Tosh Posted September 24, 2013 Share Posted September 24, 2013 Hi folks, Hope everyone is happy & healthy. I'd just like to ask people's opinions on Geelong. We have just been assigned our C.O. and have been told we should hear back by December and need to decided where to go to. We'd like to be commutable from Melbourne but far out enough to get a country feel and obviously cheaper living. I'm an electronics engineer with a background in high volume photocopiers and currently repairing and installing specialist lifting equipment for the disabled. We have 2 small children aged 4 and 2 so need somewhere geared up for families with good schools, parks and shopping. We did spend 2 years in oz 10 years ago and spent a few days in Geelong but not enough to get a feel for living there and so long ago that so much has probably changed. Anybody's input/opinions would be greatly received. Many thanks and good luck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wolvesaussie Posted September 24, 2013 Share Posted September 24, 2013 HI, i am not the best person as dont live there but I like the place, been there many times seems good, not too far from Melbourne, not too far from the surf coast, nice little city. Girlfriend had an interview last week at a school there but didnt get it unfortuantly otherwise we would have been moving there . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
akiralx Posted September 25, 2013 Share Posted September 25, 2013 We have lived in Geelong for 15 months (previously in Burwood in Melbourne eastern suburbs for 3 years), and we love it here. Nice community feel in Geelong West (we rarely go into Geelong city centre). Good amenities, shops and restaurants. The accessibility to the coast is great (10 mins' walk from our house). There are some less than salubrious suburbs I believe but they don't impact on our lives. Lots of parks and things to do for kids. I commute to Melbourne daily via train which is fine, takes about an hour (c.$220 per month). I certainly get home earlier than when I lived in Burwood... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alan Collett Posted September 25, 2013 Share Posted September 25, 2013 http://scbmgeelong.com.au/ http://www.teambts.com.au/index.html Slightly off topic, but might be relevant ... Best regards. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peanig Posted September 25, 2013 Share Posted September 25, 2013 We've lived in Lara (just north of Geelong) for nearly 2 years now. Geelong is a great place to live, plenty of parks, local amenities, etc. Can get to Melbourne in around an hour, beaches and Great Ocean Road to the south. Suburbs to look at are; Grovedale, Belmont, Highton, Waurn Ponds, Wandana Heights or Newtown, Geelong West (if you prefer nearer the CBD) Sorry cannot cannot help with schools as we have no children. However, we have friends whose children attend schools in Grovedale, Belmont areas. The local paper may give you some more insight: http://www.geelongadvertiser.com.au/ Good luck Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
motherof2 Posted September 25, 2013 Share Posted September 25, 2013 You forgot to mention the totally fantastic people who live there Nigel!!!!! Loads of families with kids your ages - so they would be more than happy to give you a heads up on kinders, primary schools etc Been here two years and love it Peanig makes a mean caramel slice too :biggrin: Sorry about the FB link calNgary - didn't realise I could not post - ooops! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peanig Posted September 25, 2013 Share Posted September 25, 2013 Sorry Sue, that was very remiss of me :notworthy: There are a lot of 'totally fantastic people' who live there too. And my caramel slices are Awesome.. :biggrin: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nikko Posted September 25, 2013 Share Posted September 25, 2013 We live in Leopold, about 10k outside Geelong. We came here 15 months ago on arriving in Australia and are in the process of buying a house and land package, we love the area, Geelong is big enough to have all the major stores, but is only a short drive from places like Ocean Grove, Barwon Heads and Torquay which are great for the beach lifestyle. Plus the commute into Melbourne (which i do not do) is fairly easy, with the train to Melbourne starting at Marshal and going through South Geelong, Geelong and North Geelong. People who i work with say the drive is not worth the hassle at commuter time as once you get to Werrabee, Point Cook and Sanctuary Lakes the traffic grinds to a halt, although in non rush hour times the drive is nice. Good luck with the move. Nick. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tosh Posted September 25, 2013 Author Share Posted September 25, 2013 Hi folks, thats great, thank you all so much. Obviously its great news its a nice as we remembered but really appreciate the inside info, links and what suburbs to look at. its going to make a very huge and nerve racking move a lot easier. Tosh. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
surfndirt Posted September 25, 2013 Share Posted September 25, 2013 Hi Mate, I have lived in the Western burbs of Mellers for 8 years now. G town is a good little town if you want a regional feel. I am from Middlesbrough and the town centre on a night very much reminds me of Boro TBH. Good chance of getting a slap there past about 10pm. Only thing I'd say is that Oz is just like anywhere else - you can't work in the city (Mellers) and expect to live on a farm in the sticks unless you want a massive commute and horrible traffic / stand room only trains. It's absolutley no different to the UK in that respect. I would advise that if you want to live the dream, go regional. Go G Town but look for and get work in G Town, not a random burb in Melbourne. Otherwise there are; - Ballarat (great little spot) - Bendigo - Shepparton - Newcastle (NSW) - Albury (WA) To name a few. The cities here are great if you like something akin to LA (including the drive-by's), if you want to live the Aussie dream you need to live and work regional IMO.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
surfndirt Posted September 26, 2013 Share Posted September 26, 2013 I see you like bikes - get ready for a HUGE shock when you get your bike tax. As other users on here know; my main gripes in the land of milk and honey are beer prices, house prices and motorbike registration prices!!! My R6 = $700 a year. That's just tax. $500 for insurance. Pint = $8 (if you are very lucky) House = $600,000 for owt even reasonable in a run of the mill area. Nice place / house = $100,000,000 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alan Collett Posted September 26, 2013 Share Posted September 26, 2013 Not sure there are too many $100m places in Geelong ...! :biggrin: Maybe $1m in Newtown, some parts of Highton, and on the coast. Best regards. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tosh Posted September 27, 2013 Author Share Posted September 27, 2013 Hi guys and gals. Only just started asking you all questions about Geelong as we've only just got our C.O. and today we hear back that we've got our visa's. We're absolutely stoked and celebrating with a passion tonight. What a nice start to the weekend. Guess we'll see you all in Geelong then. Looking forward to becoming an expat and meeting all you guys Just need to narrow down suburbs now and which one to go to for schools, parks, amenities, houses etc. what do you think about your suburb? Very excited now. Tosh Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alan Collett Posted September 28, 2013 Share Posted September 28, 2013 Hi Tosh. https://www.facebook.com/geelongvictoria There's a Geelong page on Facebook. Maybe have a look at that as well? Best regards. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sustain Posted September 28, 2013 Share Posted September 28, 2013 And my caramel slices are Awesome.. :biggrin: hmmmmmmm GO CATS GO The greatest team of all:yes: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
akiralx Posted September 30, 2013 Share Posted September 30, 2013 House = $600,000 for owt even reasonable in a run of the mill area. Nice place / house = $100,000,000 Not in Geelong, maybe in Melbourne. Our three bedroom house on a 600m2 block with garage + carport and large garden was under $500K. But prices are rising here as people realise what a great place it is! My wife has lived in Sydney, Perth and the Gold Coast and describes Geelong as paradise... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SGHJLL Posted November 2, 2013 Share Posted November 2, 2013 Hi, we were keen on Geelong at first but found it a little too built up for our family's taste so we are now at Ocean Grove..a stone's throw from a postcard perfect beach. Smaller community. We found Geelong to have a Southend feel to it. Lots to do there and fairly easy to navigate but as I say - just too large for our liking. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tosh Posted November 3, 2013 Author Share Posted November 3, 2013 SGHJLL, thats good info mate thank you, especially as we're originally from Basildon so know Southend really well. we are actually looking for something a little more built up as we live RIGHT out in the sticks now and it's a bit too much for us. Nearest supermarket is a 30min drive and nearest big town (Basildon or Chelmsford) is a 45 min drive so we'd like to get back to something where we have everything we need in a close proximity. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SGHJLL Posted November 3, 2013 Share Posted November 3, 2013 Then Geelong will be great for you. We like to shop there and go at least once a week. Lovely seaside feel about it and easy to find everything as it is on a grid. Also great train and bus link and doesn't take long into Melbourne. Good luck with your move and drop us a line if you move to Geelong, for a catch up. We are from Essex also. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Counting Stars Posted November 3, 2013 Share Posted November 3, 2013 Nothing to do with Geelong as we haven't been there but we are from Chelmsford originally xx Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tosh Posted November 3, 2013 Author Share Posted November 3, 2013 Move planned for Aug 2014, so hopefully see you Essex folk for drink. i'll bring y white stilletto's, the wife will stick her white jeans on and our babies, who are 4 and 2 will just steal your wheels while we're chatting to you ;-) We're both from Basildon originally, spent some time in Colchester and now live out at Maylandsea. (for another 10 months at least anyway). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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