Does Frankston deserve its mixed reputation?

Frankston generally has a mixed reputation amongst Australians, some don't like it at all, but others sweat by it as a place to live. Is it a good place to call home?
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Frankston ahs a mixed reputation because it is a mixed suburb. To try and describe the whole of Frankston is almost impossible because there are several distinct that all fall into the suburb of ‘Frankston’ yet they really are worlds apart. The fact is all of the following terms could describe Frankston but only certain parts of it:

Seedy, serene, beautiful, quiet, hectic, scenic, ugly, picturesque, dangerous, calm.

You see what I mean? So to help you get a better picture you really need to look at the different areas.

Frankston North and The Pines (train station and beyond) – these are the areas which garner Frankston its poor reputation. You’ll probably find that any negative answers are from people who have lived in the worst of these areas. This is where the cheap housing and crime is (for the most part but it would even be unfair to generalise this entire area). These areas are probably not bad in terms of investment potential but for lifestyle they are not ideal – though they are very affordable!

Long Island/ Kananook Creek area - this is the area that runs alongside the creek and the beach and is really lovely. Older houses but slowly being gentrified. Strong sense of community and I don’t think you’ll find anywhere else that you can buy this close to the beach for these prices! (though obviously a lot more than in Frankston North thy are still cheap by Melbourne standards). Along with Frankston South this is a somewhat prestigious area of Frankston.

Frankston South/ Olivers Hill – this is the hills with the most incredible views, making it one of the most sought after locations in the area. People from Frankston South go to great pains to distinguish it from the rest of Frankston. Again, you won’t find views this affordable just about anywhere!

So from my point of view the beautiful beaches and coastline are really the main attractions. I’ve also been pleasantly surprised by how accessible it is to the city. As someone who lived in the heart of Melbourne’s cultural scene for most of her life though I do find Frankston’s cultural aspect somewhat lacking but it seems to be rapidly improving. If you’re looking for café culture, shopping, restaurants etc you’ll probably be disappointed if you’re coming from a big city but I suspect in 5 – 10 years the place will be jumping and the state government invests a lot into the area due to it being a ‘gateway’ city. But for a really pretty place with lots of ‘safe’ areas (ignore the fear mongering unless you’re heading to the north) and great amenities and schools for families I’d highly recommend it. As for investment this is as close to a sure bet as you could get in terms of capital growth.

And as a general rule, the closer to the coast you can afford the better.

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Frankston deserves just 1 reputation - a dump.
If you like drug dealers and bogans, move in.
It needs another 10 years for it to become too expensive for the scum to live there.
Google this for a laugh - AFL Footy Show Street Talk Frankston.

Go a bit further down the bay - Mount Eliza and Mornington are 1000 times better.

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A little of a generalisation, Doohan, but accurate for some areas. I grew up in Toorak and Hawthorn, went to a private school and then lived in Elwood and Portsea (where I still go every weekend) until I moved to Frankston and I would certainly not consider myself a bogan. But it is definitely a little rough around the edges, I agree. You're also right about it needing 10 years to gentrify however I think you are not taking into account the good areas I mentioned. (By the way, google Footy Show street talk St Kilda and you'll get the same kind of stuff). Mt Eliza and Mornington are more like regional areas though and you pay significantly more for them plus they do not have the capital growth potential of Frankston (nor the council budgets as they fall under a different council). My point is you may be surprised by how nice some parts of Frankston are. Yes, the cliches are true - but do not apply to the entire suburb (like St kilda where one street is filled with low budget housing, prostitutes and drug dealers and a km away you have mulitmillion dollar bayside homes). If you told me even 5 years ago I'd buy a house in Frankston I'd have laughed in your face but my prejudice has been turned on its head. All I'd suggest to anyone looking into the area is to just go there on a nice day and have a look at the quieter beach areas. As I said, you may be surprised - I know I was.

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Doohan, someone who takes their views on life based on the footy show has to be questioned. You will find most suburbs have an area with commissioned housing and a few bogans to match. I agree with what Sarah has said. I have also lived in Brighton, hawthorn, kew etc. but when you talk about affordability plus transport, shops, peninsula then frankston provides complete package. I love it here. Frankston is getting the big clean up with future development plus 35 police officers allocated to the area for this year alone. There is a lot invested into eradicating the stigma that it once had and changing the area!

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Sorry Saray rather than Sarah ☺

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Citysister, I never said I take my 'views on life' based on the footy show, I said watch it for 'a laugh'.

AJ, Frankston has a lot of crime, drugs are a huge problem, also homeless people, graffiti, unemployment, drink driving....

The median prices will give you an idea,

Frankston: $350,000.

Going north from Frankston....

Seaford: $407,000;
Carrum: $470,000;
Bonbeach: $525,000;

Going south from Frankston....

Mount Eliza: $720,000;
Mornington: $495,000;
Mount Martha: $590,000;

Frankston has the lowest median price on that side of the bay for a reason!

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Yes, but Doohan,I think the point is you're completely ignoring the areas of Frankston that are actually really nice (arguably as nice as Mornington, Mt Eliza etc with none of the problems you mention). I don't even think the most diehard Frankstonite would deny there are seedy elements - you are totally right about that but the cliche does not hold for the entire suburb. Median prices are not the best indicator (though you are correct - those other suburbs are more expensive but hat kind of supports what a lot of people say which is Frankston is highly undervalued). The house opposite me sold for $980,000, the house next to me sold for $765,000, the house on the other side of me sold for $705,000 - I could go on. The houses on Oliver's Hill often go for over $1million, as do one on the beach side of Long Island. And while I don't wish to speak for Citysister I think she was simply saying that the Footy Show highlights the cliche but it just isn't true for the whole suburb. I'm certainly not disagreeing with you - we're saying the same thing about certain parts of Frankston, I just happen to be looking at the whole suburb and pointing out that it's not the same throughout. Frankston is one of the largest suburbs by area in Victoria. To give you some perspective, Toorak (quite a large suburb by Melbourne standards) is around 4KMsq, St Kilda around 3kmsq, Elwood around 2.5kmsq. Frankston is 20km sq. So it's no surprise it does have a huge variety but I think you're missing that. AJ did also not ask for a comparison between Frankston and the other suburbs on the Mornington Peninsula, just simply whether it deserved its reputation and whether it was a good place to call home. And we're saying the answer to that is yes AND no, depending on which part of Frankston you're talking about. I think what we're trying to say is while most people know about the dodgy part of Frankston that you speak of (and is probably no surprise to anyone) they're usually completely oblivious to the parts of Frankston which are really lovely and that's why we're at great pains to point out to people that they need to look beyond the cliche to find the diamonds in the (admittedly pretty bad) rough :)

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Very well put Saray.. Doohan you are not addressing AJ's question! Is Frankston a good place to call home. My answer is yes. I live in a beautiful street, I have a mixed bunch of neighbours who are lovely and we speak with them regularly. We even swap produce that we grow in our own gardens. There is no crime on the door step of where I live so it simply does not affect me in my day to day life! Any common sense person would keep away from the seedy areas like the Frankston station of a night time. I don't believe AJ was asking about house prices either so this is really beside the point. If anything your just pointing out th
e affordability factor for first home buyers and why now is a good time to buy in whilst its not at its peak!

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Ah yes Frankston, it’s a big suburb all right, the largest collection of bogans and criminals all happily living in one place, everyone in Melbourne knows this, everyone except the people living in Frankston….
But don’t confuse the suburb of Frankston with the City of Frankston – an even larger 20.8 square kilometre area that includes the localities of Frankston East, Frankston Heights, and Karingal – (the same as Frankston with attempted nicer names), Frankston South, Long Island and Mount Erin – (Middle class bogans), and Oliver’s Hill – (bogans with too much money living on a hill). But they all share the same postcode of 3199 and same median of $350,000. Oh and then you have Frankston North with a median of $279,000.
So you think prices are beside the point? Why do prices go higher and higher the further you move away from Frankston??? Could it be that robberies were up 61% last year? Or maybe the 32.4% jump in drug charges last year? Or maybe it’s because every crime statistic is above the state average? So is Frankston a good place to call home? Maybe you can ask the 83 people who were raped in Frankston in 2010.
There are so many sex crimes in Frankston that the Police formed their own sexual and child abuse investigation team in 2007. And don’t forget, Frankston still has one of the highest rates of family violence of any municipality in the state, and now has a dedicated family violence unit.
So AJ, what do you think? Are you ready to call Frankston home?

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Doohan.... WHATEVER!....

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*Sigh* Fine Doohan, I'm just a big, stupid bogan. You are totally right and I have absolutely no idea what I'm talking about and no basis for my observations or experiences. My University of Melbourne degree went totally down the toilet the moment I moved to Frankston and just stepping into the suburb scrambled the synapses in my brain. As soon as I moved in I traded my Jimmy Choos for moccasins, got an awesome tatt and robbed my neighbour's place for loose change to buy crack from the dealer in the Bayside mall carpark (I had to because it was only Tuesday and the dole doesn't come until Thursday). I'd be really interested to know where you live because I suspect I may have made the same assumptions and had the same narrow minded opinions of you when I was younger and living in Hawthorn.

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I'm not moving to Frankston, I live on the other side of the bay and love it. I've just always been really curious as to why Frankston really polarises people. Some love it, some hate it...as we can see in the discussion above. I think it's also a really important distinction to make with a suburb like Frankston between people who live there and who don't. I never have lived there but people like Saray are really passionate about it which is fantastic to see such home suburb support. AND to be honest, Sarah is giving a very fair overview of the suburb - I don't think you can just label a whole suburb a 'Dumb'.

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"standing ovation... clap, clap, clap to Saray"... he he...

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Thanks for your open mindedness, AJ. I've seen a few of your posts and figured you were just interested in the topic as opposed to becoming a neighbour however you'd love it here, I'm sure - not that I'm saying you're a bogan ;) It does arouse a lot of passion from both ends of the spectrum! I try to be balanced and provide a viewpoint that takes into account both the positive and the negative. It would be remiss of me to suggest Frankston is just like Brighton. It's not. (full disclosure here) We originally only bought here for investment purposes given the potential for capital gain here far outweighs areas like Mt Eliza and in ours, and many experts', opinions it is very undervalued. My business is based in Melbourne (though I can work form home) and my husband's predominantly in Sorrento and Portsea so we needed a central base and Frankston is perfect for that. We planned on only living here temporarily to qualify for the first home buyers grant then renting it out but 2 years later we're still here and surprisingly really enjoying it! We almost bought in Elwood where we lived prior but the commute for my husband made it too hard so we ended up here.

I think I'm a good example of someone who only believed the cliches so that's why I like to respond to these questions because I also thought Frankston was the proverbial poster-child suburb for bogans and crime and had nothing to offer at all. I like to keep an open mind about everything so thought I'd give it a shot, against every instinct in my body, mind you! But it has paid off and we really do have a wonderful lifestyle here now.

And CitySister - let's face it, we're not going to convince Doohan of anything so we may as well get a laugh out of it :)

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You are exactly right Saray! I think Doohan is in it simply to have an argument & is the type (judging by the posts he makes on his own wall) who thinks he is pretty smart and knows it all. His blogs show the same sort of conversations but giving real estate agents a hard & argumentative time which is not reflective of great communication skills. If we are going to judge him in the same manner that he does to the whole of Frankston & the people who live there then the photo of him riding a motor bike might be evidence of a hoon that circles around Frankston North ?? Also great comment AJ and in the same light as Saray I thank you for your open mind!

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Also my partner and I purchased in Frankston after 6 months of coming out and researching the area ourselves in person! We found we were pushed out of the market in our chosen areas near the city by this real estate boom so we thought "why not?" when checking out Frankston. We had nothing to lose by exploring a new area. And we have found many like minds in the process. The neighbour behind us went to a private school in Toorak. He is a builder & his partner, like myself is in real estate! So I think opinions are changing & it is a very good area to invest in. : )

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Well don’t take my word for it that Frankston is a dump, lets visit Frankston City’s very own web site…. www.frankston.vic.gov.au The government wouldn’t put any false information about Frankston on their web site would they?
Here are just a few lines of their glowing report of their city:
…some aspects of our fair city are not so desirable. Frankston has battled with homelessness, drug addicts and unemployment for a long time. Frankston also possesses some ugly landmarks, such as the local train station and Young Street. Frankston's 'ratty' reputation brands all its citizens with a lid of low expectations… Frankston requires heavy security and the necessary standards are not currently being met. It is unsafe to walk around Frankston on one's own, a constant fear looms over the heads of lone citizens and a permanent fear is not what Frankston should be projecting. To stop this developing problem, the local council needs to employ visible security, at train stations and local hot spots like the skate park. For a town that has its own police station patrolling officers are rarely seen, to decrease the city's crime rate, police visibility should be increased… Frankston's homelessness problem deters shoppers and tourists. The last thing a budding young backpacker wants to see is the turmoil of a forgotten soul. To help annihilate this disheartening Frankston issue, local cafes and businesses need to be a part of the solution. A program in which left over food that would usually be disposed of is handed out to our homeless citizens. A homeless shelter that is equipped with stretchers, pillows, blankets and shower and toilet facilities… To aesthetically better our society a community garden would be a productive and valuable addition to the town. A fully furbished veggie patch, would give school aged children an environmentally friendly hobby that gives back to Frankston and can potentially help feed our homeless citizens… In conclusion, Frankston is liveable but it is not a desirable place to be a resident of…

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Give up Doohan. I think you lost peoples interest the moment you referred to human beings as scum! Nobody is interested in what you have to say & can probably see they regret asking anything in the first place. (yawn...)

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Umm...that was written by a school student Doohan, not the council (yes, I can use Google too). It was an essay about how to improve Frankston and brings up issues we've ALREADY agreed with. For goodness sake, you are like a dog with a bone in your desire to be 100% 'right'. If I said today is Tuesday you'd find a way to disagree with me (go on, please take the bait). Honestly, bigotry and narrow mindedness is usually considered the realm of the bogan and yet your opinions are incredibly bigoted and narrow minded and you're calling everyone else bogans. It really is kind of funny actually. If you are the type of person who does not want to live in Frankston believe me that is absolutely fine with me and I'm sure Citysister feels the same. You've yet to tell us where you live and how you are able to comment on what it is like to live in Frankston but I'm guessing that is for good reason.

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I can't seem to remember any homeless people lounging around the Frankston city centre last weekend when I was there?? I have however seen a couple of beggars on Swan street in Richmond recently! Perhaps they have moved to the city where food is in vast supply??

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It's a low socio economic area, it is cheap and attracts those on low incomes. Of course there are good people in Frankston, there a good people in Sunshine too lol, doesnt make it any better of an area. Get a grip.

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Wow, what a read! I'm a 24 year old ex Mornington resident and often went shopping Frankston and obviously had to go through Frankston to travel to the City. I went to a private school on the peninsula and had a great middle class up bringing. I experienced Frankston a lot! I've also lived Carrum (when I move out of home) and I have now been living on the boarder of South Yarra and Toorak (Williams road) for about 3 years. Since living in South Yarra, I've had my unit broken into, letter box raided, my car broken into, my friends car has been broken into (my private car park mind you, not on street) and have had numerous run ins with the local residents of the high rise commission flats on Malvern/ Commerical Road.

Living in the general Frankston area, when I was a teenager, the worst I got was the odd bogan asking me if I had a "spare ciggie" or "Couple of dollars". The generalisation and stereotyping of Frankston shows a kind of narrow mindedness akin to the American way of discriminating against blacks and gays. It's sad and funny at the same time because most of these elitest wannabes are probably from Carnbourne or Pakenham hehe.

Wanna talk about ghetto? I could share some frightening fables of my trips to Acland street, St Kilda. Makes Frankston look like Toorak, oh wait I live in Toorak and I did just tell you about my "safe and upper class" way of life, yeah?

Every suburb has its good and bad. I used to make fun of Dandenong and Footscray but since being a young adult and experiencing all areas of Melbourne, I've realised it's all the same.

People just want an area to make fun because they're insecure about their own social status and class, it just has to be Frankston. Even if a house on Oliver's Hill just sold for $1.8 million last week, and I'm still figuring out wether or not to get a security alarm system installed in my South Yarra/ Toorak apartment. The label will continue.

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don't just take my word for it. http://www.vicpolicenews.com.au/component/statistics/view/index.php?option=com_statistics&task=search postcode is 3199 for frankston

have a read

oh and for the record. the past isn't the problem for people like me. it's trying to live with the present and the future.
the old world still lives in us who were there. but the new world is on our door step

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Responding to Jarrah's comments.

I've read all the comments here for a simple reason that one day I may consider moving to Frankston, probably its South wing.
And then I read yours.
It's not just a comment, it's a series of snapshots about Frankston in the 90 that seemed to be a very particular and dangerous place.
Somewhere towards the end of your writing you said : "i can roll enough stories to make a mini series.."
Do you think that there'd be enough material to make a doco about the "good / bad" old days in Frankston.?
Just a thought...

Thanks for reading

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I think there's more than enough if it were for the right purpose. If it was all about beating up on "frankston" there's more than enough of that information out there for you to rehash. but if it were for another cause such as showing how things changed, then yeah there's more than enough untold stories

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Jarrah thanks for your response.

Every place has some beauty if you view it with the eyes that see…

No, it would certainly not be about beating up on Frankston. Making serious documentaries is not about beating up on anything. It’s about trying to understand the subject you want to make the film about, about trying to connect to it, trying to see it from multiple angles and find some humanity in it. Because humanity lies hidden everywhere.

As I said in my previous e-mail, I’ve been thinking about South Frankston as a place I may call home one day, and then I read your comments about your life in the area in the 90’ and they made me think about a possible doco. It’s the way you breezed through these “little stories of tough life”. Not sure if you deliberately avoided the use of capital letters, but that just contributed to that feel of the place and the era that you described.

I’m sure the history of Frankston is a rich mine if one is to dig a bit deeper and try to unearth how all these stories of law breaking, drugs, corruption etc came about.
I’ve come to Australia in 89’, and I remember when this thing with Paul Charles Denyer came out, it was horrifying. His crimes did contribute for people to perceive the area in a particular light, but lets not forget that ugly crimes happen absolutely anywhere. I’m prone to think that a possible doco about Frankston of the "old days" should not be just about crims and coppers. There should be room for tales about ordinary life, about families and about love.

And then there’s this change to the Frankston of today, which is still in a process of change, and which Saray depicted nicely when she wrote: “seedy, serene, beautiful, quiet, hectic, scenic, ugly, picturesque, dangerous, calm.”

At the moment this is just a vague idea, only one day old.. he! But who knows what it may grow up to be.

For any further correspondence, I’ll leave here my email address. Thankyou.

[email protected]

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Frankston is by far the most diverse community in Melbourne, possibly even Australia, and makes for a totally unique experience and lifestyle. It has been the punch line of many a comedians jokes, and it's reputation has always preceded it, however it's now but a shadow of its former 'ghetto' status as the council, police and state government get behind this really amazing city. I grew up in Karingal and loved it. We had a lovely home with everything one could want, quarter acre blocks huge parks across the street, world class 36 hole golf course beside us, flora and fauna reserve around the corner, Ballam park only minutes away (by far the best park of its day anywhere in the south east) spectacular beaches (easily the best stretch in the bay) with amazing child friendly sand banks and all this for an extremely modest price. What was not to like. Nothing.

Ok, as time went on it did get a little rundown, and the pines dedicated housing commission estate didn't raise the bar for the area as a whole but so what! Frankston is far bigger than the one C section people like to take a swing at and it's really getting old hey. The majority of these people that sledge Frankston have never, and probably will never come here, but I can say one thing. Please don't come and lower the value of our community. Why would we want people like that in our community, fear mongering trolls from you utterly boring dull suburbs with an inflated property price that will burst all too soon and leave you wondering how you could have ever paid $786,000 for a 3 bed 1 bath in Clayton.
Oliver's hill is where I now live and with my neighbours place selling 8 months ago for $2,510,000 and them moving just up the hill to another home they purchased for $3,650,000 I guess Frankston isn't all that cheap after all. I guess what I'm trying to say is never judge a book before even seeing it's cover, cause that's what so many do about our funky little town! Sam Newman famously said he could buy the whole of Frankston for the $6,000,000 he got for his world famous 'Pamela Anderson' Brighton mansion. Well by my calculations (and I might be wrong as I'm just a scum bogan with too much cash) Mr Sammy Newman couldn't even afford these 2 properties, let alone a fresh perspective on an amazing beautiful city!

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I lived in Frankston from early 2006 until mid 2012 and I raised my two children there. We loved the area and the closeness to the water, the City (Melbourne), the Peninsula and the liveability of going to different parks for a BBQ tea several times a week during good weather and meeting locals or visitors. My children caught the train from the station and buses around the area, but I always told them not to stay and wait near the train station, but to go into the shopping centre. I saw drug deals being done in front of car yards and yes people would ask for cigarettes etc in the street from time to time, but that is no different to parts of Melbourne where people ask for money. We fully enjoyed living in Frankston and we still return to shop, visit friends or simply enjoy the area we have come to know and love. Yes there were some terrible crimes while we were there, a single Mum shot dead in front of her children and an elderly lady abducted from the train station and burnt to death, but these things happen in lots of suburbs of Melbourne we just have to keep an eye out and report things that appear out of place and teach your family how to keep themselves safe, but this is what we should do anyway.

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I have to say I find the whole tenor of this discussion depressing. Not one person talks about the potential for community building or the richness of diversity. Instead disadvantaged people are labelled bogans who are responsible for their own poverty. If there are disadvantaged people in your area, don't you feel any kind of obligation to improve their lot? I guess labelling people makes it easier to absolve yourself from the responsibility of having benefited from an unfair social system. In Australia it's a lottery whether you grow up in a rich area with lots of cultural and social capital or a deprived area like parts of Frankston. Our emphasis on property values is creating a generation that care about little besides capital growth. Sad.

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I've just read through all of these comments and I've lived in Frankston for 15 years and can agree that there are some druggies and all that in Frankston but there's druggies everywhere and I've come to learn that the ones in Frankston are nice and If you think Frankston is so bad and there's like a 100% chance you'll get rolled if you go there then why don't you do something about it because frankstons apart of Melbourne too

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Having grown up in the eastern suburbs of Melbourne, as well as attending a leading private school in Kew, I feel well-equipped to briefly share our experience of living in the Cliff Road area of Oliver's Hill. We love the serenity, neighbours and our beautiful water views. We purchased late 2009.

What needs to be fully understood is that there is so much diversity to Frankston. As has already been pointed out, there are many different areas with the Frankston region and it's folly to lump them together to create an all-encompassing view of Frankston.

Sweetwater Creek is a regular walk with our dogs, the Frankston foreshore is superb and neighbouring Frankston South has some stunning pockets.

I wouldn't live in Frankston North, The Pines, Karingal and other areas of Frankston, but if you do your homework there are superb locations, such as Gould Street, Oliver's Hill and Frankston South. In our locale there are numerous properties that exceed $1,000,000's.

There's Frankston and there's Frankston. In reality, parts of Frankston should have a different name in order to differentiate from glib general perceptions.

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Oh Doohan you ignorant fool. If you can find me a unit in Frankston south for less than $350k I'd buy it today, but you can't, because the median for a house in Frankston south is $590k #idiot

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Amazing ,I have lived in Frankston, Frankston North(The Pines) for the past 15+years ,I have lived at some of these places ,Broadmeadows Vic ,Noble Park Vic,Parkville Vic, South Melbourne Vic,Kew Vic,Mt.Lawley WA,Moorabbin Vic,Surfers Paradise Qld,Paddington Qld ,Chelsea Vic,St.Kilda Vic, Berwick Vic.I went to school in Hawthorn Vic for 6 years.I have been based for work at some of these places ,Perth WA.Wanneroo WA,Port Melbourne Vic,Elsternwick Vic,Malvern Vic,Gold Coast Qld ,Fortitude Valley Qld ,Melbourne Vic,Toorak Vic...The way I understand lots of people love the beach and especially burying their heads in the sand.Frankston will have it's time..For all those that enjoy it the way it is make the most of it,it will not last.For those that don't like it and you made a comment I hope it was with the experience knowing that some of the above areas went through the same phase.Some love being here and would never leave others can't wait to leave.But where to why.

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Strange. I moved from the housing commission flats in North Richmond to you guessed it, North Frankston. This was late 2002, and I stayed there till late 2013. Although I still own a rental house in North Frankston my profession forces me to look for and work interstate. But I enjoyed Frankston North. I don't see why people say it is rough. But then I probably came from a rougher place. Hell, twice I was involved in the ABS Census of the area. Yes, Frankston North probably cannot compare to places like Toorak, but then I have also read above what AshleySimmonds wrote, that Toorak is no picnic either. I kind of miss my home in Frankston North, and it is a lot better than the place I am renting in Sydney right now, but work I must.

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Wow @doohan im not exactly sure where you got your figures for median house prices for Frankston north . I live and own in Frankston north great area I'm sorry median house price for Frankston north is Buy
$503,100
(Price data last updated
Nov 30th, 2018) . Geez I brought mine for $240k 7 years ago if put on market I'd probably get between $600k $650k . It's only cheap if you buy cheap house and do work yourself.

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The entire area of Frankston is still extremely undervalued! Certain pockets, despite their incredible growth over the past 2 years are going to see an even greater rate of growth in the very near future. It's inevitable given the area's world class infrastructure and the fact that it's on the bay with easy access to Melbourne.

Frankston North is a great example. It's a tiny suburb currently undergoing massive gentrification but the prices are still well behind all suburbs surrounding it, take a look at the current data and a map of the area if you doubt this!

Spend 20 minutes driving around Frankston North and you'll see for yourself the transformation that is currently taking place. It has to be one of the most undervalued suburbs in Melbourne and from the time I've spend in the area it no longer deserves it's bad reputation.

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Saray has articulated her argument very well and patiently. Our family moved down from inner Bayside to the Frankston City Council for a local school. One of the best schools in not only the state, but country. The move was quick and unplanned, but we wanted to live near the school. Now sshhhh, lets not tell anyone about the secret of how damn good this area is. The more I see of the area, the more I am amazed at how beautiful it is. Let everyone criticise Frankston for now and keep those crowds away, because it wont be long. There is so much on offer. ....a wonderful beach, a train line, the freeway for direct trips into the city, easy access back to to the Bayside suburbs (although the traffic up there now drives me nuts), the joy of quick access to Mornington and all the way down the Peninsula to enjoy the wineries and countryside, and the list goes on. We have one foot in the country and one in the city. And, the developers are already making grand plans. We know a very successful developer who loves Frankston and will soon be starting an upmarket development soon. Its not a matter of IF Frankstons reputation and value will change, its when! And I'd say, sooner than later.

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My daughter purchased her first little unit in Frankston - budget dictated where she could buy. She loves it and her neighbours are AMAZING. She is 25 years old, hardworking and has done this on her own. If people like my daughter are living in Frankston I don't think it can be such a bad place! We are very proud of her and what she has achieved - not complaining about the price of housing - Frankston turned out to be a blessing. She worked and saved hard for her first little home, and she loves it.

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Jarrah is completely right!!!
I personally haven’t had many issues in my time there, I was born with the gift of the gab, and I knew many many ppl, so on the times I did encounter trouble Id talk myself out of it(sometimes very hard to do tbh) or others would sort it. I’d personally have no issues walking thru anypart between 10pm-4am, as I’m observant and careful, And yet I’ve known many people far tougher than me that wouldn’t be in the street after 10pm.
There used to be deaths either od or murder near daily that wouldn’t be publicised.
I was arrested once in 2000 and the officers literally said to me “your lucky we aren’t Frankston cops or we’d kick the shit out of you”
But times have changed dramatically! Yes there still needs improvement, but like others have said basically everywhere does.

It genuinely is a nice place, there are very decent people there. But it certainly had dark times

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i grew up in frankston in the times that people tarnish the city for. you wouldn't have any idea what it was like. you weren't there. you never heard about 50% of what went on. one of my uncles was a cop in the area in the 1980's. he said after 23:00 they'd go inside the station and wait for a call. there wasn't anyone out there worth saving, or they could take care of themselves. in 1990 i was one of those out on the streets. he was right on all counts. you could either take care of yourself, or you weren't worth saving. in those days, you'd get off the train there'd be a fight in front of the station. go around the corner there was always another fight to walk past. in fact there were always fights. there were also invisible boundaries and you knew where you didn't belong. some area's had some very bad people living in them. through someone you went to school with you'd get to meet them. there were a lot of drugs. there were a lot of bashings. there were a lot of deaths and murders. 6 months before denya did his cowards act he would have never set foot away from his mothers apron. he's nothing. just some idiot who preyed on the weak. i could tell you stories that would make you very afraid. for those of us who lived that time, very few of us ever escaped. i know a lot of people who never saw the end of their teens. many who never had families when they hit their 20's, never saw their 30s. some of them may not make their 40's. yeah it was a rough place. in 1990 i went to melbourne. the police there did a routine name grab. it was common in those days that they'd grab names to prove they were doing something. we kindly gave them our names because we knew what they were doing. we got the following response. "gee you boys have got some attitude where are you from?" frankston. "oh my god have a nice life"
twice this happened to us. the 2nd time we got this response. "oh my god i'm so sorry. we know what you have to deal with there (police) try and stay out of trouble" will do.
you see back in those days there were some free enterprising police in the area. there were some really bad cops. there were some really new rookies straight out of waverly on their first posting. and they were all dealing with some really bad people. 6 of one, half a dozen of the other. there were no gangs. you lived in frankston you went to school with guys who knew guys from other schools. sometimes you'd click. sometimes you'd fight.
in 95 a friend of mine was found burnt out in his car in midgee nsw. the detectives from there came down to try and find some leads. they'd take people into the interview rooms to chat with them. but they'd pass people who had the shit kicked out of them. they asked one person i know "are you oblivious to things like this?"
the reply they got most likely still haunts them. "that's nothing. you see that all the time"
from the outside looking in. yeah you'd have no idea. from the inside looking out. neither did we. it's only now looking back we can see how bad it was. cops used to put kids in lockers and toss them down the stairs of the old station. they'd put phone books up to peoples heads and slam them with batons (up till 93 when one kid died. but you didn't hear about that. that was the last time that sort of thing happened and the last time they could hit us, or we could hit them)
there were fights that would engulf the city. i've seen the intersection of davies and nepean hwy full of people fighting. you couldn't drive through. and the cops weren't fighting to break it up. they were fighting to get out. cops would come from mornington, cranbourne, hastings, seaford, chelsea and anywhere else they could to get there to help.
there was the burns street party. till this day it's still called that (you may remember someone somewhat recently getting a shot gun to the face there)
one cop there was fighting to get his gun back. the divi was rolled. yeah it was a rough place and you grew up learning to be tough.
but believe it or not, not everyone was a bad person. just a lot of people didn't know any better and were just having some fun.
there were a lot of bikies in the area at that time. they didn't cause any trouble. but they were tough guys and you knew it. go drink at the vines (now davies) oh yeah there's a pub where chicken wire for bands was needed. problem was they weren't out to hurt the bands but they'd fight.
i can roll enough stories to make a mini series. people asking for help from the courts. one such person was a 17 yo who was going to be a father. he wanted to get clean and asked the judge to lock him up. the judge thought he was pretty sincere and gave him a good behavior bond, 2 weeks later he was found with the needle still in his arm. in fact in those days every day you'd know someone else who wasn't growing up and the next day there'd be someone else. a friend of mine had her sister try and take her kids from her because she was an addict. i asked how her partner was. "oh he od'd 6 months back. he's gone"
i bumped into her sister (also a friend) some months later. "how's all that going?" she od'd. she's gone too.
yeah that was life. there were a lot of good cops and a lot of bad ones. there were good people and a lot of really bad ones. people had every right to fear the name frankston.
oddly enough when one guy was raped and killed by 2 other guys back in 1990, the 2 who did it came from a decent background and went to a private school somewhere in the city region like toorak. in fact when ever there was trouble and the police didn't know who did it, you could always bet those who did were those with a home to go to.


skip forward to today. "frankston has such a bad rep and is a bad place to live" it makes me laugh. i'll hang wads of money out of my pockets and walk the streets. i'll still have it on the other side of the city. yeah there's still some problems. everywhere has them. from my point of view. it's safer than moving. the invisible boundries are long gone. the days of free enterprising police are over (thanks to inspector tim naggs who did everything he could to mend fences)
there's no more reclaim the night marches. but things are on even par with the rest of the country.

yeah you had every right to once say "i'd never go there" hell keep saying it i don't care. less people in the area is better. we've got great beaches and don't really want you to know that.

gone are the days were the police were afraid of what we could do. times have changed and for the better. will it be a better place in 10 years? who knows. i'll still be here.

as for doohan, someone who clearly is ill informed and only running from the fear he can project. step out into the real world sometime.
i was born here. i grew up here, i survived those days and made the right choices. and i went to melbourne uni.

so grow up little man. until you've seen what i've seen don't comment on something you clearly have no idea about. i've seen just as bad in other areas but that's all today. we're a multi cultural area and there's not as much going on now as you'd think. in fact. you might say it's boring. but i think we've earned the rest

Jarrah

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Rentals in Frankston, VIC 3199