Other places in Victoria

Buzz · 09-10-2008, 11:31 AM

Hi all, havent posted for a while but have another question for all you PIO ers,

Everyone talks about living around Melbourne but when i look on the map of victoria i see other relativley big towns/cities such as Waramambol or some similiar spelling and Coroc and Portland, My question is 1) what are these other cities/towns like ie facilities for schools, entertainment, socialising etc etc and 2) tell us about where and why you live further out of the vivinity of melbourne and geelong area.

These places look quite good but i would love opinions from people who actualy live there, why does everyone say you must be near melbourne if you live in vic. Are the job prospects non existent in these other towns, my wife will be coming over as a nurse and i am a lab worker what are our prospects.

Please helpppppp

Buzz · 10-10-2008, 08:56 AM

I know its a big place but ......IS ANYONE OUT THEREEEEEEE!!!!!

moving2melbourne · 10-10-2008, 09:09 AM

Hi Buzz
Probably no one answered as no one lives so far out, lol!!
Warrnambool is a gorgeous place and if you were guaranteed work there then I would be very tempted. However, if you can't get a job it is a long way back to Melbourne (4 hours).
Most people live in Melbourne Metro or the outskirts because if they can't get a job in their suburb there are plenty more on offer.
A lot of people who live in country Vic have to travel to Melbourne for their hospitals if needing emergency treatment. A friend of mine had a baby with a cleft pallet and other medical problems and had to travel to Melbourne (a 3 hour trip) four times a week.
Sorry I cannot help with in depth knowledge of each town you have mentioned.
Kate

Buzz · 10-10-2008, 11:01 AM

wHILE I HAVE YOUR ATTENTION, FIRSTLY THANKS FOR REPLYING AND SECONDLY I SEE YOU DO RENTALS IN mELBOURNE DO YOU DO ANY FOR GEELONG? AS WE ARE THINKING OF COMING OVER NEXT YEAR POSIIBLY FOR A RECCE (excuse caps)

moving2melbourne · 10-10-2008, 11:21 AM

Hi Buzz
Is the shouting (caps lock on) to get my attention

Well it worked

Unfortunately we don't have anything to the West of the city. You could try Accommodation Geelong - Aaronlee Waterfont Apartments - Victoria Australia or Quest Geelong Serviced Apartments Geelong if no luck there try the Stayz website Geelong Accommodation on Stayz - No 1 Holiday Accommodation Rentals

I know they charge more than we do and don't include the airport pick up and suburb tours but they may be a good place to start. Let me know if you have no luck and I will see where else I can find.
Kate

Melway · 10-10-2008, 11:31 AM

The best places to live in Victoria are out of Melbourne - providing you can find a good job

Buzz · 10-10-2008, 01:52 PM

Can you tell me more please Melway
Thanks,
Buzz

dalhousie · 11-10-2008, 05:47 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Buzz

Hi all, havent posted for a while but have another question for all you PIO ers,

Everyone talks about living around Melbourne but when i look on the map of victoria i see other relativley big towns/cities such as Waramambol or some similiar spelling and Coroc and Portland, My question is 1) what are these other cities/towns like ie facilities for schools, entertainment, socialising etc etc and 2) tell us about where and why you live further out of the vivinity of melbourne and geelong area.

These places look quite good but i would love opinions from people who actualy live there, why does everyone say you must be near melbourne if you live in vic. Are the job prospects non existent in these other towns, my wife will be coming over as a nurse and i am a lab worker what are our prospects.

Please helpppppp

Hello Buzz,

I am new to this site too, but I have been living in and around the Geelong area for over 50 years. I would suggest that you google the following cities and read the sites that come up. I have set out below details of distances of the four major regional cities in Victoria from Melbourne and addresses to the Victorian Government websites. If you have specific questions I will try and find out answers for you.

Geelong (second largest city in Vic) approx 75 kms from Melbourne. Trains to Melbourne every half hour peak period, every hour off peak. Good beaches, schools, good shopping centre, excellent hospital. Close to Great Ocean Road and surf beaches. An industrial town. Branches of Ford Motor Company, Alcoa Aluminum, Sheet Metal Industry. Exports wheat and wood chips to China. Various service industries www.geelongcity.vic.gov.au

Ballarat approx 120 kms Melbourne - inland. Not sure of the industry structure, or train services to this town as I have only visited as a tourist. Beautiful mid late Victorian buildings, excellent arts centres, good shopping cafes resaraunts, good hospital and schools. www.ballarat.vic.gov.au

Bendigo approx 150 kms Melbourne - inland. Another old gold mining city. Good architecture, Arts etc shopes and cafes good. Don't know enough about it to advise on hospitals and schools. www.bendigo.vic.gov.au

Warnambool approx 270 kms from Melbourne seaside town. Not sure of industry structure, but would think it would be support for the Western District farms etc. Cheese making, dairy industry etc. Popular tourist town . at the end of the Great Ocean Road. Pretty town , good shopping centre good beaches. Very much a country town though. www.warrnambool.vic.gov.au

Colac is another smallish town. about 80 kms from Geelong inland, but only about 45 minutes drive from Lorne and the Great Ocean Road. Small basic country town. Mostly service area for the Otway Region and Western District farmers and timber industry. Small shopping centre and hospital. Close enough to Geelong though if an emergency arises. www.colacotway.vic.gov.au

Hope this is of some help. Let me know if you need specific information.

dalhousie

Petals · 11-10-2008, 06:54 AM

There are lots of nice big country towns and people have a lovely life there. If you join in with the community there is always something to do.

Bairnsdale is a large town and near Lakes Entrance in Gippsland.

Mildura is a large town and growing all the time up on the Murray River. My son worked in a school 75 ks out in the mallee and he had a great life the three years he lived there, we used to visit and I love Mildura its a lovely town.

My son now lives in Yarrawonga and teaches there and its a great little town as well, lots going on lots of clubs over the river in NSW not far from Albury, not far from Wangaratta, Shepparton, Benalla all easy drive. Its a growing area lots of people retire there good golf courses etc. He loves it, he belongs the cricket club, the footy club although he does not play, golf club, darts club. Has a lovely life.

We like Albury which is NSW and Wodonga on the Vic side its a very large town and has everything you need.

Alexandra is a lovely town in Victoria and close to the mountains for skiing in the winter and very popular place for people to move to onto small acreage.

We spend quite a bit of time in the country and go up to Bright a lot and we love it.

We live on the Peninsula here in Melbourne but we love the country too. Its just a matter of finding a job in the country.

Ballarat is ok I like Bendigo much better my daughter went to uni there last year and loves Bendigo, she said she could easily live there.

Aluminium smelter at Portland so there is work there.

Have a look at the Shire Councils of Victoria and they will tell you all about the areas and all the facilities that are available, just google Shires Victoria.

Good luck

spottymercedes · 11-10-2008, 07:00 AM

Hi Buzz,
There are some really beautiful places in Victoria, away from Melbourne. I always used to look at these places when we were in the uk, and never wanted to live so close to it, but unfortunately it was the work which brought us so close to Melbourne. I say unfortunatley, but don't mean it is a bad place that we are as it isn't, it is 100 times better than where we were in England, it just wasn't quite what I wanted. We have recently visited Bendigo which we thought was a lovely place. It had a lot of old beautiful buildings and had a lot going on, without being too busy. There were some lovely surrounding areas too. Bendigo seems to have a lot going for it as I'm sure a lot of other places do too. I didn't check up on hospitals, but I did look at work and there seems to be a fair bit going on there. There are a lot of employment websites which could give you an insight into what jobs there are in other areas. I think the best way to look is to do a google search for employment and the particular area you are interested in. I hope this helps!