Mernda, VIC 3754

Fringed by bushland and incorporating the conveniences of inner-city living, Mernda
is an increasingly popular suburb in Melbourne’s north-east. Given its healthy
selection of schools and parklands, Mernda is a family-oriented suburb. Centrally
located, Mernda Junction boasts a supermarket, butcher, barber, chemist and
medical centre. Now on the train line, commuting into the CBD has been made
easier.

We bought our first home and moved to Mernda about a year ago. One of the items in our buying check list is being close to nature and wildlife; Mernda definitely ticks that box. Kangaroos are everywhere! Mernda is a safe and peaceful suburb with great schools, parks, a train station, restaurants and all.

Very quiet, leafy streets with well maintained homes. Some great views out to nearby hills and mountain ranges. Excellent parks and walking tracks with native vegetation, your dog will have a great life in this suburb. Plenty of local birdlife including ducks! Stylish train station and on a good train line. Westfield Plenty Valley fairly close and very easy to access via train. Mernda has a very similar demographic to Doreen and South Morang. Not sure why such a huge vineyard was planted on the

Mernda has great walking/ biking tracks , there are trees and grass lands which the native birds come to. The wildlife/ kangaroos come to your doorstep and share our footpaths as they go on there way after grazing through the night.
People are friendly and helpful. If your out walking they past and smile or say hello. Its a great suburb for young families with spacious parks and clean bike tracks. The council are constantly improving the area. A safe neighborhood where neighbor's look out for one another.

Initially extremely sceptical about moving to the edge of Melbourne, once here I found Mernda to be very easy and user friendly. It is far away, but it’s also very quiet, safe, with good parks and shops.

We were lucky enough to buy our first property here and we have made it a home for our young family. Good childcare, and playgrounds as well as many hidden walks around lakes, waterfalls and parks, there’s always entertainment around for the kids.

Pros - affordable (getting less so...)
- safe
- quiet
- excellent supermarkets
- Bunnings
- excellent parks/playgrounds
- modern efficient housing
- neighbourly feel, friendly neighbours
- semi rural feel
- train access
- good pub
- short access to kinglake, and many other lakes/ national parks/ walks
- area developing fast (new town centre & aquatic centre coming soon)
- close to airport (30mins)

Cons
- Far from city - approx 1hr train or $80 Uber
- Not great restaurants and cafes, but there are a few hidden gems
- Traffic can be rough, but roads are being upgraded very fast

Final thought. For those looking to buy, it is a great area for a first home or a large family home. The area is experiencing strong capital gains, and as the area is further developed, the value of property in the area will continue to increase.

For renters, rent is affordable, and the houses are mostly modern, with all the modern features such as central heating, solar, etc.

With Leafy streets comparing to higher profile Eastern suburbs, a diverse range of homes and cutting edge architecture, great schooling options, though not many eateries. Fantastic for capital growth property, short distance to Craigieburn, Epping Hospital. It gives by far the most beautiful hillside feeling. .

Nature & animals
Parks
Playgrounds
Amenities
Nice neighbours
Access to train
Large town centre on its way
Only thing missing is good schools

I have lived here in Mernda for more than 5 years.
- Very quiet and safe
- Convenient public tranaport(train station &bus stop)
-Manyways of walking and cycling
-Good for raising children
- Great schools
-Traffic much better after road expansion
- lots of supermarkets and restaurants

I have lived here in Mernda for more than 4 years.
- Very quiet and safe
- Convenient public tranaport(train station &bus stop)
-Manyways of walking and cycling
-Nice place for retirees
-Good for raising children
-Traffic much better after road expansion

It makes me sick to watch these people packing 7 trollies full of essentials which other people need with this panic buying due to the virus. Don’t be surprised when your homes are ransacked with people looking for food and other items. Hang your heads in shame!!
Pathetic Retards!!!!!!!

Look, it has a lot of potential. The benefit of being cheap to buy and cheap to rent is outweighed by the fact that its cheap to buy and cheap to rent.

As a result it has a strong mix of great young families and a demographic of lower socio-economic hoons.

Every night or two there is at least one massive burnout. Every week there is some house near by that blasts their music until midnight.

On the flip side there are some great people at the park runs and the dog park is a haven for dog lovers.

One of the fastest growing suburbs in Melbourne for families, great scenic view and it has 5-6 good schools both primary and secondary (mix of public as well as private). Approx 45- 50 minutes proximity to city by train and crime rate is very low. South Morang and Whittlesea is around 10 minutes in opposite directions.

Moved to Mernda about a year ago. Have lived in Sydney before for many years. This suburb has best of both worlds. On one hand you get that country feeling and on other hand going to epping, South Morang and CBD is not too far with direct trains. You can see Kangaroo along the railway lines almost everyday. This suburn has already got Woolies but with Coles at Mernda Junction it's got even better. Better roads would be great addition. Plenty road is being upgraded all the way to Mernda. As soon as you go more North East you can see Kinglake mountains which is very much country like. Great place to live as there are lot of young families. New police station will hopefully make things even better safety wise.

I moved here with much skepticism of the area. However i've been delighted. After living here for a few months, it's mainly young families looking to lead a quiet life. My neighbors are friendly and great. I regularly say hello when I see them. Back when i lived in a posh eastern suburb i didn't even know who my neighbors were!

I was expecting hoons looking at the other reviews here but i've yet to meet one.

Plenty road is being upgraded and the train is good for me to get to work in the CBD.

Great place to live and start your weekend journey.
If you're a biker, I highly recommend rides towards the hilly north/east e.g. Kinglake, Narbethong, Healsville, etc.
Perfect way to unwind after grueling days of work.

P/S: I know it's off topic, but to those who can't pronounce Mernda, the correct way to say it is "Mern-da", it is NOT "Mer-ren-da"!!!

You know that warm fuzzy feeling? That is what I feel about living in Mernda.
Why? Just read the positive comments posted here, they are all true.
Can't wait for the town centre, this place is gonna be hip and happening!

One of the few idyllic genuine Oz suburbs

I was looking to buy my first plot of land and have visited many upcoming suburbs like Wollert, Donnybrook, Wallan, Werribee, Point Cook, Tarneit, Melton, etc. I finally decided on Mernda because of the following reasons...
- Good train/bus service
- Well established schools, amenities, parks and communities
- Price reasonable ~$750/sqm
- Less foreign migrants, looks and feels more "Australian" than the others i visited
- Scenic, hilly, lush green land with contour = good water retention; West suburbs are flat, featureless and dry like desert
- Acceptable distance from the city
Foresee huge potential in Mernda as the town center is still developing

We moved to Mernda 7 years ago and loving very bit of it.

There are many activities for kids to do e.g. park walks, feeding ducks/geese, chasing cockatoos & bunnies, roo sighting, basketball/skate park at Mernda station, even pony rides at Findon Pony club! Among all, my kids favorite is swimming at Kingswim pool. They attend Mernda primary school, the facility is well equipped, staff are professional, all-in-all very conducive learning environment for the kids.

We do our groceries mostly at Mernda Junction (it has the biggest Coles) or Mernda Village.

In terms of safety, I have never felt more safe my entire life living here; we practically know everyone or everything that is happening in our neighborhood.

I really can't find any fault about Mernda except there is many construction work happening right now e.g. road work and new homes being built, I guess growth is bound to happen when the area is highly attractive to people.

Watching my children growing up here in such beautiful, serene, idyllic environment motivates us to work harder, hopefully one day we could afford another house so they can stay close to us when they grow up, such wishful thinking :D

I have been living here for over 15years now.

Mernda has been blossoming with new developments, notably Mernda Rail, Mernda Junction Shopping Center, Bunnings, McDonald's (coming soon), Quarry Hill Park development and many childcare center.

I believe this is due to new residents moving into Mernda in the past 2-3 years, because of them we get to have more amenities in the area. Before this, I had to do my shopping (mostly work tools) and catch my train at South Morang. If I need to binge on fast food, I had to drive to Doreen for KFC or McD's, etc (hey don't judge me k), soon we will have our own a McD's here, hooray!!! (you don't know how happy I am, after 15years of waiting).

I am also glad to see our council/developers are preserving the nature (Quarry Hill) and historic sites like Bridge Inn hotel (my poki place hehe). I hope the hilly farm lands along Plenty road remains the same as I grew up with such beautiful sights.

As for bogans, I hadn't met any (maybe because I am one of them, but just didn't realize it); we may talk/dress/act rough and tough, but we are actually decent blokes, so don't let our appearances fool you. Yes, you are right about the ute, commodores and dirtbikes, that's just because our occupation requires it (I am a tradie btw); OK commodores/dirtbike are just for fun, heck as long as I am a law abiding citizen, can't we all have a little fun?

Schools are awesome here, my children grew up with the best teacher, mates and environment. Communities are close knitted, from time to time we will attend events at Brinkhill Park.

Conclusion, don't listen to the naysayers here, come and live in Mernda for a month or two, experience it for yourself; I bet you will fall in love with this place like I did.

P/S I promise not to rev my commodore that loudly next time ;D

Most of the houses are of poor quality, absolutely no yard space what so ever and some of the worst traffic in the region.

Many new developments under construction so lots of trucks, lots of roadworks, lots of loose rubbish and so much exposed dirt. As it hardly ever rains in Mernda, this generates an enormous amount of dust, to the point it irritates the throat and nose, not to mention a window open for a day leaves a layer of dirt and dust over everything.

Besides that, plenty of bogans, hoons, the odd maniac and children running wild on the streets all come together to make this a truly horrible pace to live. I rent and wouldn't recommend living here, let alone buying here, it's awful, truly awful.

Basically a bogan area ,many slap up houses (no doubt government subsidised) and bulk builders .Hoons and clogged up roads.
Parks have potential and the shopping precinct is handy.

Great place to raise a family, only drawback is commute to the city, but things have improved with the new rail line and stations.

We moved to MERNDA early Jan 2018 and we have thoroughly enjoyed this neighbourhood. I can see a few negative reviews but haven’t experienced any trouble so far and never felt unsafe . This place is a perfect one for families looking for affordable homes with good schools, parks, transportation and a diverse community. There is a train station that is to start in Aug 2018. Some big shopping centres being constructed including Bunnings. We have also been fortunate finding some great doctors for our kids. The place is visually appealing to your eyes with lots of greenery around. I am very particular about the safety of my family and this place has not made us feel unsafe or have had a bad experience with the people around.We have bought our first home in MERNDA and don’t regret it at all. My elder son goes to MERNDA central which is a decent high school and am pretty happy with his academic progress.

If you are looking for a beautiful suburb for your family, then this is where your search ends. Unfortunately, the prices of the property are a bit high with all the infrastructure and development being done. Very excited about the new railway station which is about to go functional in Aug.

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.

Moved here since May 2017 from CBD, it's been close to a year now and loving it.
Occasionally we will see kangaroos, rabbits and cockatoos behind the house or nearby hills.
Really love the wildlife here, they are full of surprises, fox, ducks, etc. just casually walking on the road, scenic hills and good neighbors.
Don't have any kids yet, so can't give any reviews on the schools.

Only gripe is ...
1. Having to commute to office/cbd (South Morang line) which takes 3 hours per day.
2. Rubbish thrown in vacant land and can get dusty some times (due to construction nearby)
3. Limited eateries

Give it another 3-5 years I say #2 and #3 should be resolved, but #1 is something we have to accept.

best views

My family moved me here when I was 3 years old. When I grew up it was a small country town, everyone knew everyone, no crime, etc. As the years went along they started developing all the farmland into housing estates, its not the same as it was. Its still safe, reasonably priced homes and country feel to it. There is a lot of young families in the area. It is pretty culturally diverse as I see many different ethnicity's in the area. It is still a good place to live, I just enjoyed my quiet, country, small town when I was growing up. the main con of mernda is the traffic, they developed the land with no road infrastructure.

schools nearby, new train station is coming and close to Melbourne cbd

We moved to Mernda in 2014 after living in Brunswick for 8 years. It was the best thing we did! The fresh air was a welcome change to the inner city smog and we love that we can safely walk around our leafy green neighbourhood. We live in the Woodland Waters part of Mernda which is IMO the best area of the suburb compared to the newer estates being built in Mernda. It's surrounded by beautiful red river gums and open spaces but also has close access to Plenty Road. It offers the perfect mix of country and city. The Woodland Waters estate is filled with lovely families and I think it's unfair to taint Mernda with the bogan brush as some reviewers below have done. All my neighbours are hard working and house proud. I really think we bought at the right time when it was affordable, and I think it will only improve once all the planned infrastructure is complete.

Mernda is therapeutic with great potential! Naturally Blessed and the people are friendly. Schools are good! With the train station and police station coming in place its gonna be marvellous. Shopping Malls are also in progress! North East link is about to be commenced as well! Sure to rise in property value!

A lot of bogans... with commission houses.

I live in the next suburb over to Mernda & find the people in mernda very different.. lower socioeconomic.

Personally find Mernda quite rough and unsafe.

Road network is rubbish but to be somewhat expected. Can be prone to grass fires in Summer. Has potential but still a fair distance distance from the CBD, not much really to do there. Plenty of good parks for kids, and a great dog park.

Lovely people around and every day a good news now they are going to bring train up to Mernda and they are going to add 3 more schools , best place for good people

Have lived in Mernda for four years. It is very different to other growth suburbs of melbourne because of the natural beauty of the trees and hills. Great options for shopping with the opening of the new woolworths in Mernda including cafes and takeaway shops. The Mernda kindergarten is fantastic. Opening of the south Morang station has made getting to the city much easier. Plenty road duplication will help to ease traffic. Lots of nice friendly families in the area. Lovely parks and playgrounds. Some really nice restaurants popping up in the area including Two Beans and a Farm at Carome Homestead. A lovely place to live.

We were so excited to move to Mernda and had high expectations. We built a lovely home. However, whilst our immediate surrounds were nice and our neighbours, the rest of the area is becoming spoilt by scum bag bogans. Hoons are everywhere and seems everyone is fat and smokes and can't wear anything but tracksuits. The parks and wetlands are so beautiful but not appreciated by those living close by. Lots of commission housing now and investment properties which can encourage the tramps of society in. Call me a snob - I don't care - I don't want Toorak but I want decent people who have manners and pride in their surrounds and community.
The traffic is terrible and causes everyone to be grumpy and to be rude on the road. Constantly see people with road rage. Primary school is actually really nice - but there are no high schools.
I have been 'told' Doreen is better - don't think so. It has been scoped and planned the same as Mernda and the house and land deals/sizes are the same. Besides all the suburbs roll into each other anyway with the sprawl of development. Oh and the new South Morang station is a joke. Expect to park 10 minutes walk from the station. If you work in the city (which lets face it most people do) its gonna take you 3 hours of commuting a day. Glad we sold and got away from a place I was starting to really hate.

A perfect place to live, so peaceful and tranquil, fantastic schools and neibours the best place in Melbourne to grow up a family.

When I first moved here 3 years ago I thought it was going to be a beautiful place to start a family. How wrong I was. Were being flooded with commission homes and apartments which is doing major damage to merndas reputation and to the value of our properties. Small builders are sweeping through now building tiny shoeboxes only suitable for investors and community housing and the defence housing. Trucks are also a problem thinking its ok to drive like crazy down mernda village drive. Families are getting fed up and moving to doreen but are trying to sell their homes at unrealistic prices in this market. We wont be here for much longer and are planning to move out of this doomed suburb! Good luck everyone get out while u can.

Owner from 2009. Have really loved being in Mernda. The atmosphere is great, close to many amenities. Plenty of new things being built for the people in the area, so they are always vigilant about looking after you best interest out here. Just dont use PROPERTY PLANET - Worst experince of my entire life. More than happy to advise why simply contact me on [email protected]. Other than that this area is wonderful.

warm regards


Chris

Lovely area.. lots of parks and great facilities for young kids. It has a country feel, but still a short drive to major shopping centres and only 30kms to the city. Traffic can be a problem on Plenty Rd but hopefully this will improve once the road duplication is completed. Mernda also currently lacks its own cafe's, shops etc but the new town centre is due to be built soon.

A beautiful setting, but changing quickly as development happens. Traffic on main roads is horrendous. It'll be worse when they develop the shops and MacDonalds near the roundabout. Hoons a problem too.

beautiful place, nice people, not busy traffic.
best place for investing property.

Very popular place for first home buyers. The area is slowly growing. There are heaps of land estates around that are. Houses are affordable there. great for first home buyers.It is very peacful and quiet. There are heaps of parks around