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I also live in Melbourne but I would suggest checking out a few larger towns when you come for a visit. Bendigo would certainly be worth checking out. We were there recently for a couple of days and it seemed a very nice town with some lovely old buildings, a good art gallery, cafes etc. It is not too far from Melbourne (about 1 1/2 hours) if you need a big city fix of shopping, culture etc. Not to say there is no culture in a place like Bendigo. We went there specifically to see the Archibald Prize winning portraits at the Bendigo Gallery which is the national portrait prize of Australia.
You should also check out Geelong and Warrnambool though I have only pased through Geelong. In fact there are many lovely places to live outside Melbourne but am not sure of the job situation in the smaller towns.
Mildura in my opinion is too far from Melbourne (over 5 hours drive) and it gets very, very hot in summer. If it is 35 degrees in Melbourne it will be 40 degrees there and whilst we get a cool change here they swelter for weeks on end with no relief and the nearest beach many hours drive away.
Colac and Portland I don't know much about but it is not somewhere I would think of going but then again, I haven't been there.
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