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Any feedback/opinions on Geelong please?


solihullsue

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Hi,

I'm trying to get organised and looking at teaching posibilities. Geelong has come up as a possible location, but as my research for places to live has focused on Melbourne, I know nothing about Geelong.

 

As our PR visa has been granted, my family (OH and 12 year son) are aiming to move out soon.

 

Any thoughts appreciated!

 

Cheers

S

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Hi there

 

I went to Oz for 6 weeks at xmas - my husbands family live in Geelong!! We spent most of our time there and i loved it!! Its a really nice place! Id def def def move there without a doubt in my mind!

 

Good luck x

 

Hi,

I'm trying to get organised and looking at teaching posibilities. Geelong has come up as a possible location, but as my research for places to live has focused on Melbourne, I know nothing about Geelong.

 

As our PR visa has been granted, my family (OH and 12 year son) are aiming to move out soon.

 

Any thoughts appreciated!

 

Cheers

S

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I work there and really like it. We would live there if hubby did not work in Footscray.

 

As with any area there are good and not so good parts, there are a few people on here who live there and can give you a better idea of the nicer areas.

 

Still easy to get to Melbourne by road or train.

 

Just being close to the Great Ocean would be a great bonus :0)

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Guest chris955

I grew up in Geelong and spent close to 20 years there and couldnt wait to get out BUT many others really like the place. I found it far too parochial and insular. There are lots of things to do and if you are into beaches there are some good ones fairly close by in Ocean Grove and other places. As with anywhere you will get totally polarised views, I wouldnt live there again but I have family who are happy there.

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  • 1 month later...
Hi,

I'm trying to get organised and looking at teaching posibilities. Geelong has come up as a possible location, but as my research for places to live has focused on Melbourne, I know nothing about Geelong.

 

As our PR visa has been granted, my family (OH and 12 year son) are aiming to move out soon.

 

Any thoughts appreciated!

 

Cheers

S

 

Best areas to live: Newtown ($$), East Geelong, Highton, West Geelong, Belmont, Drumcondra ($$), and Manifold Heights. Further afield, Barwon Heads, Torquay, Ocean Grove and Jan Juc are also nice areas along the coast.

 

Avoid: Corio, Whittington and Norlane.

 

 

Check http://www.realestate.com.au for rentals and houses for sale.

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They are in for a tough time of it with the refinery about to close. Geelong has been a traditionally blue collar worker area with some nice surrounding countryside. It has been through a few downturns and recessions over the years ( car industry failures etc) Some of it is rough, other parts ok - bit of a mix really.

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Guest chris955

Shell isnt guaranteed to close, they are going to look for a buyer and are giving it until the end of next year. Chances are it will close, I was friends with a few that worked there and it had a very militant union, probably became too expensive.

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  • 2 months later...

i moved to geelong with my now-husband as he is from here originally. have to say that it's taken me a while (been here almost 3 years) to settle & to be honest, it's still not my favourite place. i think that is mainly due to the fact that i'd lived in perth previously so that was my idea of australia & geelong is obviously completely different - & much colder! it depends what your expectations are but overall, it is a nice place :)

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  • 4 weeks later...

Hi,

We have been here nearly 2 years, i have a 13 year old boy and a 6 year old boy. I personally like Geelong for family life the night markets at Torquay in summer and New Years Eve On Eastern Beach a really family day, the beaches and You Yangs you can drive to Wye River and see wildlife Go to Bachuss Marsh fruit picking to get a train to melbourne city it is upto you what suits your family i was from Dorset the South of UK so Coastal was for us, schools are more tricky take you time look at them all then move to the area so you are in the zone of the school you prefer. I will be honest been abit tough on oldest one but he has finally got there,with some good friends now and the little one as sailed, depends on personatility, Good Luck and enjoy the adventure :)

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  • 1 year later...
  • 1 month later...

We lived in Torquay for 2.5 years and I worked in Geelong.

 

I think Geelong looks a bit rough around the edges in some places and has an economy centered around well paid heavy and light engineering jobs, although it's fair to say much of this has been on the slide for sometime. I like the place, Pako street and Eastern Beach are great places to wonder around of a weekend and you have several beachside towns within easy reach, either ocean or bayside. The weather erm......it's not really Australian and people that claim otherwise are in perpetual denial, if the wind is coming from south it can be fairly cold by aussie standards even in December & January. That being said it also reached 47°C one January day when we lived in Torquay, changeable to say the least.

 

Melbourne is not far away at the weekend on the train and by any measure Melbs is a great place to spend time eating and drinking etc.

 

I'd recommend the area on the basis of of having enjoyed my time there, my wife on the other hand thought it too much like a UK lifestyle due to climate much of the year.

 

Hope this helps.

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  • 1 month later...

Hi, We live here in Grovedale, a suburb of Geelong towards the south, and have done for 6 years since we moved over from the UK. We love it over here and did originally think that if we didn't like it we could try other areas instead of going back to the UK. But since we got here, we love this area, we have stayed. I wouldn't consider moving out of this area personally.

We are so close to so many beaches most are 20 minutes or less away so easy to drive to. Geelong City center is only 15 minutes away and we have the ocean enclosure where the kids can swim in the sea (and it's free) with no need to worry about creatures in the water. (not that we have a great deal to worry about down here, its colder in the ocean so one advantage is most of the stuff to be afraid of is further north).

There are plenty of playgrounds (play parks) here to chose from, there are all over the place, from small ones to huge ones. the bigger ones have free BBQ's for your use.

Check out http://whatsoningeelong.com.au/ this will give you loads of info about up and coming events in the area and they bring out a new magazine for free every month with all the up and coming events.

 

Teaching jobs are a little hard to come by, depending on the school you apply to, just like in the UK, and the school year has just finished here. The school year goes from end of January to December so we are on our summer 6 weeks break now for Christmas.

Substitute teaching seems to be the way to start over here and it will give you an idea of the different schools in the area. Preps are the first year of school and they start after they have turned 5 here, so a year later that the UK. Primary schools go to year 6 then high school goes to year 12, where they are 18 when they leave. Some/Most private school go from prep to year 12. so you have either primary teaching certificate prep to year 8 so can teach year 7 or 8 in high school, or secondary certificate year 5 to 12 so can teach year 5 or 6 in primary.

Hope this all helps and welcome to ask any other questions

xx

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