Tosh Posted November 9, 2013 Share Posted November 9, 2013 Hey kids. Hope you're all good. We're steaming towards the point of no return, visa's all sorted etc. we've been pretty much settled on Geelong, Victoria as our final destination. It's far enough outside Melbourne to be a small country feel but big enough to have everything we need and yet still commutable to Melbourne for work. We belong to the Geelong expats site and spoken to a few people who all love it there, but recently we've had a few of our Australian friends telling us Melbourne and the surrounding area's are really NOT the place to go. High crime rates, high unemployment rates etc. My questions are: How are people who live in and around Melbourne finding it? and if not Geelong for us where should we go? We've looked at Wollongong in NSW but are worried about bush fires, we weren't over keen on Adelaide but admittedly it's been 10 years since we've been to Oz so a lot can change. Canberra is too expensive housing and living wise for us. Brisbane, Perth etc would be too hot for us and we want the kids to enjoy a varied climate so wanted to stay south-ish. We want a nice out of city living feel, get the most we can house wise for our money as we're not selling our house in Blighty but renting it out. Obviously we need good employment opportunities and don't want to be right inside a major city. Not a lot to ask for really is it lol Cheers Tosh Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VERYSTORMY Posted November 9, 2013 Share Posted November 9, 2013 It very much depends on where you can get work. What do you do? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stephensteve Posted November 9, 2013 Share Posted November 9, 2013 Hi, when you say not Adelaide,not Brisbane, not Perth....there is not much else except Sydney..!! only joking but..... Melbourne is great, we live in Altona, which is out of town and yet close enough, 10 km out of Melbourne is Country...!! Places like Point cook or Werribee are quite popular with new ex pats Geelong would be great if you can do the commute, It is a fair way out..!! the best thing is to head to Geelong and only commit to a 6 month rental and see how you go, you can always move on. Do the right thing legally at all times( pay bills and rents on time etc) and get your references sorted and moving on will not be a problem...... I would say don't bother going anywhere like Wollongong as choices can be very limited Anyway, look after your cash and don't throw it away too quick...enjoy your new adventure....:wink: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
furkew Posted November 9, 2013 Share Posted November 9, 2013 Melbourne IMO is a great place to live, especially if you live on the fringe (as we do on the eastern side) great places to visit, great people, and just a short drive to awesome beaches, scenery or even snow. Geelong is a good sized city that I have actually read almost only good things about on the various expat sites. If you have researched Geelong, and it ticks your boxes, go for it. If you decide at any point it isn't what you expected, then you can look elsewhere. Its as easy as that over here. also, if the chopper in your avatar is coming with you, or you are planning on building one over here, then Geelong is just before the start of the great ocean road, and that is one awesome road to travel on, on 2 wheels. its a win win situation. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MARYROSE02 Posted November 9, 2013 Share Posted November 9, 2013 You probably would not want to go ANYWHERE in Australia if you believe everything you hear about crime. I'm surprised an angst-ridden person like myself even dares to go outside the door in Sydney, given the reports of daily shootings! I fancy the chances of being affected by violent crime are only slightly worse than being bitten by a shark, but I could be wrong! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skani Posted November 9, 2013 Share Posted November 9, 2013 We've looked at Wollongong in NSW but are worried about bush fires, Cheers Tosh Wollongong is no more prone to bush fires than any other place in Australia. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kapri Posted November 9, 2013 Share Posted November 9, 2013 Wollongong is no more prone to bush fires than any other place in Australia. I was going to say something similar. I wouldn't avoid Wollongong due to bush fires. The NSW coast is great! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tosh Posted November 9, 2013 Author Share Posted November 9, 2013 VERYSTORMY: I'm an electronics equipment technician. I've had many years repairing hi volume and colour photocopiers but for the last 5 years have been installing, repairing and maintaining equipment for disabled people, ceiling lifting hoists, mobile hoists, stairlifts, specialist baths etc etc. I also have plumbing qualifications but understand these don't hold in australia and i'd have to do some re-training to be a self employed plumber over there which doesn't really appeal to me. FURKEW: the little mini chop in my avatar was one for my little boy with a little 2 stroke lawnmower engine in it. Not really for the GOR lol. mine sadly got sold 2 weeks ago to help finance the migration. Oz is our first dream my bikes can come later. Everyone else thank you for your feedback. really love how helpful everyone is on this site. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quoll Posted November 9, 2013 Share Posted November 9, 2013 Go where you can get a job and the rest will fall into place. Like everywhere there are good bits and don't touch with a barge pole bits. Canberra isn't that much more expensive than Sydney or Melbourne really - bug it lost 500 homes to a bushfire a few years ago so you may want to avoid it for that reason! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rupert Posted November 9, 2013 Share Posted November 9, 2013 Maybe stick with your first instinct. If you wanted to you could collect good and bad points on everywhere. You do seem to be ruling places out very easily .... Wollongong because of bush fires :err:, worst bushfires I can remember where in Victoria - not that I would rule Victoria out for that reason either. Fact is, Australia has bush fires from time to time. I visit Brisbane a fair amount, it is not super hot, to be honest it is the humidity that can be hard work. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iceagegroup Posted November 9, 2013 Share Posted November 9, 2013 I also agreed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sustain Posted November 9, 2013 Share Posted November 9, 2013 Crime is rife in Melbourne Today I saw an old lady drop a piece of litter, and 2 young women J walk across Armadale High Street. Actually what they were wearing was probably breaking some rule (don't wear white over dark :wink:) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MARYROSE02 Posted November 10, 2013 Share Posted November 10, 2013 What didn't you like about Adelaide? If you found it too small/quiet, perhaps you should be in Melbourne or Sydney!? I was thinking that Wollongong and Geelong are similar kind of cities in similar positions compared to their 'big brothers' (or 'sisters) of Sydney and Melbourne? I just Googled them and see that Wollongong has a population of 292,000 and Geelong a bit less - 180,000 odd? Actually, I was surprised - thought that Wollongong had about 80 or 90, 000 but perhaps that is more the city area. 20,000 people commute from Wollongong to Sydney every day? I imagine it must be similar from Geelong to Melbourne? I don't know what the road is like from Geelong to Melbourne - freeway all the way, unlike in Sydney? I would not think bushfires are a problem in Wollongong itself - maybe in outlying suburbs surrounded by bush. There have been bad fires in the Royal National Park between Wollongong and Sydney but that was a few years ago? Usually, it seems to be suburbs and towns with bush all around that have the problems with fires? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Parley Posted November 10, 2013 Share Posted November 10, 2013 How about Ballarat ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
starlight7 Posted November 10, 2013 Share Posted November 10, 2013 A lot of regional towns are going through a bit of a slump. Ballarat has half its shops boarded up and Geelong has just lost the Qantas jobs. Probably not a very good time to move there unless you want to snap up a property bargain. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.