stephen-f

I bought in Mernda in 2011 and moved in 2012. Our block is just under 500sqm and with a double storey my total outlay was $463k I think the land was $200k. This is my first home, I had previously rented in East Hawthorn for 12 years. So anyone who knows the area will laugh at this, my wife and mother visited the area and were told on the day of their visit we could secure land but it was the last block left and we would need to make a deposit that day. We did have friends who had moved to the area and loved it. So sight unseen or site if you love a pun, I ageed to the deposit. Needless to say when I made my way out here, there was heaps of land everywhere, how my wife, then gf, was fooled by Stockland I still don’t know.

So we did s decide on a double even though it added an extra $30k to the build. This was because although my rental in Hawthorn was of similar size, I still wanted a backyard. Our block is north facing too. We had amazing neighbours on both sides. In my previous house we never ever spoke to the neighbours. That really wasn’t uncommon. I didn’t speak to my neighbours growing up in Mont Albert either, but Mernda is different. I often have long chats with my neighbour and we sometimes have a beer. He collects my mail when we are away and vice versa. My other neighbour leveraged his mortgage to buy another property in Greensborough, but he had a love,y family too. That house is now rented to professional couple and I don’t hear from them much but we do say hello when we see them. The homes across the road are newer but the young couple in one is very friendly and the other a teacher is also friendly.

After moving to Mernda I initially worked I Surrey Hills the drive was about 45 mins. I took a leap of faith and decided to go into business for myself and then started working from home, after a while i decided to get a cbd office. At that time I could drop kid off at school at 8:45 and be at my office by 9:30am and Normlly parked beforehand so I could get the early bird parking. I then decided to move to a local office so I could be closer to my family. It has worked out great as business in the north is growing and people like dealing with a fellow local. But to put the city travel time into perspective it would often take me 45 mi s to drive from tooronga road to church st richmond. This was all by car, I did sometimes travel by train from south morang which took about an hour and is less comfortable imo but trains have their perks too. You’d always get a seat,

Mernda is quite a large area and I am in Mernda villages, which is great as it has it’s own Woolworths. There are 2 primary schools (1 public), there are 3 ovals. 2 of which are as good as the MCG grass, they’re brand new and quite amazing. There are often public events and small festivals in the area too.

Another great feature is the fact we live such a short drive from the country. I can drive 30 minutes up past whittlesea to be In the country. If you like a social drink the pub is quite iconic, but not somewhere I often visit,

At the time of writing this the Mernda rail is close to being completed. The developers have moved out, and plenty road Is being extended to 3 lanes. We have seen several homes sell for in excess of $1 million which does amaze me but that is the Melbourne property market I guess ? You can still find a cheap home to buy in Mernda though so a good first home are just like us too.

I do know a fair few people in the area, I did have to join some local business groups and my kids are heavily into sports and the like.

I really can’t say anything bad about Mernda when I think about the other places I’ve lived, mont Albert, Hawthorn, London. But it’s not inner Richmond or prahran. It’s a suburb. So at the moment, you do need to drive to get a bite, but there are lots of great eating spots and more opening all the time.

If i was in my 20s I wouldn’t have chosen to live here, but I knew plenty that would have, I was just a party animal at that age. An Uber from the city can cost anything from $40-$60 but averages at $50. If you’re coming home late, always have the driver take you down plenty road. When it is quite on the roads this is always the fastest and cheapest route

I love Mernda. I won’t be moving anytime soon Ben though our house has close to doubled in price. I have never really seen any crime that I can remember.

There is a small rivalry between Mernda and Doreen. I’m not sure why it doesn’t make any sense. They are practicallly the same. Laurimer is/was an estate the people that live there prefer to be called laurimer though the council disagrees.

The Mernda train Extension and road extension are going to bring a lot more value to both areas.