Circa 7 km from the CBD and bordered by St Kilda East to the north and east, Ripponlea to the south, St Kilda is to the west across Nepean highway.
Balaclava hasn’t got a particularly hip or desirable brand – but perhaps it should given its amenity and proximity to the CBD.
Serviced by a train station on the Sandringham line and one just off Carlisle Street just across the border in St Kilda East.
There is a tram service with routes 3 and 16 running along Carlisle Street and 78 along Chapel Street.
You could argue a strong case that living in Balaclava is effectively about utilising the amenities of neighbouring St Kilda East.
For example, Carlisle Street (the southern border with St Kilda East) provides good shopping including a Coles supermarket and butchers, bakeries, fresh fruit and vegetable shops, as well as cafés, bars and restaurants.
There are plenty of entertainment options in nearby beachside St Kilda, effectively within walking distance.
Alma Park is a great local park and the Botanical Gardens in St Kilda is also a highly desirable park option.
While it doesn’t have “high rise” apartments, as a Melbourne buyers advocate I still think it feels fairly “high density” living as a result of the concentrations of primarily two and three level apartment blocks.
As such, I view Balaclava more as a single and/or couple-friendly suburb rather than suited for families (however I suspect there would be plenty of family residents who would dispute my assessment).
The proximity to schools, both public (e.g. Elwood College and St Kilda Primary) and private (e.g. Caulfield Grammar) would be cases in point.
With a median house price of $1.52m (2022), it has certainly been discovered and I tend to think perhaps neighbouring Ripponlea or nearby Elsternwick may offer better value for family buyers.
Last update: 4 Mar 2023