Ararat/ Geelong

[cityboy]

Hello to all pios Victoria

Are there any expats living out in Ararat? I have a possble job opportunity lined up and I wondered if there were any expats out there who could offer any thoughts on their experience in living out there.. both good and bad.

What is the community spirit like and how long is the car journey to the coast and Melbourne??? Is there plenty of things to keep the young kids entertained, or do you find yourselves travelling to Melbourne for the action.

We also have the chance of jobs in Geelong and in Melbourne, but we are tending toward a more semi rural location. Are there any semi rural parts to Geelong which are within easy reach of the Geelong CBD????

Any help/advice greatly appreciated.

Cityboy.

[Petals]

Have a look at the council web site Ararat Rural City Council Home Page gives information about Ararat.

It would be a good drive to the beach from there I imagine.

I guess a lot of the people who live there would work at the prison.

Geelong has nice rural areas around it within easy drive to Geelong and its close to the sea of course. Much larger than Ararat and more built up.

[cityboy]

Thanks for the info on Ararat, did not realise there is a prison down that way!!! My OH is favouring Geelong, as she would prefer to be closer to the coast. From what I see on the net, it looks ok down on the waterfront, just not sure how industrial it is in parts.

[Petals]

Its industrial but you would probably not want to live in the areas near the refinery, port etc its an older part of Geelong. You can commute to Geelong from quite a lot of the towns on the coast if you were working there. Its very very popular the coast down there as there are the surf beaches where they have the surf competitions (Bells Beach) every year. Torquay, Port Arlington, St Leonards vey nice. Going the other way towards Melbourne, you have Point Cook which is popular and quite a few Brits live that way, Werribee, Sanctuary Lakes.

I don't know if you are a member of Britvics but there are members of that forum who live over near Geelong who may be able to fill you in more than me who lives on the other side of the bay on the Mornington Peninsula.

[cityboy]

Many thanks for the info. I will have a look on BritVics and see what info I can get.

All the best

[heieup]

Hello there!

I've just arrived in Sunny Geelong, been here a week so far and I LOVE IT. Yes there is a fair bit of industry about but this is mainly the far north or the far south of the city and the middle has a lot of historic buildings and a really nice vibe. From what I've seen so far its friendlier than Melbourne city centre anyway and has great links into Melbourne (for your city or shopping fix and it is just great round christmas) and also has the hills / the bush and the coast all within easy walking distance.

If you wanted to be a bit more rural, there are some great little towns within about a 20 min drive of Geelong city centre. The centre is fairly small and easily navigated by car and the congestion isn't too bad. Should be much better soon when the new bypass opens as well. For outside areas to check which are a bit more rural there is the Bellarine peninsula which is just south, has the coast but is smaller, Indented head and point lonsdale are nice and Ocean Grove is just gorgeous (a bit pricey though). Jan Juc is also reported to be nice but I haven't actually been. Very windy down on the surf coast tho.

Into the countryside there is Warun ponds which is fairly close to the city but feels more countryfied and a couple of other places to the west. Check them out on wikipedia.

Any more info wanted on geelong, don't hesitate to ask and I have some photos on my web page of the surrounding areas as well. PM me and I'll send you our addy if you want to have a look.

[heieup]

by quick walking distance, I clearly mean driving ... oops, head not screwed on today !

[cityboy]

Hi
Many thanks for the reply. I will pm you and take a look at your snaps if thats ok.

Many thanks,

Cityboy.