whats melton like? whats geelong grammar like?

[Quoll]

Originally Posted by sanders family

hi MAS i have been looking at the thread and everyone seem to be ask you lots of question i hope you dont mind but i would love to ask a few question if you dont mind my son who is 14 would love to be a police officer for the last 2 years and i was wandering how he would go about this and what qualfications he would need as in uk he would go to police academy and as long as he has english and maths. also our other son 11 has dyspraxia and we really need a good school for him as his school here is failing him he is 3 years behind are all the schools in vic payable fees thank you for your time

With respect to schools - Victoria has fairly strict requirements for its disability programs and so it is not likely that dyspraxia is going to get recognition for additional support however if he has a statement in UK then bring all the assessments and diagnosis with you just in case he does qualify - just having a label is not enough. If you have psych assessments then bring them too. If he doesnt qualify under the disability criteria then the school may have some internal remedial programs but you would do well to ask what sort of support they can offer him before you enrol at a school. Remember that schools are only obliged to take kids from their catchment area, if you want an out of area school then that is a matter of negotiation and the school may decline an enrolment if it has no vacancies.

Payment of school fees depends on what visa you will be coming here on. If you are coming on a student visa then you and your children will be charged international student fees but if you are coming to work here and will be paying Australian taxes then government schools should be free except for "voluntary contributions" which can vary from school to school. If you choose a private school for your boys then the fees range from about $3K - $20K pa depending on which school you decide to send them to. Systemic catholic schools tend to be the cheapest option.

Becoming a police officer - details including educational level can be found here Victoria Police - Be prepared before you apply Follow the links and you will find the extent of the recruitment process as well.

[MAS]

Originally Posted by sanders family

hi MAS i have been looking at the thread and everyone seem to be ask you lots of question i hope you dont mind but i would love to ask a few question if you dont mind my son who is 14 would love to be a police officer for the last 2 years and i was wandering how he would go about this and what qualfications he would need as in uk he would go to police academy and as long as he has english and maths. also our other son 11 has dyspraxia and we really need a good school for him as his school here is failing him he is 3 years behind are all the schools in vic payable fees thank you for your time

To become a Police Officer in Australia it all depends on what state you live in. Quoll has provided a link to the Victoria system, but what he doesnt know that will be going through major changes and will be scholar based university style training from 2009.
Seeming the minimum age for joining the police is 19, your son is at least 5 years off. What I would do however is look at getting him a part time/casual job where he interacts with people. Like in a store or something. That is what the police will be looking for in people, customer service skills/contact with people as opposed to some kid out of school with no people skills.

All police agencies in Australia require a basic year 12 education to apply. At present if you are over 21 Victoria doesnt. QLD Police require a diploma or degree before you apply. You can study a diploma of justice through TAFE for 12-18 months and then apply for QLD.

There is a big shortage of police in Australia and we are finding it hard to recruit the right people, so if your son has what it takes and has the right attributes, then this goal should be reachable for him.

Training varies from around 6 months, currently Victoria is the shortest at 20 weeks, but then you do 8 weeks of field training before you get to a police station. NSW is uni based and takes 12 months, that is how Vic will steer towards in 09. The rest of the states run a police academy from 26-36 weeks.

Check the sites out:
Home Page - NSW Police Force
Victoria Police - Intelligent, Confident, Community, Partnership
Queensland Police Service
Western Australia Police
South Australia Police :: Home
Tasmania Police - Home
Australian Federal Police - AFP
Police internet site

As for the school question, Quoll has answered all that, cant add much more to that.

[Becontree Boy]

We rent in the Eastern suburbs but would never be able to afford to buy here, so are looking for alternative, more affordable locations to buy a house.

Melton doesn't have the best of reputations and does look very shabby in parts.
However, we have taken a shine to the next big town further on. It's called Bacchus Marsh and we are seriously considering buying there. It has a country town feel, but Melbourne CBD is only a 45-50 minute express train away and the fares are comparable to that we pay now from Box Hill. Bacchus Marsh has the basics for every day life: A little shopping Mall, library, parks, etc. I would imagine the nightlife would be a bit restricted though, and we've only found a couple of decent cafes! The local council does have a structure plan which suggests some worthwhile improvements to the local infrustructure will be made over the next few years. We've also found some new housing estates which look affordable and offer more than a postage stamp area of land on each plot.

Ballarat is only a 30 minute drive away, so I could imagine us going there for bigger shops. Bacchus Marsh also has its own pretty orchards, plenty of fruit and vegetable barns, and is set against some very pretty hills which form the LederbergState Park. A very nice spot for nature walks.

Sunbury has some affordable new estates, but we rechecked one we liked a year ago and found that it was now really shabby, with the grass verges overgrown and some of the tall lamposts were tilting. We also experienced hoon behaviour from some of the local motorists so our general impression was not good.

Geelong looks like a really nice town. Slightly out of our price range. Lovely sea front and a very good shopping centre.

[Becontree Boy]

We rent in the Eastern suburbs but would never be able to afford to buy here, so are looking for alternative, more affordable locations to buy a house.

Melton doesn't have the best of reputations and does look very shabby in parts.
However, we have taken a shine to the next big town further on. It's called Bacchus Marsh and we are seriously considering buying there. It has a country town feel, but Melbourne CBD is only a 45-50 minute express train away and the fares are comparable to that we pay now from Box Hill. Bacchus Marsh has the basics for every day life: A little shopping Mall, library, parks, etc. I would imagine the nightlife would be a bit restricted though, and we've only found a couple of decent cafes! The local council does have a structure plan which suggests some worthwhile improvements to the local infrustructure will be made over the next few years. We've also found some new housing estates which look affordable and offer more than a postage stamp area of land on each plot.

Ballarat is only a 30 minute drive away, so I could imagine us going there for bigger shops. Bacchus Marsh also has its own pretty orchards, plenty of fruit and vegetable barns, and is set against some very pretty hills which form the LederbergState Park. A very nice spot for nature walks.

Sunbury has some affordable new estates, but we rechecked one we liked a year ago and found that it was now really shabby, with the grass verges overgrown and some of the tall lamposts were tilting. We also experienced hoon behaviour from some of the local motorists so our general impression was not good.

Geelong looks like a really nice town. Slightly out of our price range. Lovely sea front and a very good shopping centre.

[tasormelb]

Hi this thread is very interesting as we were thinking about settling around Geelong. We have our PR visa and are waiting to sell our house. We are going to validate visas in March. The places that interest are Lara, Leopold and Ocean Grove.

Has anyone any views about these? I am struggling to find info about the high schools around Ocean Grove and Leopold does any one know of any and how good they are? Will also be needing a primary.

Finally I am a nurse in oncology where are the nearest hospitals that provide cancer care and give chemo, or are ther any hospices nearby?
Thanks

[moving2melbourne]

Originally Posted by tasormelb

I am struggling to find info about the high schools around Ocean Grove and Leopold does any one know of any and how good they are? Will also be needing a primary.

In Ocean Grove you have Bellarine Secondary School, it is nothing outstanding but not bad either. It is an average school with average results. 30% of students go on to University. Yr 10 fees are around $210 pa. There are around 1211 students so it is a very large secondary school probably due to the area it has to cover, it is spread across 2 campuses one at Drysdale for Yr 9 and 10.

It may be worth considering Oberon High School in Belmont, again it is a large school around 1400 students but their end of year results are a lot more favourable than Bellarines.
Hope this helps a little.

[Petals]

If you were to live in the Geelong Surf Coast area then Barwon Health is the Health Authority for the Geelong Hospital which has oncology facilities.

Other oncology hospitals are in Melbourne my daughter had her chemo at the Moorabbin Hospital where patients from the Monash hospital are sent. Also the Peter McCallum Cancer Hospital, St Vincents, Freemasons, Western General and there will be others as well and a lot of private clinics in private hospitals.

Good luck.

[spottymercedes]

Bendigo is nice. It may be a bit far out, but is a really nice place. We are settling in Pakenham now on the eastern side of Melbourne and don't want to move the kids, but had we spent more time researching Victoria, we would probably have chosen Bendigo. Its definitely worth a look and has quite a few jobs to offer.

[lmontymont]

This person had a bad experience here, if you wish for information you are best to PM him/her.

[downunder.welcome.melb]

Hi guys, in response to your question about Melton: Melton isn't the most wonderful of areas, but neither is it the most expensive.

I have lived in the North and Western suburbs of Melbourne for many years, and I have to tell you, they have a lot going for them! Don't write them off immediately - there's some great little neighbourhoods, some lovely (and affordable!) new estates, great access to the city and in fact all of Melbourne via the Western Ring Road and Tullamarine Freeway, good transport... and you're close to the airport too!

Sure, many people want to live near the beach - but if you're starting out on a budget, you may not want to spend the majority of your paycheck each week on the roof over your head and a sea breeze.

I just wanted to point out that there's a whole other half of Melbourne that doesn't seem to get much of a mention!

There are a whole lot of nice suburbs, which offer different features depending on what you're interested in: Essendon, Coburg, Sunbury, Niddrie, Caroline Springs, Craigieburn, Pascoe Vale, Westmeadows, Taylors Lakes... and yes, Melton, which does have some older, less-cared-for areas, but there are some lovely new estates being developed, and young families are flocking there to start a new life!

If you're interested in the West or North, visit the following council websites:

www.hume.vic.gov.au
www.mvcc.vic.gov.au/
www.brimbank.vic.gov.au

So don't give up on us! I live in Tullamarine (right near Melbourne airport). It's only a 20 min drive into the city centre, my children go to a wonderful public school and I have everything on my doorstep! Sure, I can't see the beach outside my window, but it's only a half hour drive away...