hey guys, thinking of making the move out of sydney and was thinking of melbourne, i would go perth but wife says no! I know i will be giving up a lot of water time not having it on my door step but hey a change is good! where would you reccommand to live thats close to some wave spots but is also commutable to the city or is there any? how far would i need to travel for a good surf or wave sail? cheers for any advise.
It is always going to be a compromise between getting to the city and getting to the wavesailing spots. Frankston is probably as close as you can get to waves while still being able to catch a train to the city reasonably easily.
where would most of ye sail? is it half hr commute or more? what about getting a surf? would i be looking at an hr comute again or less?
In the Melb Bayside area we have bump and jump in Port Phillip right on the doorstep which keeps you sane when you cant get down the coast.
The nearest surf beaches on our (south eastern) side of the city are on the Mornington Peninsula, it's a 1.25 hour drive to the nearest surf eg Gunnamatta Pt Leo, Flinders, or two hours to Phillip Island which is accessed from the east coast of Western Port. Frankston has closer access to Mornington P. but it's 42km from the city.
Otherwise we drive down to the west coast which is about 1.5-2 hours drive but shorter if you live in the western suburbs or CBD.
To my mind it's better to live inner city/bayside and take a long drive once on the weekend rather than everyday into town from the outer suburbs.
Another strategy might be to look at Geelong (if you can get work) which has close access to Torquay and the W Coast and awsome surf.
frankston is really central for your needs but the wife might not like the stigma of the status of the suburb.
Been thinking about Frankston as well...... How do the "Frangers" find living there?
I should probably rent there first, test run it. But I get a good "future" vibe there... if they get the Marina going they will do great.
cheers guys, food for thought! was thinking bout flying down and checking out mornington peninsula. i persume ye get a heap more wind than here in sydney? sick of sydney so need a out!!
Frankstons bad reputation is great for us locals. It keeps the real riff raff out of town cause they think there gunna get smashed!
I love it when you go interstate and meet new people, they ask where your from? so of course I proudly reply with Frankston and then watch them take a step back!!
Ive lived here forever and the only way im leaving is if I move to Sorrento or Rye or something!
If you want surf then the best places are: Torquay, some parts of Western Port and Mornington Peninsula, Phillip Island, and stretching it out you could include Inverloch and Sandy Point.
All those places are 1.5+ hours from the city.
You can get "surfable" chop on Pt Phillip Bay in 25+ knot W/SW, or head to the south end of the bay for bay waves in northerlies.
The summer sea breezes are always stronger at the north end of the bay so if you want to sail you get much better odds for bump and jump up near the city.
Normally Melbourne seabreezes rock! I found them much stronger and more reliable than the Perth sea breezes. Last year we got almost none at all. 
Normally we get seabreezes from October on. Still none so far. 
On the plus side we have had heaps of northerlies. (I have just had 5 days sailing in a row [with a kite 
] and could be sailing today if I could be bothered.)
If you are after relatively cheap you could live in Cranbourne, then you are well placed to zip down to all the east coast spots. You have to drive everywhere. It has an undeserved bad reputation. Most people I know who live there are cashed up tradies with big houses, new 4WD and swimming pools.
Frankston is not a bad place. The beach is lovely and the proximity to Western Port and the Peninsula is pretty good.
I did some house sitting last summer at a house on the hill. It had views of the bay and the city and plenty of bush land around it.
Ultimately I did not like it. If you live on the hill you have to drive everywhere and the bay is not convenient. I live in a bayside suburb so I can normally be at a good beach within minutes. Frankston is too far south for good seabreezes and beach access is a little dodgey with either foreshore bush or houses taking the prime spots.
