stevei4

We moved down to frankston from inner city Melbourne to free up capital. House prices are almost half the inner city. U really do get a lot for your money. Everything seemed great at first. Great places to walk and ride bikes. Good freeway connections. Beach close by. But what we didn't notice or take into account was all the wood fire chimneys bristling on every other roof top. And not to mention the fire pits hidden in back gardens.

If you are asthmatic or have an aversion to pollution, frankston or the surrounding suburbs are not for you.

For 5-6 months of the year u become a prisoner trapped in your own home due to the pollution. And even then your not totally free of the insidious stench. On still days the smell seeps through cracks and crevices no amount of cash can fix and keep out. The smell in frankston really is dire. I could write pages, of 3m high pit fires in back gardens. Or of walking the dog from the smell of one chimney stack to another, until you've basically walked constantly in the stuff. Ditto going for a bike ride. The pollution negates the exercise.

I have written to state and fed reps twice each. The council and the mayor. Nobody seems interested in tackling the pollution issue. I'm scathing of the state and fed reps. They're happy to dole out the fridge magnets with welcoming letters when u first move in. Saying don't hesitate to call. They are at your service. But that couldn't be further from the truth. A complete waste of tax payers money if u ask me.

So we have no other choice but to move. Money would be lost in a quick sale of the house, so a plan has been devised to take a number of years to renovate to maximise capital gain. We will head north over the worst of the months to the fresh air of queensland. Coming back in summer. To finally sell to some other sucker fooled by frankston low prices.

Just to be fare....frankston is no better or worse than any other suburb. It has a lot going for it. If the pollution from wood fires don't affect you, you'll be more than happy. But it has made me resentful of the place and I'll be glad to see the back of it.