Carrum Downs, VIC 3201

Has everything we need at our doorstep. We are within walking distance to the shops, as well as Rowellyn primary school & kindergarten. The locals are friendly & the updated park & playground at Sandfield Reserve is fantastic. Seaford beach is stunning & not as busy as surrounding beaches.

My partner and I purchased a home in Carrum Downs in 2021, and it's been a great decision. As a Tasmanian native and my partner from the UK, we weren't overly familiar with Melbourne's suburbs, despite having lived in the city for several years. Before buying, we rented in Beaumaris, which is an area that we loved, but simply out of our price range, so we explored other options.

Carrum Downs caught our attention due to its convenient location, beach access, and proximity to popular destinations. We were drawn to the area's value for money and the potential to find a home that suited our needs.

Despite some negative reviews, we spent time exploring the suburb, walking the streets, visiting shops and parks, and dining at local cafes and restaurants. We were pleasantly surprised by the strong sense of community and the friendly, working-class residents. Our neighbors are approachable and willing to lend a helping hand.

One area for improvement is

the commercial business district, can be a bit of an eyesore which attracts the odd motor enthusiast from time to time but this happens everywhere and only last a few seconds and as long as there not my tyres .

Additionally, the dining options in Carrum Downs are limited, but this doesn't bother us as it's just a short drive to neighboring suburbs with more amenities.

On the plus side, the suburb offers close-to-home work options, which is a great advantage.

I also want to mention that I don't feel unsafe in Carrum Downs, which was a concern for us when considering the area as we had our first child on the way. We've found it to be a welcoming and secure environment.

Looking ahead, I see massive potential for Carrum Downs in the future. With its prime location and affordable housing, I believe it's an area that will continue to grow and improve, making it an excellent choice for first-home buyers and families.

We moved to Carrum Downs in 2023 after living in areas such as Cheltenham and Mentone and I can honestly say I’m happy to call it home. Friendly, down to earth people with the majority being young families and singles. There is a good selection of shops (coffee shops, takeaways, supermarkets) and healthcare services such as medical centres, dentists and pharmacies. There are even quite a few childcare/early learning centres (I’ve seen four within three or four blocks), a community library and a huge Kmart. The only downside in my opinion is that there aren’t any major shopping centres nearby, with Southland being 25kms away and Fountain Gate 20kms. But if you’re not into shopping that doesn’t really matter! lol Hopefully they will develop something in years to come as there is plenty of open land.

I’ve noticed a few reviewers have mentioned the presence of hoon drivers. While that may be so, there are many i noticed in recent years in Cheltenham too. They tend to frequent the industrial area on the border of Moorabbin late at night. So while this may be an issue it’s not one that only affects Carrum Downs. They are everywhere now. I would also hear more sirens blaring over there than I do here.

The good thing about living in Carrum Downs is that you have lots of space without being isolated in the middle of nowhere. There are many surrounding suburbs which make it a town within a city, yet there’s also plenty of farmland and a selection of golf courses so you get the best of both worlds. A 10 minute drive to Seaford Beach and 25 minutes to the Mornington Peninsula. With easy access to the M11 and Eastlink Carrum Downs really has it all.

Recently bought our first home here, one of the only places in the South East/Bayside area where you can still get a 3 bedroom townhouse for under 600k. We were hesitant at first, as growing up I was told Carrum Downs was a rough suburb, however I am pleased to say that our experience here has been fantastic so far.
Our neighbours are friendly and welcoming, there's a real sense of community here, every shop you could possibly want/need, easy access to the Eastlink and it's a 5 minute drive to the beach.

The only downsides I can think of relate to the hooning drivers predominantly on Hall Rd/Frankston-Dandenong Road and that the local shopping centre is very outdated/worn. Both of these issues seem to be very well known in the community and are often talked about however, so there is hope that these issues will improve over time.

i say carrum towers, because i think they should change the name. lol

Friendly down to earth people, so yeah people on welfare you say having parties and being loud, so what

not everyone enjoys listening to feral kids scream and kids and mothers on the street all day. would you prefer people kids, mothers leaving kids screaming on the street all day? then go to bonbeach banjo circuit.

we have so many parks green spaces sports stadiums to play sport

why are people kids, mothers feral kids always on the road playing sports or using the road as a daycare centre.

its a traffic hazard and its annoying to have the road overtaken by groups of mothers, kids when they have a backyard and a park so close to their house.

and people complain about loud music! adults living off the government? so what!

Nice neighbours dont piss you off
they dont block road
they help you when you need them
most importantly they dont delibrately make trouble for you.

so many people are annoyed by unemployed people, welfare recipiants
they are usually dull close minded family people they dont like loud music

nice neighbours are nice neighbours
dont judge people just because they are on welfare or play loud music

look at the noise you family people make screaming kids all day long.

dont judge people for the situation they are in or the situation they are trying to get out of.

life is difficult for everyone, its not so easy life if your on welfare. most people are trying to do better but life keeps getting harder for the chance to earn a living.

be nice you never know what people are going through.

im definately a music enthusiast, loud music brightens up your world, makes you forget your worries, it must good music . hahaha

go" Carrum towers "the people will lift you up.

by the way all the councils are terrible along the pennisula, most people clean their own street.

why do we pay bills, rates rent
so these big wigs do nothing and pick on the vunerable in society.

help them, dont put them down.

international goverments like Dennmark & nordic countries help every one, healthcare, welfare, people without kids, singles, people with kids, young people older generations

its time Australia stops the media circus on television and starts actually helping people. these idiots in parliment are too busy talking about change.

never taking action to change the state of australia

12 years ago, we moved into a suburb id only heard negative things about. My wife assured me that the area was up and coming and it would be an ideal place to raise a family, and she was right on the money.
The proximity to services, medical needs, restaurants, shopping and physical places like the Mornington Peninsula and beaches is almost unbeatable; without being in the thick of it constantly.
The housing game isn’t completely ridiculous either, there are still some bargains in Carrum D's

Just moved to the area as a first home buyer. Happy to live hear due to decent size and modern build homes which are affordable, fairly close to the beach and with good access to the Mornington Peninsula and bayside. I’ve lived in Highett, Cheltenham, Glenhuntly, Elwood and Mordialloc. You can find many renovated or unrenovated homes for sale, most on concrete slabs that have 2 living rooms. Plenty with two bathrooms, double garages and some with 4 bedrooms. Heaps of townhouses in the area which will bring more new residents to the area.

Carrum Downs is close to Seaford, Sandhurst, Skye and Frankston North. There is a large industrial area which is on the western side and it is a large suburb over 20,000 residents. Most of the residents seem to be Caucasian/European with a significant group of islander or Maori people as well as Indian/Sri Lankan people. There’s a huge Hindu temple here too!

It is a working class area and feels similar to Cheltenham 5-10 years ago with a bit more roughness around the edges. People mostly drive falcons, commodores or Japanese cars. Very few people own expensive European cars. Many modified and loud cars. There are a lot more ‘tough’ dogs like pit bulls, Rottweilers and mastifs. Less exotic and fancy dogs like in Elwood or even Cheltenham.

What’s great about the area are the green wedges and reserves, access to awesome bike/walking paths including Carrum downs trail, peninsula link and the Seaford wetland area (beautiful). CD borders on the Pines Flora and Fauna reserve which is huge and a great place to walk the trails or cycle. You can take your dog too, and get into nature. The people I’ve chatted with have been more friendly than in other suburbs which has been great.

The not so good… there is a lot more broken glass, discarded cans of alcohol and energy drinks than any other suburb I’ve lived in. There are almost no public bins which I personally think contributes to this issue. Frankston city council has been great and will collect dumped litter or clean graffiti very quickly. Unfortunately there are still many hoon drivers which I normally don’t care about. In this case though some of the drivers blast down residential streets at night and pull massive burnouts down residential streets, even in the nicer areas of Carrum downs and in front of schools. There are also some young guys that seem to get around on dirt bikes (not sure if they are registered) and sometimes cutting through walking tracks or lanes. People have their music loud in their cars which I don’t care about but I think is a funny difference of the area.

I like the area and feel safe here, and just think it’ll take a bit of time before it cleans up a bit and becomes more family friendly. The house prices are rising quickly and people who would’ve like to stay in more expensive areas like bayside will continue to move to Carrum downs. I’m looking forward to seeing how it continues to improve but am happy to have my own place to fix up here.

Close to the beaches and easy access to major arterials.
Close to Sandhurst which has great walking areas and a good gold course.
I am happy with the location because we looked at Cranbourne West & Clyde and boy those suburbs are far out, we could sort of dealt with that but the blocks are so small.

Good affordable homes with nice sized blocks. Values well under 800K.

Although newer ones from developers are starting to maximize land space.

Good schools and people around, culturally stating to expand from various backgrounds but all in all a nice harmony.

Great sports precinct with football grounds and a synthetic playing area, the Tennis courts need a makeover.

Near freeways and access to beaches.

Live near Sandhurst so the walk around the Golf track is great.
Nice people in the area that seem down to earth.
Will settle here after living across many other areas in Melbourne.
Close to Seaford beach.