Is Elwood suitable for young families, husband is a yuppie and wants to live there :-)

We have teenagers and they have lots of friends in the area. There are so many sporting reserves and cafes for them to hang out with their friends and the bus, train and tram to take them to the city or more likely South Yarra. The beach is across the road in the summer and many of their friends come to our house and then go across the road to the beach. Our kids have grown up here and have always enjoyed it. For my husband and myself there are plenty of places to eat, increasingly interesting restaurants - Madame Wu's serves some of the best Chinese food in Melbourne and as my husband is Chinese we have eaten everywhere! - and we're close to several great cinemas in Elsternwick and Brighton. We have many lovely walks and lots of parks for the dog to run. I don't understand why someone would say Elwood isn't family friendly, it is full of young familes these days! We love it.

Elwood is definitely suitable for a young Family. Like RBH said, it can have it's drawbacks but these are generally accepted as being outweighed by the great atmosphere and close locality to almost everything. If you prefer something slightly quieter I would suggest looking across the road to either Ripponlea or Elsternwick. Both have the yuppie atmosphere for your husband on the main strips but are generally less busy off the strips. You can get more for you money in these suburbs as well. Best of luck.

Elwood's ok but a bit of a yawm. It has one good restaurant (Dandelion...try to get a reservation!) and no really good bars. Good coffee/breakfasts are available. Good for families? Well the place seems to be full of 30-somethings with 2 year olds but I don't think it would be great with teenage kids because public transport is pretty average unless you walk 20 odd mins (depending where you are in Elwood) to St Kilda...and, to be honest, you don't see a lot of teenage kids. Beach location is nice but on street parking (as others have pointed out) can be a nightmare in summer if you are living close to the beach. Parking in or near the main shopping strip can be close to impossible sometimes. After living in St Kilda (I've been in Elwood for 3 years), I find it a bit dull. I'm moving to Port Melbourne next month. Hope this helps.

Elwood has come a long way in the past 5 years, in fact it is an extremely desirable suburb with house prices being what they are in Albert Park, Middle Park and St Kilda West. Perfect for families of all ages as well.

Elwood is a great suburb to live in ... Our family love it & there are lots of things to do !!! Walk along the Board Walk ...great views !!! Imagine being able to go to the beach on all days ending in " y " !!! ... Plenty of park areas, tennis club, safe playgrounds ... The Village on Ormond Rd is a really busy buzzing place ...
We down sized from a huge house in the suburbs !!! No more lawn mowing for us !!! :)

Great area for yuppie families!!!
Close to some fabulous sunny spots.

people that say they dont like Elwood: you snobs! Come and live in a REAL suburb like Frankston North

It is ok but not the best. I grew up in elwood from age 11 and im about to move away. Its really congested and the parking is terrible - i can't imagine that would be good with a kid either. Shopping is terrible and the whole suburb is not very family friendly. There are very few teens in Elwood, so it might be best not to stay long term if you do choose to live there. Kids need other kids for socialization.