Paynesville, VIC 3880

Thanks to Billy for helping keep prices down. I much appreciate it. Unfortunately though there are no barking dogs at least not in my part of town.
The suburb is leafy and pretty.
Recent developments are concerning though as they seem to be cutting down a lot of trees and this needs to stop in order to maintain the lovely country feel of this suburb.
Covid and winter seems to have hit the shops hard with many new opportunities opening for potential retailers in the many empty shops. The pla c s gets very busy in warmer months as it is a boat owners dream suburb. Schools are excelent and spaces at exclusive Gippsland grammar need to be booked in advance. The iga supermarket is extremely good and nearby bairnsdale has everything else I need. Personally I hope you believe Billy as the less people here the more I like it. Its a great place to live.

We moved from Melbourne to enjoy an outdoor life full of water based activities with a realistic cost of living and we absolutely adore it here !
The quality of the East Gippsland local produce is amazing and we love going to the various farmer’s markets in the area to do our weekly food shopping. The friendly, welcoming laid back village nature is a breath of fresh air and we happily believe that there is more of than enough of everything we want and need. Simplifying your expectations leads to a much more content every day existence - and we wake up every day filled with positivity and happiness about where we live. We foresee many years of fun and good times in this awesome spot that is surrounded by so many fantastic things to see and do. We embrace and enjoy everything about Paynesville as the place we now love to come home to.

recently moved to Paynesville from Melbourne and it was the change i needed. was welcomed by the town immediately and dont just feel like a stranger walking around. its nice to see the same people on a daily basis and im lucky i have not had any of the bad experiences that other reviewers have had. moving to the country can be scary but im sure once you get here you will see its worth it

I am so glad I did not read all those horrible comments before relocating here permanently!
We are a young growing family who have found nothing but kind neighbours, friendly locals, more parks than any other town of its size and locals who have welcomed us and involved us in social events.
We are from an area with similar demographics both socially and economically and have found that Paynesville has a huge amount to offer us as a family. There is family day care and ocassional care available with a number of long day care options in nearby Bairnsdale. The kindergarten is one of the best I have come across and the local school runs many fantastic programs that many private schools fail to provide.
If you are a friendly, welcoming and community minded person you will love Paynesville and will be treated well, just like anywhere else. Any place is what you make of it, but when you have access to the lakes, the snowfields, excellent infrastructure and a strong community it certainly helps.
The one thing we have found challenging is that wages in the East Gippsland area in general seem to be significantly lower than we are used to and with Paynesville catering primarily to reasonably funded retirees and tourists it is cheaper to shop 'in town' - Bairnsdale. This is slowly changing with the rapid increase in young families, illustrated by the increase in Kindergarten, Preschool and Childcare enrolments over the last 12 months.

Just a beautiful spot..the construction of new homes says it all really, clearly more people want to live here!
Great fishing and not too touristy, still has that small town feel.

After moving to Paynesville for an early retirement after years of planning I can't even begin to explain how disgusted we were in the locals. They are on average (there were a FEW exceptions of course) Racist, gossipping, lying, manipulating, greedy and down right nasty.... We left Paynesville so disillusioned with human nature that to this day we still have not recovered fully. Do not retire in Paynesville!!! The peple there will break your heart and your spirit. You only need to read the comments of "jimorth" to get a sniff of how nasty these town folk are.

Paynesville is a relaxing place to wind down .It has magnificent access to the lakes and rivers which offer watersports of every type -- fishing, sailing, skiing,swimming, kayaking etc.
The people are laid back as they are either living permanently in Paynesville or a holiday.
Paynesville is within easy driving from Bairnsdale which offers good shopping and restaurants.

Paynesville is a Beautiful place to live, there are views of the lake all along the main shopping strip, rentals are fairly cheap, a new community centre, great chemist and of course great for all those that love boating and water sports. There are great walking tracks with beautiful scenery. The negatives are, with the exception for all those over 40 (majority of population in Paynesville) it leaves very little to desire when it comes to entertainment, hospitality and the cost of both. Out of the 4 restaurants and 2 cafes and 2 take away stores only one cafe is reasonably priced and the other cafe has quite good food. No one changes the menu...ever, the prices compare with melbourne prices or dearer, and the food is terrible to shocking. And to top it off except for two places the customer service none existent. Its as if they are doing us a favour by letting us spend too much money on terrible food! One place does not serve water and forces customers to pay for bottled water (completely illegal!)
Some locals are friendly others are quite rude and antisocial. Despite this we love living here, and the over 40's do have a closer nit community and seem to forgive the standard of hospitality in the area. Who knows in ten years this could be a great place to dine but at the moment its quite limited.