Pat555

We did the sea-change from Melbourne 10 years ago, and have lived in St Andrews Beach for the past six years. People often think it's too far away from the action and the shops, but that is one of its best features. It's a seven minute drive to the main street in Rye, 10 minutes to Rosebud or Blairgowrie and 13 minutes to Sorrento. There is a local general store that has all the necessities and the take-away food, bakery and bottle shop at Rye back beach are only a five minute drive away.
So if you want to go to the shops, restaurants and pubs in Rye or Sorrento, it's a quick drive or cheap taxi fare, but if you want to escape the madding crowd you just head home to your little oasis where the only sounds you usually hear are the pounding of the surf and the singing of the birds. You also take the back roads to get here, so you don't get stuck in all the traffic on the highway during summer if you are coming down from Melbourne.
We have four young children and the local pre-schools, primary schools and health services are excellent. The Peninsula is an idyllic place for kids to grow up, where a typical weekend might involve going sailing with other kids at the local yacht club, playing at the beach, going for a bush walk to see the kangaroos or visiting one of the myriad tourist attractions in the area.
During the busy summer months when Rye and Sorrento are crazy, you hardly notice the difference around here other than a few more holiday houses being occupied and a few more people at the local beach. Even at the height of summer you will still often have the whole beach to yourself, aside from a few surfers or maybe someone fishing or walking their dog.
The rock pools are great fun to explore and a safe place for the kids to to cool down on a hot summer day.
For the adults, sitting on the beach in the evening with a bottle of wine watching the rugged surf in front of you, the lighthouse atop the cliffs of Cape Schanck to your left and the pinky-purplish hue of the sun setting over the water to your right is pretty hard to beat.
St Andrews Beach is a great place to live and raise a family or the perfect escape from a busy life in Melbourne. It's exclusive but not well-known, some expensive homes and cutting-edge architecture, good for celebs - low-key and anonymous.
I love living in a place where on most days when I drive down the street I'll pass a local surfer in his wetsuit with his board under his arm, or maybe a girl riding her horse along the side of the road - it sure beats the suburbs of Melbourne for me!