge we had towards this suburb and Melbourne's west was blindingly obvious and scary. We ended up spending the day in Altona, enjoying the picturesque RJ Logan reserve, the beach, the wetlands and Pier St. We loved the place so much that we ended up buying a place a few weeks later. There are many things to love about this suburb, it feels very much like a village with a very relaxed feel, every day starts and ends for us with a walk along the beach which is lined with stunning Norfolk pines and a beautiful pier. Every day to day amenity that we require is here and we are very happy. I ride along the coast to work in the city, looking forward to getting into kayaking and kite surfing and our pup LOVES the dog park. It's a suburb that you will see a very interesting demographic in, some very old locals who have been there for years, young families, young couples, mature couples, people exercising, cycling, walking their dog...etc. Walking down Pier St, you can see it is a suburb with lots of development and potential - there are many coffee joints, foodie type places opening up! People talk about factories and wharehouses, but honestly I think that is ill informed; yes there is a refinery, wharehouses and factories but that is all outside of "Altona", Altona has a very village and community feel to it. The only time I see the industrial buildings is when I am leaving Altona.

Our friends, in their infinite wisdom told us what a mistake we were making moving to the west. Every single one of them, has said something along the lines of, "you guys live in an awesome location" and often we find them popping by because they were "just in the area" - wanting to get a coffee and food by the beach.

As great as the internet is - not everything on it is fact, I question a lot of the negative reviews that have been posted on Altona as they do not seem to marry up with what my partner and I have seen. My recommendation would be to visit the suburb, spend some time there and I think you will like it. The snobbery towards this suburb really does not do it any justice!

The above is nothing but praise - but obviously need to have some draw backs about the suburb.

(1) The 3 train stations on the "Altona Loop" are conveniently placed however train services are not the best outside of peak hour times.
(2) As the weather warms up, there are a lot of people that visit Altona Beach and they are not the best characters - but I have never felt unsafe
(3) There have been snakes around at some of the coastal parks \
(4) You get the occasional hoon/loud bikes down the Esplanade and Queen St (but not late at night)
(5) The telephone exchange is currently classed as regional, so that locks out a lot of phone companies - but NBN is due in 2016 which would fix that!

We moved few years ago to Altona,and we rent a nice house with beautiful backyard in very affordable price. The advantages: Altona`s good people, the excellent and highly recommended daycare, the beautiful pier, plenty of space, and it is not too far from the city.
However, there are few issues:
1. Factories. Cherry Lake is also close to the factories. Not the best view....However, the direction of air from the sea takes all pollution to the other side, so it doesn't really get to Altona. Altona is crossed by a train line, and generally, the pollution doesn't get to the side close to sea, and air is fresh all the time (although some sea weeds can be smelly sometime). But also, it is much more expansive.
2. Hoon drivers. But less and less with time. (4 years ago when we moved in it was much worse).
3. During summer some "messy people" come to the pier from other suburbs, they jump, smoke, push, and require some police patrol in weekends.
4. Train is currently not express, although it was used to be.

My prediction is someday the factories will be shut down and Altona will be one of the best suburbs in Melbourne. Good-luck Altona!

It has everything you will need!!! A++++++